Utah exposes Boise State.....and themselves

  I did not expect Utah to defeat Boise State.  And if I didn't watch the game, I would have looked at the score and I would have said something like, "well, I hoped that wouldn't happen".  The final score didn't surprise me.  What surprised me is how that score came to be.  Early in the game, Utah has an opportunity to knock Boise State out of their shoes.  Terrance Cain would be throwing the ball well for the most part, the receivers would get open.  But they forgot how to do one thing that's covered in elementary school.  CATCH THE FOOTBALL.  Touchdowns taken away just because of that.  They could have had a 20-0 lead after the first quarter.  But it wasn't just the first quarter. This kind of thing happened the entire game. It wasn't just the receivers though, it was the offensive line committing stupid penalties.  Like the one that wiped another 7 points off the board.  Meanwhile, Terrance Cain didn't do a terrible job.  But he always seemed to have this urge to get away from the pressure.  Which is a good thing...usually.  A quarterback has to be realistic with himself though.  Sometimes you have to throw the ball away.  But Terrance Cain wouldn't do that very often and as a result he got sacked constantly.  Utah's offense would make big plays, some with the passing game, many with the running game.  Not just in the first quarter.....throughout the entire game.  But it wouldn't matter. Why?  Well, either there would be penalty or Terrance Cain would get happy feet and try to escape from something he can't escape.  And as I mentioned earlier, he didn't exactly get a lot of help from his receivers either.  There are only four downs in football.  That stuff can't happen...especially against somebody like Boise State.  So what did this game say about these two teams?  Well, Boise State is good but they are not TCU.  You can move the ball on Boise State if you're offense is good and they execute well enough.  I think Utah and Nevada showed that.  (I didn't see the Boise State-Nevada game though).  Boise State is good but I don't know if they're great.  Their offense is very good.  Their defense is decent at least.  But I think Boise State was lucky they didn't get somebody really good in a BCS bowl.  (Had they not lost to Nevada, that is).  We talk about how Utah could have made it 20-0.  Now, could you imagine what would have happened if Boise State played...lets say....TCU?  I think the Horned Frogs would have knocked Boise's backs against the walls...Boise State would have panicked.  I think they would have panicked because I don't think they know what it feels like to be in a bad situation where you're down by a few scores.  In my opinion, TCU vs Boise State would have been TCU vs Utah all over again.  Okay, now to the other part of the question.  What did the game say about Utah?  Well, I think Utah clearly has a good defense.  I know they gave up some big plays and ended up allowing many yards.  But they were going up against a potent offense and I think they were on the field for a long time.  I think Utah has potential but the offense of Utah needs to be more consistent with their execution.  Also, (and this isn't off of the Vegas Bowl, obviously), Jordan Wynn needs to improve on his long ball.  He has this tendency to slightly under throw long balls.  He's not usually horribly off but the football tends to hit the receiver's stomach...as opposed to his chest.  The reason why that's a problem is because if you throw the ball to the receiver's stomach on a straight route, it's not going to hit the receivers stomach.....it's going to hit the defensive back's chest.  One of TCU's coaches told their defensive backs to turn around every time Jordan Wynn goes deep...for that very reason.  So if Jordan works on that and the rest of the offense cuts out the inconsistent execution, I'm excited.  Otherwise, next season may be frustrating.