Wyoming report card
by JazzyUte on Nov 2, 2009 6:26 PM MST
in Football
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This was a weird game. Maybe that's fitting, since it took place on Halloween. I don't know. I can't say I was disappointed with the Utes' performance. I felt the Cowboys offered a defensive test and was fairly confident they wouldn't score much on Utah. They didn't. In fact, the Utes held them below their season average.
What I didn't like was that, once again, Utah failed to put together a solid four-quarter game. There hasn't been one yet and we're winding down the 2009 season. That either means we're poised for one in the coming weeks, or it's never going to happen and most likely will result in a loss. I'm hoping it's the former.
Regardless of those issues, though, the Utes are 7-1. Not a bad start. It's about where most of us felt Utah would be at this point in the season. They've avoided ugly losses (2005 and 2006 come to mind) and for that, the consistency might suggest we're moving beyond those struggles and actually putting together reloading seasons instead of rebuilding ones. You know, because you can't really call 7-5 reloading - but you surely can call 11-2 or 12-1 that.
The grades after the jump...
Offense: B - I'm going to probably go against the grain here. The offense wasn't that bad. Just look at the yards they racked up. Sure, there are issues and those issues cost them a higher grade (and a bigger win), but both Terrance Cain and Jordan Wynn were good when it came to passing (both combined to go 20 of 28 for 211 yards) and that has to count for something.
Eddie Wide was also his amazing self. He tied the school record for consecutive games (5) with 100 or more yards and was instrumental in sparking the Utes' offense in the second half.
Of course, the story of the night was at quarterback. Cain, who went 10 of 13 for 121 yards, was pulled by Kyle Whittingham at the half and replaced by true freshman Jordan Wynn. Wynn, playing in his first game ever at any level of college, stepped up and threw a touchdown, while finishing the night completing 9 of 14 passes for 82-yards.
The performance wasn't the greatest Utah has seen this season and things will need to improve if they're going to beat either TCU or BYU, but it was a step in the right direction I think. Especially when you consider the offense is now not just transitioning from one quarterback to another, but now changing who calls the plays up in the box.
Defense: A - The Cowboys' offense is not good. I said as much in the preview and was backed up by their performance Saturday. Even so, I think Utah's defense did what they needed to do. For starters, they held Wyoming below their point total on the season and only allowed 202 total yards. That isn't bad and well below the Pokes' average on the season (312.8 after Utah's win).
They also shut out the Cowboys in the second half. Any time you do that, you're doing something right.
Special Teams: B - It started badly for Joe Phillips, as he missed a 43-yard field goal (his first miss of the season). However, he stepped up and connected on three the remainder of the game. There were also no fumbles on the punt returns and most of Utah's punts sailed down field and pinned the Cowboys deep - especially in the second half.
Coaches:
- Aaron Roderick: B - I wasn't impressed with the first half, but I think Utah changed it up a bit in the second. For his first game in the box calling plays (though I do think Dave Schramm had the final say), he did a good job. Whittingham suggests he won't become Utah's new OC. But he's in the box and calling plays - isn't that what he is, regardless of title?
- Kalani Sitake: B-plus - The defense was good. I've been impressed with how the defense has progressed this season. I'd still like to see a few more big plays, but Saturday you saw glimpses of it. R.J. Stanford had an interception and Austyn Carta-Samuels was sacked five times.
- Kyle Whittingham: B-plus - Maybe I'm being a bit extreme here, but I think Whittingham has produced his best coaching job ever. With what he was dealt in terms of injury and turnover, it's pretty impressive this team is 7-1. Sure, their schedule hasn't been great, but four years ago, losing those games undid Utah's first rebuilding season under him. That hasn't been the case this season.
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utah can climb to number 11 or 12 in bcs standings if four things happen
they need to put a beatdown on new mexico. alabama probably beats lsu by 3 points b/c they had a bye and have homefield advantage. penn state and ohio state play. cincy could lose to uconn but the way uconn lost to rutgers they might be demoralized. stanford could beat oregon. it is at palo alto and as far as i know toby g. is healthy. the coach of stanford shoud try a ball control game and run as many times as they can for clock mangement purposes and to keep potent ducks offense off the field.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 2, 2009 7:31 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
I don’t really know what to grade this game, i was expecting a big game from the utes coming in, but obviously that didn’t happen. but wyoming had a better defense than i gave them credit for, their previous game which was against air force last week was a 0-0 tie going into half. to hold the falcons to 0 points at half you have to be pretty sound at tackling and they were vs. us. so i think that’s why the offense struggled a bit in the 1st half, that and dumb penalties/mistakes, these things are getting old, i don’t kno what we can do to fix them but we can’t afford these when we play a team like TCU.
by utahmanami on Nov 2, 2009 8:25 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
My Grades:
Offense: B-
As I mentioned in the game thread, I loved the fact Utah was moving the ball well after their poor offensive performance last week . However, I can’t pull any punches, our red zone play HAS to improve or we will get killed at Ft. Worth. Our O-line has been doing great in opening holes for Wide, but they have to stop killing drives with stupid penalties that can easily be avoided. Eddie Wide continued to be a warrior by doing what the coaches have asked him too, I love his play and hope he continues to get better. On a final side note. I’ll also give credit to the offense for much better ball security. Lets hope it continues (knock on wood).
Defense: A
With all due respect to Jordan Wynn, we need to give the credit to the D once again, they won us this game by playing shutout ball, outside of that wild trick play, they kept them out of the end zone for four quarters. i was bothered by the dropped pick but considering Wyoming also dropped a potential pick-6, I won’t whine too much. great job boys!
Special Teams: B
Like Jazzy said, the only real con was the missed field goal. Give some credit to Joe Phillips though, he hung in there and delivered for us when our offense kept stalling in the red zone.
As far as Wynn playing, I’m still 50-50 where I am on the decision. I’ll give credit to Wynn for finally getting us in the end zone, but I also can’t let his bad throws go unnoticed. If the Wyoming defender hasn’t dropped that pick-6, Wynn’s night would be a whole different story. Before I go further though, I also have to say that I’m not calling the decision a bad one cause Coach Whitt knows a lot more about football than I do. I’m just hoping that if Wynn gets the start against NM and dominates them, that we don’t get too high and mighty going into the TCU game and get pummeled.
by GambitUte on Nov 2, 2009 9:21 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
I pretty much agree...
Red zone play has been atrocious all year. We fix that and this season is entirely different in terms of tone and we’ve got a few blowouts on our hand.
It’s not like the offense is bad. They rank third in yards per game (393). Granted, it’s gone down the last few weeks, but they’re not struggling to move the ball (well they did against AFA). They’re struggling to finish drives. They have all season.
So why that struggle?
The play calling isn’t bad until we seem to get inside the twenty and things get mucked up quickly. Now any coach will tell you that your plays are a bit different in the RZ because you’re working with a shorter field. It limits what you can run.
So are we running plays that aren’t fit for the RZ? I watch Hawaii, which is a pass-first team and how horrid they are when they march down into the opponent’s RZ. Much of this is because they have no 10-20 yard plays. It’s even worse if they’re within the ten. Now that’s when most teams rely on their running game, but I’m not sure if we are utilizing Wide (and Asiata earlier in the year) well enough here.
If you’re facing a first and goal from the ten and you pass on first down and it’s incomplete, you’re probably going to run on second down. If you pass again and it’s incomplete, you’re essentially faced with another pass play on third down because you’re not going to run ten yards out. Well, unless you’re the Tom Osborne Huskers from the 80s and 90s.
So you run. Hopefully you get a good amount of yards and set up a third and short, which actually opens things up a bit more. You don’t have to pass, though you could, and you don’t have to run, though you could.
It seems we pass on first down (though I have no statistics to back this up and I could be way off there) when down in the RZ and often fail to get a catch because Cain struggles on fades, which often work best in that position.
Maybe if we run on first down, it opens things up a bit more on 2nd and 3rd. Of course, if Wynn can perform better in the RZ, this is all moot.
But yes, it comes down to RZ play and hopefully the changes made will help there.
As for Wynn, he had some bad passes. That potential pick-six you’re talking about was close and he only was saved by the defender dropping the ball. Ugly. However, it was his first start. So, we’ll see how that goes against UNM if he starts. If they’re there again, Whittingham will have a tough decision heading into TCU.
Because Wynn could be a walking interception and right now, that’s something Cain has been good at NOT doing. Cain has only thrown five picks this season. That number is tied with Andy Dalton and Austyn Carta-Samuels for best in the conference when it comes to quarterbacks who have played in every game this season.
Max Hall leads the conference with 11. Ouch.
by JazzyUte on Nov 2, 2009 9:45 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
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