SEC has five teams in the Top 10, three with one loss. The Big 10 has 2 in the Top 10, both undefeated. The ACC has one, undefeated Clemson, and then there is one-loss Notre Dame.
The highest ranking teams from the Pac-12 are Oregon (11) and Utah (12), both with one loss. Oregon lost its opener to Auburn, a one-loss SEC team ranked 9th.
Clearly the SEC love fest is in full bloom. The Pac-12, perhaps justified given the performance in bowl games in the last two seasons (not to mention OCC play), does not secure much love.
Unfortunately, Utah’s road to the Pac-12 Championship game requires help from Oregon or ASU, possibly others however unlikely. Utah and USC are tied for first in the South Division, as we know while USC has the tie breaker.
On the other hand, Utah must win all remaining games to make it, barring a complete meltdown of the Trojans. All of these games will be competitive, but Arizona and Washington, both away games for Utah, will represent the biggest outstanding challenges.
Utah played lights out defense last night overall. The run defense was very good, still ASU’s RB Benjamin got his 100 yards on 15 carries.
The four Utah turnovers, two fumbles after-catches one by Moss and one by Simpkins, were painful. Those killed important early drives that if Utah scored on them, would have set a completely different tone for the game. Still, the Utes scored TDs and took advantage of a muffed kick to score for the third time. Not bad considering the weather.
Huntley later in the game fumbled and threw an interception. I could see that he was having a personal meltdown over his rain-soaked performance. He distributed the ball to seven receivers, but Moss caught the most passes, gained the most passing yards, and had the longest pass completed. Huntley completed 12 of 19 passed for 171 yards, a 9.0 yard average, and a QBR of 80.1, a bit lower than his season average rating. Huntley also rushed four times for 32 yards. I hope whatever ankle injury he sustained in the game he can recover from in the next several weeks.
Utah’s offensive line did a great job in the first half, but by the fourth quarter, ASU linemen were getting penetration and hurrying passes. During that time, Utah used Lisk and Shelley to much less effect as passers, while Lisk did complete a 14 yarder.
Overall, the offense did not get the highest marks, IMHO.
.
Loading ...
