Turns out, Utah's a pretty good non-BCS team, but a pretty bad Pac-12 team
by JazzyUte on Oct 1, 2011 8:30 PM MDT
in Football
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PrintRemember when I said Washington fans would have to be out of their cotton-picking mind to pick the Huskies in a romp?
Yeah, well, scratch that. I was wrong. I woefully underestimated Washington and embarrassingly overestimated the Utes.
Utah might be a fine non-BCS program, but in the Pac-12, they're far closer to the bottom than they are the top and it's not really even up for debate. Turnovers and Jordan Wynn's injuries aside, the Utes got worked on their home field against a far superior team and coaching staff and it really proves how far the program is from ever contending for a Pac-12 title.
If we thought Utah, in year one, would have a prayer of winning the Pac-12 South, well we were kidding ourselves, because those hopes were put to bed tonight. What transpired on the field of Rice-Eccles Stadium was an old fashion whoopin'. What could have been a statement game turned into an ugly affair riddled with turnovers, defensive lapses and an offense that channeled their inner-BYU in the red zone.
Because of that, I'm humbled and embarrassed for going to bat for the Utes like I did. I thought they'd definitely show more tonight than they actually did and I think it's clear - if it wasn't before - no game is a given on the remainder of the schedule. Will Utah go winless in Pac-12 play? Doubtful, but it will prove challenging to not only finish above .500 in the conference, but finish above .500 overall.
Welcome to the Pac-12, Utah - now get ready to take your lickings.
Congrats to Washington for an inspiring road performance and showing how winning is done at the BCS level. Utah can learn a lot from your program and coaches - because we were outclassed in every way tonight.
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I am not embarrassed going to bat for the Utes.
We all knew going into the season that we needed to have Jordan Wynn stay healthy. We knew from the get go that our backup QB’s needed more time to prepare for P12 play. If you would have told me before the game our QB goes out at halftime I would have expected something like what happened.
When I saw Jordan go to the locker room before the half was over I was nervous. When he didn’t come back the game in in the 2nd half my worries were confirmed. At this point expectations have to be adjusted with our QB health.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
It's tough...
We all knew this team would sink or swim with Wynn and it definitely sunk tonight.
I’m scared for the remainder of the season.
I think you're being a little too hard
Yes everyone is dissappointed with last night’s game.
However, Utah could have well been competitive in that game based on execution. The defense was on the field way too long in the second half. They were able to come up with a lot of reasonable 3rd and mid yardage just couldn’t close out to get off the field. And the first half was stellar by the defense and almost as bad as you can get by the offense.
Wynn’s injury is bad news sounds like it could be anything from 2 weeks to the rest of the season. Very unfortunate but you gotta roll with the punches. Let’s see how Hays comes back after a week with the 1’s and new offensive schemes. I am not expecting an ASU win but outside of that I think he’s probably good enough to give us a decent shot at the rest of the teams on the schedule.
I agree, you are being too hard
Utes outplayed Washington in the first half, only trailed because of 3 awful turnovers. The UW offense hadn’t done much (without 30 yards of crushing penalties the last drive of the half) and our offense was doing well. Everyone around me figured we should have been leading 21-0, but only behind by 3 wasn’t bad at all with how many mistakes the Utes had.
As we are learning, margin of error is razor thin in PAC-12 play. All the teams are talented and will take advantage of sloppiness. Having a sloppy first half and then losing all offensive power in the 2nd half (no Div I QB) is just way too much to overcome. We were living on the edge by having no capable backup and now the Utes have fallen off the edge – our worst nightmare for this season. I think next year still sets up to be a great year with all skill players returning and Travis Wilson bringing some depth in case Wynn (made of glass?) goes down again.
Wynn's injury is not good...
The bad news really just keeps piling up. Whittingham said Wynn’s injury did not look good and, though he didn’t say this, he might be out for the season if the rumors are true.
Yep, early news looks really bad so far.
Jordan didn’t come in because he couldn’t physically take a snap.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
Can I have his scholarship?
I actually contribute to The U.
You will feel better in the morning.
That was an embarrassing game for sure but 2 games in the PAC-12 does not equate to being a bad program, The Mighty Huskies that You are Slobber knocking at the moment were 0-12 just 2 years ago. We tend to forget that this Utah team is very young and inexperienced, Even in the Lowly as You say MWC we would lose 2 maybe 3 conference games this year.
Sun will come up and on to ASU next week.
And as always
GO UTES!!!
3 years ago
0-12 just 2 years ago
Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher
You wont go winless
don’t you guys play Colorado?
Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher
I don't think we'll go winless, either...
But this is a not a good team. We had questions on offense even before we lost our quarterback.
We moved the ball much better in the first half.
I was optimistic even though we had the turnovers. Considering we had 3 turnovers in the red zone in the first half and were down by 3 I was happy.
The only drive Washington had in the first half was from penalties. We couldn’t keep our offense on the field in the 2nd half and our defense wore out.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
We had 7 points at the half, even with Wynn...
As much as we moved the ball, we looked awful in the red zone. We were on pace to score 14 against a defense that was giving up way more than that a game.
What do you know, that’s exactly what we did. haha
Red Zone performance was gawd awful tonight.
4 turnovers in the redzone for the game. 3 on offense and one on the first kickoff of the game that went for a WA special teams touchdown.
At halftime I don’t think it was unreasonable that I was cautiously optimistic at half though. The defense was looking like it could make up for the offensive mistakes at that time. There is just no defense that can make up for the egg our offense laid in the second half though.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
I was optimistic, but I knew it would boil down to the first defensive series...
Just like the BYU game two weeks ago. I even said it to the people I was sitting with. Utah needed to get a stop on the defensive end, create some momentum and they’d be fine. A score by Washington, though, and things could go south in a hurry.
As much as the offense deserves the blame, the defense muffed it up twice.
First was at the very end of the half with two stupid penalties on plays that would have forced Washington to punt. Utah, either time, would have gotten the ball back and maybe gotten a score out of it. Instead, Washington’s drives continued and they were able to score before the half.
Second came on the first drive of the second half. Washington scored and that was the game.
Scratch the turnovers and penalties
And Utah should be up 21-0 at the half.
.......
:I
Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher
Hey, we all knew this was coming in the Pac-10
Not hating, but this is what critics have said about non-power conferences, it’s the grind against good team after good team that gets you. Probably ASU will beat you, but you still have Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, etc. You’ll get your wins, but this was reality check.
Don’t feel too bad, you’ll be a good addition after adjustments and recruiting California talent.
I don't buy that completely...
And it’s not fair to compare Utah to the best of the best in the non-BCS. Utah isn’t BSU. BSU would be 4-0 with Utah’s schedule right now.
We’re a decent non-BCS team and that doesn’t translate well into the BCS. Decent at that level means average to bad at the BCS – but teams like BSU and TCU and Utah in ’08 certainly were far better than decent non-BCS teams in the past.
BSU would be 4-0 with Utah’s schedule right now.
Don’t be so sure.
Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher
BSU would still be a glorified Community College.
BSU would still be in Boise, and they would still have a hideous blue field.
BSU is not Utah
It’s pretty silly to group all non-AQs and claim that Utah’s performance this year somehow reflects all of them or even Utah’s own past performances. Nor does it make any sense to say that Utah is getting beaten by the mystical “grind” of the Pac-12 when that grind thus far includes Montana State, which is Montana State; BYU, which is a non-AQ; and two conference teams that have lost to both eventually-ranked teams they faced and will probably get 9-10 wins each at best against mediocre competition. The Pac-12 isn’t exactly the SEC, guys. The best opponents on Utah’s schedule this year are no better (actually worse) than the best teams in the MWC, and the middle teams are about the same. The biggest difference is at the bottom, and even then, I’ll see you a UNLV (which beat Hawaii more convincingly than UW, incidentally) and raise you a Montana State.
by Confused European on Oct 1, 2011 10:01 PM MDT up reply actions
OOOK brosef calm down there
The Pac 12 isn’t too stellar this year with USC down and a couple teams with big problems (OSU, UCLA) but Utah is getting the very lite-lite version of the Pac 12 with no Oregon or Stanford. UW is the distant third best team in the north division, remember that.
Last time Washington played BSU
we beat them. That was the Jake Locker era before Sark came here, too. This ain’t the MWC.
You beat a decent non-BCS team...
That’s exactly my point. Decent non-BCS teams could probably not go through a Pac-12 schedule unscathed. BSU in ’07 or whenever you beat them, lost three games that year (you, Hawaii and ECU). They were a decent non-BCS team.
That’s my point.
Oh yeah...well.........whatever
Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher
by RolloTomasi on Oct 1, 2011 9:03 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
She's a nice lady
Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher
Good picture!
You got a picture of the Utes plunging into the PAC-12.
You don't even play Stanford or Oregon this season
trust me, if you think this grind is bad, you’re getting eased into the conference. We have to play both those teams. I highly doubt any non-BCS team could go through the Pac unscathed, even in this slightly down year.
yeah...at least we get the Ducks at home
Stanford is gonna eff us up I’m ’fraid.
Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher
Stanford is good, but we have hope vs them
Oregon is still scary as hell
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
I don't know man.
At least we’re something of a known quantity. A very fast, very athletic known quantity, but we “are who we are.”
The Whelps on the other hand finally have real talent at several positions again but “who they are” is unknown, and that scares the hell out of us. Especially considering the game is the last one at Fusky Stadium before it’s torn apart and the hype attendant to that situation. Stade Fusky will be rockin’, and when it’s rockin’ it is LOUD.
Unless we go up by 3 touchdowns in the first 8 minutes.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:59 PM MDT up reply actions
The only thing duck fans have to worry about with UW is complacency
..no one attached to the program has lost to the Huskies
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
Not looking forward to that game.
Not only are the Whelps on an upward trajectory the past couple of years, it’s the whole “last game at Fusky Stadium before it’s renovated” thing. It’ll be a sellout and an emotional game for the Pups. Perfect setup for a Duck Disaster. What team would UW want to beat more dearly than UO?
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 10:52 PM MDT up reply actions
I've a feeling you'd sacrifice even more but you are uncomfortable talking about it publicly.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 2, 2011 12:00 AM MDT up reply actions
BSU would get their asses smacked around too,
make no mistake, but to a lesser degree. “The grind” is real!
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:17 PM MDT up reply actions
If this is the grind, after two games, which included a bye week and a roadie to play a non-BCS team between conf games...
We’re in for a very, very, very long season.
Let’s not act like this is our fourth or fifth conference game. This is our second. The grind shouldn’t be setting in this early – not after a bye week and a road game against a non-BCS program. Utah has done plenty well in the past with two BCS games early in the schedule.
Do I bind the grind? Sure – but that’s not the reason we lose tonight. That’s too easy and convenient of an excuse.
I meant that "the grind" would take its toll on BSU.
Not saying that we’ve already been through it… although it sure feels like it. Honestly though, BSU’s QB (can’t remember his name ATM) would probably be injured by now too.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:24 PM MDT up reply actions
His name is Kellen Moore, and he's freakin' good.
After he leaves this year, BSU will suffer.
He's definitely better than good, but I could see him getting knocked around in a Pac 12 schedule.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:56 PM MDT up reply actions
He's already wearing a knee brace
If injuries are the index we’ll use to determine the toughness of opposition then I guess Toledo should be applying to the Big XII.
by Confused European on Oct 1, 2011 10:03 PM MDT up reply actions
Remember
Jordan had a shoulder injury from the MWC grind also.
Not to mention the injury to Jordan happened against Montana State. Washington finished it, but I don’t think it is unreasonble to say a MWC team would not have finished it too.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
Also was injured against BYU...
Doesn’t make the loss any more tolerable, though. I had hopes Jordan would make it through a season without an injury. Nope.
I think this is pretty much true.
My Husky homer side has a hard time swallowing the BSU being 4-0 with your schedule part, but that aside, I think it’s fair to point out the difference between BSU and Utah right now.
But that being said, that’s why I disagree with you when you say;
Utah might be a fine non-BCS program, but in the Pac-12, they’re far closer to the bottom than they are the top and it’s not really even up for debate
.
I might be arguing semantics at this point (I certainly don’t want to start another “would Utah be the South Champions if USC has a better record” debate :P ) but I think Utah is a perfectly fine BCS program that at least is right around the middle of the pac 12. I don’t know about you, but I look at a “program” as the whole system a school has for putting a football team out on the field every year. In your up years you put out a top 10 team equal to BSU this year and in your down years you put out a minor bowl team like last year.
I think it’s too early to define this as a down year, but even if it is a down year, I don’t think it’s an indictment against your whole progam. I think with the program you have in place you should still be able to produce some good teams, especially as you start to benefit from increased exposure and a bigger budget.
But again, if by program you were just talking about this team, this year, then disregard everything I said. That would just be arguing semantics.
by Mind of no mind on Oct 1, 2011 9:51 PM MDT up reply actions
Seriously, I am in no mood to be reading people defending BSU on this board right now.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
I don't really care who is right either.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
Sorry, I didn't mean to defend them.
I’m thoroughly looking forward to kicking their ass in the first game at a remodeled Husky Stadium in 2013. =)
by Mind of no mind on Oct 1, 2011 10:06 PM MDT up reply actions
Mind, no matter, matter no mind...hahah
Classic Simpsons quote from when they were on the Tracy Ulman Show.
True, Rastrodawg.
We will get better, but it’ll take a couple of years. We Utes have always been realistic. Realism rules! Unrealistic expectation is a hallmark of a denizen of Provostan.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:20 PM MDT up reply actions
Utes have a really young team this year.
I think next year could be good if the QB position can be resolved.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
totally agreed
but in saying that I thought Utah would be able to beat Washington and if they did lose it would be a close game.
Remember '07?
We started by getting bitchslapped by a slightly above average OSU team an lost Brian for 3 games and Asiata for the season.
The next week we lost to the Flyboys and lost Castell for the season.
Then we regrouped, crushed UCLA and thought we had it all going on.
UNLV promptly showed us that we were not ready and not preparing like we should.
We then pulled our heads out, buckled down and finished the rest of the pretty well (except that last conference game) and had an above average bowl performance.
All of which set us up to go into ’08 with our heads in the right place and alot of undergrads with vital game experience. That turned out ok.
So we won’t go to the Rose Bowl this year, if you get blue depressed go watch video of us bitchslapping TDS.
We regroup, retool, do better the rest of the year and just take it in stride.
We’re stll Utah! No perfect, but able to learn and improve on our mistakes.
by U of Uman on Oct 2, 2011 1:45 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Expectations are a bitch.
Jazzy, no offense, but you take this all too seriously. It’s one game. Utah will learn and grow. They’ll have up and down years. They’ll compete and they’ll win championships. I think that Hays, with more game time under his belt, will become a pretty good QB. Wynn, unfortunately, is probably done for good. I hope not. I sincerely hope I eat those words.
The Utes came out jittery as nervous geek around a hot chick tonight and shot themselves in the foot early and often. Washington did the rest. Let’s look at the positives: the U’s offense was doing fine, but kept pooching it. Mark my words, by the end of the year, the Utes will be much better. It’s a young team playing with non-AQ talent… was I the only one that understood we might very well be in for some lumps this year and the next?
I have to take it seriously...
I write a blog about it. You people are more pleasant to talk to when we win.
It's funny, sometimes my "reasoned optimism" is labeled "negativity"...
just because I don’t beat the drum of outrageous braggadocio.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:27 PM MDT up reply actions 4 recs
I know, right?
Know what other word gets too little use? Cuckold.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:31 PM MDT up reply actions
I agree with Monk
Jazzy you make it sound like the sun isn’t going to come up tomorrow, it was one game. Chill man, going to be some bumps in the road. I dunno I am a fan that has a lot of heart and I still think we can win the rest of our games. I always believe in my team, we will win next week!!! Go Utes!
I wouldn't go that far
ASU is a really good team. We need to be at full strength. Expecially at QB.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
I am fan...and I'll be here next week...
But I’m not going to pretend everything is peachy. We’re 0-2 in Pac-12 play and lost one of our few remaining winnable games on the schedule. Maybe I’m the only one concerned by that fact. We still have to go on the road to take on Pitt, Arizona, Cal and Washington State – who I think, while in varying degrees could be worse than Utah, are all capable of beating the Utes.
That doesn’t include the home games to ASU next Saturday, where we’ll be breaking in a new QB, UCLA, Oregon State (who’s beating ASU) and Colorado. Do I have faith we’ll win most of those? Yeah – but it might only take one loss to keep us on the wrong side of .500.
I’m a pretty optimistic fan, but tonight we laid a big, giant egg. No way to sugarcoat it and if we’re going to laugh off BYU’s excuses for their loss to Utah a couple weeks ago, then we’ve got to accept those same excuses, you know, that Utah coughed the ball up and was looking good until this or that, don’t fly.
We’ll take our lumps, no doubt, but I think we’re finding that there might be more lumps than expected. If Washington taught is anything, and even though deep down I knew this, it’s that, at any moment, Utah could get laughed off the field in any of their remaining games.
Hopefully that doesn’t happen. But then again, right now, this team is 2-2, 0-2 in Pac-12 play and without their starting QB.
Agreed
I think expectations need to be reset. We have a tough schedule that would have taxed us a full strength.
Personally I am resetting my hopes to just make a bowl game and hopefully we recover and are able to have a late season surge. Especially if it turns out Jordan is out for the season.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
I figured on plenty of lumps.
That’s why I’m not heartbroken. I’m in this to enjoy the games, win or lose. So long as they play and don’t give up, I can’t be too hard on them. Are they an excellent team? Nope. Are they a horrible squad? Not at all. They is what they is: a young team figuring shit out.
They could end up 2-10, or they might make it 10-2. I don’t know, and don’t care. Go Utes, regardless!
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:42 PM MDT up reply actions
Yeah, that's true...
got to keep in mind the negative effects on recruiting. Sometimes I miss the days when we were permanently terrible and you got into the stadium for free and no one worried about winning championships.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:45 PM MDT up reply actions
You're old! haha
Not just with recruiting, though, 2-10 can completely alter a team’s and coaches’ mindset. Look at USU. They’ve got talent, but they can’t win because they’ve never won before. They emotionally losers.
Once a team has that albatross around their neck, it’s tough to shake.
I’d hate to see Whittingham lose this team in that way.
Yeah I agree, but bringing in better talent also means...
bringing in winners. The top guys already know how to win and, what’s more, they expect to win.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:53 PM MDT up reply actions
What do YOU mean "what do you mean 'you people?'"
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 10:54 PM MDT up reply actions
Beavs up 13-0 in 2nd over ASU
somehow…
Still hope, see!
Go Beavers!
Seriously, at least I know what a beaver is. I mean, what the fuck is a Sun Devil anyway? Some made up horseshit, probably.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:33 PM MDT up reply actions
It's `the grind', grinding. ASU looking ahead, maybe?
That, and the North looks tougher than the South this year. Riley always takes his sweet time getting ready for the season.
Ain't that the truth.
What’s with that? Anyone have a theory?
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:36 PM MDT up reply actions
Corvallis? He's always operating on a pretty thin margin.
Corvallis just isn’t a `Have’ situation. Like Wazzu, too. Good coach, though. He just has to sort through the chaff and find his players and schemes to suit them.
I think we might be looking at a snapshot of Utah's future there.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:46 PM MDT up reply actions
It was said in a bit of wistful jest.
Still, we may not be able to get the top flight talent here, and it may take a few games each year before the team finds its footing.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:51 PM MDT up reply actions
I think we already have proven we can get excellent tallent here
Any team that loses their QB can struggle. I am not going to say that after a bad half football where we didn’t haver our QB that the recruiting sky is falling.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
Sure, good first string talent.
It’s building talented depth that we’ll have a prob with for awhile.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:58 PM MDT up reply actions
Absolutely NO chance of that.
You guys are pretty good shape looking down the road. You’ve got a big area to recruit to, with pretty much a fence around it. I’d be surprised if you didn’t start poaching the better local recruits away from BYU. Riley has to recruit against the Dux and Dawgs. That’s a tough sell.
Depth is SO freakin' key to this conference.
You get eighty-five guys, and you need every freakin’ one of them. The way injuries stack up, it ALWAYS seems to hit you right where you’re weakest.
We might lose Travis Wilson to those goddamn Dux...
it’s hard to compete against Nike and corporate money.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 10:00 PM MDT up reply actions
Ha ha.
Same thought as me.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Not to mention a team that wins most of their games...
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Although...
maybe he watched this team and thought, I could probably start next year if I came here.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
As a UO I don't think we'll take anymore QB's
Wilson’s a QB right? Thomas appears to be coming back next year, we have very good #2 and #3’s in the program already, and we have two QB commits for next year already as well. One of those QB’s isn’t that highly rated, but even if Wilson were to take his place, that would make 5 scholly QB’s next year, which is one too many.
Whew! I hope.
Last I heard, UO was “talking” to him and he was “listening”.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 4, 2011 6:11 PM MDT up reply actions
The top 3 teams in the conference are all in the North....I figured that the North would be better but this us a pretty high level of suckitude
That’s good new for Utah as they miss Oregon and Stanford
Unless we lose to those awful teams...
Then it’s like getting your ass handed to you by Ralph Wiggum in a spelling bee.
by JazzyUte on Oct 1, 2011 10:28 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
This year reminds me of 2007
From the first game of the season I have started to see similarities between this year and 2007. In 07 we had a lot of potential, but not a lot of experience, we had some games, and portions of games where everything clicked, then some that we just fall apart (cough UNLV cough)
Yeah, there will be some bumps on the road, but how were we feeling 4 games into the 07 season? Give them some time to get used to “the grind” and they will start to pick it up.
I agree...
Problem is, there aren’t many New Mexicos, SDSUs, Wyomings and CSUs on the schedule to pad our win total.
We could be a better team than ’07’s and still finish with a losing record.
Remember when New Mex wasn't a gimme?
Wyo too. And CSU was a loss, more often that not.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 9:49 PM MDT up reply actions
Wow, just finished watching my recording of the game
That was freaking depressing. You’d think our offense would have learned to hold onto the ball after watching BYU’s offense two weeks ago. And then Wynn goes down, and the offense can’t stay on the field for more than 30 seconds at a time.
I didn’t expect Utah to roll, but I didn’t expect Utah to get rolled either. I have to agree with Jazzy. This team looked like Utah did in all of the bad games last year: embarrassing.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
being humble can be important..
It’s a disappointing loss that they couldn’t really afford if they hoped to compete for the South. That said, as I write this ASU has 3 turnovers in 2 quarters and is down to OSU… So who knows until you play the games. Expectations are a bitch.
In the 1st half Utah looked like the better, deeper team. Also the more mistake prone. 2 of the turnovers at a minimum took a FG off the board and the other one was 7. Without 30 yards on 2 stupid penalties does UW even walk into the half with that last fg lead?
2nd half Wynn goes out, the 1st play the backup comes in and throws a pick and UW made good adjustments and was able to run the ball which isn’t to say Utah’s defense was outclassed or doesn’t belong as it is to say that in a league like this missed opportunities come back to haunt you, and that you have to expect that the other teams are good enough to make halftime adjustments.
It was a punch in the mouth game and maybe after the cakewalk against the zoobies, and having 2 weeks to hear people like reveling in that maybe they needed it a little.. but other than the situation with Wynn I don’t see anything making me question the talent or coaching as being in the top 3rd of the league still.
Don't call it quits on the Utes just yet...
I’m with Felonious Monk. What we saw tonight was not a performance like the team is capable of. You will see progress in the rest of the season. I called an 8-4 at the beginning of the season, I’m sticking to it. I think the Utes will have a winning season. I can’t see this going any worse than 7-5. It’s just new territory. Have some faith! BYU started out 1-4 last season and still turned it into wins.
Jazzy, you seem to usually know more than me, but from what I’ve seen, I’d say:
-ASU: will be tough, and very possibly a loss
-Pitt: falls to tougher Utes, but it’s a tough game
-California: gets downed by Utes
-Oregon State: gets beaten like a naughty child
-Arizona: won’t roll over, but Utes take it
-UCLA:… I’m actually thinking a loss for the Utes.
-Washington State: tougher than expected, but give out in second half.
-Colorado: the Buffaloes make tasty jerky for the Utes.
Maybe UCLA, Arizona, Cal AND ASU will send the Utes out sad, but I’d say that’s worst-case, and still a 6-6. I can’t see Whittingham having a losing season this year.
How you can post that in all seriousness is beyond me
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
I just think
That the Utes haven’t lived up to their potential this season. As long as they don’t let the losses get into their heads, I think they can cut it in the PAC-12. I’ve been saying all along, ever since the conference re-alignment announcement that Utes wouldn’t dominate, and that Red fans would have to be satisfied with just getting a winning season, period. I think they can this year.
Well I'm certainly not calling it quits.
But I don’t see Utah’s schedule working out like that. Hopefully something clicks on offense and we see a major change. But I won’t be expecting it.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
I agree, mostly
A Lot depends on A. If Wynn can come back (I doubt it), or how Hays performs with a week to prepare, and an offense prepared for him, and not thrown to the wolves. But this season isn’t a loss yet.
Look many of us said 8-4, or 7-5 before the season started, and while for me the Washington game wasn’t one of those losses in my mind, it’s still a reasonable goal. The Pac-12 South was always a dream, but never should have been an expected goal.
I still say there isn’t a game on our schedule we couldn’t win, just like their still isn’t a game on our schedule we couldn’t lose. IMO the toughest game left this year is next week. Let’s just see what Whit and company can do from here on out.
I don’t think Utah is really all that bad. Some bad breaks went Washington’s way, and it very easily could have been a much closer game. Like someone earlier in the comments mentioned, you’ll feel better tomorrow morning. You guys are a middle-tier team in the conference. Not a bottom-tier team.
Keep your heads up.
"And like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field."- Skip Caray
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 1, 2011 10:03 PM MDT reply actions
Forgot to mention-Washington is a very solid team this year. I wouldn’t have much shame in losing to them.
"And like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field."- Skip Caray
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 1, 2011 10:03 PM MDT up reply actions
Nice of you to say.
And I appreciate it.
I’m not so much upset that Utah lost to Washington, just upset about the way Utah lost.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
We understand that sentiment, certainly
/goddamnLSUgame
15-yard penalty for my avatar. /Pereira'd
by Brass-billed on Oct 1, 2011 10:10 PM MDT up reply actions
I was going to post something about that game, but I break down in tears and uncontrollable shaking every time I think about it.
"And like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field."- Skip Caray
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 1, 2011 10:10 PM MDT up reply actions
If Wynn isn't healthy the Utes are in trouble.
It’s almost impossible to be successful in the PAC without a decent QB
It's his non-throwing shoulder, right?
I wouldn’t expect it to be that big of a problem.
"And like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field."- Skip Caray
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 1, 2011 10:09 PM MDT up reply actions
Yeah, I think Wynn's career is pretty much fini...
and that sucks to say because I really like that kid. He’s a gamer and smart as hell.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 10:15 PM MDT up reply actions
I'm with Dallas here.
Wynn is in his twilight. Announcers all season have been mentioning a lack of mobility in his arms.
Well, if that is the case, that's too bad.
"And like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field."- Skip Caray
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 1, 2011 10:13 PM MDT up reply actions
Per SLTrib
"It keeps coming out of joint," Whittingham said of Wynn’s shoulder. "I don’t want to speculate, but it doesn’t look good."
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Man...that sucks.
"And like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field."- Skip Caray
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 1, 2011 10:22 PM MDT up reply actions
Hey Talking Chop member :)
I’m with you above but the Utes shot themselves in the foot in the first half and it should have been much closer. However, the 2nd the Utes got wrecked, no other way of putting it
by PhuckthePhillies on Oct 2, 2011 10:43 AM MDT up reply actions
Granted it's not his throwing shoulder
but yeah, can’t play very well like that.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
True, and there's a precedent, it's named Marshall Lobbestael!
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 10:11 PM MDT up reply actions
If tonight's game was any indication
Hays != Lobbestael
Of course, it’s hard to judge a backup on half a game when he’s thrown into it unexpectedly. But his performance was sub par at best.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
I saw some good things.
I think he’ll improve with experience and will end up being pretty good.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 1, 2011 10:18 PM MDT up reply actions
See...
California, UCLA, OSU
15-yard penalty for my avatar. /Pereira'd
by Brass-billed on Oct 1, 2011 10:11 PM MDT up reply actions
Cal has been trying this for years
with the rest of the team being stocked with NFL talent.
QB is a must.
Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts. - R. Feynman
All those lucky bounces Utah got against BYU
Well it was time to pay the piper this week. Those bounces tend to even out during a season.
You know what else is a cause for pessimism?
17 yards rushing for Utah total on the night. Our run game sucks.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Thank you.
See folks? Utes can do some things right.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
QB issue's
I think that we are a good MWC team, and a avg PAC 12 team, anyone who thinks that things would be different had we a healthy Wynn is fooling themselves, he is “good” non BCS QB, and was recruited as such! But let’s face it, he isn’t resilient and is so up and down in performances! Don’t get me wrong, I do not think he was the sole reason we lost tonight! But he is hurt again, like last year, he is not the future of this program! It amazing to me that he is defended so often, no matter how bad he can be! Now that aside, he looked good on a few drives in the first half, but we couldn’t deliver in the red zone! Utah has, HAS, to address the QB position with positive recruiting this year, so next year we are stabilized in that area! I am so surprised that we are caught so off guard in this area!
I think we will be at least a 500 record! But it will be a tough season! Pitt looks good, ASU, Cal are all going to be formidable , even if Wynn is running the offense!
Hope I’m wrong, but looks like a harder season than was hoped! We will get better as recruiting gets more solid with our new affiliation!!
I do agree...
Wynn probably would have kept us a bit closer, but I saw nothing out of the offense that indicated to me they would be able to do much damage in the 2nd half.
Sure, they had three turnovers in the red zone. It happens. Maybe they score three touchdowns, blah, blah, blah…now we’re sounding like BYU fans.
Regardless, at the half, before Wynn went out and we decided to go all Lindsay Lohan out there, Utah was still trailing 7-10. They were trailing 7-17 before Wynn even saw the field in the 2nd half.
We will get better as the season progresses
We will pull out of this, one thing is that coach Whittingham is a winner, so I am ok with where we are going, and know adjustments will be made, we all just need to be realistic and be patient in the playing great teams every week! What makes the PAC 12 so awesome to be part of!!! Also as a season ticket holder, I agree with CrimsonUte, doesn’t mean I can’t complain and vent!
I don't think anyone is zoobing it out saying maybe we score 3 TD's in the 1st half.
And if they are they should be shunned. We lost those turnovers and Washington took them from us.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
Correct
Had the turnovers not been, the score at half…Utah 21 wash 7
The score at the end of half was Washington 10 Utah 7
end of story. No if this, if that.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Larry soon would be there. -Maji Man
Meh.I'll be at every home game for the rest of the season.
Doesn’t mean I can’t complain
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Look guys, stay calm..
I believe in our coach, we will bounce back.
by SladerExtra on Oct 1, 2011 10:28 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
This is mostly just venting...
People need to vent.
by JazzyUte on Oct 1, 2011 10:29 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Jazzy...
just come on, that headline sucks! Make that statement at the end of the season, not two games in.. come on bro.. change the headline!
Agreed
I think we will be 500 or better this year! But it’s gonna be bumpy a bit!
I agree
I love Utah, hate BYU, I now have to be hammered by my BYU supporting friends, worse than the loss…..lol
Slader is right on about coach Whitt! I have faith in him and N Chow….even if it’s a bumpy ride!
Sorry in advance for this...
Fair weather? Really? Do you know what that term means? It means someone is only a fan when things are good.
First, you’re therefore accusing us of ceasing to be fans of Utah because things aren’t good right now. Given the fact that we haven’t even played another game yet, it’s pretty effing difficult for you to say if we’ve abandoned our fandom or not. So unless you have a crystal ball on the table that doubles as your bed/couch/desk in your studio apartment, take a step back.
Second (and I feel like I have to say this a lot) the fact that one is upset, disappointed, or even explosively critical of one’s team doesn’t mean they’re a fair weather fan. It means they expect better and care deeply. The fact that they care deeply would further decrease the likelihood of their being fair weather. It’s very difficult for most people to abandon the things they care about.
Third, this is a forum full of Ute-crazy fans who are so obsessed with their team that they’re spending a Saturday night talking it over—and it’s the night of a terrible loss. What the fuck did you expect to find when you came here tonight?
Bro I understand...
it was a terrible loss, but look at all of you.. I don’t know. I am not saying you are all fair weather fans, but ya know I remember a time when Utah football wasn’t that great, and it seemed like back then we didn’t have much of a following, only local people. Now everybody loves the utes! And its only because of our recent success. Stick with them in good times and in bad, sometimes when it rains it pours.
We have high expectations!
Nothing wrong with high expectations, in fact isn’t it cool we feel that way? Shows how the program has progressed!!!
I'm not sure...
if I’m being accused of being a “recent” fan here or not, so I’ll just preemptively end that by saying I went to my first Utah game within 72 hours of being born and haven’t stopped since, no matter our record.
You are correct that when it rains, it pours. One can’t really control the rain. One can, however, control whether they fumble the opening kick and get slapped all over the field. I don’t hate the rain. I do hate losing.
Fair weather means you don't care enough
to be so upset about this loss to come here and bitch about it with your online fans/friends. We are a realistic fan base, no pie-in-the-sky types like the crazies to the South. That means we get pissed and pessimistic when our team underwhelms us in a much anticipated game. I was impressed with Wynn’s 2 great long passes in the first quarter and it really felt like a coming out party that the Utes were for real in the PAC. Then the turnovers and injuries turns the game into a nightmare and many of us need to be coaxed away from the edge. Still a season ticket holder and always will be, just gotta re-adjust my hopes this year for “any bowl game” instead of a nice one.
Good Game.
I understand you all don’t feel that way, but your defense did an admirable job of shutting down both Price’s passing game and our run in the first half. They, and you, will see some success this year. RES is a tough venue, and this is a win that Washington feels proud to have under its belt.
I’m sorry about Wynn, and wish you the best of luck with his health and your QB situation.
The season is young. Good luck with the rest of it.
Thank you..
just a couple things go are way and it could of been different we did good in first half, W made the correct adjustment at the half, we couldn’t stop their run, I don’t know, maybe we didn’t expect them to run that much? give credit to their O-line, they did a very good job of making holes for Polk.
Thank you, sir.
You played well and definitely took it to us. Plus, all indications are your fans are a class act when interacting with the opposition. I love that.
Good luck the rest of the year, and same to you re your quarterback’s knee. He’s a tough kid and I have little doubt he’ll be fine.
Utah played like I thought you would plus a bunch of turnovers
…tough, chippy, physical, nasty.
Utah, welcome to the muddled middle. You are a member. As such, you have the right to win a game on any given Saturday. It is wrong to think about your team in absolutes. The grind equalizes (did you realize that UW only had two tailbacks available tonight?) and what looks bad tonight may look very different a week from now. You may lose to WSU. You may whip ASU. Nothing should shock you. It’s part of your membership in the muddled middle.
Remember that UW was 3-6 last season before winning four in a row to close the season and finish third in the PAC 10. the season is long and the Grind affects us all in different ways.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
Words to the wise from the voice of experience.
This conference is fucking CRAZY. Every year.
well good thing you had the monster Polk
by PhuckthePhillies on Oct 2, 2011 10:46 AM MDT up reply actions
Funny thing about Polk
…USC recruited him as a WR. When we got him, Ty saw him as a hybrid, not a pounder
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
Sorry, Jazz.
You’re a good chap. I tried to warn you guys against the hubris of trying to equate UW with a middle-of-the-road MWC team and WSU with a New Mexico or NMSU. I would imagine the reality of what we’ve been trying to tell you about the difference between a quality AQ conference and a non-AQ conference is becoming all too apparent right about now. But you understand that the Utes were a young and not especially deep team with several question marks, and it remains so. It’ll get better. The thing is, you can’t hide these problems in conference play in the Pac like you could in the MWC. They will be exposed and exploited mercilessly by every team in the conference, and regardless of records every team in the conference has as much talent as you do (unless you’re USC and maybe Oregon). Wazzu has not one but 2 quarterbacks and an entire receiver corps who could start for the Utes, for example.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 10:45 PM MDT reply actions
You didn't warn me...
I never made that comparison. Ever. I knew Washington was going to be a tough game.
You didn't at all, and this is a great blog.
A few others did. Lesson learned I guess.
I’m really excited about this win, I think that shows how happy I am to beat a team like Utah. While it appears you have a ways to go, you’re miles ahead of teams like Colorado at the bottom of the conference.
What happened to the Utah running game? I remember hearing a lot about your RB, and didn’t see much at all from him during the game.
We had...
some serious o-line issues tonight, particularly Cullen (who is supposed to be a world beater). The problem was initially limited to pass protection, but quickly reared its ugly head in our run blocking scheme. More importantly, though, your d-line did a great job.
I know YOU didn't make that comparison.
But in that thread and some others, there was that kind of talk. And you must have missed my posts because I said you take a team like Washington (and Cal, and Arizona, etc) lightly at your own peril. It was in your “I think there’s a home game on Saturday” thread. Look, I’m just surprised YOU are surprised. This is the way things go in this conference, because even the “bottom feeders” have players who are going to get a shot at playing on Sundays.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:04 PM MDT up reply actions
Better get used to it.
It’ll happen. And it’s always painful. We beat #4 Michigan at home in ‘03 then got absolutely wiped out AT AUTZEN by Wazzu a week later. 55-10. Beat Oklahoma in ’05 then got boatraced by Cal. If you have a “down year” or even one bad game in the Pac, you’re going to pay the price, especially considering that this conference is all about offense. Heck, USC in ’09 was #3 then got pounded by the Ducks by 27 then Stanford by 30-odd.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:19 PM MDT up reply actions
Don't forget
that when they were #3 it was actually UW who knocked them off when we were 1-15 in our last 16 games with the only win against Idaho the week before. Anything can happen…
Oh yeah. That's right.
Between Cal and OSU, they ruined at least 2 more chances for ’SC to play in the BCSNCG, probably 3.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:33 PM MDT up reply actions
Doesn't mean you probably weren't surprised...
I was a Ute fan and I was surprised by that loss to Washington State in ’03.
Then we beat you guys! Remember that?!?!
#livinginthepastbecausethepresentistoopainful
I just totally Twitter hash tagged.
You get less surprised as time goes on.
“Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.”
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:36 PM MDT up reply actions
And that season never happened.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:39 PM MDT up reply actions
That's why I try to think of the PAC as the NFL
Though I tried to have that mind-set, it’s quite another to experience it after a lifetime as a non-AQ fan. PAC play is like the NFL where Buffalo beats a great New England team with an a amazing comeback victory, then loses the next week to lowly Bengals, giving up a lead in the loss.
Oh dear.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:04 PM MDT up reply actions
Pick your heads up
These kind of games are just a fact of life in a tougher conference. You really have to have a short memory to survive it.If you manage to beat ASU next week, they will then lose to Oregon and you will be right back in it. Good luck during the rest of the season. maybe we’ll see you guys in the inaugural PAC championship ;)
^^that's what I am saying..
Jazzy change the headline, god.. lol keep your head up. I believe we can compete in this conference. Its not going to be roses every week.
The more I read your complaints about the headline...
The more I hope Jazzy makes it his headline after every game this year, even when we win. But that’s just how I’m feeling right now. Losing makes me obstinate and petty. I should be good in about 24 hours.
Aaargh. Quit it with the "ASU will lose to Oregon" thing.
Gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 1, 2011 11:22 PM MDT up reply actions
Not even a close call
ASU will lose to Oregon.
Uhhh, no they won't.
They had a very real chance to do that last year and missed it. ASU has the full attention of the Ducks this year
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
By the way, that was me agreeing with you despite my poor grammar
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
I see Oregon losing two this year.
Vs Cal
Vs ASU
@UW
@Stanford
Vs USC
Vs OSU (Rival game craziness)
That’s a tough slate to coast through. Their defense is good, but nothing extra special. Somebody in that crowd will get after them up front, like Auburn and LSU did.
Stanford is the obvious roadblock.
But crazy things happen. It could turn out that we boatrace the tree and get stunned at home by Cal or ’SC.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 2, 2011 12:42 AM MDT up reply actions
Hmmm...I'd agree
Cal doesn’t have their amazing defense intact, and we;ve always played poorly in Berkeley, so I say we win that.
ASU is sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. And that’ll really hurt them since Autzen will be rockin’ for that game. We’ll see how well they play against the Utes, they seem a little Jekyll-Hyde right now.
@UW scares me. Hucking fuskies are gonna be pumped, and they’ve got probably the second-best RB in Chris Polk. Our run D has been shamelessly porous in the past few games, hopefully we can just outscore them.
@Stanford doesn’t scare me as much since they lost Skov. We’ll need to trade blow-for-blow since I don’t think our secondary can keep up with Luck and his receivers.
USC, not a problem. They may have a one-two punch with Barkley and Woods, but their defense is pretty bad. Even if they score 35, we’ll just score 50.
OSU…do I even need to justify this? AT Autzen, should be a Baver-trampling.
15-yard penalty for my avatar. /Pereira'd
Don't Worry
Ok, worry a bit – losing Wynn would be huge. However, the season is far from over and Utah still has a chance to win a shoddy south. Plus, with a couple of improved recruiting classes and the money coming from the new TV deal Utah should be able to do just fine, even if immediate success evades you. Which I don’t think it necessarily will as I feel that UW has one of the top three teams in the conference this year.
Roast Duck is a delicacy.
Husky Fan Here
Thanks for the nice words up at the top. As has been expressed earlier in here, this is a solid program and a great addition to the conference. Don’t forget- we were lucky to have a lead in the first half. I know you can’t just wipe away three turnovers, but if Wynn can take back that one throw in the red zone, this could be a different game.
True
But that rushing disparity, I think, surprised fans from both sides.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
I can't believe we held Utah to 17 yards on the ground. Crazy.
If you guys have anything to be worried about, it is that statistic. Vontaze may eat your running backs for lunch next week if you don’t get some better blocking up front.
ASU's defense isn't as good as they should be given their talent.
As usual, it comes down being undisciplined.
Ducks GOOOOD. Fuskies BAAAAAD.
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Oct 2, 2011 12:44 AM MDT up reply actions
Husky fan here as well
Don’t get too down, there was some bad luck with turnovers and injuries, and god knows UW has experience that sort of cumulative catastrophe as well. I wish you guys the best over the rest of your schedule!
gotta appreciate the class
of the pac-12 fans that have graced this blog tonight. it really has made this heartbreaking loss easier to swallow (but not a lot). its so much better than being buried with obnoxious smack talk by miles.
Just for a bit of clarity
It’s my opinion at least, that both the Washington programs have taken big steps forward this season. Those steps have been in the works for a few years. last year Washington St. gave Oregon all they wanted and Sarkisian had the Huskies playing tough in a lot of games and improving as the season progressed. By the end of the year the Huskies beat a Nebraska team in their Bowl game that had handed them their collective heads at Washington.
However, there is more perspective needed as well and this one you guys probably won’t agree with. Utah wasn’t a “pretty good” Non AQ school for the past couple of years. They fell quite a bit shy of the leading Non AQ schools of TCU and Boise St. Utah is not struggling w/ PAC-12 competition because it is BCS level competition week in and week out, you are struggling because you are Utah. This program has plenty of work to do and that has been the case for several years running now.
Once Whittingham can get a competitive team on the field he will start winning games and it won’t have anything to do with the week in, week out competition of the weaker division of an overall weak conference. In all likelihood, it will have less to do with recruit level than people will think. It will have much more to do with team culture, practice habits, and execution.
Vent...
By all means vent… But…
Passing:
Wynn and Hays had almost identical stats. Fact. Hays throws a better ball than Wynn. Fact. Hays is more mobile than Wynn. Fact.
Give Hays time, and a week as the starter in practice and I think everyone will be surprised. Imagine what our receivers will do when they break open look up and there is a ball in their hands. Contrast that with them breaking open and having the thought, “there’s the ball… Here comes the ball… DAMN IT!!!” after the DB recovers, or tackles Dres or Davonte before they can run.
Rushing:
John White had 14 carries and never really had a chance to get off of the ground playing from behind for the second half. Let him get his touches.
Vent all you want, but this season isn’t over. Tough loss to a good team that I’m not convinced was superior to Utah.
by BetterasIgetolder on Oct 2, 2011 1:20 AM MDT reply actions
It was pretty even outside rushing effectiveness...
… I don’t think many teams are “clearly superior” to others outside Oregon. Like I said above – no absolutes in the muddled middle
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
First half
Little mistakes are too costly now. Not only the fumble on the opening KO return, but also 30-yards worth of penalties that get the Huskies into FG range at the end of the half.
Cullen has a false start on a 4th and inches to kill another drive not to mention two turnovers inside the red zone. Utah was putting together sustained drives that just fell short, while the defense really only gave up 3 points. Could have been an ugly game in the Utes favor going into halftime. Slightest of margins made it otherwise.
Second half
The second half was brutal. UW must have made an adjustment because Polk ran wild in the 3rd quarter after not doing too much in the first half. Is Utah’s run defense really that bad? I was surprised at how out of position they looked. They weren’t missing tackles, they were just getting blown off the line of scrimmage where huge lanes opened up. The pass D was the same story as it was last year, one of the worst in the country.
Positives?
Utah held UW offense to their lowest point total of the year at 24. And the Huskies did score 17 points off turnovers. Utah’s losses are to teams with a combined record of 8-2.
More concerns
Utes still have no running game. I know White had 178 against BYU but he had less than 20 going with less than six minutes left in the 3rd quarter of that game, and he didn’t do much against USC. The offense is always going to suffer from 3rd and longs if they can’t run the ball.
The QB situation is obvious. We’ll see what happens with Wynn. Hope the kid is alright. Hayes has never played, so I’m glad they kept passing and let him get a feel for the game and a TD. He actually had some zip on the ball and can scramble a little better. Going forward though, he can’t just be a game manager, because there is no run game. He has to be a good passer and decision maker.
I thought the Utes would get 8 wins on the year and still can. It’s going to be tough though and with Wynn out, it will be more difficult.
how bad is BYU?
keep in mind they BEAT us last year. no disrespect to you guys, but how far have they fallen if they gave up 54 in their own house??
Is this a reason to panic?
Ummm… if you’re not panicking, you didn’t watch the game! Wynn is out, our offense only moved the ball the last drive because UW was giving it to us. We have no offense now, we have a shaky defense, and frankly I think this is a down year for the pac 12 as a whole. (Oregon is not scary good like last year, we learned that in week 1, UCLA Colorado and Washington State are horrible. Cal Arizona are nothing great, and haven’t been for years, USC was overrated) Even in this down year we are stuck in the muck of the middle or worse the bottom half of the pac 12. I shudder when I think about basketball too. Still not panicking…. think about this
1. We aren’t playing Stanford or Oregon this year, they will kill us in the future!
2. USC will get better and much faster than the Utes
3. There is all this talk about how our pac 12 status will help us win recruits in california. What? You really think we are gonna steal a flood of talent over the likes of USC, Stanford, Oregon, or even UCLA and CAL. Yeah, come leave your sunny west coast homes and play for cold snowy utah. So what, we can out recruit USU and BYU, but we gotta win to improve our recruiting here in this “new era”. I just don’t see that happening fast.
we will beat some bottom feeders too, I’m not completely a pessimist. Yeah, our move to the BCS conference allows us to get a better payday(eventually). As a fan, I don’t see that money and don’t care. Washington State is getting paid too, I want to WIN! I guess biggie smalls was right “Mo money, mo problems”……I guess the problem in our case is losing!
by outside the lines on Oct 2, 2011 8:18 AM MDT reply actions
USC will fall like a ton of bricks
The beginning of scholarship reductions hit them next year
Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**
by Neil Vincent Roberts on Oct 2, 2011 12:58 PM MDT up reply actions
Hold on just a minute...
It’s way to difficult to know right now. Way too many variables.
1) Wynn’s injury is on his non-throwing shoulder. He injured the same shoulder in the USC game and was back the next week at BYU. He probably damaged it more yesterday, but the fact he bounced back so fast before and its on his non-throwing, non-surgically repaired shoulder tells me he won’t be gone for long.
2) We don’t know anything about Jon Hays. I have not seen much of him this year, but I have to admit that he looked better than I would’ve guessed in the 2nd half. Sure he fumbled and got picked, but this is a guy who had thrown just ONE major college pass before yesterday. On the plus side, he has good mobility and adds more of a run threat than Wynn gave us. The coaches like him and his teammates say he is a good leader. Don’t give up on this guy. He may fill in nicely until Wynn gets back… or may even take the starting job away.
3) Our defense is still great. ANY defense… I repeat, ANY defense would get worn down if they are on the field for so much of the game. That’s a fact. Ask BYU. Once Wynn went down, our offense had no life and from that point forward our defense had to carry the game on its shoulders. No Defense can do that. Versus Arizona State, our defense will come to play.
4) Arizona State is overrated. A lot of people are going to fear ASU coming to town, but they shouldn’t. We were good enough to hang with them last week, and we are good enough to hang with them this week, and we are good enough to hang with them next week. The Sun Devils got worked by a questionable Illinois team… didn’t dominate a suspect USC team… and couldn’t put Pac 12 bottom feeder Oregon State away until the final quarter. ASU is nowhere near as good as people would have you believe right now. And here’s another thing… After our fall to Washington, there’s every possibility that some, most, or the entire Sun Devil team will overlook Utah this week.
And we know what Utah likes to do when that happens.
My finger isn’t even close to the panic button.
I fully endorse this post.
Thankyou.
by PhuckthePhillies on Oct 2, 2011 9:47 PM MDT up reply actions
mo money, mo problems ... nice line.
… but don’t fret. You are presuming an air of permanence in a league that ebbs and flows every year. Speaking in such absolutes is fruitless.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
It was one game, Utes.
And there will be others like it. It’s all well and good to say that our team lacks mental toughness, but what about us? Yep, we all need to grow some thicker skin and change our outlook as well. All this handwringing over lack of rush production and injured QBs ain’t gonna make any of us feel better. Here’s the thing to keep in mind: none of us can read the future. Hays could turn out to be a Godsend to this team. Perhaps this team needs to just move on from Wynn and this is the excuse/reason. We might look back on this and barely remember the ass-kicking, but instead recall fondly the beginning of the “John Hays Era”. Could be this team needed an ass-kicking; getting knocked down and learning to pick yourself up again is part of the growth process. Maybe this loss is a catalyst, much like that 2007 UNLV flub.
There were positives in that game and it’s always a good idea to give them equal airtime with the negatives. Our offense was doing alright in the first off and so was our defense. What happened was a result of three things: The Washington Huskies, stupid mistakes and, worst of all, loss of poise. The team came a little unglued—which is a little understandable, losing your leader and all—but it was nowhere near a BYU or USU level meltdown. Still, it exposed toughness and concentration issues. This is a young team (and it always will be to a certain extent, given the nature of college ball), but it’s learning. We also need to realize that our head coach is also in the same boat. This is all new to him to. He needs to re-learn certain things to fit this new reality, including how best to prepare this team for these new experiences.
Gekko and others and are correct when they remind us that there are no absolutes in this game. It’s common for a team on a tear to suddenly lose to a team they technically have no business losing to. Every game is a different animal.
SO MUCH NEGATIVITY!!!!!
Clearly this means that UW is the best team in the PAC-12 right? Oregon and Stanford are seriously over rated right?……..Oh well, I tried to be optimistic. ;)
Great win UW! I wish you guys nothing but the best in the rest of the season. It would be great if you could make my unrealistic optimism a reality!
UW fan perspective:
I think the way things are shaking out right now UW will end up as the top team of the Pac-12 middle tier, maybe along side ASU if you want to clump them all together. We have won two of the games we figured would be very challenged (this game and last week’s vs. Cal) and we can now see a probably path for 8 wins, which is great progress for the program.
Utah played a very physical game in the first half, but the D line seemed to get pounded in to the dirt right off the bat in the 2nd half, that was really surprising to me, were subs made that I am not aware of or what happened there. You guys got a great team, sucks about the QB though, good luck the rest of the way. Wouldn’t mind it one bit if you took out ASU.
Pissed, but we've got Whitt
It’s a tough loss, but we knew we would get burned in this conference if we made sloppy mistakes. Our overall talent level is probably middle of the Pac, but our coaching is top tier. One thing we have to remember about Utah under Whitt, we win games we’re not supposed to. Wynn may not be done either. a separated shoulder on his non-throwing arm isn’t a torn ACL.
by GodisBrianJohnson on Oct 2, 2011 11:50 AM MDT reply actions
not happy with Whitt either...
for making the STUPID decision to punt on 4th and inches when we were near midfield and badly in need of some points. Gutless.
get rid of Norm Chow
you cannot win in this league with Norm Chow and his offense. He built his rep at USC when the trojans had almost everybody badly out manned. You will never be able to recruit with the big boys in the PAC—you’ve got to hire a whiz kid offensive coordinator to get you up to parity and give the utes a chance.
This isn't what it seems
I was as disappointed as many were last night. But I’m tired of the “we don’t have the talent”, the “our D sucks” and the “we are not even close to the PAC 12 caliber of teams” chimes. The talent is just that…one piece of the puzzle. How would Stanford do without Luck? I know we had 5 turnovers, but three cost us at the most 21 points and 13 at the least. Does anyone think BYU is 44 points worse than we are? No. So just understand that we need depth (Our starters are as good as any team wise), but we need subs to spell the starters. All is not lost and we will see how good the staff is this week leading this team against ASU. Win the turnover battle and you usually win. The Huskies are solid, but not as good as it seemed last night…We are not in dire disrepair as it seemed last night either.
5 turnovers .... hell I better get free Arbys again! haha
Now that I’ve cooled down a bit, I guess we can call it a bad it a bad game and move on. If we beat our next ranked opponent then we are right back in the mix. If we loose, ….well then all this doomsday talk will have a lot more weight. until then I’ll eat my pride and some arbys!
by outside the lines on Oct 2, 2011 1:50 PM MDT up reply actions
Sorry, but this loss isn't even close to being on Chow...
Our offense was shredding Washington early and fumbled the ball away, what, three times in the red zone – yeah, no.
It’s hard to win when you do that. It’s harder to win when you lose your QB at the half.
Chow was not the reason we lost Saturday.
Out of all the venting I've seen over this weekends games...
..The two that I cannot believe I’m seeing is any laying this on the feet of Chow or Wynn.
I’ll be the first to admit I would have like to have seen more running early in the game, but the offensive game plan worked well in the first half. Just like Wynn was making some nice passes early in the game. Remember there was a couple passes that were beautifully thrown and dropped.
You can’t blame Wynn or Chow for the turnovers, well except for the INT. Both had done a good job of getting the ball down the field, and putting Utah into position. Unfortunately we weren’t able to convert.
Fully agreed
I thought Chow’s play calling was quite good. One major reason we were able to have all those turnovers in the red zone was because his play calling helped Utah get to the red zone.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
+1
If anything, Chow owned that game. Chow orchestrated 2 impressive, methodical drives that ended in turnovers inside the red-zone. He calls the plays, but he isn’t to blame when the QB throws into coverage.
I hope Chow sticks around another 10 years…he is a brilliant mind.
dont know how i missed this...
but Pitt laid a beat down on South Florida. I had them as a win. Now, I have them as a loss.
Want to see someone really get their brain twisted up? Try explaining the Monty Hall problem to them....
by BigBenSportsGuy on Oct 2, 2011 12:44 PM MDT reply actions
we could've been up 21-0 going into half, just want you all to remember that
seriously our offense was dynamite and our defense was getting stops when they needed to in the 1st half. We shoot ourselves in the foot 3 times near the south end zone and on the drive when washington scored a field goal we had 30 yards handed to them on personal fouls. self inflicted wounds that we couldn’t recover from going against a good offensive team in the 2nd half.
and turn the game over to Jon Hays...
who has no experience whatsoever.
WHO on this Earth would’ve expected Utah to win under those circumstances?
The first half, we were the better team. I’m still convinced that if Wynn stays in the game, we win.
I endorse this post as well
Washington shouldn’t have scored at all and at the worst we could have gotten all field goals on the 2 red zone drives and still been up 13-0. But we made stupid mistakes and it cost us. If the utes were up 21-0 like they should have been, they win the game and we’re here probably talking about finishing 10-2 and going to the Pac12 title game. Too bad we cant go back in time and replay those 2 drives and opening kick off
by PhuckthePhillies on Oct 2, 2011 9:53 PM MDT up reply actions
The problem with this reasoning is that you're arguing that Utah should be fulfilling its maximum potential at all times.
The true measure of a team is how it plays all the time. UW shouldn’t have fumbled on our own 1 on a KO against Nebraska but we did. We could say that doesn’t reflect on how good our team is, but it does.
Not making stupid mistakes is part of what makes a good team. You can’t just throw out the mistakes and say “Look, our team is actually better than we thought!”
"Remember when I said Washington fans would have to be out of their cotton-picking mind to pick the Huskies in a romp? Yeah, well, scratch that. I was wrong. I woefully underestimated Washington and embarrassingly overestimated the Utes. "
You mean you knew beforehand that Jordan Wynn would injure his non-throwing shoulder, leave the game and place our chances in the hands of Jon Hays?
Really? You KNEW that?
I kinda doubt it… and that said, quit the moaning.
Utah is far far better than you are giving them credit for. Before Wynn left the game, our offense looked great… aside from the turnovers in the Red Zone. But the fact is, we were able to move the ball very well against this Pac 12 team… and our defense wasn’t allowing them to move at all.
So the Utah that you, I, and everyone else kept backing up was exactly the Utah team that showed up in the first half before a devastating injury deflated our chances of winning.
I’m tired of Utah fans seeing only the negative, ignoring the positive, and leveling such insightful critiques as “We suck.”
Give it a rest.
Before Wynn left the game, Utah had all of 7 points...
Before anyone in the stadium knew Wynn was injured, Utah was down 17-7.
This is exactly the BYU game in reverse for us. Awful turnovers killed drives, left us with zero points, and defensive lapses (stupid personal fouls) on the final drive before the half gives the away team some much-needed momentum heading into the break. That’s then followed by a huge opening third quarter drive that balloons the lead to more than one score.
Do the Utes lose by as much as they did if Wynn plays the second? Probably not – but considering Hays’s numbers were a mirror image of Wynn’s in the first half, it’s highly unlikely they win the game.
Like I told BYU fans two weeks ago after they told Ute fans the game would’ve been different had it not been for the turnovers: turnovers happen, it’s part of the game. It is not, however, an excuse for losing.
The funny thing is, of all the posts in this thread, you’re the first to utter the word: we suck.
No one has said that. But we’re not good. We’re 0-2 in Pac-12 play, 2-2 overall and staring down a possible 2-5 start.
I hope it doesn’t happen, of course, but unlike you, I’m not going to pretend everything is fine and dandy.
Stats may not lie, but they don't tell the whole story
Hays’ numbers may have been a mirror image of Wynn’s first half number, but you can’t tell me they played anywhere close to the same.
That said, It doesn’t matter if the game would have been different without the turnovers, because that’s what happened, and that’s what we had to deal with.
However I strongly disagree with you when you say We’re not good. We are a good team, or at least an above average team. I’ll be honest I was a huge Huskies doubter going into this season, because I didn’t know how well they’d replace Locker. Price is a great fit for that team. I can easily see the Huskies being the 3rd best team in the conference.
As for us. We’re not a bad team, and we definitely don’t suck. We’re a good team, in a conference that has a muddled group of teams that are merely good. There isn’t a game we can’t win on our schedule, and there isn’t a game we can’t lose.
I don't know if there is a game we can't win...
No one knows, actually. If Wynn is done for the season and Hays is a huge step down, this team will finish with a losing record. If Hays can step it up, you’re right, we’re going to be a better team than I think.
But that’s all up in the air right now. We don’t know how good Utah can be without Wynn with this schedule. It doesn’t help that, for the third game in a row, the running game has been underwhelming. Sure, White went nuts on BYU – after they gave up. He was being held in check for most the game up until the game got out of hand and he started ripping it up.
If Utah can’t find a sustainable run game, with the questions at QB, we’re going to rely on our defense a lot and while I think it’s good, as yesterday showed, it’s not going to be enough to beat some teams. I say some, not all, because there does appear to be bad teams left on the schedule – but we have no margin of error now.
Saturday showed it.
Like Jazzy, I'm buckling down
It could be a long and tough season. It’s a bad sign we have yet to get a conference win. Our QB may be out for the rest of the season. Hays has no real experience at D1 and he’s going straight into a real BCS conference.
And now the schedule gets ruthless. We have ASU this weekend then Pitt and Cal on the road. The Panthers look to have turned a corner and it’ll be tough to contain Graham at RB. The team on the field last night would have a tough time scoring against Cal.
At this point the best shot at a PAC win might be against the Beavers at blackout.
Of course I might be totally wrong and there are positives here. I was impressed with Hays’s determination at points in the second half — specifically when he scrambled hard for a 1st down. He seems to have a good arm when he can see the field over the line. We have some great WRs in Dres and Devonte. Bergstrom will be back this weekend. We also have excellent coaches who will be able to make adjustments and correct issues this week.
Regardless, I’ll be cheering in person vs. ASU this weekend and Pitt next. Go Utes!
didnt say that
Didn’t say we suck. Didn’t say we’re in great shape either.
There’s a huge difference between thinking we’re great and thinking we’re awful. If you remove every reference to Utah in many of your comments/blogs… a lot of people would guess that you’re talking about New Mexico or maybe Wyoming. Those teams are bad. We’re not.
The point of my remarks is… it is absolutely way too early to push the panic button. Especially because you’re panicking based entirely on speculation.
When Wynn is declared out for the season, followed by Bergstrom, John White IV, DeVonte Christopher, Chaz Walker and Brian Blechen… let me know. Then I’ll panic.
Welcome to the PAC
Nobody knows better what it feels like to lose to a team you should have been able to beat than the Husky faithful. Yesterday’s game was just a case of all the planets lining up for our guys, and your team left feeling like they couldn’t get a break. Wait until you’ve been handed three or four losses by the crappy PAC officials in a season – that really smarts.
I’m glad to see that most of the fans are not calling for the coach’s heads, though. You had the same problem yesterday that we’ve had this season – plan was good but the players just weren’t able to execute it. Happened to us in our first three games and there were a lot of people calling for Nick Holt’s head on a platter. They’ve been strangely quiet today.
People are going to start realizing, and fast, how much everybody is underestimating Price. He had to live in Jake Locker’s shadow but he actually put in a respectable performance against an outstanding Oregon team last year. My prediction is that by the time it’s all said and done, Price will have broken several Husky, if not PAC, records. You heard it here first, folks. He’s among the best of a long line of excellent Husky QBs going back several decades. Add to that the fact that you have to hit Polk 18 times before he’ll go down.
Our secondary (and at times special teams) has been aggravating all year, but the red zone D has been consistently good. Don’t fault yourselves for failing to convert there – very few can. When we’ve gotten burned, it’s generally been when there was a lot of real estate between scrimage and the goal line, or on dumb mistakes. The Utes passing game was nothing to be ashamed of in either half.
All of that said, I think that lately the Huskies perform best when nobody expects them to and that catches a lot of opponents off guard. Over the years every PAC12 team has experienced it (except for maybe USC because they’re usually over-rated). There have been a ton of upsets in recent memory. Heck! The Huskies beat three ranked teams last year alone (#18 USC, #24 OSU, and #18 Nebraska). You just can’t get complacent in this conference. Not necessarily saying that Utah was complacent, but they were favored by nearly everybody.
Good luck against ASU – hopefully that underdog thing will work out for you next week.
by FanofthePolkamotive on Oct 2, 2011 10:10 PM MDT reply actions
the point spread actually went in favor of the huskies too. i was amazed by that living in nevada
before the game i said i thought it would be close either way. i took the points. i always trusted the utah defense but not our offense. wynn was never healthy to begin with. he was throwing wobbly passes in the usc game. it’s like he sometimes can’t use the full motion of his shoulder. we better find a QB fast.
Public Enemy #1 and enjoying every minute of it. Tapology.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Oct 3, 2011 2:24 AM MDT up reply actions
UTES!
Stay fans! If not go to provo and lick broncos nuts.
I'm not a Ute
but given those two choices, I know which one I’d pick ;)
It was a tough couple of games so far, but hang in there. Sometimes you’re up in the Pac, and sometimes you’re down… Utah seems to be entering more on a “down” year. Give it some time (like a few seasons or at least a few more games) before waving the mental white flag.
To preempt any wise-asses
I’d pick the one that doesn’t involve licking, thank you. XD
by scotty256 on Oct 3, 2011 2:17 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
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