FOFC-BBCF: The Utah Utes

[Groundhog]

Post-Training Camp Roster Evaluation - Special Teams

Ks

			Cur/Pot YR KA KS KL
*Timothy Hernandez	3.0/3.5 SR 13 14 12
#Mack Curtis		3.0/4.5 FR 13 13 14
Charlie Bradley		1.0/1.5 SO  9  7 12

Key: KA = kick accuracy, KS = kick strength, KL = kickoff length, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Hernandez is the returning First Team All-Mountain West kicker, which is just as well for him, because Mack Curtis looks like an absolute stud. We're going to redshirt Curtis and pray he doesn't leave, because we are confident with Hernandez this year, even if he did shank a couple of easy ones last season.

Ps

			Cur/Pot YR PA PL KL
*Edward Custer		2.5/3.0 SR 13 12  3
Willie Darden		2.0/2.5 SO 12 11  6

Key: PA = punt accuracy, PL = punt length, KL = kickoff length, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

We were pretty happy with Custer's 39.8 avg for punts - including 9 TBs and 10 inside the 20 - and expect that to continue this year. Darden will get his chance next year.

KRs

			Cur/Pot YR KR AC AG SP
Donald Haley		1.0/1.5 JR 15  7  7 10
John Newby		1.0/2.5 JR 15  9  8  9
Dewey Wilburn		2.5/3.5 SO 13 12  8 15

Key: KR = kick returning, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed.

Ryan Meyers and Richard Rowe, our two key kick returners last season, are gone, leaving Haley to take their place. Haley looks OK, but he's a step down from last year's two. Newby - our main punt returner - is option number 2, while WR Wilburn can return if absolutely neccessary.

PRs

			Cur/Pot YR PR AC AG SP
*John Newby		1.0/2.5 JR 18  9  8  9
Lester Clayton		2.5/4.0 FR 14 12 13 10


Key: PR = punt returning, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed.

Newby was great for us last year, averaging 15.6 yard per return and running in for 2 TDs. We'll be hoping he holds up too, because freshman CB Clayton is our next best returner, and it's a pretty big gap between the two.

Outlook

The loss of our two kick returners from 2008 hurts, but our kicking game should be good enough to do all that is reasonably asked of it, while Newby is pretty special when it comes to returning punts. All in all, a none-too-shabby unit.

[Groundhog]

2009 Position Changes

We had three players move to different roles for us this offseason.

First up was CB Matt Herman, one of our three highly touted CBs. We decided to throw him in at SS and he performed well, going from a 2.0/4.0 rated CB to a 2.5/4.0 rated SS, and that's about what we expected. His overall athleticism will give him an edge at SS, but he'll still redshirt this year as Joseph Smith has the better fundamentals at this stage.

In need of depth at OG we moved OT Stanley Rangel across, and again he did well. He was a 1.5/3.0 rated OT, and is now a 2.0/3.0 rated OG, which makes him first off the bench at OG, rather than burried down the depth chart at OT.

Lastly we tried to clear out our glut of free safeties by having Brian Talbot attempt to move to CB. Talbot was rated just 1.5/2.5 at FS, so we weren't expecting too much at CB, and that's exactly what we got with his ratings at CB being 1.0/2.5. Purely bench depth, but his coverage skills bring him ahead of some of our other lower-rated CBs like Richard Carpenter and Jesse Williams.

[Groundhog]

2009 Mountain West Season Projection

According to the Mount West coaches (ie. the BBCF game), the expected order of finish in the Mount West in 2009 will be:

1. Utah
2. Air Force
3. TCU
4. BYU
5. San Diego State
6. Colorado State
7. New Mexico
8. UNLV
9. Wyoming

For the second year in a row we are favourites, and for the second year in a row I expect we'll fall short of expectations. I think 3 or 4 is a more realistic spot for us due to the fact that we have the worst QB lineup in the conference. We'll be hoping our running game and defense are enough to keep us above .500. TCU would be my pick as the pre-season favourite due to their swell of new talent in combination with the core of last season's team. Air Force are probably in the right spot, while New Mexico should be a couple of spots higher. BYU and San Diego State could go either way.

I'll do a more complete conference preview shortly.

[Groundhog]

Utah's 2009 Offensive & Defensive Schemes

On offense we are going to be running the Option. Our OC is a Run'n'Gun style of coach but we don't have the personnel to be doing a lot of gunning, so we'll be trying our luck with the Option instead. It came down to either Smashmouth or Option but we want to try and take advantage of the running skills of QB Eddie Mays, who is like a homeless man's Michael Vick, so Option it is. I have no experience with the Option, so we'll see how it goes.

On defense we will once again be running the 3-4. ILB is the deepest area of our roster so this allows us to field the extra ILB, as well as masking our lack of depth on the DLine. With the extra talent at CB and Safety we will also be looking to play a few more pass-D formations like Dime et al this year than we did last year. Hopefully, along with the addition of talent in our secondary, this will help improve a Pass-d that grew very shaky in the last half of 2008.

[Groundhog]

Utah Utes 2009 Schedule

Wk 1: Louisiana-Monroe
Wk 2: -----------
Wk 3: Miami (OH)
Wk 4: @ Air Force
Wk 5: #16 Oregon State
Wk 6: San Diego State
Wk 7: @ Colorado State
Wk 8: Brigham Young
Wk 9: @ UNLV
Wk 10: New Mexico
Wk 11: Wyoming
Wk 12: -----------
Wk 13: @ Texas Christian
Wk 14: -----------
Wk 15: Utah State

Overall, a tougher schedule than last season. Louisiana-Monroe is our strategy "idiot check" game, followed by Miami (OH) in week 3 which, though tougher, we should still win.

A very tough stretch follows however, as we travel to Air Force and then play #16 Oregon State and San Diego State at home. All tough games, and we could drop all 3.

Rest of the schedule is a fair bit better, though the week 13 matchup with TCU on the road will be tough.

[DeToxRox]

2010, I have an opening, care to start a home & home?

I need my requisite Mountain West foe.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

2010, I have an opening, care to start a home & home?

I need my requisite Mountain West foe.

Sure, sounds good to me.

[Groundhog]

My 2009 Mount West Prediction

CPU generated predictions in brackets.

1. TCU (3)
2. Air Force (2)
3. San Diego State (5)
4. Utah (1)
5. BYU (4)
6. New Mexico (7)
7. Colorado St (6)
8. UNLV (8)
9. Wyoming (9)

My main problem was with the order of the CPUs top 5. Without a QB there is no way we are favourites, with TCU easily having the stronger overall roster IMO. I really like the look of Air Force, but they underachieved last season so anything could happen. BYU and San Diego State are my biggest question marks though. I didn't expect either of them to do as well as they did last season, and we will hopefully be in the mix with these 2 schools to decide spots 3, 4 and 5.

There is a pretty clear gap IMO between the top 5 and bottom 4 teams. New Mexico are the only team that may surprise, but I still see them as a clear tier below.

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Preview: Utah Utes (0-0) vs Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (0-0)

Finally, the season is upon us! We kick things off with a warm-up game of sorts against the Warhawks at home, who are a lower prestige team that we expect to beat. This is my strategy 'idiot check' game, as we've made a number of changes to our gameplanning this season. Depending on how things go tonight I'll be looking at tweaking and adjusting things in order for our stronger matchups to come in the next couple of weeks.

We definately aren't counting our chickens until they've hatched however. The major threat for ULM that we'll be keying in on is RB Thomas Plummer. He's an athletic back who has at times looked a threat both running the ball and receiving, but he does not have much of a OLine to work with. Run defense was our strength last season, and I don't expect that to change much this year. We need to keep Plummer under 100 yards, and force ULM's QB William Holmes to throw the ball. Holmes had an OK year as a true freshman, but accuracy is not his strong suit. WR Larry Clark gives him an option to throw to, but this is a team that would much prefer to gain yardage on the ground.

The ULM defensive unit is not much to look at. DT Joseph Williams is the 'star', but they do not get much help from their secondary. We will be rotating our QBs in order to hopefully get our main guys some completions and get a read on who our best option will be for the rest of the season. As should be the case for us this year however, it's on the ground where we expect to do the damage. We'll be looking to get Reynolds more carries this year, and we expect him to have a big game against these guys.

Oh yeah, and we decided to not redshirt our CB-turned-SS Matt Herman after all. He looks like a flight risk, so we're throwing him in the deep end as starter from day 1. He is relatively close to our previously planned starter at SS, except a far better athlete, so it's not such a major issue.

Prediction: Utah 27, ULM 10. We are +15 point favourites.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force (0-0) @ Army (0-0) - Air Force are +13 favourites and shouldn't be troubled in this one.
#14 Florida St (0-0) @ San Diego St - Florida State are +20 favourites. Tough start to the season for the Aztecs.
BYU (0-0) @ Northern Illinois (0-0) - Odds are listed as even.
Wyoming (0-0) @ South Florida (0-0) - South Florida are +3 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#1 Texas (0-0) @ #10 Auburn (0-0)

Big matchup to start the year, with the pre-season favourites on the road against the Tigers. Texas are +7 favourites.

[st.cronin]

TCU's roster is better than Utah's at one position: Quarterback. Every other position you're either better or equal.

I actually like BYU to do very well.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

TCU's roster is better than Utah's at one position: Quarterback. Every other position you're either better or equal.

I actually like BYU to do very well.

Aye, but WHAT a QB. Your team actually reminds me a fair bit of my team last season, but with better pass defense and a better QB. That's the main reason why I'm pimping your team so much.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Aye, but WHAT a QB. Your team actually reminds me a fair bit of my team last season, but with better pass defense and a better QB. That's the main reason why I'm pimping your team so much.

I have my concerns about him. We'll see.

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Result: Utah Utes 54, ULM 31

Player of the Game: RB J Reynolds (UTAH) - 34 ATT, 294 yds (8.65ypc), 4 TDs

BOX SCORE

Well, we won, but this is not how we wanted to start the season. Offensively, we were in pretty fine form tonight, with Reynolds being able to run just about anywhere he wanted for his 4 TDs, including a nice 59 yard breakaway. Our QBs, Mays in particular (6/8, 74 yds, 1 td), performed well, and our OLine held for the most part. 54 points is an impressive total for us, and outside of a couple of minor quirks we did well on offense. ULM did help us out by a bad fumble off a kick off return and quite a few penalties however.

Defensively however, yuck. Warhawks RB Plummer was the guy we were keying on, and we held him to 79 yards, and the Warhawks to a total net of 73 yards on the ground. This was our primary goal, and we were happy with that, with transfer recruit ILB Ybarra in particular picking up 3 stuffs.

Where we struggled was, once again, against the pass. Perhaps I shouldn't say "we" so much as "SS Matt Herman", the guy who looked set to transfer if he didn't play straight away as a freshman this year. Herman had 3 missed tackles and was out of position once, allowing 3 big passing plays in total (one a TD) for a horrendous start to his career. He did pick up one of our two interceptions (the other going to our other freshman CB, Clayton, off the bench), but man, we'll be hoping this was just a freak occurance from him or else he'll be straight to the bench.

Outside of Herman, we did OK, but struggled to get stops when we needed them. We also didn't put nearly enough pressure on ULM's QBs, with just 2 hurries and a sack. Against a DLine like ULMs, we need to do better.

Around the Mount West:

Up and down week for the Mount West.

Army defeat Air Force 18-14 - Army's D is just too much for Air Force. Air Force are better than this, but it looks like their inconsistency from last year has returned.
Florida St defeat San Diego St 44-14 - No real surprises here.
Northern Illinois defeat BYU 31-24 - A late rally falls short for BYU, and they fall short on the road.
Wyoming defeat South Florida 24-10 - A big 3Q sees Wyoming pick up the W on the road. Very solid showing by QB Jones, with 3 TD passes.

Game of the Week Result: Texas 26, Auburn 14

Not even a great night from Auburn RB Williams (205 yds, 6.03ypc, 2 TDs) was enough to get them the W, as the Longhorns were just too much. It was 13-14 Auburn heading in to the half, but Texas had 13 unanswered points in the 3rd and this proved to be enough.

True freshman QB Cameron came in off the bench for the Longhorns and was impressive, completing 8/11 passes for a TD and an INT.

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Injuries

Our top receiver Robert Byrd left the game early in the 2nd quarter with a broken hand - a big blow. He is listed as probable with 4-6 weeks for recovery. We'll likely rest him another 2 weeks and bring him back once conference games start up.

[Groundhog]

Week 2 Preview: No Game

We get the week off to prepare for Miami (OH) at home next week. It won't help us too much, as Byrd's injury will keep him out for at least another 2 weeks at best.

Around the Mount West:

A tough week in the Mount West, with only BYU expected to pick up the win.

Colorado St (0-0) @ #24 Georgia (1-1) - Georgia are +20 favourites.
UNLV (0-0) @ #6 USC (0-1) - USC are +20 favourites.
TCU (0-0) @ Arizona (0-1) - Arizona are +18 favourites.
San Diego St (0-1) vs Pittsburgh (0-1) - Pittsburgh are +6 favourites.
Air Force (0-1) vs Colorado (1-0) - Colorado are +10 favourites.
BYU (0-1) @ Middle Tenn St (0-1) - BYU are +9 favourites.
New Mexico (0-0) vs Northern Illinois (1-0) - Northern Illinois are +6 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#21 California (1-0) @ Rutgers (1-0)

Tough week to pick a game of the week, with the only two ranked teams facing each other coming off losses to open the year, so I went with an unconventional selection.

California were a little uneven in their week 1 win over Kansas State, and will need to find their form today against a Rutgers team that is coming off a solid win over Arizona last week.

California are heavily favoured on the road and should pull this one out, but hey, go you underdogs!

[Groundhog]

Week 2 Result: No Game

We didn't lose. Yay! Byrd still listed as probable (3-5).

Around the Mount West:

#23 Georgia defeats Colorado St 50-27
#6 USC defeats UNLV 56-14
Arizona defeats TCU 20-16
Pittsburgh defeats San Diego St 34-9
BYU defeats Middle Tenn St 27-0
Northern Illinois defeats New Mexico 17-11

This week was every bit as difficult as promised for the MWC, with only BYU picking up the W with style. TCU-Arizona was the game of the week with the Horned Frogs just falling short, while both ranked teams thoroughly stomped Colorado State and UNLV.

Game of the Week Result: #22 California 44, Rutgers 6

It didn't really wind up being much of a game this one, with California not being too troubled on the road against the Scarlett Knights. Rutgers held the Golden Bears TD-less in the first half, but Cali busted out 3 TDs in the third, and 2 in the 4th, to put the game well out of reach. RB Michael Davis from Cali was player of the game, with 194 yards rushing and 2 TDs.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Academic Suspensions:

Yowzers. I miscalculated, thinking I had one more week to set my study settings, but I was wrong, and we lost 4 players. The list, including stats from our first game, are:

(bold indicates starter)

RB T. Richardson (DNP)
C William Smith - 1 False Start (nice game!)
DE Bruce Gonzales - 3 tackles, 1 stuf
OLB Adrian Esparza - 6 tackles, 1 sack

Esparza, our JuCo recruit, still hasn't got his academics in order after two years of Junior College. Thankfully we are well stocked at OLB, but he was coming off a nice game.

Losing Gonzales does hurt our DLine though, even if he had a bit of a bad game last week (2 missed tackles). We have a couple of young guys at DE who will get their chance, either Lewis (a sophomore pass rusher) or Terry (a balanced freshman). Both are a step backwards at this point.

C Will Smith was a reserve, but a mighty good one. Still, not a major issue unless our starter goes down. RB T. Richardson is not on the depth chart.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Preview: Utah Utes (1-0) vs Miami (OH) Redhawks (0-1)

The Redhawks are coming off a pretty solid showing against #12 Michigan, falling 27-15. Defensively they looked pretty good for the most part, but were unable to score a TD, thanks to their inability work the ball in to the red zone.

Offensively they are a balanced squad, but are clearly more comfortable with the run. Sophomore QB Joseph Roy has an accurate arm however, and we'll need to play the pass a lot better than we did against ULM. RB John Hayes is no superstar, and we'll be looking to keep him under 100 yards again, while pressuring Roy to make bad passes. The OLine has some talent - OG Smith in particular - so we'll need to really step up this week to make that happen.

We really need to be very careful against this team on offense, especially through the air. Michigan were able to move the ball through the air, but my QBs might struggle against this secondary. As per usual we'll be looking at attacking on the ground through Reynolds, but Redhawks DE Whitmore, as well as his LBs, will make that a harder task for Reynolds than it was last week.

I'm confident that we can take this game, but to do so we are going to need to shut down the passing game far more efficently than last week, and get pressure on the QB. I'm confident that our running attack will get us enough FGs and TDs to get us the points, so we just need to keep these guys under 20 points.

Prediction: Utah 27, Miami (OH) 16. We are +7 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

BYU (1-1) vs San Jose St (1-) - BYU are +15 favourites.
San Diego St (0-2) @ #16 Oregon St (1-0) - Oregon State are +9 favourites.
TCU (0-1) vs #2 Oklahoma (1-0) - Oklahoma are +11 favourites.
Wyoming (1-0) @ Oregon (2-0) - Oregon are +20 favourites.
New Mexico (0-1) vs Akron (0-2) - New Mexico are +13 favourites.
Colorado St (0-1) @ East Michigan (0-2) - Colorado St are +7 favourites.
Air Force (0-2) vs North Texas (0-2) - Air Force are +15 favourites.

Should be a better week for the MWC, with the exceptions of some tough games for TCU, Wyoming and San Diego State. Anything below .500 for the MWC this week would be dissapointing.

Game of the Week:

#4 Purdue (2-0) @ #6 USC (1-1)

USC never got going against Notre Dame in week one before bouncing back against MWC'ers UNLV last week. Purdue - fresh off two nice wins, including a week one victory over Miami - will be another tough matchup for the Trojans. Purdue are favoured by +4, but I'm thinking that the Trojans are back on the right path and will take this game at home.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Result: Utah 12, Miami (OH) 13

Player of the Game: DE J Whitmore (Miami (OH)), 5 tackles, 4 hurries, 3 stuffs

BOX SCORE

An absolute disaster of a game. Our already reduced DLine lost DE Gaddy and DT Rhodes before the 8 minute mark of the 1st Quarter had been reached, and this was an omen of things to come.

We were unable to put even a single TD on the board, largely because our running game just never got going. Reynolds was held to 85 yards on just 2.74ypc - his worst game ever - and this was thanks to blown blocking assignments from his linemen. Repeatedly we missed blocks, leaving Reynolds with nothing to work with. With no running game we were also forced to go to the air, and Mays (9-24 cp, 158yds, 1 int) did about as well as I could expect him to.

Even with his interception and a couple of bad passes (usually due to pressure from the D, thanks again to poor play from his OLine), Mays was our best player on offense tonight, mostly due to a couple of nice deep passes and 2 great scrambles to pick up 1st downs on 3rd and longs.

Defensively we were pretty solid for the most part, especially considering we had no starters on the DLine of our 3-4 defense. Ybarra in particular was solid for us from the ILB spot, picking up 6 tackles, 2 stuffs, and a QB hurry. FS B. Cox had another couple of blown coverages to give up big plays, but redeemed himself with a couple of stuffs, while CB Kim grabbed his first interception of the season. Overall, to hold these guys to just one TD was a pretty good effort considering how woeful we were on offense.

Still, despite our troubles, we could have won this game. With 2:16 remaining, Newby returned a punt 18 yards to get us to the Utah 41, then a big Mays pass and a penalty got us 1st down at the Miami (OH) 13. We weren't able to pick up the TD, but worked it to the 7 yard line to setup the 25 yard FG with :46 remaining. Then Hernandez, our reigning MWC 1st team kicker, blew the kick for a fitting end to the game.

Hard to be too upset about it though, because we didn't deserve this win.

Around the Mount West:

BYU defeat San Jose St 20-10
#16 Oregon St defeat San Diego St 32-23
TCU defeat #2 Oklahoma 20-10(!!!)
Oregon defeat Wyoming 26-23
New Mexico defeat Akron 24-10
Colorado St defeat Eastern Michigan 34-6
Air Force defeat North Texas 52-3

A very good week for the MWC, with 5 out of 9 teams picking up a win. No win was better than TCU toppling the #2 Sooners however! TCU shut down the air and contained the Sooner's running game to pick up a very nice defensive win.

Game of the Week Result: Purdue 41, USC 23

Purdue look like they might just be the real deal after a big win on the road tonight. The Trojans D gave up far too many big plays, and Purdue QB Bryan, with 15/24 cps for 322 yards and 2 TDs was just too solid.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Injuries

Thankfully DE Gaddy's injury is nothing major, and he'll be back next week when we kick off conference play. DE Lewis, our 3rd DE who is starting while we await Gonzales' return from suspension, also picked up an injury and is listed as questionable for 2-4 weeks, but will be in the lineup next week.

Freshman DT Rhodes hurt his wrist, but will also be good to go.

WR Byrd's hand is still mending, but we are going to bring him back next week because we need all the help we can get on Offense.

[st.cronin]

That's a tough loss, but its better to have that happen in a non-conference game. In college football, its all about the conference.

Sorry, that's the best I can do for consoling words.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

That's a tough loss, but its better to have that happen in a non-conference game. In college football, its all about the conference.

Sorry, that's the best I can do for consoling words.

Heh, thanks.

Fingers crossed, that was about as bad as my team should ever play offensively, and it meant falling by 1 point to a team that would probably be middle/lower-tier in our conference. That's what I'm using to try console myself anyway.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Preview: Utah Utes (1-1, 0-0) @ Air Force Falcons (1-2, 0-0)

Conference play kicks off this week, with our Utes heading to Air Force for a game on the road against the inconsistent Falcons. The Falcons dropped two straight, including a dissapointing 4-point loss to Army, to start the season but bounced back and whalloped North Texas last week.

The strength of this Falcons team is their offense. They returned all 2008 starters except for at C, and have arguably the best RB in the conference in Kevin Flores. Flores did great against Colorado in week 2, and we will need to really work to keep this guy under 100 yards. Making that even harder will be a mostly solid OLine, a set of quality WRs, and Feldman at QB. Feldman in particular has improved each year and looks set to challenge for 1st team all-MWC this year. Injuries have hit this offensive unit quite hard and a number of players are niggled or out all-together, but this is still a dangerous squad.

Defensively the Falcons have not been quite so strong, and have struggled against the pass in particular. This will not help us so much, but we will be playing WR Byrd so hopefully we are able to get a little something from the air to open up our running game. Falcons DE Gary Doran, a first team all-MWC 2 seasons ago as a freshman, is off to another slow start, but he and an above-average set of LBs will be doing all they can to shutdown our running game.

This is going to be a tough and interesting game for us. Our secondary is going to get a real workout today, and that could well be the key for us. CB Kim in particular is really going to need to hold his own and pull down some interceptions. Keeping Flores under 100 yards on the ground might be too much of an ask, but hopefully we can at least contain him.

Offensively I'm hoping that last week was just out-of-character for us in regards to our running game. We need better blocking and to just get Reynolds to the LOS - he'll handle the rest from there. All I need from my QBs - Mays in particular - is to limit the bad passes, and pick up the odd couple of yards on the ground when the situation presents itself. Interceptions and the like are expected given the experience of these guys, but if they just limit the bad passes and fumbles then I'll be happy.

We can win this game, even on the road, but it will take about 200% of the effort we gave on offense last week to do it, while maintaining our defensive intensity.

Prediction: Air Force 30, Utah 23. Odds are listed as even.

Around the Mount West:

San Diego St (0-3,0-0) @ Wyoming (1-1,0-0) - Wyoming are +7 favourites.
BYU (2-1,0-0) @ Colorado St (1-1,0-0) - BYU are +5 favourites.
UNLV (0-1,0-0) @ New Mexico (1-1,0-0) - New Mexico are +8 favourites.

Our game is probably the biggest of the week, though Wyoming and San Diego St may prove a pretty good matchup, as the surprising Cowboys nearly beat #25 Oregon last week, while the Aztecs have lost to two top-25 teams.

Game of the Week:

#22 Georgia (2-0) @ #14 Ole Miss (3-0)

Neither team is yet to really be tested with a relatively soft schedule, so this will be a good showing as to whether or not these teams are worthy of their top-25 ranking. Ole-Miss has been great on D, with CB Glover running back two Ints for TDs already this year, where as Georgia is yet to score under 50 points, so this could be an interesting matchup.

[st.cronin]

I'm curious what sort of tweaks you've made to the default option game plan, or if you've come up with your own.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I'm curious what sort of tweaks you've made to the default option game plan, or if you've come up with your own.

I've been pretty cautious in my tweaking, because I don't really know what I'm doing. I've kept the 'default' (be it 'pass', 'run', or 'balanced') for the most part with small adjustments here and there, some of which I've been quite happy with - especially defensively.

I'm at work and am struggling to remember exactly which fields I modified for the past 2 games (there were small differences), but if I get the time tonight I'll post some more.

[Groundhog]

Oh, and the one thing I changed the most was blitz percentages. I adjusted them to my player strengths, but it's too soon to tell if they've had much of an effect one way or the other.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Result: Utah Utes 15, Air Force Falcons 17

Player of the Game: FS Robert Hines (AIRF) 7 tackles, 1 int, 1 TD

BOX SCORE

Once again, close but not cigar. This was another frustrating defeat for us, with two mistakes preventing us from staging a 4th quarter comeback. Down 10-3 in the 4th, Utes QB Saunders threw a pick that got returned 83 yards for a Falcons TD to push it out to 17-3. We didn't give up though and kept our D up while working the ball on the ground, but we just couldn't get in to the end zone, instead having to settle for FGs. Finally Saunders connected with RB Reynolds for a 5 yard TD pass to make it 15-17, but we failed the 2pt conversion. Needing a 3-and-out on D to get the ball back with under 1:20 left, the Falcons unfortunately picked up the first, and ran out the clock to take the win.

Another missed FG - this time from 19 yards at the end of the 3rd Q - proved to be the difference, and has really got me frustrated with kicker Hernandez. He is deadly accurate from 30 yards and out, but it seems that anything under that is a roll of the dice.

Once again there were some positives to this game, and they came mostly from my D. Our D allowed just 1 TD, thoroughly contained Falcons RB Flores (80yds, 3.48ypc), and kept QB Feldman from doing any major damage. We gave up just 281 yards (compared to 396 gained ourselves) and if we had just been able to get the ball in to the endzone, we would have won this game. ILB Ybarra continues to impress, picking up 11 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 stuff, while OLB Roman was all over the field with 12 tackles, 1 stuff, and 1 hurry.

Offensively RB Reynolds bounced back this week with 162 yards on 27 attempts (6.00ypc). Our blocking was better - but far from perfect - and our running game as a whole was improved by the return of WR Byrd, who had 8 catches for 86 yards and helped open the game up. QB Mays took a hit early and left the game injured, finishing 5/10 for 38 yards, while Saunders was 7/11 for 89 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.

But the fact that we picked up 396 yards on the ground and only walked away with a single TD is a travesty, and it's something we really need to look at. Our D is really carrying this team right now, and if we don't start getting in to the endzone it could be a long season.

Around the Mount West:

BYU defeat Colorado St 31-24
New Mexico defeat UNLV 23-9
San Diego St defeat Wyoming 37-20

San Diego State upset the odd-makers by picking up the road win with ease, while all the other matchups went pretty much as expected, though it did take a spectacular 81 yard TD pass to give BYU the win.

Game of the Week Result: Georgia 27, Ole Miss 25

This game ended up being a real thriller. Ole Miss RB broke away for a 61 yard TD run to put Ole Miss up 25-24 with 2:51 remaining (failed 2pt conversion), but Georgia nailed the 32 yard FG with 5 seconds left to take the win.

Ole Miss's D was great against the run, but struggled to shutdown Bulldog's QB Benjamin, who finished 19/30 with 260 yards and 3 TDs.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Injuries

A number of bumps and bruises from this game as a number of players limped off the field, including starting QB Mays. Thankfully they were mostly relatively minor, though Mays hurt a tendon in his foot and is listed as questionable (5-7). He will play next week however.

Worst of all was 3rd WR Chaffin who injured himself quite severely in a special teams play. He dislocated his knee and will likely miss the majority of the season, if not the entirety of it. Chaffin stepped in for Byrd and was quite solid last week, so this hurts.

[Groundhog]

Week 5 Preview: Utah Utes (1-2) vs #9 Oregon State Beavers (3-0)

This is going to hurt. Oregon State have picked up 3 nice - if close - victories to start the year, including a 25-17 win over #12 UCLA last week. They have done it largely with a balanced attack, and have defended well against the pass.

The one area they haven't been particularily strong at is run defense, which plays right to our strength, but we aren't going to kid ourselves in to thinking that we have too much of a chance here today. The Beavers are clearly a couple of tiers above us in terms of talent, and our main goal will be to try and keep it close.

The Beavers average 170+ yards on the ground, and 272 through the air. If we can cut in to those two figures, I'll be happy.

Prediction: Oregon State 34, Utah Utes 13. Beavers are just +9 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force (2-2) @ UNLV (0-2) - Air Force are + 11 favourites.
TCU (1-1) @ Colorado St (1-2) - Odds are listed as even.
San Diego St (1-3) @ BYU (3-1) - BYU are +15 favourites.

A couple of interesting matchups, not to mention interesting odds. I'm surprised that TCU-Colorado St is listed as even as I expect TCU to take that one out quite easily. The Aztecs-Cougars game could also be closer than the bookies expect, though BYU have been very solid to start the year.

Game of the Week:

#5 Oklahoma (2-1) @ #2 Texas (4-0)

Oklahoma fell to TCU back in week 3 but bounced back against Kansas State and will really need a solid showing against Texas to put that TCU game behind them. Texas on the other hand are undefeated, but have not been as dominating as expected, and managed just 13 points in a win over Lousiana-Laf. They are +5 favourites today.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Result: Utah Utes 34, Oregon State Beavers 33

Player of the Game: RB Jeffrey Reynolds (UTAH) 21 att, 110 yds (5.24ypc), 2 TDs

BOX SCORE

All the heartbreak suffered in our two ever-so-close losses the past couple of weeks have been forgotten with our thrilling last seconds win today - our first ever win over a ranked team since I came on campus. What was most surprising of all though is the way we won this game. 140 yards rushing, and 324 yards passing. I really don't think the Beavers (or me, for that matter) expected that.

What really won us the game was not yards gained in the air or the ground though, but our defense. It was another solid effort today, as we picked up an early lead and managed to prevent Oregon State from jumping ahead. Finally in the late 3rd and 4th Q we began to bend, but we never broke. Instead we held Oregon State to FGs - of which they hit 4 in the 4th Q - and that left the door open for our unlikely comeback, even as the margin pushed out to 10.

Finally my offense then stepped up to the plate and matched the intensity that my D was bringing to the field. Down 30-20 after just conceeding a defensive TD from a fumble, and with just over 3 minutes left, Reynolds breaks free for a 48 yard TD run to give us some hope at 30-27. A bad kickoff (out of bounds), and a couple of nice gains for the Beavers sees them get in to FG range to force us to look for a TD with under a minute left with the score at 33-27.

With Freddie James, stepping in for our injured starting QB Mays (a late scratching), lining up behind C he fielded the snap only to be sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving us in a 2-and-19 hole at our own 15 yard line. Next snap he throws an incomplete pass, giving us 3-and-19 with 13 seconds left. Lined up in the Wishbone formation he takes the snap, spots WR Wilburn who breaks free of his defender, and takes the catch all the way in to the endzone for an amazing 85 yard TD for the win!

It was a nice boost to get something from my offense, with QBs James (11/22, 242yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs) and Saunders (6/8, 82yds), RB Reynolds, and WRs Byrd (5 receptions, 116 yards) and Wilburn (2 receptions, 117 yards, 1 TD) all stepping up to the occasion and making sure that we got some TDs on the board tonight. We could have done without the fumble that led to a defensive TD for the Beavers (the second straight game we've given up a defensive TD), but overall we're happy.

Defensively we were in fine form tonight, which I'm beginning to expect from my boys now. ILB Ybarra was once again the star on D with 12 tackles and a stuff, while OLB Roman also had another solid outing with 8 tackles. Gaddy didn't get a sack but pressured the QB with 3 hurries, while CB Kim also grabbed an interception. We began to give up some plays in the second half, but like I said above, we bent but never broke.

Hopefully this win will give us some momentum as we continue on with our conference games.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force defeat UNLV 24-12
Colorado St defeat TCU 23-15
BYU defeat San Diego St 27-12

Only real surprise of the week for the rest of the conference was Colorado State handing TCU a loss. Colorado State were impressive last week against BYU as well, so it's looking like I might have over-looked them this year.

Game of the Week Result: Texas 23, Oklahoma 19

Despite some solid running by Sooners RB 'Speedy' Gonzalez (20at, 140yds, 7.00ypc), and some pretty solid run defense as well, the Sooners fell short against the Longhorns as they just couldn't seem to get in to the endzone.

[DataKing]

Fantastic win Groundhog. Congratulations!

[st.cronin]

That's gotta feel good.

[Doudon]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

That's gotta feel good.

It didn't feel good from this side. The Beavers continue to struggle to get the ball in the end zone. Gotta find a fix for that.

Good Luck in the MWC.

[Groundhog]

Thanks guys (and condolences Doudon )

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Academic Suspensions

All my guys suspended in week 3, including starters DE Gonzales and OLB Esparza, are back, but we lose two more guys.

OLB John Barrett - 3 starts, 7tkls, 1 hurry
CB John Moore - 5 tkls, 1 int, 1 rec fumble

Barrett had been filling in for the suspended Esparza, while Moore was my 3rd CB and a special teams guy. It's a shame to lose them as it robs me of depth, but we should manage.

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Preview: Utah Utes (2-2, 0-1) vs San Diego State Aztecs (1-4, 1-1)

We welcome the Aztecs to Utah U. today, hoping that our momentum from last week carries forward to tonight. The Aztecs record is deceiving, as they have played two top-15 sides, and also lost to BYU on the road last week, so we won't be taking these guys lightly.

Helping us out will be the Aztecs rather intense injury woes. They have a lot of guys carrying injuries, and starting QB Adam Cummings (50.5% cp, 6-4 TD-INTs so far) is out for a substantial amount of time with a torn rotator cuff. Even so, they have capable reserves, so we can't be too comfy.

Their running game has been a little inconsistent as they've tried to settle on a starter between D. Wallis (5.79ypc 1 TD) & J. Schmid (4.59 ypc 0 TD), but it appears Wallis has won the spot for now. He's not the speediest back, but he had a nice 38 yard run against BYU last week. We'll be looking at our LBs, Ybarra in particular, to shut these guys down. As for our passing D, we'll be looking to our OLBs and DLine to get pressure on the Aztec QBs, while hoping our CBs and safetys don't give up too many big plays. Having Gonzalez back from suspension to lineup opposite Gaddy on the DLine will help us dramatically.

Offensively it's going to be business as usual, except Freddie James will be starting at QB once again. Mays is probably good to roll, but we are going to hold him out at least one more game and see how James does this week, with Saunders also taking some snaps. San Diego State have struggled to stop the run this year though, so that's where we'll be primarily looking, which should surprise nobody. Hopefully our blocking is at least as good as last week, and if so Reynolds figures to have a nice game, which should prove key to our victory.

To win this game, we need two things to happen: force FGs in the redzone, and establish our running game. If we can do that, I'm quietly confident we can take this game.

Prediction: Utah 27, San Diego State 23. We are 9 point favourites.

Around the Mount West

Wyoming (1-2, 0-1) @ Air Force (3-2, 2-0) - Air Force are +11 favourites.
TCU (1-2, 0-1) @ UNLV (0-3, 0-2) - TCU are +4 favourites.
New Mexico (2-1, 1-0) @ BYU (4-1, 2-0) - BYU are +9 favourites.

Should be a comfortable week for Air Force and BYU at home, while TCU will be looking to bounce back after last weeks loss. A winless UNLV squad should give them a chance to do that handily.

Game of the Week:

#13 Michigan (3-1) @ #7 Wisconsin (4-1)

Both teams have suffered one defeat thus far, both last week with Michigan falling to Michigan St last week by 3 and Wisconsin losing to Indiana 25-13. Both teams will be looking for a change of fortune this week, and to keep their national title dreams alive with a victory.

[st.cronin]

Please stop trying to jinx my team, k thx.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Please stop trying to jinx my team, k thx.

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Result: Utah Utes 23, San Diego St Aztecs 20

Player of the Game: SS Daniel Green (San Diego St) 10 tkls, 1 INT, 1 TD

BOX SCORE

We gave the fans yet another nail-bitter this week. It all started slowly enough in the first half, with neither team able to get much of anything going. 1st downs were rare and neither team's D was showing signs of giving anything away, and a FG by both teams was all they could manage as they entered the locker room at half time.

Reynolds, who had largely been contained thus far, broke away for the first TD of the game in the 3rd Q to put us up 10-3, and this gave us some momentum to work with, with James connecting with Nolan for a 10 yd TD pass a few minutes later to give us a 17-3 lead, followed up a few minutes later with a FG to end the 3rd Q with a nice 17 point lead.

Momentum swung dramatically the other way in the 4th, with the Aztecs hitting a 41 yd FG, then intercepting a James pass and returning it 75 yards for yet another defensive TD, making it 3 games in a row we've given one up, and bringing our lead back to 20-13. Play got a little sloppy after that, and James threw yet another pick that led a few plays later to a TD to lock the scores at 20.

A couple of nice passes from James got us in to FG range quickly enough, and our kicker Hernandez didn't let us down this time, nailing the 47 yarder to put us up by 3 with 1:23 remaining.

The Aztecs start with it at their 20, and on the second snap QB Lopez connects with WR Felix for a huge 41 yard pass to put them at our 39. This was all looking a little too familiar to our own comeback last week, and I was more than a little worried at this point.

Still outside of FG range the Aztecs look to keep it going through the air, and Lopez drops back again in the shotgun formation with 1:05 remaining. Looking for big yardage he throws the pass right to our FS Cox! Cox picks it off and returns it 16 yards, and we kneel the remaining seconds away for a much needed conference win!

It was another solid effort from my D tonight, as we didn't give up too much on the ground, pressured the QB (4 sacks, 6 hurries, 1 INT), and didn't allow too many big plays. ILB Ybarra was big for us again with 7 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 stuffs. DE Gaddy had just 2 tackles but a very solid 4 hurries.

Offensively we really struggled against the Aztecs D running the ball, and our blocking was sub-par. Reynolds's big 55 yard TD run boosted his stats, but they just didn't give him very much at all and he had to work hard for every positive yard gained, ending the game with 122 yards on 4.36ypc. QB James (13/20, 128yds, 1-2 TD-INTs), still starting for the injured Mays (and likely starting for the rest of the season) chose 2 pretty awful times to throw picks, very nearly costing us the game, but then setup a lovely drive for the winning FG, and had a number of other nice passes. So far the positives outweigh the negatives. Losing our top WR in the second half didn't help his numbers any, either.

We are happy to get the win however, and I still have little doubt in my mind that the Aztecs are a stronger team than their record suggests.

Around the Mount West

Wyoming defeat Air Force 14-10
TCU defeat UNLV 27-17
BYU defeat New Mexico 44-3

Air Force are truly an enigma. For whatever reason they just can't seem to string 2 good outings together. Wyoming have been playing some good football, but this is still a game that the Falcons should have won, but they just couldn't get the ball in to the endzone. My jinx failed as TCU picked up the win behind RB Soto, while BYU humilated the Lobbos at home, and are now clearer than ever the conference favourites.

Game of the Week Result: Wisconsin 20, Michigan 3

Michigan QB Richard Price had a game he'd rather forget (13/45, 209 yds, 0-2 TD-INTs) as Wisconsin grinds away a 17 point victory in a game that won't win either squad too many beauty contests.

[Blade6119]

Hey, give me back my top 2 QBs, top WR, top OG, top CB, and then ill play as beautiful as you would like

Congrats on the win

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Injuries

WR Byrd left the game early, but it was nothing serious, and he's back at 100%. DE Gaddy also left the game early once again, breaking his thumb. He'll be playing next week however.

The big injury was to our star OLB Daniel Roman however, who hurt a tendon in his foot. We probably should keep him out, but we are going to risk it.

WR Chaffin is still a few months away from recovery, and QB Mays could probably play but will sit out again. There is no rush with Mays, not with the way James has been playing.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Preview: Utah Utes (5-3, 1-1) @ Colorado State Rams (2-2, 1-1)

We travel out to Colorado State to take on the surprising Rams this week, in a game that figures to be tougher than it appeared a few weeks ago. The Rams lost to #15 Georgia, but have looked solid at home, falling just short of BYU and beating TCU last week.

The Rams run a balanced attack, operating mainly out of the pro formation, and have really been relying on QB Anthony White (43.5% cp, 569 yds, 4-3 TD-INTs) in place of injured starter Deluca. Not sure who they will be starting tonight, but Deluca is the more dangerous of the two. Helping us lock down on these guys will be the Rams lack of a strong running game. They're averaging just 92.8ypg and we have one of the best defenses against the run in the nation, so we expect some success here.

Offensively we've made some changes coming in to this game. I've gone over game tape of our first 5 games and made many adjustments, throwing out the plays that haven't been working, while also adding in a couple of new ones. A road game against the Rams probably wasn't the best time to test this, but anyway...

Even so, it should largely business as usual, with us still relying on our running game to get us going. The Rams have two solid DEs to make life tough for us, but their LBs are a little weak, which with the 3-4 they run should help us some. Their corners aren't particularily strong either, but they do have a good pair of safetys, with SS Michael Partridge, a reigning all-MWC 1st teamer, their biggest talent on D.

The Rams have proved capable of putting points on the scoreboard, so our secondary is going to have to be in fine form tonight. We need to create turnovers and limit the big plays, and try and get our offense good field position to start our drives. If we can do that, there is no reason why we can't beat these guys. But as usual, easier said than done. We certainly aren't under-estimating them.

Prediction: Utah 30, Colorado St 24. We are +9 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

UNLV (0-4,0-3) @ Wyoming (2-2,1-1) - Wyoming are +11 favourites.
New Mexico (2-2,1-1) @ San Diego St (1-5,1-2) - New Mexico are +4 favourites.
Army (2-3) @ TCU (2-2) - TCU are +11 favourites.
Navy (3-2) @ Air Force (3-3) - Air Force are +3 favourites.

Should be an easy win for Wyoming against the winless Rebels, while San Diego St get a chance to get their season back on track with a home game against the Lobbos. TCU and Air Force both have home matchups with the out-of-conference military sides, and both are favoured to win.

Game of the Week:

#16 Virginia Tech (6-0) @ #4 Florida St (4-1)

VT have looked very solid thus far, with big wins over Ohio State and Wake Forest, and have been getting some great QB play from both Charles Ward and Cliff Horton.

Florida St suffered a setback against Virginia in a high-scoring matchup, and will be looking to show the nation that they deserve their high ranking. They're a team that prefers to get it done on the ground, and will be looking to senior RB Charles Daniels (658yds, 5.67ypc, 5 TDs), one of the best in the nation, to do the damage today.

Florida State are +8 favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Result: Utah Utes 38, Colorado State 10

Player of the Game: RB J. Reynolds (UTAH) 24 att, 194 yds, 3 TDs

BOX SCORE

Although it ended up being a pretty one-sided victory, most of the game was closer than the final score suggests. The Rams did a number on my running game all day, particularily locking down Reynolds, and we even trailed briefly at 10-7 in the early 2nd half. We entered the 4th Q only up 21-10, so we were anything but sure of victory. Finally Reynolds managed to break off his shackles in the 4th Q though, breaking away for two massive TD runs (a 65yd and a 56yd) to save what was otherwise a pretty disastrous game from him until that point.

With our running game contained for much of the game we had to look to the air, and James (13/23, 166yds, 1-2 TD-INTs) did pretty well once again. He threw two picks early, but also had a TD pass and a couple of nice passes throughout the game. When WR Byrd went down with an injury (once again...), James did well targetting my TEs for some nice gains.

Most of the credit for the big victory must go to our defense however. It was another great effort from most of my key D players, with the injured OLB D. Roman (9 tkls, 1 sck, 2 stf, 3 hur) and ILB L. Ybarra (9 tkls, 1 sck, 2 stf) both contributing noteworthy nights. Our defense as a whole was great though, giving up just 64 yards rushing (1.9ypc), and 195 yards in the air - most of which were through 2 big plays. We also pressured the QB, with 3 sacks, 5 hurries, and an interception.

A solid road win, and that gives us 3 wins a row!

Around the Mount West

Wyoming defeat UNLV 17-7
New Mexico defeat San Diego St 17-9
Air Force defeat Navy 33-28
TCU defeat Army 34-23

San Diego State drop another game, and will really need to battle to get back to at least .500. Air Force win a close one, and TCU come home comfortably against Army.

Game of the Week Result: #3 Florida St 48, #13 Virginia Tech 13

Ouch. Virginia Tech picked up an early 10-0 lead, but that was as good as life was going to get for the Hokies, as Seminoles kept them out of the endzone for the rest of the game, and managed 48 points largely behind QB Jones's 4 TD passes.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Injuries

The big loss this week was WR Robert Byrd, who broke his scapula and will miss the rest of his senior year. Byrd is our best WR by a longshot, so to lose both him and WR Chaffin for the year is a big blow to our passing game.

There were a couple of other minor injuries that won't see anybody lose time, while QB Mays and OLB Roman are both still nursing injuries. Mays will sit, but Roman will start. We can't afford to rest him, especially with BYU coming to town.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Preview: Utah Utes (4-2, 2-1) vs Brigham Young Cougars (5-1, 3-0)

This week we face what will probably be our biggest Mount West challenge of the year - a matchup with the impressive Cougars. BYU have been on a tear since dropping their first game of the season in a dissapointing loss to Northern Illinois, and really stomped the Lobbos last week at home.

What's been getting it done for them has been their very impressive defense. The Cougars give up just 2.5ypc on the ground, while also defending the pass well and causing turnovers. This defensive unit is one that truly plays over their heads, lacking any one true star but getting contributions from everyone.

Their offense is nothing to sneeze at either. BYU runs a smashmouth offense led by super RB Gerald Warren (638yds, 4.28ypc, 5 TDs), which should make for an interesting game. We both like to run the ball, and we both defend well against the run. Unlike us, the Cougars have a solid and consistent passing threat at QB in Peter White (1523 yds, 60.1% cp, 10-4 TD-INTs). A lot of White's success comes from having two solid WRs in Hunter and Reed.

For us to win this game we are going to need to shut down the run and force the Cougars to the air. As risky as that may prove with their passing ability, I think this will give us our best chance as our secondary has been pretty good this year, and I don't believe Cougars QB White is a solid as his numbers suggest. The Cougars haven't played the toughest of schedules as yet, so we'd like to see how he throws against our coverage.

Offensively we really need to get our running game going if we are going to have a chance, especially with the injuries we've had to our recievers. We need our blocking to be on from the opening snap, and we need Reynolds to be picking up positive yardage. When forced to the air we'll need our QBs to look away from our WRs at some of our other options. We have a very solid TE in James Evans who has been under-utilized most of the year, so this should be his chance to shine.

Prediction: Utah 27, BYU 26. We are +6 favourites.

Around the Mount West

Colorado St (2-3, 1-2) @ Wyoming (3-2, 2-1) - Wyoming are +10 favourites.
Air Force (4-3, 2-1) @ TCU (3-2, 1-1) - TCU are +5 favourites.

A pretty quiet week in the Mount West, with 3 teams having the week off. Wyoming should handle the Rams pretty easily, while Air Force at TCU could be a great game.

Game of the Week:

Michigan St (6-1) @ #4 Purdue (6-1)

Michigan State have been solid all year and are probably unlucky to not be ranked, especially with a win over #21 Michigan and a close lose to #11 Notre Dame. Purdue have beaten ranked Miami, USC, and Notre Dame, but were spanked by Ohio State in week 5. Can the slow down the Spartans high scoring offense?

Purde are +6 favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Result: Utah Utes 47, Brigham Young Cougars 41 (OT)

Player of the Game: RB Jeffrey Reynolds (UTAH) 44 att, 180 yds, 2 TDs, 4.09 ypc

BOX SCORE

Well, what a game this one turned out to be. Our very first pass of the game was intercepted and returned for a TD in a very inauspicious beginning to the game, and to make matters worse we screw up blocking assignment after blocking assignment to neutralize our own running game. The Cougars are firing however, and get in to the endzone once more to end the 1st quarter up 14-0.

Defensively we're better in the 2nd Q, but a bad penalty puts the Cougars in FG range and puts us in a 17-0 hole. Finally we get some offense, with James throwing two big gain passes to get us in to the redzone, and Saunders comes off the bench to connect with TE Evans, who is stepping it up nicely with our top 2 receivers out, for a TD to get us on the scoreboard with under a minute to go in the first half. Unfortunately the Cougars put two big passing plays to get in to field goal range to end the 1st half up 20-7.

We come out a lot sharper on both ends in the 2nd half, but we still can't get it into the endzone. We settle for two FGs to make it 20-13 entering the 4th Q, but our D is looking strong and the Cougars can't reply back.

Our very first play of the 4th Q sees Saunders throw a pick to give the Cougars the ball at our own 24 yard line. Thankfully 2 plays later we get the ball right back when ILB Ybarra gets a pick of his own. James and Saunders both connect with some big passes to get us near the redzone, before Reynolds busts out with a 23 yard TD run to level the scores at 20 a piece with 6:22 remaining! We keep up our defensive pressure forcing a 3-and-out, and then we return a bad Cougars punt to the BYU 37 yard line. A 15 yard run from Reynolds gets us in to the redzone, but Saunders and James are sacked for 6 and 9 yards respectively, and we are forced to go for the 49 yard FG attempt, which is good - 23-20, with 2:32 remaining.

A great kick return for BYU followed up with some big gains through the air get them quickly in to our redzone, but on 3rd and 6 at our 13 yard line, Cougars receiver Paige drops a pass forcing them to settle for the 33 yard FG to level the scores with 11 seconds left, and we are heading to our first ever OT!

I thought college OT would be the same as NFL, so I was a little surprised at how this went. We started with the ball and put a drive together that we rarely seem to be able to pull off in regular time, with FB Medina rushing in a 5 yard TD to make it 30-23. The Cougars get the ball back and move it far too easily for a TD of their own off a 12 yard pass, 30-30. Cougars ball again, this time we force the FG, 33-30 BYU.

We aren't nearly as sharp this set of snaps, with some failed runs forcing us to take the 40 yard FG, which we miss to lose the game... but wait! There's a flag on the play! Illegal Substituion, BYU, 5 yard penalty! We accept, and this time we make the 35 yarder, 33-33. Our ball again, but Saunders throws another pick to get BYU back the ball and to have us stare down the barrell once again... Thankfully our D steps up to the challenge, with DE Gaddy picking up a stuff for a 5 yard loss, and OLB Roman picking up a sack for another 5 yards, and the Cougars miss the 45 yard FG to keep our hopes alive.

Cougars ball again, and they work it down field fairly easily for the TD, also connecting on the 2pt conversion to make it 41-33, meaning we need a 2pt conversion of our own to stay in the game. We work it down field on the ground, with Reynolds coming up big on a 4th down conversion, and Nolan rushes in 1 snap later for the TD, and we also connect on the 2pt conversion! 41-41.

Our ball, and on the very first snap Reynolds breaks free for the 25 yard TD! We go for a 2pt conversion once again, but fail leaving us in a bad spot, needing to keep BYU out of the endzone to win. The Cougars go to the sky and get the ball to 1 yard line, first down. Things look grim but DE Gaddy once again picks up a huge play with a stuff for -5 yards, and we force BYU to attempt the 4th down conversion at the 5 yard line. Cougars QB Dunn gets it to WR Hunter in the endzone, but he drops it! We win!

A very, very lucky game for us, as the Cougars had several chances to win this game but a dumb penalty and two dropped passes, one in OT and at the end of the 4th Q, kept us alive and gave us the win. Still, we worked hard at it. We shutdown BYU's running game far more effectively than they stopped ours, and despite pretty attrocious run blocking once again from my guys it was still Reynolds who, with his 44 attempts, managed to open things up a bit for my passing while also coming up with the big TD rushes that he is so good at.

Defensively Gaddy was really the star. He had some huge stuffs this game to keep the Cougars out of the endzone and finished with 4 tkls, 2 stuffs, and 1 sack. ILB Ybarra had 12 tkls, 2 stuffs, and 1 big INT, but just about everyone was solid for us on D. QB James had a rough start to the game with his INT, but ended up 13/18 for 171 yards, while Saunders was 5/8 for 96 yards, with 1-2 TDs-INTs. RB Nolan was, as has tended to be the case, more of a threat receiving than running, finishing with 6 receptions for 80 yards, but also had 22 yards and a TD on the ground.

4 wins in a row, and equal first in the MWC with Air Force, BYU and the surprising Wyoming Cowboys!

Around the Mount West:

Wyoming defeat Colorado St 25-24
Air Force defeat TCU 20-12

It took a last second FG to lift the Cowboys over Colorado State, while TCU couldn't find the endzone in a loss to the Falcons. Air Force RB Flores had a 90 yard TD run to put the game close to out-of-reach, but TCU had one last chance, until a dropped pass on 4th down killed their last chance to level the scores.

Game of the Week Result: #5 Purdue 34, Michigan State 31

Two TDs in the 4th Q gave Purdue the lead, and the Spartans couldn't come back. Purdue QB Bryan had a very nice game, with 28/41 cp for 397 yards and 2 TDs.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Injuries

Bold denotes starter, red denotes sitting out next week's game.

QB Eddie Mays - Prob (2-4)
WR Richard Chaffin - Out (9-11)
WR Robert Byrd - Out (12-14)
DE John Gaddy - Prob (0-2)
OLB Daniel Roman - Ques (2-4)
FS Brian Cox - Ques (0-2)

Though Mays is ready to return to the field, he has been displaced as starter and is our 3rd QB on the depth chart. It's looking like he might be converted to RB next season after all.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Mount West Standings:

		{   Conf. }  {			Overall			 }
#   Team	W-L  PF  PA  W-L  PF  PA  Streak  Home  Road  Media  Coach  
1.  Wyoming     3-1  76  78  4-2 123 114      W3   2-1   2-1    0-0    0-1
2.  Utah	3-1 123  88  5-2 223 165      W4   4-1   1-1    1-0    1-0
3.  Air Force	3-1  71  53  5-3 191 137      W2   3-2   2-1    0-1    0-1
4.  BYU		3-1 143  86  5-2 214 127      L1   3-0   2-2    0-0    0-0
5.  New Mexico	2-1  43  62  3-2  78  89      W1   2-1   1-1    0-0    0-0
6.  TCU		1-2  54  60  3-3 124 113      L1   2-1   1-2    1-0    1-0
7.  SD State    1-3  78	 87  1-6 124 197      L3   0-3   1-3    0-2    0-2
8.  Colorado St 1-3  81 109  2-4 142 165      L2   1-2   1-2    0-1    0-1
9.  UNLV	0-4  45  91  0-5  59 147      L5   0-2   0-3    0-0    0-0

A couple of surprises thus far. Firstly, I never expected Wyoming to be sitting at 3-1 in MWC play. They are yet to play us, BYU, or TCU, but have beaten Air Force and thus can't be taken lightly. The other big surprises have been TCU and San Diego State. Both have started poorly, but there is still some time left to turn things around. It will take a heck of a 2nd half to the season for both of them however.

Week 8 Awards Watch:

RB J Reynolds is currently ranked #4 in the country in yards gained on the ground (1,147), and is #3 in yards per game (163.9), and equal first in TDs (11). The guy who is ranked #1 in yards, yards per game, and equal #1 with Reynolds in TDs in Clemson RB J Franklin, who has also played 1 less game than Reynolds.

Utah OT J Steele is also amongst the league leaders on the OLine, with his 16 Key Running Blocks ranks him #3 nationally.

They are our two best chances at awards this year, but ILB Ybarra figures to be a chance. He's played a game less than most of the top ranked tacklers, and with an average approaching 10 tackles a game he should rank up there once all 12 games have been played.

[Groundhog]

Week 9 League Review:

A quick glance around the league as we enter week 9 games.

Top 25 Polls
Media Poll / Coaches Poll

#   Team	Conf Record	#   Team	Conf Record
1.  Missouri 	B12 	7-0  	1.  Missouri	B12	7-0
2.  Texas       B12     7-0	2.  Texas	B12	7-0
3.  Boston Col  ACC     6-1	3.  Boston Col	ACC	6-1
4.  Florida St  ACC 	6-1	4.  Purdue	B10	7-1
5.  Purdue	B10	7-1	5.  Georgia	SEC	6-0
6.  Wisconsin	B10	6-1	6.  LSU		SEC	6-1
7.  Oklahoma	B12	4-2	7.  Florida St	ACC	6-1
8.  LSU		SEC	6-1	8.  Wisconsin	B10	6-1
9.  Georgia	SEC	6-0	9.  Notre Dame	Indep	6-1
10. Notre Dame	Indep	6-1	10. Clemson	ACC	5-1
11. Oregon St	Pac10	4-2	11. Oklahoma	B12	4-2
12. Clemson	ACC	5-1	12. Arizona St	Pac10	5-2
13. Washington	Pac10	6-1	13. Florida	SEC	3-3
14. Virgina T	ACC	7-1	14. Auburn	SEC	5-2
15. Florida	SEC	3-3	15. Oregon St	Pac10	4-2
16. UCLA	Pac10	4-4	16. Michigan	B10	4-3
17. Arizona St	Pac10	5-2	17. Washington	Pac10	6-1
18. Ole Miss	SEC	6-2	18. Virgina T	ACC	7-1
19. Colorado	B12	5-1	19. Virgina	ACC	5-2
20. Virgina	ACC	5-2	20. Ole Miss	SEC	6-2
21. Auburn	SEC	5-2	21. Texas A&M	B12	3-3
22. Texas A&M	B12	3-3	22. Colorado	B12	5-1
23. Michigan	B10	4-3	23. Miss State	SEC	4-2
24. California	Pac10	4-3	24. UCLA	Pac10	4-4
25. Miami	ACC	3-5	25. Oregon	Pac10	4-2

Somewhat surprisingly, we recieved 9 votes in the Coaches Poll, and even more surprisingly so did New Mexico, with 8.

[Groundhog]

Week 9 Preview: Utah Utes (5-2, 3-1) @ UNLV Rebels (0-5, 0-4)

The Rebels have yet to win a game this season, but they've had a week off to watch game tape and think things over, so hopefully we don't take them too lightly, especially on the road.

Their offense, such as it is, is led by RB Pedro Bloom. He's no star, and is yet to find the endzone, but he's clocked up 102 and 96 yard games in their last two losses. The Rebels have shuffled their QBs around a fair bit this year, with James Roush got the starting nod last week so we'll expect him this week as well. He connected on 18 of 30 for 200 yards with a TD and an INT, and had OK numbers last season, so we'll need to key in on him. We'll be hoping to get pressure on him and force him to make mistakes.

This is a team that has really struggled to score points however, so all we need to do is just limit their offense and put some points on the board ourselves. As usual we'll be looking to Reynolds to bring the pain on the ground. We need better blocking today as the Rebels have some talent on the DLine and the secondary. Passing wise we need to limit the interceptions and quit giving away defensive TDs. If we limit the turnovers and play as our usual selves, there's no reason why we can't clock up close to 30 on these guys, which should be enough to pick up the win.

Prediction: Utah 27, UNLV 13. We are +13 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

BYU (5-2,3-1) @ Air Force (5-3,3-1) - Air Force are +5 favourites.
Colorado St (2-4,1-3) @ San Diego St (1-6,1-3) - San Diego St are +1 favourites.
New Mexico (3-2,2-1) @ TCU (3-3,1-2) - TCU are +11 favourites.

The BYU-Air Force show down should be a good 'un. TCU and San Diego St both get a good chance today to turn things around at home. It may be too late for the Aztecs to take the conference, but TCU has a chance if it can put some wins together.

Week 9 Game of the Week

BYU @ Air Force

I'm going to be selfish and award it to a MWC match-up

I'll be looking forward to this game almost as much as my own. The Falcons are inconsistent but dangerous, and BYU will be out for revenge after last week. I'm hoping BYU win, but I think Air Force will be too strong at home.