Utes rock Lobos for second conference win of the season
by JazzyUte on Sep 18, 2010 9:38 PM MDT
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PrintI wanted a blowout and I got a blowout. It wasn't pretty at times in the first half, but the Utes put together probably their most complete and impressive regular season performance since the 2008 season.
That's great when you consider it's only the third game of the season. Of course, it's only the New Mexico Lobos and we knew their defense wasn't good enough to hold the Utes to a respectable number. However, without their starting center Zane Taylor and quarterback Jordan Wynn, 56-points is pretty damn good.
Overall, the Utes did what they needed to do. They won impressively and got out of Albuquerque without any major injuries. What's more, they established an offense and I think that's the big storyline here because last year, in their first road game of the season, the offense struggled mightily against the San Jose St. Spartans.
That wasn't the case this week, even though the competition wasn't any better than those Spartans.
Speaking of San Jose State, they barely beat Southern Utah this week and travel to Salt Lake City for what should be another Ute blowout.
At the moment, the Utes' offense is averaging 40 points per game. I doubt they continue at that pace, but compared to 2009, when they scored 35, 24 and 24 in their first three, it's a huge improvement.
Expect that number to actually improve next week against the Spartans.
Oh and no blocked punts! And it appears Utah has its best returner in Shaky Smithson since the Steve Smith days!
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any chance if cain starts again vs sjsu and we put on 56 points again that he might be starting vs iowa state?
i really like the run option he gives us.
I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. Glory favors the bold. Chance favors the prepared mind. Luck, well i have that too. University of Utah goes to the Pac-12 conference in 2011. I expect them to compete immediately for the conference CG. Brock Lesnar will defeat Cain Velasquez. The most hated and misunderstood person on the MMA blogs.. Utah and Boise take care of business in week one. Don't be surprised if they both go undefeated.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 18, 2010 11:40 PM MDT reply actions
wynn will go next game..
so cain starting is out of the question
i would still use cain in some formations. just an added dimension that we would have that defense would have to figure out.
I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. Glory favors the bold. Chance favors the prepared mind. Luck, well i have that too. University of Utah goes to the Pac-12 conference in 2011. I expect them to compete immediately for the conference CG. Brock Lesnar will defeat Cain Velasquez. The most hated and misunderstood person on the MMA blogs.. Utah and Boise take care of business in week one. Don't be surprised if they both go undefeated.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 19, 2010 9:43 AM MDT up reply actions
The mtn
One thing last night reminded me is I am glad I have season tix and that this is our last season on the mtn. What a horrible station!
by TripleBz on Sep 19, 2010 6:52 AM MDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
Yep, what an all-around POS!
The production values are barely above a high school volley ball game filmed by the driver’s ed instructor; the commentators are confused and confusing; and the studio crew is difficult to sit and listen too, especially that big bald fool with the shit-eating grin and poorly constructed sentences.
What bugged me most is how, according to the mtn’s “experts”, Utah’s win was due mostly to New Mexico’s ineptitude: Utah’s offense wasn’t good, it’s that New Mex’s defense is that bad and etc. Meanwhile, TCU is an “unstoppable” force for “demolishing” the likes of Baylor and Tennessee Tech…
I can’t wait ‘til they’re out of the shit-heel conference. I can’t really blame BYU for wanting to get the hell out either. Especially after seeing the rest of the MWC fan’s online hatred towards us. One would think the bottom-feeders would at least remember that Utah has twice brought BCS-bowl money to their schools. Oh well, now they’re all Boise’s problem.
by FeloniousMonk on Sep 19, 2010 10:19 AM MDT up reply actions
I like the MTN
Maybe next year we’ll appreciate the MTN when half our games aren’t televised and a quarter of the games are on KJZZ. Remember, the Pac-12 does not get a new tv deal until 2012. Next year, many of our fans are going to find out that we’ve had it better than they thought.
No way is it going to be as bad as you make it seem...
For starters, I’m using last year’s Arizona schedule because this year’s schedule has a lot of TBAs (which is common in the Pac-10) and the TV deals haven’t been worked out for a good many of their games.
With that said, even their game against The Citadel this season was televised on Fox Sports College.
Most games that aren’t on FOX Sports, ABC/ESPN, will be on FOX Sports College. Last week’s Washington State/Montana State game was, as well.
There are other possibilities for games to be aired locally.
With that said, here is Arizona’s schedule last year and the TV rights to each game (I’m using Arizona because they’re a good, but not great, team to show that the top doesn’t have a monopoly on all the television games).
Central Michigan: FSN Arizona
Northern Arizona: FSN Arizona (it was delayed)
@ Iowa: ESPN2
@ Oregon State: Versus
@ Washington: FSN West/Arizona
Stanford: Versus
UCLA: Fox Sports
Wazzu: Fox College Sports live, FSN Arizona delayed
@ California: Versus
Oregon: ABC
@ Arizona State: ABC
@ USC: ABC
There are some less ideal games there that would be worse than the mtn., but not by much.
But what makes up for it is essentially every conference game being played on a major network.
Arizona had three ABC regional games last year. They did play on Versus a few times, but that TV schedule ain’t all that bad.
We’ve also got to remember that Utah doesn’t have some games scheduled this season for TV.
San Jose State won’t be broadcast. Iowa State is still up in the air if any network will pick that game up.
In 2008, Weber wasn’t broadcast. In 2007, San Diego State wasn’t broadcast.
So let’s remember that.
I’d expect next year to have most, if not all, our games on television.
Utah’s home games won’t be covered by current Pac-10 deal so that means the administration is trying to get those game covered. You can’t use any team as a proxy for the Utah situation because there is not precedent for this.
So only Utah’s road games in the Pac-10 will be covered by the Pac-10 deal.
And how many Utah games do you think won't get a deal?
Especially if, as rumors suggest, we get SC in the first couple of weeks here.
That’s my point. We’ll get most our games on television. I’d wager maybe two games at most won’t be aired.
But we’re not just talking about next year. We’re talking about that and beyond. Your post failed to mention the new TV deal down the road, which will, without question, be better than anything currently with the MWC.
You mised my point entirely
Utah will get a tv deal next year, but the production values of the Mtn are better than those of KJZZ or whoever will cover Utah’s home games.
The point of my post was to try and combat the irrational hatred of the Mtn and hope that maybe, just maybe, Utah fans will realize that the Mtn wasn’t so bad. Next year when our tv deal will be even worse and Utah fans will perhaps finally see the light. Seriously, the hatred of the Mtn makes no sense. The alternative to the Mtn was a lousy ESPN deal in which the MWC plays on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and the rest of the games were covered by local deals.
If the MWC had accepted the lousy ESPN deal, Utah vs. New Mexico would not have been on ESPN. It would have been on KJZZ. The Mtn has better production values than KJZZ. Ute fans seem to be under the mis-apprehension that every single game would have been on ESPN, which is simply false. No one is denying that the Mtn has worse production values than ESPN or ESPN2, but once again, this game would not have been on ESPN.
Felonious Monk was bitching about the production values of Saturday’s game. Is is pure hyperbole to say , “The production values are barely above a high school volley ball game filmed by the driver’s ed instructor.” That is quite simply false and irrational.
And yes, I believe the 2012 Pac-12 tv deal will be better than the current MWC deal. But THAT’S NOT THE POINT. Joining the Pac-10 wasn’t an option in 2006 when the Mtn started. The Mtn was the best option for the MWC at the time the deal was signed.
Nothing irrational about "bitching" about the mtn's production values.
The transitions from commercial to game to studio and back again are always choppy and fraught with mistakes, the camera work is often shoddy and they have a hard time keeping track of the ball, the studio crew is below amateurish and the in-game “commentators” are often ill-prepared and boring.
Defend that shit “network” all you want, but that doesn’t make the quality of the viewing experience any less horrible nor the fact that we have to pay (via cable, etc) for that horrible experience.
Also, it doesn’t matter what the alternative was 5 years ago because I’m talking about looking forward to getting away from the mtn. Next year may not be wonderful, but once a new Pac TV contract goes into effect, I’m excited about the possibility of watching the Utes on free TV. Sure, it may only be twice a year that we see Utah on CBS or ABC, and it may “suck” to watch them on KJZZ, but at least it’s free. Right now, there’s no way to watch a Ute game on TV other than paying a shitty cable company for a shitty channel.
by FeloniousMonk on Sep 20, 2010 2:13 PM MDT up reply actions
Do you remember KJZZ?
Do you remember games with Steve Brown doing the play-by-play and Frank Layden doing the color commentary? You know, Frank Layden the former Utah Jazz basketball coach talking about college football, a position he was completely unqualifiedf for?
Because all of your complaints about the production values of the Mtn were worse on KJZZ. Yes it is irrational to complain about the Mtn when the alternative is even worse. Also, go and watch a Big Ten game on BTN. The production values are only somewhat better than the Mtn. Whatever the Pac-12 deal is, it is almost certain that home games are going to be on cable on a channel with production values worse than ESPN2.
If you want Utah games to be on free tv, then that’s what you should be arguing. But in 2012, it’s almost a certainty that Utah is going back to cable. Like it or not, most games won’t be on ESPN, or ABC, or CBS.
Smith Shrugs off Pitt game
Great to see it.
Also, I hope he gets a few passes tossed to him in open space. If they could hit that kid in stride he’d be dangerous.
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."--John Heisman
yes he has more than made up for his two fumbles. i think coach whitt lit a fire under that player. lol.
I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. Glory favors the bold. Chance favors the prepared mind. Luck, well i have that too. University of Utah goes to the Pac-12 conference in 2011. I expect them to compete immediately for the conference CG. Brock Lesnar will defeat Cain Velasquez. The most hated and misunderstood person on the MMA blogs.. Utah and Boise take care of business in week one. Don't be surprised if they both go undefeated.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 19, 2010 9:44 AM MDT up reply actions
iowa lost so we climb to #13. next week bama will beat arkansas so we move up again to at least #12.
I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. Glory favors the bold. Chance favors the prepared mind. Luck, well i have that too. University of Utah goes to the Pac-12 conference in 2011. I expect them to compete immediately for the conference CG. Brock Lesnar will defeat Cain Velasquez. The most hated and misunderstood person on the MMA blogs.. Utah and Boise take care of business in week one. Don't be surprised if they both go undefeated.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 19, 2010 9:49 AM MDT up reply actions
Arkansas is not that great
They had some guys that looked OK, overall I wasn’t impressed with them, not like I am with Alabama or Oregon.
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."--John Heisman
bama is going to do utah a big favor. they will beat florida who is ahead of us and lsu if they are on the schedule.
the sec is much weak this season except bama. ole miss lost to vandy miss. st. lost to lsu, arkansas needed a last second td to beat georgia. south carolina might be good and so might auburn but the others have been playing sunbelt teams and other various not very good schools.
I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. Glory favors the bold. Chance favors the prepared mind. Luck, well i have that too. University of Utah goes to the Pac-12 conference in 2011. I expect them to compete immediately for the conference CG. Brock Lesnar will defeat Cain Velasquez. The most hated and misunderstood person on the MMA blogs.. Utah and Boise take care of business in week one. Don't be surprised if they both go undefeated.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 19, 2010 10:09 AM MDT up reply actions
much weaker.
I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. Glory favors the bold. Chance favors the prepared mind. Luck, well i have that too. University of Utah goes to the Pac-12 conference in 2011. I expect them to compete immediately for the conference CG. Brock Lesnar will defeat Cain Velasquez. The most hated and misunderstood person on the MMA blogs.. Utah and Boise take care of business in week one. Don't be surprised if they both go undefeated.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 19, 2010 10:10 AM MDT reply actions
BTW,
did anyone else smell something fishy with the stadium lighting issues and that freshmen QB’s sudden “injury”? Something about it all struck me as disingenuous. Stalling tactics, maybe, to effect momentum? It all just seemed so… fake. I don’t know.
Gotta admit that the whole mysterious “Scott” thing was the only entertaining thing about the mtn. crew during that game.
by FeloniousMonk on Sep 19, 2010 10:28 AM MDT reply actions
They never told us why the lights went out...
Just that they did. If they were on a timer, they wouldn’t go out THAT early.
I know last week Weber State lost its lights, but only after the game dragged an hour or so after it should have ended.
Also, did anyone see Locksley's classless reaction to Whitt after the game?
One would think that, when being offered words of encouragement from one of the winning-est coaches in the conference, Locksley would’ve at least turned to face him. Instead he kept his back to him and brushed him off. That guy is turd.
by FeloniousMonk on Sep 19, 2010 10:32 AM MDT reply actions
Locksley looks like a true dick...
Though I’ve given him some slack because his comments before, and after the game, were all about how Utah is a legit top-ten team.
But that too . . .
. . .is self serving. He isn’t expected to beat top ten teams is he?
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."--John Heisman
Screw Locksley.
New Mexico is a shell of what they used to be. Top to bottom.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar... S. Freud
We wont see much positive movement in the polls until we beat AF.
If we get to 10 by then I’d be shocked. After the AF (W) we’ll move into the top sub-10… 8 or 7 heading into the TCU game. Just like we thought before the start of the season… :-) right everyone?
If we beat AF (They look beastly this year) and get passed TCU (They’re the team to beat), ND is in for a nightmare all dressed in RED. What a three game stretch.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar... S. Freud
We will if we're not jumped...
This week Arkansas plays Alabama. Hopefully Alabama wins and Arkansas falls a few spots behind us. There are a couple other games where top-tier teams could lose and push Utah closer to the top-ten.
At this point, though, we’ll either stagnate or inch up a spot every week.
Well that’d put us at 12 next week, maybe 11 the week after and 10 when we knock off Iowa State.
Realistically, Utah could be 7th or 8th when they take on Air Force. Probably not. But…
Our issue is we play a soft schedule...
the teams around us (LSU, ARK, WIS, OK, FLA, AU, SC, ARI, & STAN) are all pretty pics some like ARI and Stan are poised to be “Darlings”. I think we’ll stagnate. My hope is that we don’t lose a spot during the bye. We have to keep crushing teams to justify our ranking. and we know we will not Crush AF… no one will this year. We just need a (W) my hope is that AF will be 20 or lower (19-18-17) in the polls by then.
Overall I like where we are and I’m not concerned about the ranking as long as we’re in striking distance for a BCS game. If we beat AF and TCU that will be a given. ND may be a mess by the time we get to south bend and SDSU may be the team we need to worry about. before Gargamel and the Smurf’s come to town.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar... S. Freud
The thing is, a lot of teams ranked ahead of us play tough games from here until AFA.
So unless we start dropping every week, it seems unlikely we’ll not move up.
This week:
Oregon State @ BSU – probably BSU win, but you never know.
Alabama @ Arkansas – An Alabama win will kick Arkansas out of the top-15 most likely.
Auburn @ So. Carolina – A wash, since they’re so close to each other in the rankings. But it would knock out one less team in our general area of the polls.
WVU @ LSU – Doubt WVU wins, this is kind of a win-win. WVU loses and it knocks out a potential threat from behind (though they’re way up in the polls) and if LSU loses, Utah probably jumps a spot, since the Tigers are ahead of us.
Cal @ Arizona – I think Cal could win this one, since Arizona has a history of being very inconsistent. They do and a potential threat behind us is knocked out. Though with how poor Cal has looked lately, a win, at home, won’t move Arizona much.
Then there is the Pitt/Miami game. Pitt wins that, against a top-25 Hurricanes squad, and Utah is automatically bolstered, since it’ll move Pittsburgh into the polls. So go Panthers!
Next week:
Wisconsin @ Michigan State – Wisconsin has looked sloppy the last two weeks. This could be a loss and since the Badgers are a few spots ahead of Utah, it’d offer us a chance to move even higher. Though by that time, MSU could be knocking on the door behind us – but still…
Florida @ Alabama – If Florida were to drop this game, which I think they do at the moment, they certainly will fall behind Utah. Alabama is already ahead of the Utes, so no worries about them passing us.
Texas/Oklahoma – The loser will probably fall behind Utah. So that’s an automatic vacant spot ahead of us. Might not mean we move up, but the chance is there.
Stanford @ Oregon – If Stanford continues to win, they’ll pass us. However, if they lose to Oregon, they’ll probably drop behind us and most certainly Oregon would fall behind us if Stanford won. Again, potentially providing a spot to move up.
Week Five:
Nebraska @ K-State – A rivalry game, so you never know…
Michigan State @ Michigan – Two top-25 teams currently. One will be knocked out as a potential threat to Utah, unless both enter this game with one or more losses.
Alabama @ So. Carolina – If the Gamecocks beat Auburn, they’ll be undefeated entering this game. They’ll be ranked ahead of Utah (they are currently, anyway, in the AP so no big deal). They lose, and again another spot for Utah to climb up.
LSU @ Florida – Florida could have one loss, LSU could be undefeated. If LSU loses, that could provide Utah another chance to move up.
USC @ Stanford – If Stanford loses to Oregon, they won’t be a threat, but could knock off SC, who should be undefeated heading into this game. If Stanford is undefeated, that would mean they’d have knocked off Oregon, they probably win this game anyway, still knocking off SC (who could be around where Utah is ranked). In that last scenario, Stanford would be ranked ahead of Utah anyway, so…
Week Six:
Texas @ Nebraska – Another potential for a chance to move up, depending on where they’re ranked.
Arkansas @ Auburn – Same as above
Iowa @ Michigan
Ohio State @ Wisconsin – If Wisconsin gets by Michigan State, they could be undefeated in this game. Maybe even Ohio State, too. Either way, loser would probably not remain in the top-ten.
Nebraska @ Oklahoma State – Who knows where the Cowboys will be when this game is played.
LSU @ Auburn (same as above, who knows)
Then we play Air Force.
This doesn’t include potential upsets which you know will happen where a highly ranked team is upset and of course, it doesn’t counter in ugly wins. That’s where Utah needs to clean up. You’re right, we need to win convincingly.
However, the way the teams ahead of us continue to play one another, I’d be very surprised if we weren’t 8th when the AFA game rolled around.
Just to compare, Utah was 21st in Week Seven of 1994, 9th in 2004 and 14th in 2008.
We’re a spot ahead of where we were in week three of 2004 (14th).
I like our chances of being a top-8 team when we play AFA if the Utes continue to win.
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