Utes vs. Buffs a Rivalry Renewed

Rumble in the Rockies

Most of us don't know this because we became fans while Utah was in the Mountain West and rarely played Colorado but the Utah Colorado game dates back to 1903 and Colorado is the 5th team most played by Utah. They have met 59 and the Buffs hold the series lead 31-25-3. 

This rivalry was a bit unknown to me and I'm pretty sure to most Utes fans because before 2011 Utah and Colorado played in 1962.... That was literally 25 years before I was even born. Apparently it was a pretty heated rivalry and the last two meetings have been no different. 

Two years ago Utah had an opportunity to play for the first ever PAC-12 Championship, all they had to do was beat if not the worst team one of the worst teams in the PAC-12 in Utah I might add. It was a cold wintery day at Rice-Eccles Stadium and the Utes came out looking flat and lost a close one 17-14 with Coleman Peterson (a swear word to some Ute fans) missing 3 field goals that game. 

Last year Utah met the Buffs in Boulder. Utah had come into the game with a 4-7 record. Neither team was playing for a bowl but Utah wanted revenge from the previous years disappointment. Utah took the lead 35-28 with 8:41 left in the 4th quarter. Utah then kicked off the ball to Marques Mosely who took the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to tie the ball game 35-35 with 8:25 left to play. Colorado had purposely been kicking it away from Reggie Dunn who had taken 3 kick returns previously to this game. They decided or accidentally kicked to him and Reggie made them pay with a 100 yard kick return for a touchdown leaving 8:12 left to play. Utah held on to win it 42-35

This being said, Utah was forced to end the last game rivalry with BYU when Utah entered the PAC-12. Although BYU is Utah's biggest rival Colorado has reignited an old rivalry that has been quite entertaining and intense to watch. It is most definitely not that as big between the fan bases as say a BYU Utah game or a Colorado Colorado State game but for the past two years and for the next few, I'm perfectly satisfied playing the Buffs. 

Today's game is another year playing for a positive note. Utah is looking to leave their seniors with something positive to before they leave. They unfortunately didn't make a bowl but they can at least go out with a bang. Colorado is looking to do the same thing. I'll keep my statistical analysis brief this morning but here are a few to look at: 

Colorado:

Offense:

Both QB's for the Buffs have thrown for over 1,000 yards against a not so easy schedule. Colorado's wide receiver Paul Richardson has racked up over 1,200 yards receiving this season and will be a thorn in Utah's side all game long. Utah will need to know where he is on the field at all times. The Buffs are just average at rushing the football, nothing spectacular, 1,400 yards between 9 rushers. Colorado will give the ball to two primary backs. 

Defense: 

On average the Buffs give up 503 yards of offense for the opposing team. Colorado gives up 218 yards rushing and 283 yards in the air. Needless to say, not very impressive. Colorado has played some pretty prolific offenses but, they haven't seemed to stop too many people. Seven out of the last nine opponents have scored at least 40 points (Buffs have won 2 out of the last 9). 

Utah: 

Offense:

Adam Schulz (minus the terrible pick six he threw last week and I'm only mentioning that one because the other was due to Norwood bouncing the ball up off his hands) played a decent game. He didn't run the zone read the way he should have keeping the ball at least once but, he threw for 347 yards. Not too shabby and after those two pick six's he didn't throw another one all game. Utah also ran the ball with Kelvin York decently efficiently. Look for Utah to come out swinging and run/pass all over the field. Adam Schulz after really only 3 games of play time (one against one of the toughest pass defenses in the nation, Oregon) has thrown for 775 yards. For a backup this kid impresses me but he still has some work to do. He needs to sell the zone read. If Schulz doesn't keep it every now and then and burn the D with his feet, there is no reason to respect that threat and the D can focus in on the running back. 

Defense: 

Utah gives up nearly 100 less yards on defense at 404 yards per game. 137 yards on the ground and 266 in the air. All things considered, that's not too shabby with the offenses they have faced. Colorado has seen more success in the air than they have through the air which could spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for Utah. Utah will need to really find Richardson on the field and stick a CB and safety on him for some over the top protection. 

Prediction:

Utah: 47

Colorado: 27

Schulz: 22 for 32, 315 yards, 3 TD's, 1 INT
Poole: 22 carries 134 yards, 1 TD

Defense: 350 yards, 3 TD's, 2 Field Goals

Utah Needs Coach Whittinham

Recently Brad Rock a writer for the Deseret News published an article talking about Coach Kyle Whittingham's coaching status for the rest of this year and for the future. It's titled, "Whittingham Should Get One More Year" If you would like to read the whole article please feel free to click on that link. To be honest and being respectful I have to say to Mr. Rock that I do not agree with your analysis of Kyle Whittingham's tenure status at Utah.

If Utah doesn't go to a bowl game next year, I will be sad. More sad than I am this year but, I will not be calling for Kyle Whittingham's head even then. If you look at the progress that Utah has shown I don't know how you can call for Kyle's head. There are 3 things I want to point out as reason's why Kyle has 100% of my confidence.

Progress:

Let me show you the strength of schedule and how we competed over the past 3 years:


2011:
Utah played in only a couple big games that year. They played BYU, USC, Arizona State, and Georgia Tech (Sun Bowl). In those games the Utes went 2-2. The rest of the season thy played good teams but nobody else was notable for being all that great.

Total Passing Yards:        2,252
Total Rushing Yards:       1,789
Total Defense:                  4,578
Record:                               8-5
# of Ranked Teams Played: 1
# of QB's:      2

2012:
Utah played in a couple more bigger games. BYU was better, USC game to town,  Utah played #8 Oregon State. Utah was 1-3 in those games.

Total Passing Yards:        2,288
Total Rushing Yards:       1,605
Total Defense:                  4,163
Record:                               5-8
# of Ranked Teams Played:  3
# of QB's:       4

2013:
Utah played one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Utah has played in quite a few notable games this year. They started playing against a really good Utah State team (with Chuckie Keeton), BYU, UCLA, Stanford, ASU, and Oregon. Utah was 3-3 in these games.

Total Passing Yards:        2,602
Total Rushing Yards:       1,769
Total Defense:                  4,451
Record:                               5-7
# of Ranked Teams Played:  4
# of QB's:       2
*with one more game still yet to be played against Colorado.

Perhaps you didn't catch it but, Utah has played the toughest schedule since Kyle Whittingham has been coach and yet the Utes have been more productive and the defense has roughly been the same. All things considered Utah hasn't had lady luck on their side, fortunately they have had Kyle Whittingham.

Decision Making:

Let's go back to the Utah State game this year. Utah was down 23-17 with 2:24 left to go in the 3rd quarter. Utah went for an onside kick which ended up being the difference in the game.

Coach Whitt also helped make some crucial decisions to help Utah come back against Oregon State and also almost come back against UCLA as well. Kyle hasn't been totally free from mistakes but ultimately I believe it has been the coaching that has made up for the lack of athleticism on the field in some positions.

While playing Oregon State coach Whitt, Erickson, Johnson put together a great come-from-behind last minute drive to tie the ball game and send the game into overtime. A bad zone-read by Travis Wilson forced Utah to kick a field goal. Three plays after Oregon State took over in overtime they threw the game winning touchdown pass.

UCLA game was another onside kick recovery and with 6 interceptions Utah still had a chance to win the game. Once again, it wasn't all the athletes on the field but it was in part the minds of those off the field.

Stanford was a game won because of great coaching. Stanford's head coach David Shaw gave the coaching staff proper recognition for out coaching him and his staff. By the way, did you know this was arguably the largest upset in Utah history?!

Recruiting:

I'm not sure if you have noticed but Utah has been getting much better recruits. Kyle made some mistakes by focusing on the defense and not making a QB a priority over the past few years and wasn't until last year that he got a couple of good QB's. Connor Manning and Brandon Cox.  Both of which haven't played this year.

This comes to my next point that ties in coach Whitt's decision making with recruiting. Late into the season Travis Wilson is out with concussion and later we find out he may be out for good. A lot of Utah fans were calling Connor Manning's name and wanting Adam Schulz to sit and let the freshman burn his redshirt and play in the final 2 or 3 games of the season. I have to apologize to anyone who has had to listen to these fans. Clearly they don't understand what playing in these final games could potentially do to either one of these kids and the longevity of the Utes' program. By letting Manning play in 2 games he burns his eligibility to play an entire year. Is Maning good? Sure. Is he great? Don't know and he could be great but he also could be a bust since he would only have 2 games to play. I applaud coach Whitt's decision to keep the redshirts on both Connor Manning and Brandon Cox to save them for a time when they can really make a difference.

Utah has started to see more 4-star and even a couple 5-star recruits come in. They are starting to see more success in key-role players' positions. Even with a losing season Utah should expect to see some good recruits who maybe are getting passed up by the Stanford's and Oregon's. They have seen that Utah can compete with the big boys. It can and will help Utah's cause. Now if Utah had won all those games it would have helped their cause even more.

Coach Whittingham has a good long while to coach and fail before I lose my trust in him. He has been doing a great job with what he has to play with and I think anyone is a fool to think otherwise. Educate yourselves, look at the bigger picture and perhaps you will start to see what I see; a team coming together, playing better even against tougher competition, a great coaching staff who still has room to improve, more talent coming, a better offense, injured players coming back, young team with more experience. To be fully honest, I'm not surprised with everything Utah has faced that they aren't going to a bowl game. They have exceeded expectations for me and next year I expect they will be a lot better and you Mr. Rock and all the other pessimistic Utah fans will be singing praises to coach Whitt and his staff.



 

Wazz-up Wazzu?

After a disappointing but expected loss to Oregon the Utes hit the road again this week to Wazzu! This is a due or die week for the Utes. After missing a bowl last season Utah's goal has been to make a bowl game and at 4-6 that goal is still achievable. The unfortunate truth is, they have to win out. They have to go up to Pullman to face an pass heavy offense Washington State Cougars.

Can Utah Beat Wazzu?

Aboslutely! There are just a few things that Utah needs to do to increase their chance on winning:

Defense:

Shut down the pass
Take the ball away
Force Wazzu out of their comfort zone

Offense:

Run the ball
Use Jake Murphy
Protect the ball

Stats:

There are some interesting stats about Wazzu I would like to share. This whole season I have heard about how Wazzu passes and passes a lot. Just how much? let me give you some insight into this.

Out of 754 offensive plays for Wazzu this year 577 have been passing plays. 76% of all Wazzu's plays are passing plays. Between Halliday and Apodaca Wazzu has 3,604 yards through the air (Halliday claiming 3,417 of those yards). This doesn't include the 32 rushes Halliday has (for -96 yards), the majority no doubt were passing plays he has been sacked or tackled for a loss.


Gabe Marks (#9) has 63 receptions for 721 yards. He is by far Wazzu's leading receiver. the Cougars have 5 other receivers with 30+ receptions, 2 with 20-29 receptions and a 4 with 19 or less receptions. Wazzu spreads the ball around and they have enough play makers to get the ball to.

Halliday is quick to release the ball as well. From the small brief amounts of tape I was able to watch from this past week against Arizona, a team Utah fell to 35-24. Wazzu was most successful passing down the field when they passed right around 3 seconds or less.

Wazzu has 183 rushing attempts between 6 players. They have tallied up 570 yards. There are 115 players who currently have more than 570 yards rushing. 115 individual players who have single handedly rushed more than the entire Wazzu team combined. Including James "Bubba" Poole for Utah (596 yards).

On the flip side, Halliday has 3,417 passing yards and is good for the 4th most in the nation. Which QB has the most passing yards on the season you ask? Sean Mannion from Oregon State with 3,860 yards. The Utes fell to Mannion in overtime earlier this season 51-48. Mannion had his way with Utah's secondary throwing for 443 yards.

I want to compare Utah's numbers and even BYU's to get some good comparison on how much Wazzu really does pass:

                                          Wazzu                         Utah                           BYU                    
  Passing Attempts              577                              312                             343
  Passing Yards                  3,604                           2,255                          2,383
  Rushing Attempts            183                               394                             525
  Rushing Yards                 570                              1,635                          2,654
  Longest Reception            72                                  80                              43
  Longest Rush                    24                                  65                              70

*Stats according to ESPN.com

Utah will have to slow down Wazzu's passing offense. Luckily rushing the pass is something Utah does pretty well. Currently Utah is #1 in the nation in sacks with 36. Trevor Reilly (8.5 sacks) has been an absolute beast this year and has been a great leader. He will need to get off the ball and force Halliday out of the pocket and hopefully into the sweet dominating arms of another Utah defender.




Utah has a new problem to spend a brief moment discussing. Adam Schulz is the new starting QB. Some Utah fans are calling for Conner Manning or Brandon Cox to burn their redshirt and start the final two games. To these fans I say, educate yourselves and think about what you are saying rationally. Adam Schulz is a fine QB. He has a lot of potential and played pretty well considering he was up against the 8th best defense in the nation. Schulz has a lot of work to do and will really need to connect with his WR's more if he expects to win on Saturday. Last week Schulz was 13-30 for 181 yards. Oregon's defense gives up on average of 355 yards and Wazzu gives up 447 yards. I expect Schulz to have a pretty good game and throw for 250 yards.

Summary:

Wazzu = A LOT of offense and even more so passing! They pass quickly and Halliday looks down the field and CAN deliver the ball in tight spaces. Wazzu is a lot better than most Utah fans have and will give them credit for. They gain a lot of yards but don't necessarily score a lot.

Utah - Focus needs to be on the run game. Give Schulz some time to pass. Get pressure on Halliday and stay on WR's like their hopes of a bowl game depends on it. Score more than 30 points. Force turnovers. Use Jake Murphy, he is a stud and a great asset to the offense, use him more.


Utah can win against Wazzu on Saturday. It will be a lot more difficult than Utes' fans think but it is still a very winnable game for Utah. Utah has to focus on passing defense and let the rushes happen. Shut down Halliday and his receivers and you shut down the only strength Washington State has on offense. On offense Utah has to run the ball and run the ball consistently to open up the offense to passing. Rushing effectively should give Adam Schulz some extra time to make the right decision and put the ball on the money.

                   Predictions:

                      Utah:     35

                      Wazzu:  21

             Schulz:   23-35, 247 yards

             Poole:   22 carries, 104 yards

         Defense: 

                    Pass:   250 yards

                   Rush:  32 yards

                  Sacks:  4

                  INT's:  2
Fumble Recovery: 1

Deepest Condolences to you Mr. Wilson

Ute Nation was shocked to find out that our starting QB will be out the rest of the season and possibly done for the rest of his life. I certainly was taken back when I saw the news and immediately felt so bad for Travis. Part of me felt a little disappointed because I really thought that Travis had a lot of potential and could really do some very impressive things over the next two years. Ultimately, I felt so sorry for Travis. You could tell that he loved to play the game and (despite his most recent games) has really been coming into his own and just starting to find out who he is as a QB.



Travis was sidelined with a concussion and as doctors were checking him out they found a pre-existing condition that either has yet to be determined as far as severity or the details don't want to be shared at this moment. Either way, it is serious enough to totally pull Travis. When I thought of this it was hard to be sad and more grateful for the concussion. Who knows, maybe nothing would have ever happened but what if something did? What if Travis got hit just wrong and he had permanent damage or worse, death? I can't help but be so thankful that Travis had a concussion so the doctors could find this condition before anything major happened to him. I know this could possibly be the end of his career but it certainly could have been a lot worse. Good luck Travis! You have been a great QB and we hope for the best!

Top: Travis trying to avoid a Stanford defender in this years upset
Left: Travis throwing the ball
Right: After the upset over #5 Stanford. Certainly a game to go down in Utah history

Side Order of Duck with a Twist...

I was all set to do my weekly prediction when I received an update last night. Previous to this update I received an different update that told me that Oregon's QB was planning on playing with a sprained MCL. When I read that, I literally wanted to jump with joy. Not that Mariota was injured. That isn't cool and I hope he has a recovery as fast as he runs but rather, because it gave Utah a chance to really upset Oregon and do what they do best, get after the QB. 

I was hopeful that Utah's offense would come out swinging and leave nothing behind on the field. So I picked up my phone, looked at the update, "Wilson out for Saturday's game against Oregon with a concussion. Schulz named starter." My first reaction was, "well shoot." After a few moments of deep breathing into a brown paper bag I realized that Adam Schulz will have his first chance to start and finish a game. I have said before that he hasn't been a great QB this season because the Utes have put him in for the 2nd half of games that he either needed to come back to win or, try to hold on to the lead/increase the lead. He hasn't been the most efficient back up QB and I understand that. To be honest, I blame it on the fact that he has never played. He isn't used to the game speed and by the time he finds a rhythm the game is over. Now that justification aside he Schulz is 22-45 at nearly 50% for 247 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He isn't an Alex Smith (yet) but he can add a spark to the offense they seem to desperately need. 

What people knock Schulz about:

Running ability

This to me is ridiculous. Sure Travis has shown Utah nation that he can get out and run. But is Travis Wilson a prolific runner who breaks tackles and makes things happen on his feet all the time? Absolutely not! He has had some good runs and especially last week against ASU Wilson broke free and converted some key first downs for Utah. He doesn't however WOW me as a runner though. Compare Adam Schulz. Is Schulz a crazy out of the pocket scrambler? Nope. Comparing Wilson's and Schulz's running style isn't fair because we haven't seem very many Schulz runs. He has picked up a couple crucial first downs with his feet and what I like about Schulz more than I like about Wilson is how HARD the kid runs. He takes off and takes off with a purpose, something you don't always see from Wilson.

Passing ability

Sure Schulz doesn't have as many completions as Wilson. Schulz has played a fraction of the time and has a fraction of snaps to create some chemistry with his wide receivers.  One thing that might hurt Schulz in this game against Oregon is not only how fast Oregon is (we will get to that in a minute) but how Utah’s WR's don't seem to handle the fast ball (or the cheese if you will) all too well. Utah's best WR's Drez Anderson frequently drops the short cross route pass from Wilson because it looks like the ball is coming in hot. Schulz has a cannon for an arm which could end up hurting the Utes more than it helps because the WR's aren't used to catching his throws plus add the rain factor (I know it never rains at Autzen...) and that could spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R for the Utes. Or it could be a surprise that no one expects and Utah could sneak up on Oregon. 

Now let's talk about Oregon. The Ducks defense give up a whopping 17 points again which is good for the 10th best in the nation. Ducks defense allows 317 yards for opposing offenses and takes 596 yards for their own offense. The Ducks nearly double the amount of yards they give up. They are fast, deep, fierce. 

Since the lost last week I have a feeling the Ducks are looking to really prove that last week as an anomaly and they should be in the top 10. They are certainly looking for revenge and it doesn’t help the Utes that they are the only team to beat Stanford this year.

Utah however, has been surprising on defense and lacking on offense. I expect this game to be no different. Certianly I hope that Adam Schulz can get a good rhythm going and show that he isn’t a Jon Hays type backup and can compete for the starting QB position. Also I think the “Play Conner Manning” movement is ridiculous. If he was the best QB he would be playing. The fact of the matter is, he isn’t. He still needs work and there is no reason to burn his red-shirt for one or three games. We have talent with Travis and Adam and can snag two more wins before the season is over.

Last Word:

Utah tends to come out hot and Oregon has been starting slow. I wouldn’t be surprised if Utah gets up early or at least keeps up early but Oregon is a second half team and clearly Utah isn’t. Utah has lost leads and games in the second half and especially the 4^th quarter. Look for Oregon to run a fast paced game because Utah doesn’t do well when teams snap the ball with more than 20 seconds left on the play clock.

Prediction:

I don’t know why but I had a gut feeling going into this game and I’m going to stick with it. Despite all my analysis I just have a weird feeling like Utah might be able to pull this one off. They have a great coaching staff and guys that are willing to listen. Look for the upset in Autzen.

Utah: 34

Oregon: 28

Go Utes.

Classic Utah...

Utah had a very disappointing loss on Saturday. Once again the defense showed up and almost shut down the 4th most prolific offense in the nation. With the lead in the 4th quarter the Utes couldn't hold on as a struggling offense (and questionable conservative play calling) halted the Utes' progression  a the defense allowed two touchdowns to seal the one point victory for ASU. This game is essentially what Utah Football is about this season. Close but no cigar football. I suppose the Utes have had one cigar... it was a nice one (Stanford) but have been so close they could almost taste it but eventually fell short.

Let's take a look at how the Utes played:


                                        ASU: 20   Utah:19
1st Downs                           20            12
Total Yards                         293           247
Passing                               144            121
Rushing                              149            126
Penalties                             3-14           7-80
3rd Down Conversions 3-13       5-18
4th Down Conversions 0-0            2-2
Turnovers                           1                2
Possession                          27:22         32:38

Utah's Defense deserves some serious accolades. ASU's offense has been averaging nearly 500 yards per game and over 43 points per game. Utah held ASU to under 300 yards and just 20 points. Less than half what they usually score. Utah's defense was punishing and almost relentless. Utah had 6 sacks and held ASU to just 3-13 on 3rd down conversions. One of the more impressive stats of the game is that Utah almost intercepted the ball 3 times. It's sad that an almost interception is considered good but the fact of the matter is, in most games we don't even come close to intercepting one ball.

One of the keys to this game was winning the turnover battle. Utah had that game won until the final two possessions of the game. Wilson threw a ball that looked like it should have sailed out of bounds and lived to play another down but unfortunately he didn't put enough on it and it was intercepted on an athletic snag by Robert Nelson of ASU. Wilson's second interception came just a few moments later when he threw up the middle and the pass was straight up picked off by the defensive tackle Will Sutton.

If Utah wants to be a major player int he PAC-12 and if Wilson wants to lead them, he has to learn to throw the ball away. Wilson has plenty of interceptions this year off of ill advised throws as he is trying to squeeze the ball into a highly defensive congested area. Rarely has it worked out. Let's just live to play another down Mr. Wilson.

Utah appeared to have some momentum going into half-time but lost steam in the 4th quarter. The quarterback play, running back play, and especially the offensive line play was frustrating and abysmal during most of the game. In fact I believe Wilson was 2-18 passing at one point. The only thing keeping Utah in the game was Wilson's legs. As his pocket collapsed (nearly every play) he would escape somehow and scurry his way for a few yards to keep the drive alive. With out that, Utah had no chance in that game. Also because Utah was playing at home that gave them another chance. The Utes this season have played FAR better at home than away.

The Utes are good. They have a great defense getting after the quarterback. Currently the Utes rank 2nd in the nation in sacks on the year (side note: those surrounding the Utes in this stat have 17 and 13 INT's. Utah has 2). Utah's D played well and slowed down a stellar offense but unfortunately Utah's own offense couldn't find any answers late in the game and ultimately fell to ASU.

Bringing it Home Against Arizona State

It's been quite the past few weeks. Utah got embarrassed in the Coliseum by a USC team who was injured and frankly not as nearly as talented as years past. Utah held USC's offense to 230 yards and 19 points but failed to score a touchdown and put a dismal 200 yards and 3 points. It was less than impressive and I think gave most people the confirmation that the win against Stanford was in fact an anomaly. To that I have to agree and disagree. Here is why:

Utah has played every loss close. The biggest loss this year was against USC by 16 points. The game never felt out of reach for the Utes and they were just a couple well executed plays away from not necessarily winning the game but at least making the game closer. The Utes have a good squad and in some areas they are really excelling but they have a few weaknesses that are really hurting them. Those weaknesses I will talk about later when in my Arizona State game analysis. Just as a side note, he rest of Utah's losses were Arizona 11, UCLA 7, Oregon St. 3.

See a pattern?

Here is where I am not feeling so good. USC 16, Arizona 11, UCLA 7, Oregon State 3... Let's look at this chronologically. Oregon State 3, UCLA 7, Arizona 11, USC 16. Utah historically (in my very narrow point of view) has generally had a slow start to their season and pick things up as the season progresses. This year has been the opposite. We have seen a HUGE decrease in offensive production from the first game to this past game against USC. Let's take a look at total yards from Utah from the top: Utah State - 450, Weber State - 628, Oregon State - 539, BYU - 402, UCLA - 387, Stanford - 410, Arizona - 329, USC - 201.

is it just ironic that Utahs worst offensive productions were also the two worst losses of the season to date? I don't think so. Utahs defense has really started to step up and show some real progress. Unfortunately the offense has been slow, inconsistent, and sometimes down right difficult to watch at times. To be honest Utah has reminded me of the BYU from last year. An offense that doesn't deserve their good defense.

Let's take a look at Utah's production (or lack there of) over the last two years against Arizona State:

2012:

Utah: 7 AZ State: 37
Passing: 117 Passing: 372
Rushing: 92 Rushing: 140
TY: 209 TY: 512
Turnovers: 3 Turnovers: 0
Penalties: 6-53 Penalties: 8-51


2011:


Utah: 14 AZ State: 35
Passing: 199 Passing: 325
Rushing: 121 Rushing: 74
TY: 320 TY: 399
Turnovers: 5 Turnovers: 0
Penalties: 7-71 Penalties: 10-77

Clearly Utah has had very poor performance against this Arizona State team over the past two years. I do believe that the Utes are a much more complete team this year but I'm not entirely convinced they are a better team than Arizona State this year. One of the biggest upsides to this game is that it is at home.

Let's also not forget that Utah has played the 2nd toughest schedule to date in the nation. 

The fact that they are 4-4 with that schedule is pretty awesome.

How much of a factor do you believe playing at home, again, will have for the Utes?

This game probably wouldn't be a game if it was in Arizona. Utah has had a chance in most of their games purely because they have been at home. It is pretty clear that the Utah home crowd has helped cause false starts and silly penalties on the other team and has helped Utah. With the crowd behind the Utes, they could win.

What does Utah need to do to slow down ASU's offense (6th in the nation in PPG)?

Here is where I get scared. Utah's pass defense has been steadily improving but I am afraid of our style of man-to-man defense may in fact be taken advantage of by a good quarterback and good wide receivers. I feel confident the Utes can play well enough to shut down Arizona States' rushing attack. It's AZ States' passing attack I'm nervous about.

What do the the Utes need to do to slow down ASU's offense? Get to the quarterback! It's as simple as that. The Utes have to dial up some blitz's and bring pressure to force early throws and ill advised throws.

What does the U offense need to do to get back on track?

Establish the run game. Sources say that Kelvin York (13) will be getting most of of the reps. He is our bruiser back that has great speed but has a tendency to bull people over and is a more physical style runner which may give the Utes a different look at offense. Bubba Poole will still play and is still a great back but perhaps he will have another 100 yards game and yet again prove he is the man for the job. Either way the Utes have to get their run game back on track. With out a good run attack the Utes will play the same way they have played the past two games... poorly.

How do you think ASU stacks up to the other teams you've played in the PAC-12 this year? 

They are a middle grade team. I don't know. I think I'm super tainted because I thought they should have lost that Wisconsin game. If they had lost that game I don't believe they would be in the top 25. They are certainly a good team but I don't think they are atop the leaderboard in the PAC-12. They are however a really tough team that has size and speed. They certainly are a force to be reckoned with but aren't the greatest team in the PAC-12. They have losses to Stanford and Notre Dame (and Wisconsin in my book). One a really good team the other is a mediocre team. You can decide who is who.

What do the Utes need to do, in your opinion, to have this season be considered a "success?" 

Make a bowl game. I'm different than most fans. I believed at the beginning of the season that Utah was only going to win 4 games. Right now the Utes have matched that. Anything above and beyond that is overachieving in my book. I do believe however with Utah starting off more hot than they usually do that they can now win 6 and get to a bowl game. It still isn't going to be easy because Washington State has a good offense and heavens knows the Utes have had a diffucult time beating Colorado at the end of the season. I'm happy now but I would be a whole lot happier if Utah got to a bowl game.

Predictions?

Optimistic:

Utah: 31

ASU: 28

Realistic:

ASU: 35

Utah: 21

Q: What does BYU need to do to beat Wisconsin?

Cougars on Offense
Wisconsin's defense, thus far, has been very stellar. They are currently 5th in the nation in points allowed per game (15). They have held 5 of their 8 opponents to 10 or fewer points. They are 15th in the nation against the pass (195 yards per game) and 5th against the rush (90 yards per game). While Wisconsin's D has been stellar overall, in their two losses to Ohio State and Arizona State the Badgers gave up an average of 31.5 points.

Ohio State's key to success against the Badgers was their dual threat QB, Braxton Miller. Miller didn't have a ton of yards through the air (198) but he threw for four TDs and ran for 83 yards. Arizona State aired it out more against the Badgers and threw for 352 yards, but coincidentally scored all four of their TDs on the ground. These two games (which happen to be the only two good offenses the Badgers have faced) show that Wisconsin's D can be beaten.

Taysom Hill will need to have another big game. His skill set is very akin to Miller (though Miller is decidedly the more efficient passer as of right now). Wisconsin will look to do what most teams have done thus far against the Y: force Hill to throw. Hill has shown the last five games that he can throw when his protection is solid. The O-line will have to stand up and give him time to make his reads and give him a pocket to throw from. They were better at this against Boise State but still gave up three sacks and let Hill get hit far too often. If they cannot protect Hill in the passing game, the Badgers will be able to stack the box and shut down the run game.

Another key to success will be to have solid outings from multiple running backs. The Badgers are a physical and hard hitting team. Hill and Williams have both proved that they are tough players but taking too many shots leads to injuries--Hill blew out his knee last year and Williams has been sidelined with multiple injuries thus far. Lasike, Brown and Hine will need to step up and play well enough to keep Williams and Hill healthy.  





Cougars on Defense
The Cougars should mirrored what the Badgers will try to do: force the opponent to pass. Wisconsin is a physical team that likes to establish its run game immediately. Almost 2/3's of the Badgers offensive plays have been running plays. Not by coincidence, the two games that Wisconsin lost were the two games where they threw most. BYU will need to focus on shutting down the Badgers rushing attack early and often. If they allow Wisconsin to have short yardage to go on 3rd downs, it will be a long day for the Cougars. If the front 7 consistently holds UW to 3rd and 4 or longer, it will give the D a very good chance of keeping points off the board. 

As with the offense, the Cougars will have to be very prudent with their use of substitutions and make sure they are keeping guys fresh. Recently, Kyle Van Noy admitted that he and his fellow defenders are "beat up" due to the increased tempo of the offense. The Badgers whole game plan revolves around punching their opponent in the mouths and beating them up with a bruising running game. BYU will need to rotate the backers and linemen in order to prevent fourth quarter meltdowns.  

Q: How do you think BYU will handle the size if Wisconsin's offensive and defensive line?

I feel very strongly that BYU's front seven can hang with just about anybody in the nation. While the Cougars are giving up more running yards than they did in 2012, I attribute most of that to the increased number of plays the opponents are running due to the Y's offensive scheme rather than any real downgrade in toughness and ability. While the Cougs have fallen to 40th in the nation in terms of yards allowed per game on the ground, they have only allowed 4 rushing touchdowns in 8 games. Wisconsin is the best running team that BYU will have faced but I feel confident that the D will be ready for their scheme and if the offense can put enough points on the board, the Cougars will hold the Badgers to a minimal score. 

On the other side of the ball, I am very frightened about the O-line. BYU has done a terrible job at protecting Hill all season. Fortunately for the Cougars, the Badgers are not a particularly blitz happy team (they are only 44th in the nation in sacks). Unfortunately for the Cougars, the Badgers are very good at staying in their gaps (they play a similar 3-4 to BYU's) and shutting down rushing attacks. Other than the Texas game, BYU has not gotten a great push at the line of scrimmage from the O-line. While Hill has had many explosive runs due to his speed around the edge, Williams has taken an absolute beating this year running between the tackles. It seems like every 5 yard run he has had, he's had to drag defenders with him. In BYU's current scheme, the run opens up the pass. If the Cougs cannot get a consistent push against UW, it could be ugly like the Utah game.  
 
Q: What has Taysom done to improve? 

It seems like there are many factors going into Taysom's improvement as a passer. I don't think I have seen any D-1 player progress so rapidly in a season before. Through three games, I was not sure Hill would ever become even an average passer. His passes were all coming out of his hand with way too much pepper and he was often nowhere near being on target. The last five games, Hill has looked much more comfortable. He is putting touch on his throws and most of his passes are accurate. It looks like he has a deeper understanding of the offense and the scheme the Cougars are running. A lot of credit needs to be given to his natural ability (he has a very lively arm). A lot of credit needs to go to his work ethic and diligence in learning the scheme. But, no student can be a great student without a great teacher. Robert Anae has tweaked the overall scheme of the offense just enough to allow Hill to flourish. He seems to have a good feel for where Hill is at as a passer and has done a good job in his playcalling. More than anything, though, it seems that he has gotten Hill and the rest of the offense to buy into the "Go Hard, Go Fast" mentality and has tutored Hill well. 

Q: Predictions for the game?

 It is put up or shut up time for the Cougs. They have not played a meaningful game in November for quite some time, now. This is a great opportunity to show whether or not they are a legitimate top 25 contender or just another run-of-the-mill team. The game is on national TV at a prime time slot against a Top 25 AQ team in front of a hostile crowd. I personally think the Cougars are for real and this 5 game win streak is not a fluke. I think they will show it, tomorrow. 

BYU 28, Wisconsin 21