I spent a while trying to find a good NFL clip to show. This one definitely is worthy.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been under scrutiny this year for their aggressive helmet-to-helmet type his on defense. Steelers WR Hines Ward might be more guilty than anyone of this on his blocking assignments. He is an all-star at disguising them, though.
Goodnight! That is some lights out blocking…literally.
Well, the 2010 college football regular season is over. The BCS bowl games are set, and for the third straight season, the Utes will finish with 10+ wins and 2 victories over rival BYU in those 3 seasons.
Here’s the Utes season review.
Utah started the 2010 season with a home game against #15 ranked Pittsburgh.
Utah’s offense was able to run the ball with split carries between Seniors Eddie Wide and Matt Asiata.
The defense gave up a couple big plays that let Pittsburgh erase the Utes lead late and force overtime. True freshman Brian Blechen stole the game from the Panthers with his first interception of his career coming on Pittsburgh’s first offensive possession in overtime. Utah sealed the victory with Joe Phillips’ field goal.
For the next 6 games (UNLV, @New Mexico, San Jose State, @Wyoming, @Iowa State, and Colorado State), Utah averaged 51.2 points and held those opponents to an average of 11 points.
During that streak, Utah climbed to #8 in the BCS rankings.
At 7-0 (5-0), Utah headed to Colorado Springs to face in-conference rival Air Force. The Utes/Falcons game carries with it an aura. Every fan expects a close, hard fought battle, and this game was nothing different.
The Utes beat up on the Falcons in the 3rd quarter, offensively, and Air Force turnovers throughout the game equated to a Utah victory.
It was anything but a cake walk, however, as the Utes endured 2 blown coverages on defense that lead to Air Force TDs and a Joe Phillips field goal attempt that hit the uprights and bounced out.
As is often the case with Utes football teams over the years, the defense held strong to secure a Utah 5 point victory.
At 8-0, #5 Utah set to host #3 TCU and ESPN’s College Football Gameday.
Without question, this was one of the biggest football games in Utah’s program history. A win would put Utah in position to step into the national title game.
Offensive struggles matched with flawless play by the Mountain West Conference champion TCU Horned Frogs, on both sides of the ball, produced an embarrassing, upsetting, and heart breaking loss for the Utes.
The struggles on offense continued through the next week at Notre Dame as Utah managed only 3 points on their first possession and didn’t score again.
Facing a tough road game at San Diego State, many thought Utah would be in for their 3rd straight loss. Judging on how well the Aztecs had been playing up to that point, a Utah loss did seem likely, if no adjustments had been made.
Well, something did change. The team started finding success here and there, from a hail mary TD pass to Kendrick Moeai, to a blocked punt deep in Aztec territory that lead to Utah’s go ahead touchdown run from Eddie Wide in the 4th quarter.
That victory gave Utah confidence heading into their rivalry game against BYU in Salt Lake City.
BYU entered Rice-Eccles Stadium with a 6-5 record, having beaten New Mexico the week before to make the Cougars bowl eligible.
Both teams seemed to have issues getting anything productive on offense, especially the Utes. Time and time again, Utah would go 3 and out or have their drive end on a turnover.
A fortunate combination of BYU miscues, poor clock management by Cougar offensive coordinator Robert Anae, a booth fumble review in Utah’s favor, offensive production for the Utes, and a miraculous field goal block by Brandon Burton equated to Utah’s 2nd victory over BYU in the last 3 years. Utah claimed bragging rights for the last match up between the two as conference equals.
Now, Utah faces the biggest bowl game challenge since Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, following the perfect ’08 season as they will face the Boise State Broncos in the Las Vegas Bowl. A victory would be a gigantic boost for Utah recruiting going into the PAC-12 next season.
4th and 1 Season Awards:
Offensive MVP – DeVonte Christopher
Defensive MVP – Brian Blechen
Special Teams MVP – Shaky Smithson
Players to watch next year:
Brian Blechen – This guy is for real. Blechen was drafted for his outstanding athletic ability at Quarterback and Linebacker in high school. He hits like a truck and is always in the right place at the right time.
Reggie Dunn – Can you say fast? This guy has a gear most players don’t. Look for him to step up into Shaky Smithson’s shoes as primary kickoff and punt returner. Also, look for the Utes to use Dunn in the slot and in the option to capitalize on his quickness.
DeVonte Christopher – Look for Christopher to continue as the most productive receiver for the Utes.
I still can’t get over how big this week was for college football. There are tons of things to remember so I’l have to skim the best off the top. As far as things to forget, coming up with those seems to take more effort. If it’s worth forgetting, it’s been forgotten by now this far into the season.
5 Things to Remember:
1. 3 non-AQ teams are in the BCS top 5 rankings. This likely will never happen again!!! Not just in another season, but even after this week. Utah and TCU playing Saturday will drop another of the unbeaten teams . The non-AQ teams brought the heat this season. TCU, Boise State and Utah could handle playing any team in the nation. They’re doing their best to prove it.
2. Remember back when I said it was a matter of time before Boise started to slip back and even though talks of a national championship bid for an undefeated Boise State arose at the beginning of the season, TCU and Utah would both finish above them in the BCS rankings? Well, TCU jumped Boise State after beating a bad UNLV team in Vegas Saturday. Boise State beat up on LA Tech at home and slipped back to #4 behind now #3 TCU but still staying ahead of #5 Utah. Utah now has its foothold to launch over Boise State. If they beat TCU, the Utes would overtake the #3 spot (at the very least) and be in prime position to finish undefeated and maybe in the big dance.
3. Remember Cam Newton and LaMichael James Auburn QB and Oregon RB respectively. Why? Because they are in a staring contest right now. As 3 of the 5 remaining unbeaten teams are from non-AQ conferences, Oregon and Auburn represent so much more than their schools. They represent every BCS conference and school in those conferences. They represent the last hope for keeping a non-AQ team out of the BCS national championship game. No one will argue, including TCU, Utah and Boise State fans that an Auburn team that took out Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, etc. and an Oregon team that beat Stanford, USC, Arizona, Oregon State, etc. don’t deserve to face each other in the national championship game. It’s when you start having 1-loss teams moving ahead of the undefeated non-AQ teams that drama arises. As long as Auburn and Oregon stay unbeaten, the BCS can avoid all that drama.
4. Remember to clear your schedule for Nov. 6th. Just as anticipated, Utah and TCU both enter their showdown unbeaten. TCU is #3 in the BCS polls and Utah is #5. Sports has a way of exaggerating every important to make it seem like the biggest game in the history of games. I can honestly say, this is the biggest college football game ever to be played. The reason is, the winner of this game stands a better chance at playing in the national championship game than any other non-AQ team before them. Neither Utah nor TCU have ever been this highly ranked mid-season, and never has either team been shown so much respect in the national media. This is absolutely 100% the biggest college football game of my lifetime and I have a ticket.
5. Remember to keep an eye on the rearview mirror if you are in the top 5. Auburn and Oregon control their own destiny, but with Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin jockeying for position, it’s possible that they could move ahead of an unbeaten non-AQ team…aka Boise State. Especially with the Nevada game being devalued thanks to Hawaii, they’re in trouble.
5 Things to Forget:
1. Forget about Texas. Baylor? I don’t wanna hear “Baylor is really good this year!” because no, they are not. TCU beat Baylor 45-10. Baylor took advantage of bad conference foes before facing Texas and Baylor’s success is a direct reflection of their conference’s failures. Oklahoma is down, Texas (UT, A&M, and Tech) are all awful, and in their down year, they can’t beat a Baylor at it’s peak.
2. Forget the Big East and ACC. Miami got smoked by Virginia. That alone, is reason enough for Miami to just quit the rest of the season. Every year it’s the same story with Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, etc. That story starts out with high hopes for program success and regaining the glory days of their respective programs. How does the story end? With numerous losses to horrible conference opponents and a default Orange Bowl game that no one watches because it features two 7-5 champions from these joke conferences.
3. Forget about fairness when it comes to the rankings. Alabama lost to #19 South Carolina (who lost to Kentucky the next week) Stanford’s only loss on the other hand, was to #1 Oregon on the road, and they are ranked #13 compared to Alabama’s #6 ranking. There are plenty more examples of that; Wisconsin, Missouri, etc. When the national media decides that you are the best before the season starts, it takes a Texas sized faltering to sway them.
4. Forget the experts’ opinions. When the current #2 and #5 team in the nation started the season #25 and unranked respectively, there is obviously something wrong with their expertise.
5. Forget anything but the Utah/TCU game. I know I am a homer here and anyone who has ever met me knows this Saturday is going to be the biggest day of my life, but if you seriously sit and think about what this game means (apart from how amazing the game should be with these 2 teams anyway), you’d understand that this could alter college footbal forever. Utah busted down the BCS defense in ’04 and now, they’re fixing to storm the castle.
Remember, I think Utah will be the underdog in this matchup and will be heartbroken but not surprised should the Utes lose to the incredible Horned Frogs. That being said, forget about sending hate mail and taunting comments in my time of depression. They will be ignored.
Yesterday afternoon, I got to talk with Utes starting LB Matt Martinez about the UNLV game and the defensive unity. After talking to Matt, I am completely sold that the Utes “D” is one of the best in the nation. Here’s the interview in Q&A format. (more…)
Salt Lake City, UT – I was able to get one on one interview over the phone with University of Utah Strong Safety Justin Taplin-Ross. Justin had the big shoes of Robert Johnson to fill this year, Johnson being drafted to the NFL last draft.
Utah has always been renowned for their deep ball play with the likes of Morgan Scalley, Eric Weddle, Brice McCain, and Sean Smith to name a few of the Utes recent secondary stars. So clearly, I was excited to talk with Justin (most experienced Safety on the Utes roster as far as game time last season) about the Utes secondary and his thoughts on the Pitt game and UNLV this week. The interview went as follows in Q&A format. (more…)
Stoked. Absolutely stoked about last night’s victory over Pittsburgh.
I wanna break down a few aspects of the game (while keeping this less then a novel length)
First of all, Jordan Wynn. What an opener for him. Granted, his second half was a little sloppier than his first, but I will take 3 TD’s per INT any day. (when the INT doesn’t blow the field position) and in this case, it didn’t. His pocket presence was outstanding! He used his blockers on the O-line and thus was able to avoid any real pressure from Pitt’s talented D-line.
Which brings me to the O-line. Jordan Wynn was not sacked once! Pittsburgh has NFL bound talent on their defensive line and Wynn really was only pressured a handful of times all night. They also made it possible for the Asiata/Wide duo to run for 112 yards.
The absolute biggest surprise for me was how well the defense played. Pittsburgh RB Dion Lewis was on every preseason Heisman watch list. The Utes came into the game with a very deep and talented defensive line. Lewis was a freshman last season and his lowest total rushing yards all season…78 yards. Utah’s defense only gave up 75 yards rushing to Lewis on 25 carries. 25 CARRIES!!!
And you know what the best part is? The leading tackler for Utah was Chaz Walker, first year as a starter at LB. Every LB that started last season for the Utes were seniors. This was the biggest worry I had about Utah’s defense. Not anymore. Name another running back that the Utes will face this season as talented as Lewis…give up? Yeah, there isn’t one.
The Utes secondary was also a question mark with me. And although they only had one or two plays where coverage was blown, they also limited Pittsburgh’s production through the air. In fact, the biggest, most influential play for the Utes was an INT by Brian Blechen, freshman SS in OT.
The Utes biggest need for improvement is special teams. The only bright sides for the Utes were place kicker Joe Phillips and the kicking/punting coverage.
The Utes punting was horrible! They had, in order, a muffed punt return for a turnover, a blocked punt for a turnover, and a shanked punt that have Pittsburgh the field position to drive 30 yards for the game tying field goal as time expired.
Overall, my expectations have been exceeded by the Utes and I am confident that they will be 7-0 going into the Air Force game in CO Springs.
Written by Dan Condie
When the coaches poll came out a few weeks ago, Utah was ranked #24 and Pittsburgh #18 and the season opening game between the 2 teams on Thursday, Sept. 2 seemed evenly matched.
Pittsburgh ended their regular season on a loss to in-conference rival Cincinnati as did the Utes to BYU.
Both teams boast great backfields in Dion Lewis (Pitt) and the Asiata/Wide tandom (Utah). Both teams have outstanding talent on the defensive line.
Both teams were questionable in their secondaries.
The differences?
1. Utah wasn’t breaking in a new quarterback. Pitt was.
2. Utah had a veteran offensive line. Pitt replaced 4 starters from last years OL.
The result?
Both Utah a Pittsburgh gave up a long pass play for TD’s due to secondary issues, both teams utilised a fairly equal amount of run/pass plays.
In the end, the difference between the Utes success and Pittsburgh’s shortcoming was the Utes OL and veteran QB.
Jordan Wynn not only was not sacked once the entire game by one of the most talented defensive lines in the NCAA, but he was really only pressured a handful of times. He was intercepted just once in the end zone on a 3rd and goal route to TE Kendrick Moeai, but threw for 3 TD’s and 283 yards in just his 7th game.
Pittsburgh QB Sunseri also threw just 1 INT in the game. Unfortunately, he threw it in overtime on the very first play to SS, freshman sensation, Brian Blechen.
The Utes, having won the toss and selecting to play defense first, ran the ball down to the 10 yard line and senior kicker Joe Phillips put the chip shot away to seal the victory.
This win is Utah’s 18th straight home victory and marks the highest ranked opponent the Utes have played in a home opener. Kyle Whittingham is now 14-0 against all opponents he has over a week to prepare for (season openers, after bye weeks, and bowl games)
The Utes are now 2-0 against the Pitt Panthers. The other victory being the Utes first ever BCS bowl game/victory at the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 2005.
Written by Dan Condie
6 days Utes fans!!! I am so utterly stoked for the beginning of this 2010 football season I can’t see straight.
Recently, I was listening to the local radio talk show “Bill and Spence” (on ESPN radio KALL700 AM weekdays 2pm-6pm) and they got on the topic of irreplaceable players. They went back to Alex Smith being the most irreplaceable in ’04 but posed the question “who, of the Utes line-up is most irreplaceable. I went through the Utes offense and defense and honestly could not think of one single player. Bill suggested that he thought Justin Taplin-Ross (S) would be the most irreplaceable.
I think that’s definitely as good a choice as any but brings up a great thought. Although the Utes will have a few positions that are unproven like the line backers or even elite like the defensive line and running back core, injuries to single players in any group will not destroy any of them. Hurt, but not destroy.
The Utes start their 2010 campaign at home against the Pittsburgh panthers Sept. 2nd.
Pittsburgh will begin the season ranked 15th in the AP. Utes enter the season ranked 24th in the coaches poll and unranked in the AP. I can’t help but compare this season to the 2008 season. (its a great standard)
Like 2008, the Utes will start the year against a prestigious BCS school in Pittsburgh. Contrary to ’08, this season opener will be at home against a much higher ranked opponent.
Similar to ’08, Utah will face conference rivals BYU and TCU at home in November.
Between those games though, Utah will face a likely much improved Notre Dame team at South Bend.
And finally, another similarity to 2008 is that I did not think at the beginning of the season that the Utes would go undefeated. Here’s to being pleasantly surprised again!
Go Utes!
Written by Dan Condie
With NCAA football fall camps opening up around the country the next few weeks, it’s time to get pumped and ready for college football people!
I gave my MWC predictions last week for which place each team would finish in the 2010 season. Now, with media days for all the conferences this week, and all the attention being given to college football, I figured I’d give my predictions for who will be conference champ at season’s end in each BCS and mid-major conference in the FBS.
So lets cycle through the BCS first shall we?
4th and 1 