The Utes look pretty good so far

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

Beck is going to carve them up and have a field day up there in November.

Utah's defense is over-rated. They are a one man team with Eric Weddle on that side. Well..okay...their Defensive Tackles are solid.

BYU beats up on Utah like they did TCU come November.

I'd be careful with your predictions, Rocky. You are rarely correct.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by cougjunkie

You are probably right, i am just saying if you could have any one player from BYUs team who would it be?

I would give my left testicle to see a corner like Weddle play at BYU, for even one game. Let alone 4 years.

I think Brown is a very good RB, but I think I'd rather have the other one - his name slips my mind right now (is it Fui?) - for two reasons: I think he has more upside than Brown and he's younger so he'd be around longer.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

I'd be careful with your predictions, Rocky. You are rarely correct.

I picked the score of the BYU vs. TCU game 31-17 and whaddaya know?

Also I picked Utah to rebound tonight and win 23-19....I've been really good on my last two.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

I picked the score of the BYU vs. TCU game 31-17 and whaddaya know?

Also I picked Utah to rebound tonight and win 23-19....I've been really good on my last two.

Wow, I didn't know that. Perhaps the tide is turning for you, eh? Well done.

[Goatnapper'96]

Originally Posted by Detroitdad

even if they are playing a freshman for the most part. How did they look so bad last week. Boise is good, but not that good. After all the Cowpokes only lost to them by 7 points.

i do notice that they do not have a good running game with the exception of the Rats scrambles.

I may have spoken to soon, as the Rat throws an int. in the end zone.

I don't know if Utah looked good, but they demonstrated one thing far more important than looking sharp, they demonstrated heart and determination.

I am very impressed with the way Kyle and co rallied the team, refocussed and gutted out a win over a solid college football team.

It will be interesting to see who can continue (between the Y and the U) to execute and play consistently between now and NOV 25.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by Goatnapper'96

I don't know if Utah looked good, but they demonstrated one thing far more important than looking sharp, they demonstrated heart and determination.

I am very impressed with the way Kyle and co rallied the team, refocussed and gutted out a win over a solid college football team.

It will be interesting to see who can continue (between the Y and the U) to execute and play consistently between now and NOV 25.

If I had to choose, I'd take heart and determination over sharpness.

I was happy to see the Utes come out and play like they did. Utah's defense was very solid and the offense did enough to get it done.

Finally, Weddle is the man.

[fusnik11]

Few thoughts:

a. Utah might have the worst two coordinators in college football right now. They really are bad, Ludwig is horrible, and Anderson needs extreme amounts of help.

b. Brian Johnson did not play this year because he is still recovering from his injury. It was a health decision made by the group, staff, player, doctors. They felt that Rat was good enough to lead them to 8-9 wins this year. The QB controversy up there this year was not because KW wanted drama, it was because it dawned on them that their initial thoughts on Rat were incorrect. He did very little in the offseason to improve his game and lacks the intensity in the locker room to become a good QB. He makes bad read, after bad read.

c. TCU just might not be as good as most thought. I thought they had the type of defense you needed to run the table in the MWC but their offense is so bad it might not matter how good they are. They have the easiest schedule in the MWC this year, they had a fairly easy out of conference schedule, and they find themselves at the bottom of the MWC right now. I bet Hair Thompson can't be too happy that his annointed BCS busting team has lost two games in a row coming off a bye week and two short weeks for the opposing teams.

[Goatnapper'96]

Originally Posted by fusnik11

Few thoughts:

a. Utah might have the worst two coordinators in college football right now. They really are bad, Ludwig is horrible, and Anderson needs extreme amounts of help.

b. Brian Johnson did not play this year because he is still recovering from his injury. It was a health decision made by the group, staff, player, doctors. They felt that Rat was good enough to lead them to 8-9 wins this year. The QB controversy up there this year was not because KW wanted drama, it was because it dawned on them that their initial thoughts on Rat were incorrect. He did very little in the offseason to improve his game and lacks the intensity in the locker room to become a good QB. He makes bad read, after bad read.

c. TCU just might not be as good as most thought. I thought they had the type of defense you needed to run the table in the MWC but their offense is so bad it might not matter how good they are. They have the easiest schedule in the MWC this year, they had a fairly easy out of conference schedule, and they find themselves at the bottom of the MWC right now. I bet Hair Thompson can't be too happy that his annointed BCS busting team has lost two games in a row coming off a bye week and two short weeks for the opposing teams.

I think the Utah margin for error is smaller than BYU's. I think that BYU can go down the field on any team left on its schedule if the team cheats up with the safeties to take away the short pass or to control the run game. Other than Utah, I believe BYU will be able to establish the run on every team they play. So I think MWC teams will have to pick their poison, will they force Beck to beat them down the field or force BYU to beat them running the ball and executing at 5-8 yards a pop. Utah has a limited rushing attack and a QB who is streaky. Sometimes Rat is hot and can go downfield, other times he is colder than a witches tit in a cast iron bra. Generally, he does not stay hot all game long. However, Utah has a better defense than BYU so it is better able to keep them in games when the offense is sucking.

The key is going to be which team can stay consistent. I got my ideas on which team it will be. I think this year it will be BYU. Other than the U of A game they have been pretty consistent on both sides of the ball. I think the level of competition left for BYU reflects Tulsa more than BC or TCU. I think that the U will run into trouble against UNM or WYO if Rat goes cold. Their offense is not balanced enough to compensate if he is off. The other big game is Air Force and BYU historically plays the Falcons much better.

[UteStar]

Utah's passing game is struggling and Utah's running game can struggle. The Utes have 1 true standout on offense and that is Casteel and he can change the way a team prepares against Utah. Weddle is also another option but I see his role as more of mixing it up and keeping a defense on its toes, not so much as making amazing offensive plays.

I like BYU's offense quite a bit. They have a steady QB and their running game is very good. With that said, I am not convinced about their defense. I think they have played some pretty average teams that were not good passing teams. Arizona, TCU, USU don't have any kind of passing games. BC is obviously solid...it will be interesting to see what BYU does against a team that can pass that ball and has receivers that can do something with it. Now, with all that said, I don't know how many of those teams BYU will face this year.

I think both BYU and Utah have a good chance of meeting each other with only a loss or two between the two teams. That is probably more of an indictment against the conference than it is to how good either of these teams are.