Friday, November 19. 2010Red, Blue And Pigskin
The concern was there all week. The quotes coming out of practice spelled doom. Their enemy was wounded, but dangerous. Sure enough the Utes walked smack into the trap at South Bend. Now they are in the midst of a disastrous two game losing streak, and a 4 game slide to end the season isn't out of the question. Especially with a much improved Aztecs this week, followed by the big rivalry game against a Cougar team that seems to have found itself finally.
Meanwhile down south, with only hapless New Mexico between them and the Holy War, it's looking like BYU will get bowl eligible this week. Unfortunately do to a DVR error, I wasn't able to watch the game, so this week will be light on the Cougar talk. But you BYU fans stick around, because this week will be heavy on the Ute bashing, a past time I know you all enjoy. Apologies Don't Mean Jack
After being destroyed on their home field by TCU two weeks ago, Coach Whittingham spent the majority of the next two days apologizing for the performance of the team. Well, the apologies don't mean anything, when the team comes out the next week, completely flat, unprepared, and still dwelling on the loss the week before. The concerns started showing up during the week, when players would talk about how they were taking the TCU loss hard. But the Coaches job is to get the team ready. Help them move past tough losses, and look ahead. This is a team that for the last 3 years has taken the 1 game at a time mantra. Now was a terrible time to abandon that mantra and focus on the last game as they prepared for the next game. Coach Whittingham and staff did a terrible job during the week getting this team ready to move on. Even NBC announcer Mike Mayock could see that the Utes were hungover from the loss last week. Especially as he brought it up time and time again. This loss falls mainly on the coaching staff. There were some positional issues, which I'll get into later, but if you take away distractions, and put this Utes team on the field in South Bend against this Irish team, Utes win 8 out 10 times, and in none of those games do they get blown out. The fact that they were so flat, and performed so poorly speaks to how much stock was put into the TCU game, and how hard of a time they have had dealing with it. Not The Only Coach Who Did Poorly Whit wasn't the only coach who did a poor job. Offensive Coordinator, and play caller Aaron Roderick is in the midst of a terrible two game streak. The play calling for both of the last two weeks has been atrocious. Against TCU the run was abandoned way too early. In addition to not running the ball, the calls that were made were designed to attack the edges of TCU. A plan that fits perfectly into the speed and system the Horned Frogs use. At least against Notre Dame, they didn't abandon the run. Instead they kept with it, and didn't panic. The main problem with the playcalling against the Irish, was that it never adjusted. Thanks to mental lapses, the Utes were frequently seeing themselves penalized, ending up with long down and distances. Frequently on these 3rd and 13 or greater, though, the call was designed with two passing routes running short of the first down, meaning if the receiver did catch the ball, they'd be short, and have to run for a first down. Overall the playcalling the last couple weeks, just hasn't had that same creativity as there was leading up to the Air Force game. A Pansy Slide I originally though burning Jordan Wynn's Redshirt was a bad idea last year. But it became clear quickly that he had a greater control of the offense than Terrance Cain. That's something I don't think has changed this year. This offense runs better with Wynn, than it does with Cain. That's why even after TCU I didn't think Cain was a smart choice to put into the game. For the most part my opinion doesn't change after the Notre Dame game. Jordan Wynn has played terribly the last couple games. It was clear he was uncomfortable. I don't think his lack of comfort in the offense is a coincidence that it happens as the OL has forgotten how to block, and that he was constantly in obvious passing down, meaning the ND defenders could pin their ears back. Wynn isn't without fault. His interception was just a great defensive play, but like against TCU as the game Wynn started trying to make plays, and he'd start pressing. As he would press his passes became less and less accurate. Although late in the game he did drive the offense into the Notre Dame Red zone. Although, for some reason, the red zone is not kind to Wynn, as he could never finish off drives. There has been only one time I though that it might be worth benching Wynn for a couple series. It was the first play of the 2nd quarter. Utes down 10-3, the game hadn't gotten away from them yet. Wynn drops back, has no one open, and starts to run, he's at the first down marker, and he slid one yard short. Unacceptable! It was a pansy move to slide there. It's 3rd down, you take the freaking hit, and get the first down. You do not slide. If you can't take a hit, you shouldn't be playing. Wynn let the entire team down with that slide. What should have been a continuation of the drive, was instead a punt, all because Wynn didn't want to take the hit. You are a QB for a Division 1 top 15 ranked team. You take the freaking hit at that point. This isn't second down, it's wasn't a mandatory 4 down situation. This was the drive, and Wynn failed miserably. This was the moment where I think Cain should have come in temporarily, but only for a couple drives. Wynn is still the better of the two QB's, and he's still young with a lot of growing to do. But that slide was completely unacceptable. And it appeared to me, that was the turning point of the game. The team seemed to lose heart after that play. The Last Road Hurrah This week the Utes will play their last road game as a MWC Conference team. They face a much improved San Diego State Aztecs. The only good news that came out of last week's game is the fact that the Irish were a non-Conference team. This means the Utes are still in control of their own destiny for 2nd place in the conference. But in order to get that accomplished, the Utes must wake up from the slumber they've been in for two weeks. The Aztecs are 7-3 overall. They lost on a last second run against Missouri. Their second loss was heavily assisted by a terrible blown call against the Cougars. Their final loss was last week, when they gave the Horned Frogs their toughest test of the season. This isn't the same old Aztec team that was just another MWC bottom dweller. With Wynn's play the past few weeks, one could make the Argument that Aztec QB Ryan Lindley is the second best in the conference, and freshman RB Ronnie Hillman has rushed for over 1000 yards, and 12 TD's. The Utes who two weeks ago were 8-0, are actually the underdog against the Aztecs, with many thinking this will be loss number 3 in a row. We know the Utes aren't a great team. Time to find out if they are a good team though. The Other Finale After dismantling the Rams in Colorado last week, the Cougars are participating in their own MWC finale this week. They host the 1 win New Mexico Lobos for what will be the final MWC game in Provo. The Cougars have clawed their way back to .500 on the season. Earlier in the season it looked like being bowl eligible was not going to happen. However there is no way the Cougars will lose this week against an inept New Mexico team, even if Heaps reverts to his earlier season form. Truthfully if their is any justice, there will be a 3rd MWC finale this week. This should be the last road game of New Mexico Head Coach Mike Locksley's career. One More Farewell With the departure of BYU and Utah from the Moutain West next season, it means we don't have to deal with the terrible Mtn tv channel. The Mtn, while improved slightly this season is still a steaming pile of dog crap of a channel. With the Holy War being simulcasted on CBS College Sports, this will be the last weekend that either team's fan bases will be stuck with The Mtn. Trackbacks
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