Backup qb situation

[EagleMountainUte]

I mean it is only one game(FCS doesn’t count unless it is a loss sorry ND) but it seems like Utah is at or worst than the level they are at in 2023 offensively. So my thoughts are entirely sort of based off of the premise of I want to see more. There is a but..

BUT how much of the Wilson situation is dictated by external factors again. It just seems unexplainable to me that Huard or Rose didn’t get a shot in the fourth. Even if it was handing off I wanted to see some sort of offensive close out and presence.

So if Wilson is able to get first team reps. Which I kind of don’t think will happen based on Whitt and past experience with Rising have been. How much more expectation can I put on Wilson? How much do I put on Ludwig after not adjusting? Seems like a lot of factors that I don’t like personally.

[Utesbyfive]

I disagree with your premise that our offense is only as good as last year.

[Tednab]

At this point it hasn’t show to be any different.. the talent should be there . And if it is, even going conservative against Baylor in the second half we should have moved the ball and scored more than we did .. so why didn’t we .. I’m probably cherry picking one half on a hot day, but the eye test didn’t show me that this team is playoff contenders… yet

[The Miami Ute]

My concern isn’t really with Utah’s performance but rather how good other top teams have looked. I think that Utah’s defense, provided everyone’s healthy and Scalley has a good game plan, can keep them in any game against just about every team. The issue is the offense and whether it can get in sync against top defenses. I’d sure like to think so but the jury is still out.

[D T]

But how quickly will we face a “top defense”?

I mean, OKST just surrendered 649 yards at home last Saturday.

AND U of A most certainly doesn’t have anything even remotely resembling an elite D.

Plenty of time to establish ourselves offensively.

[2008 National Champ]

As Eagle said, it’s only a one game sample.

2023 Baylor: 20-13, 377 yards
2024 Baylor: 23-12, 292 yards

[EagleMountainUte]

Certainly concerning. Utah on the road is even more frightening.

[22Ute22]

Are a lot of fellow Ute fans ignorant of CFB as a whole? It seems like this is the case considering how little most fans knew about the big 12, and considering how you called Northern Illinois an FCS school.

[RedUte14]

yeah i was thinking the exact same thing… sorry ND??? 😂 i mean come on we played Northern Illinois a few years ago. and they have had solid teams in the last decade.

[22Ute22]

Not to mention we almost lost to them in 2018.

[loyter]

Note: “Almost lost” is exactly the same thing as “won”

[PlainsUte]

Also in their house.

[EagleMountainUte]

Forgetting that Utah played them and they were FBS is really stupid on my part.
NIU has been a quality program you don’t want to schedule for awhile now.

[DataUte]

Same. NIU is FBS G5 MAC. And in AP Top 25 now

[loyter]

Oops, replied to the wrong comment.

[RedUte14]

NIU is also now ranked btw.

[DataUte]

What a luxury to play 1 half and then basically shut it down. Who cares if we win. No style points are needed this year. Wilson is getting great experience and doesn’t even have to take 1st team reps during practice (which would help in development, but it’s a testament he’s #2 over Rose and Huard, who apparently just aren’t as good or grasping the offense as quickly).

Whitt knows it’s all about W’s. Win every game by 1, win the conference, and we are #4 seed (maybe #3 if ACC team is worse). You don’t need to demolish teams. I’m kind of glad Rising has only played 1st halves so far. Certainly didn’t wish a (minor?) injury, but this is great for our pre-conference schedule.

[EagleMountainUte]

It isn’t a luxury to play Baylor every week.

[ukiyoronin]

I feel fine about the offense. Last year Barnes couldn’t throw a ball into the ocean, so I get the PTSD from that.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

How can you say the offense is the same. Rising has 7 touchdown passes in two half’s minus the two last drives Wilson got before the half’s.

Wilson led team looks a lot the same as last year. He needs time to develop. Whitt and Ludwig are going to play the best player that’s ready.

Rising please come back soon. We can’t win the big games without him.

[The Miami Ute]

Jim, come on now. Remember that line about lies, damned lies, and statistics? Just look at Rising’s two TD passes against Baylor. One was a shovel pass where Parks did all of the work and the other was helped tremendously by having the drive start at the Baylor 3 yard line. If you’re insinuating that we’re cooking with kerosene because, statistically, Rising had 7 TD passes in two games, well, then I have to disagree. Rising, so far, is a reasonable facsimile of what he was in 2022 but I’d like to see more versus stouter opposition before I feel he’s fully back.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

They all count the same on the scoreboard Miami. What I saw personally was speed down the field and Rising looking to make some big plays. Rising in the past only looked for the safe short pass. To get to the NFL he needs to complete the 20+ yrd passes.

Singer and Parks are a dangerous combo for a defense because of the deep pass. Nick Saban said on college game day that it’s hard to win without the big plays on offense. The deep threat should help Kuithe any the other TE more space over the middle.

Cam just needs to stay aggressive and give the receivers a chance. He hasn’t had that many series in less than two halves.

[thirtyfour-thirtyone]

Wilson apparently throws the ball very accurately in practice, and did at times in the two games. He just seems to have some first game or two as a true freshman jitters. It looked like he was trying to make big plays, and passed up some easy options to throw into coverage, or got confused and just whiffed on a couple throws. Hopefully he’ll settle down and take the easy stuff for a while. He is at least capable of throwing the football accurately, and I think there is hope for him to work is way into being a good quarterback at the college level. I bet that with a week of working on a gameplan, and talking things over with Ludwig, he will look a bit more polished if he starts this week. Utah State will at least have to respect the possibility of a passing game, which is more than could be said about last year’s situation.

I hope that they err on the side of Caution with Cam, so he is not dealing with his finger for the rest of the season.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Good post thirty four. What’s the coach speak for QBs. “ the game will start slowing down”. I think that will happen with Wilson. He is mobile and has a good arm.

[ProudUte]

Eagle, I get that you don’t want a repeat of last year. Our offense was something less than terrible at times. It was a painful season for me and many other Utes. We looked at all the talent we have and hoped for an amazing season. Then, we saw the second half of the Baylor game, and all of those negative memories came back. To be honest, it was very similar to last season.

HOWEVER, I still feel that Issac will deliver in time. He has the raw ability. I have seen it. But, he needs some coaching, and he needs time. Also, Whitt and Ludwig need to feel like they can take risks with him If they don’t, he will have a difficult time progressing. IMO, we need to let him make mistakes, and he can’t be looking over his shoulder. Let the kid do what he does best. Once he gains confidence – he will be fine IMO.

[RoboUte]

There’s not a great reason to believe the offense will shape up over the course of a week, or at any other point where they’re called upon. After all, we know that given a “backup” qb situation not even all of spring camp, fall camp, and an entire season put together is enough for our current staff to prepare our team. 2023 taught us that for absolutely certain, there’s no logical argument to the contrary. This “open up the playbook” nonsense is a security blanket posters were holding onto all the way into November last year to justify disastrous results.

I do believe that Wilson and Huard will shape up better than Barnes but the harsh reality is that for any game Cam isn’t playing (generally), we should expect to lose. It’s a gamble, but one that we’ll simply have to accept because the decision was made for us as fans.

[loyter]

Whittingham said something in the post-game interview that was like “this offense is going to be really good.” He knows football and he doesn’t toss out stuff like that all that often.

I don’t think we’ve seen more than about 25% of the plays, and we won’t again this weekend. The less film OSU has to study the better. Cam will likely sit this weekend, so Wilson will get first team prep this week and he’ll be better (keep in mind that he was a high school kid like 4 months ago), they’ll run the ball on 65% of the snaps, and the Utes will win 27-14. Then, the season starts. Until then, there’s no point in worrying about it.

If anyone knows, Whitt does, and he seems VERY confident in the offense…and that’s good enough for me.

[CityCreekUte]

In Wilsons defense, he’s been getting 2nd string reps before these 2 games.

Last year the people who played were getting starter reps or that worst of all evils 50/50. If for some reason Whitt is gonna go with him against USU he’ll get all the reps this week. If that happens and he comes out looking like a turd then the questions about time and coaching and how much talent and how far removed from realizing it will be more fair.

[RoboUte]

Actually Cam was getting first team reps into October last year.

[EagleMountainUte]

No one truly knows on that except the people who played. Frightening situation to relive again.

[RoboUte]

I’m pretty sure it was confirmed directly through pressers. Though I guess they could’ve been lying

[ukiyoronin]

I don’t have an amazing argument as to why, but as of right now, I’d take Wilson how he is over the Barnes of last season.

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