I feel like there is more negativity surrounding today’s game than there should

[chinngiskhaan]

Yes there are concerns (fumbles, more fumbles, Rising being inaccurate, CBs lining up 15 yards downfield, more fumbles, drops…our monkey nutsack sucking kicker)…

but this team IMPROVED this game. The defense looked like they actually cared today. We got consistent pressure on the QB, we forced turnovers, we have a TON of young talent on the defensive side of the ball to be excited about.

The offensive line actually got some push in the run game. We had running backs with names that aren’t pronounced wrong by choice that gained positive yards, the gameplans on offense and defense were both solid.

I really felt like our offense did better than they are getting credit for. YES YES YES I know we had a ton of fumbles, but we were moving the ball pretty consistently for the last 3 quarters of the game, and I think maybe some of the drops and inaccurate passes were a result of a lack of comfort due to the fumbling issues. 

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m feeling optimistic going forward. We likely lose against USC. WSU was not a good team, but neither are most other teams in the pac12, and all we need is a few less fumbles in scoring position to win most of our remaining games. Also, if I were a coach and I had to pick a crippling issue for a team to have, I’d probably pick fumble problems. It’s gotta be the easiest problem in football to fix. We don’t have a talent problem (except at a few positions that are all not coincidentally related to the passing game), we don’t have behavioral/cultural issues with coaches or players, we don’t have schematic issues… We have guys who for some reason had a hard time holding onto the football today. Thomas is the only one of those guys who has shown an inability to hold onto the football in the first three games of the season (Covey has a history of it, but had kept it under control until today), for the rest of the guys this game was an anomoly.

One side note related to the fumbling: Did Bernard get hurt on that last fumble he had? He got absolutely rocked.

 

[2008 National Champ]

fumble! you’re benched until the SC game

You saw improvement, I saw a team doing their best to give the game away against one of the worst defenses Utah will get the pleasure of playing this season. I saw 4 targets past the LOS to receivers. I saw 7 counted fumbles, most self-inflicted. I saw an O-Line ole block and a defense that was getting beat soundly in the first half.

This was a game that Utah should have won soundly instead of being down in the 4th quarter. It was only WSU’s ineptitude that kept Utah in the game.

[SkinyUte]

Riley said that Bernard did get injured.  I think Whit mentioned it in his post-game comments as well.

[Utah5410]

Im good. Defense looked up the D of Old. This team is talented. We won today because we were more talented than WSU. Now, we won’t be against SC. But, if we play smart football, with two weeks to prepare, two more weeks for the 0-line to gell, to figure out our kicker and ways to continue to utilize Jackson, Curry, Kuithe etc. Plus Reid balled out today. Put him, Sewell, and Lloyd out there damn. I think we have a good chance with sc. They are talented as always, But, are mentally weak. If we come in prepared and don’t beat ourselves (like we did today) we have a chance. We beat SC, we are back in business. Can we avoid beating ourselves ? We will see.

[SkinyUte]

I think it’s also worth noting that this was Rising’s first full collegiate game. He played for about 5 minutes against USC before getting injured, and for a quarter against SDSU. I think he’ll get better with some experience.

[Trailgoat]

TJ Pledger was a nice addition this week and I suspect will be a big part of this offense moving forward. Utes are going to need the durable RB that makes 1-2 guys miss for the running game to be effective. TJ is taking on that role.

[GameForAnyFuss]

There’s always more negativity after a win than there should be. We’re Utah fans – it’s in our DNA.

[2008 National Champ]

I’m happy they pulled out the win. I’m unhappy the team added not hanging on to the football to the mistakes from the previous two games.

I’m happy that the team is able to score in the fourth quarter. I’m unhappy that the team continues to squander trips into the red zone and has needed a big fourth quarter in every game.

I’m happy that there are at least 3 backs, plus a QB, capable of breaking off long runs on any given play. I’m unhappy that the O-Line is equally capable of giving the RB a chance to break it big or getting the RB hit as he is taking the handoff on any given play.

I’m not convinced that WSU is capable of beating either the parochial school or SDSU so I’m not convinced that there was any improvement in game 4. The true test of the season was always going to be games 5 and 6 and Utah gets the advantage of a bye week to self-evaluate and hopefully get some bodies healthy.

Not having receivers be a reliable part of the offense and needing to move the QB under center because you can’t depend on accurate shotgun snaps are the first things that need to be fixed over the next two weeks. Place kicking and red zone efficiency are close behind.

[Charlie]

Many like to compare the team to other teams, ours in the past or others in the league. That is part of the story. Also part it comparing the team to last week because that tells you where the arrow is pointing.

The offense is breaking in a QB with his first complete game against defenses now finding rhythm. Also trying to solve blitz packages because film shows our vulnerability. RBs other than Bernard and the QB2 are in early in the offense learning cycles. Fumbles are like flu that go thru the team. After two weeks, the offense turned their arrow up, the control mistakes will get fixed.

The defense took big steps up even with several key players hurt. The next big challenge is someone to stay with USC’s #15, all else is quite encouraging.

Special teams, cover teams improved. Waiting to see if the kicker settles in.

Overall, we took steps to point the arrow up. Can’t become the KC Chiefs in a week, what is needed is to improve and keep improving. We avoided decline in a big way. Fumbleitis will pass with focused practice.