Can we really do this?

[Tacoma Ute]

I picked us to win but damn, we are battered with injuries and UW looks really, really good.

[mokus]

Washington looks pretty good, but if you look back now at Washington’s record, it isn’t really that different than Utah’s.  What are their marquee wins?  Stanford or Oregon?  They barely beat Arizona in overtime.  I’m starting to wonder if they are going to be exposed if they play a legit good team.  I don’t think it is a stretch to say that Utah could be that legit team.

[PlainsUte]

Well from a W-L standpoint their record is similar.   But aside from Arizona (7 pt win)  they have been dominating their Pac-12 opponents, while Utah has been winning games by one score or less.  Now maybe Stanford and Oregon are not the Stanford and Oregon we’d thought they’d be this year, but UW pounded both.  Utah needs to put together their best, mistake free, game to win this one.

[AZswayze]

I’m starting to believe. Utah’s O-line is really starting to gel, and some of the things we saw in the UCLA game were somewhat of an anomaly, such as all the missed tackles (Utah had been very solid to that point in the season). Washington blew out an Oregon team that seems to be giving up a ton of points every week, and Stanford is certainly down this year. Our secondary gives up big plays, but they are great at bouncing back and making huge plays. I’m not calling for a Utah win, but I’m feeling better and better. Also, Dawg fans are incredibly c**ky about this game. I know they aren’t playing, but I have some hope that this feeling is permeating campus and the team. It’s time for Utah to expose a juggernaut on Gameday.

[FountainofUte]

There’s no outcome to this game that would shock me. Anything from a Husky blowout to a Ute blowout and everything in between. We’re a little beat up, but we still have more than enough to win this game. But UW is very good this year and could certainly take us to the woodshed. It’s a tough game to predict, IMO.

[Utah]

I agree with Fountain. Anything could happen this week. We could blow out Washington. They could blow us out. It could come down to OT. 

Heck, we know so little about Washington. They have played a terrible schedule. BUT, they have blown everyone out. BUT, they struggled on the road vs a TERRIBLE Arizona team. 

Look at Washington’s schedule to end the year: Utah, USC, Cal, WSU, ASU. They could go 5-0…or 0-5. 

It’s about to get real folks. 

[Tacoma Ute]

I hear ya. I picked a close score but I have a weird hunch it’s gonna be a blowout. I just hope the Utes are on the right side of it.

[pedro]

What scares me is their offense.  This is the same offense Peterson ran at BSU and if you all recall correctly, we couldn’t stop it, EVER!  Now I’m hoping we are better, faster and smarter than we were then.  But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about it.

[AZswayze]

I’m thinking Utah approaches this game like they did Cal. Our defense gave up huge plays, but we limited Cal’s ability to score by controlling the clock. As long as the offense can extend drives like they did against Cal I have a feeling this will be another stomach acid inducer that will come down to the last drive.

[Mr Chainsaw]

What scares me is their offense.  This is the same offense Peterson ran at BSU and if you all recall correctly, we couldn’t stop it, EVER!  Now I’m hoping we are better, faster and smarter than we were then.  But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about it.

…except last year.

[MTM]

I am trying to find something, anything, from a statistical standpoint that points to a Utah victory.

All I can come up with is that UW has played a terrible schedule, the Utes will be the best team they have faced by a long shot, it is a road game, and all the pressure is on them.

Their PAC opponents are 3-14 in conference play.

Their OCC consists of Rutgers (who is 2-6 and lost to Ohio State and Michigan 58-0 and 78-0 in consecutive weeks), Idaho, and Portland State (who got their asses kicked by San Jose and Southern Utah).

Bottom line is this will be the toughest game UW has played. If they flinch they could be in for a long day. If they don’t then I’m with a lot of you in that it could be a blow out or a bare fisted brawl.

[Utah]

I think the whole “this is by far the best team Washington has faced” line is what this game is about. We know nothing about Washington, other than they beat a lot of bad teams and struggled on the road vs Arizona. 

Also, Utah is under-rated. If Utah had the name of Stanford or Wisconsin or Nebraska or Florida, they’d be top 10 right now. We are a lot better than we think (especially with the injuries) and while our games may have been ugly, we’ve won a game where we turned the ball over 6 times, beat a MWC team handidly on the road despite two red zone TO’s, beat a very, very, very good USC team, were screwed over by the refs vs Cal and still almost won, man handled Arizona, won in a hurricane in OSU, and got into a shootout with UCLA. 

We are battle tested. There is nothing Washington can show us that we haven’t already seen. If we stay assignment sound and don’t turn the ball over, I really like our chances. 

[noneyadb]

Trying to use stats this year to rate this Utah team is a futile effort. With all the injuries, and turnover from last year not a single stat will tell you how good these Utes really are. But, the Utes 7-1 and in every game they did everything needed to put themselves in a position to WIN.
Limiting Cal to lowest offensive scoring production to date.
Being able to throw the ball vs a good secondary in USC.
Running like crazy over a defense in UCLA.
Mathis out should help our O-line with pass blocking.

What I worry about is being able to keep Washington from getting to the edges. Oregon St really exposed that weakness. Ross is going to be difficult to contain..
Utes have to eat the clock, take what the defense gives, and RECEIVERS HAVE TO CATCH THE DAMN BALL.

[Mr Chainsaw]

Don’t underestimate the power of a home game in the PAC 12. It may the best predictor for wins in this league over the last few years. I don’t have time to back that up though…

[uteman12]

I’ve been pondering this game basically since Sunday, and I keep thinking to myself that this should be a Utah win. Weirdly enough I think the thing that gives us an edge is our loss at Cal. We know that our team can be beat, we had that taste in our mouth, our guys don’t want that to happen again. Our team has faced adversity all season long, pulling out tight games, has this Washington team really faced any adversity outside of the Arizona win? Utah has a tendency to start out games pretty strong, if we come out and hit Washington right in the mouth and get up early in the 1st Quarter, do I think this Washington team will respond? I think the answer should be a resounding no. Looking at Washington, I think they will try and pass the ball early and often at us, I look for it to be another game against a “Air Raid” attack, which scares the hell out of me. However, playing this one in SLC I think the Utes win this one. 

 

Utah 31 Washington 24

[High Uintas]

As long as a team is competitive in the trenches, they can win. Utah has good offensive and defensive lines and if those 2 units play their best, this game is a tossup.

[Tacoma Ute]

The thing that scares me is that if we get a lead we will play to hope the clock runs out before they catch up. Sorry but it’s what we do.

Also, are we capable of developing a QB. It seems like Troy has regressed considerably since USC.

[High Uintas]

Troy has regressed because a potential NFL receiver has been injured.

[Tacoma Ute]

Good point but he hasn’t looked very sharp or confident. At least to my blurry eyes.