I did!

The question is posed, "who saw this coming?"

My answer, "I did."

I can't in full faith say that I 100% expected Utah to win over Stanford but I definitely thought it was possible and Utah did it.

The Game:

Utah Utes – 27

Stanford Cardinals – 21

Well I tried to sit down a couple times to write up a post-game analysis but I was just too elated to be realistic so I waited until this morning and now I think I’ve come down a bit from my “upset” high. Let’s talk about the game shall we?

The first drive of Stanford was scary to say the least! They did what they wanted and got big chunks of yards with ease. Utah’s defense looked like little kids compared to the giants on the other side of the ball. It appeared it was going to be a very long nights for the Utes after Gaffney’s 1 yard leap into the endzone capped off a 75 yard, three and a half minute drive. Stanford looked poised and Utah’s defense looked baffled and lost.

Enter Travis Wilson, Bubba Poole, and Drez Anderson.

The Utes started with the ball on their 25 and I can’t tell you how nervous I was. I said, “let’s see what you got Mr. Wilson.” Before I knew it Wilson completed a screen pass to Bubba Poole for 35 yards. That one play alone eased my nerves, as I’m sure it did for a lot of the Utah players and coaches. Just a few plays later Travis Wilson connected with Karl Williams for a 4-yard classic Utah redzone touchdown (fake to Bubba up the middle, Karl swings out, great blocks by the wide receivers….  TOUCHDOWN!).

It was a big stage for the Utes Saturday afternoon/evening but there wasn’t a national championship on the line for us. We had the opportunity to show the world that we CAN win in the PAC-12 even against an alleged national championship caliber team and we showed them what we are capable of.

The Utes ended the day with 415 total yards compared to Stanford’s 389. They had 234 passing and Stanford edged the Utes with 246. But the Utah’s run game surprisingly looked better rushing racking up 181 yards on the ground compared to Stanford who gained only 143 yards. In every game we have lost this year we have lost the turnover battle, -3 against Oregon State and -4 against UCLA but Saturday we were +1. That +1 made all the difference in the game. Nate Orchard and Trevor Reiley were beasts and their ability to get turnovers won the game (helped win I guess) for Utah.

I said the Utes would score 34. I thought they actually might get close if not exceed that they way there were running the ball. Unfortunately Stanford caught on and really shut them down in the second half. Luckily for the Utes, they really dialed in to Stanford’s offense and shut them down (minus their second to last possession which was a beautiful connection from Hogan to Cajuste). The 4^th and 4 near the goal line stance the Utes had was great defense. Hats off to Utah’s defense and for sending some pressure right up that gap. It forced Hogan to throw the ball early and essentially won the game for Utah.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the way Utah played. I was nervous about running the ball up the middle but because of the success we were having with swing and flat passes it forced Stanford to spread out which gave the Utes room to run right up the gut. It wasn’t a perfect game and in fact there were some moments that were outright sloppy but all together we played a fantastic game and came out with a victory. Credit to Stanford, even with 9 minutes left in the 4^th quarter and with Utah up 27-14 I never felt settled or satisfied that Utah would pull it off. I knew that Stanford was going to come and they were going to come fast and they did. I’m just proud Utah was able to learn from Oregon State and UCLA and hold on to for the win.

Proper Recognition:

I have been reading tweets non-stop for the past couple days and one comment struck me as interesting. Someone said that Anthony Denham’s blocking was some of the best he has ever seen and it’s something I wanted to touch on this week. Anthony Denham, Drez Anderson, Sean Fitzgerald and company have done an absolutely incredible job blocking this year. It’s a skill most receivers don’t really care to learn let along get really great at because they want to be catching the ball. Their blocking and ability to create space for someone else to make something happen has given the Utes an edge this year. They will have to keep that up in order to keep winning too. Now that Jake Murphy and Westlee Tonga are out for either the season or close to it, the Utes need receivers to make big blocks down field.

This could be the longest section of the analysis. There are so many people that put Utah in a position to win: coaches, fans (I believe there were 4 false starts), players and more. Great work to the Utah organization for one of the biggest upsets in Utah football history!

Last word:

The PAC-12 needs to get better referees. It’s embarrassing to watch. I don’t feel like they are one sided or favoring any team, they just don’t look like they know what they are doing most of the time. Some people say, “you get out there and try it out and see how easy it is.” To those people I say, “No, I know I wouldn’t be good at it and don’t care to be good at it. If you are going to be paid to be a referee and you are going to do it, do it well and at the very least be consistent.” I feel like I have never seen a bunch of ref’s who are constantly confused at what the call should be or how a team should be penalized. I’ve never seen a crew stand over the ball even though both offense and defense are ready and watch the play clock wind down for no reason. I would be perfectly fine if the entire PAC-12 ref’s were either fired or go through intensive referee schooling to improve. That is the weakest link in the PAC-12 right now. The officiating is a joke at best and the nation knows it.



 Photos: Scott G. Winterton (Deseret News)