dang....

I can't say the Utes didn't have chances. They did. There were things they did really well tonight. Adam Schultz came in and played a good game coming in fresh off the bench never really seeing any action. He put the money on some balls and threw some that he probably shouldn't have. If Travis is out the rest of the year I'm really not too worried. This Schultz kid is good and will continue to get better and better.

What a disappointing loss for the Utes. Coming off of a huge win last week against a powerhouse like Stanford I thought we might take that momentum and really stick it to Arizona and Ka'Deem Carey this year but as the old saying goes, "You can't beat Arizona and Ka'Deem Carey." Ok, so that's not really a saying but it certainly is true for the Utes tonight.

The Utes fought hard, played tough and put themselves into position to win the ball game but a las couldn't convert with a patchwork of players on the field replacing injured starters. The Utes fall to Arizona in Tucson tonight 35 - 24. Let's go over my previous post and see what the Utes did and didn't do to lose.

1. Can't score 30 Points

Welp, this one is pretty obvious I would say. Clearly the Utes only scored 24. They had 2 missed field goals in an uncharacteristic game by Andy Phillips who was 11 for 11. I kept yelling at the announcers to stop talking about how he is "perfect on the year". I believe they might have cursed him... or he just missed them. I guess that's where that saying comes from, "I guess you can't make them all." That actually might be a saying. Anywho, that 6 points would have put the Utes at 27 point mark and could have helped lead them find a way to win. Instead missed opportunities turn into another chapter in  the story for this  2013 Utah football team.

2. Carey has 160+ yards 

This one was disappointing too. Last year he had 203...ish yards. This year... 40 "Carey's" for 236 yards. That is a shocking stat for me. Carey ran all over the Utes in the first half but the second half it really looked like they dialed in on the line and stopped this fast Arizona offense. But, in the 4th quarter Carey kicked it into high gear. Rich Rodriguez was absolutely and utterly frustrated at his offensive line and perhaps that's what helped them get the motivation to start opening holes for Carey in the 4th quarter.

3. Utes fall back to 2 - 13 on 3rd down

5-18. The Utes can't expect to win games when they go 5-18 on 3rd downs. They keep putting themselves in rough 3rd and long situations and can't convert. If the Utes expect to get better on 3rd down they need to be better on 2nd down.



So the Utes failed on all the things I said they would need to do/not do to lose this game. Let's take a look on how they did on the things I said they needed to do to win:

1. Get pressure in the backfield consistently

The Utes did that for 1 quarter and at times during others. Utah had 1 sack on the game and had a hard time containing Denker consistently throughout the game. Some positives for the Utes was forcing some bad passes and forcing Denker out of the pocket but it just wasn't enough. Denker was an accurate passer on the run and he lead his offense very well. I was more than impressed with his poise and delivery. Hats off to Denker for playing a good ball game tonight.

2. Score more than 30 points

*See "1. Can't score 30 Points" above

3. Utes are +2 in turnover battle

Utah forced two fumbles and recovered a muffed punt. Wilson threw 2 interceptions before leaving the game with a hand injury to his throwing hand. Late in the 4th quarter only down by 7 LT Tuipolotu forced a fumble and Trevor Reiley recovered it in Wildcat territory. Unfortunately Utah couldn't capitalize with touchdown to tie the game. Instead they settled for a field goal to put them down by 1 with just under 4 minutes to play. Phillips pulled it wide left.

What killed the Utes:

Why did they win last week against the 5th best team in nation and lose to Arizona this week?

Pace. Stanford played a slow paced, run up the middle game. They usually snapped the ball with 10 seconds or less on the play clock. Arizona on the other hand was fast. Snapping the ball with well over 20 seconds on the clock. Utah couldn't substitute and it threw the defense off and it was obvious by the end of the game everyone was gassed.

The offensive plays were very inconsistent. It's almost like the Utes can't decide if they are going to commit to the run or be a passing team. I'm all for mixing it up but Utah was decently effective when they ran the ball consistently and pounded that Wildcat front 7. It wasn't until Utah started throwing the ball more that that rhythm got out of whack and the Utes just couldn't recover.


Arizona did a great job tonight. They played harder and better than the Utes. Sure, it would have been great to sneak out of Tucson with a win but oh well. Not much more needs to be said about that. Now it's on to a struggling USC team. If the Utes won tonight I might be more confident for next weeks game but now I am hesitant with Heimuli, Denham, Wilson all receiving injuries this game. It's time for some of the back ups to step it up and make a name for themselves against one of the biggest names in college football, USC.

Player of the game Arizona:

Ka'Deem Carey

40 "Carey's" for 236 yards. He did have one fumble but he also had a late touchdown that sealed the victory for the Wildcats.

Player of the game Utah:

I'm partial so I get two right?

Offense:
Adam Schultz

13-24 for 145 yards and a score. He maybe wasn't the most consistent or didn't make the best reads but for what he was given I thought he absolutely made the best out of it. He had pressure coming at him from all sides (especially from the left, what's up Jeremiah side?) and came out poised and made some big plays. The announcers kept saying he didn't have any threat on the ground but one thing I love about this kid is how hard he runs. He may not be lightning fast but he runs hard.

Defense:
Trevor Reiley

14 total tackles 11 of which were solo. He had a huge sack on Denker on a 4th and 2 that turned the ball over to Utah. He recovered a fumble and was flying all over the field. This kid is a stud and plays with more heart than I think I have ever seen anyone play with at Utah. He wants to win and he grinds hard to win.


Go Utes!


*Photo credit: AP Photo/John Miller