If the O Block is close to as advertised, U running backs will seem all world

[Ultimate Ute]

My freshman year of high school the varsity football team won the Southern California championship 33-7, the score would have been something like 45-0 if the 2nd and 3rd string didn’t play much of the fourth quarter. The offense only attempted 3 passes the entire game, I recall one or two passes were safe dump offs about 5 yards down field. Four or five running backs rotated in and out throughout the game, each one seemingly able to gash the defense for at least five yards per attempt. At the time, being a naive freshman, I thought this team must have one the greatest set of running backs in Southern California high school history. WRONG! Three of the offensive lineman eventually started for D-I programs, one of the three started 13 years at center for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. Elmer Fudd could have been placed in my high school teams back field and gained respectable yardage.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

An experienced O line can pick up blitzes and give the QB some big play opportunities. Throw a running QB in the mix and this offense may not have to throw much. I’m excited about the offense this year. Just need to stay healthy.

[GameForAnyFuss]

If staying healthy is critical to our offense being successful, we’re in trouble. We will not stay healthy this year. No college football team will. They key is depth and being able to minimize the dropoff when you have injuries to multiple starters, which is inevitable.

[UtesRule]

Uhhhh, staying healthy is the key for EVERY single team, period!

In 2004, 2008 and even in the two Pac12 Championship seasons, Utah stayed pretty darn healthy, ESPECIALLY at the key positions.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Uhhhhh, no team stays healthy. The ones that win are the ones that can cover their losses best.

[BeachUte]

It’s also talent that isn’t decimated by not staying healthy. Cam is a great example of this. He was not healthy for all of 2022. He came out of that USC game seriously banged up and the injury lingered with him the rest of the season (forced him out of the Wazzu game that year and was a big reason Utah lost to Oregon in Eugene as he struggled in that game). But Cam was such a force that even with a lingering injury, he was able to lead Utah to a win over SC to win the Pac-12 (who was also battling an injury at QB).

I’d also say luck is in play too. Cam’s injury in 2022 would have cost Utah a shot at the Pac-12 had Oregon not blown a 34-17 fourth quarter lead vs the Beavers.

I’ll say this: in the post-MWC era, injuries are way more part of the game because the talent is significantly more consistent. In 2008, once you got out of the early preseason and the grind of the regular season, Utah had only two games where they faced a team anywhere near their level: TCU and BYU. The grind just didn’t exist. The gap between Utah and UNLV or Wyoming or New Mexico was much wider than any gap Utah has seen since leaving the MWC.

Oklahoma State, the worst team in the Big 12 last year, is still essentially clustered with Utah in overall talent compared to say UNLV in the MWC back in 2008. Because the talent is deeper,likely stronger and overall better, the grind will wear every team down. It’s inevitable. The good teams compensate. The bad teams collapse. We compensated enough in 2023, but collapsed in 2024.

Utah fans should expect that Dampier will be injured this season. The question is whether he’ll be able to overcome it like Rising in 2022 or fall to it like Travis Wilson in 2015 (assuming it’s not a season-ending injury).

[Ultimate Ute]

In war, and in football, expect casualties, if you don’t have adequate reinforcements you don’t have a good army, or football team.

[Trailgoat]

Let’s start off with minimal injuries rolling into the UCLA game. Utah is known for going into the season with multiple starters injured. Depth at QB is once again a concern. At least Beck is recruiting players to fit his system. Until Utah can effectively run an offense past 20 yards of the line of scrimmage, I expect we’ll see teams loading up defenders attempting to stop the run making Kw uncomfortable. As long as KW has a head set on during the game there’s the analytics paralysis component. After 20 years of mostly the same offensive issues, I am no where near the Koolaid barrel.

[Utesbyfive]

https://x.com/utahcfbstats/status/1940437670863536154?s=46

[RoboUte]

I’ve been making fun of our O line having the best July and August in the country for a few years and it just keeps happening. The jokes write themselves.

[2008 National Champ]

You can set your watch by it. Just like the “this is the year the receivers are going to be difference makers” every spring

[Utegator]

Are you telling me its a “game time decision”?

[Author]

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