Position Battles – What really matters

[Utah]

Utah OL vs BYU DL: 

Utah’s OL has 17 stars (2.8 stars per person), BYU’s DL has 19 stars (2.3 stars per person).

Utah RB vs BYU LB: 

Utah RB has 3 stars (1.5 stars per person. Shyne was NR=0 stars). BYU LB has 6 stars (2 stars per person). 

Utah TE vs BYU Safety: 

Utah TE has 3 stars (3 stars per person). BYU has 6 stars (1.5 stars per person). 

Utah WR vs BYU CB: 

Utah WR has 20 stars (3.3 stars per person). BYU has 12 stars (3 stars per person). 

So, when it comes to positions, only BYU’s LB’ers have an advantage. Utah has the advantage on OL, TE, WR. 

Finally, QB: 

Troy is three stars, Mangum 4 stars. More on this later. There is NO evidence that Mangum is better than Williams. BUT, star wise, BYU has the advantage. 

[Utah]

Utah DL vs BYU OL: 

Utah has 25 stars (3.125 stars per player), BYU has 11 stars (1.83 stars per player). 

Utah LB vs BYU RB: 

Utah has 10 stars (3.3 stars per player), BYU has 6 stars (3 stars per player).

Utah CB vs BYU WR: 

Utah has 13 stars (3.3 stars per player), BYU has 11 stars (2.75 stars per player). 

Utah S vs BYU TE: 

Utah has 15 stars (3.75 stars per player), BYU has 5 stars (1.6 stars per player). 

 

There isn’t one area where BYU has any advantage. Last year’s game showed that. There was only one thing that had any success vs Utah: Hill’s legs. 

BYU won’t have that again. 

BYU won’t score 20 points vs Utah. 

So, can Utah get to 20 points? 

Absolutely. Especially if they can throw the ball. Against teams with winning records, BYU gave up 312 yards per game through the air. 

Their secondary was not good. Not good at all. 

If we can throw the ball even the tiniest bit, we blow them out. 

[Rick]

We also gave them the ball 5 times and still won.  That tells you all you need to know.  Then the last time we played them we only needed one quarter of a football game to beat them.  

[Rick]

Correct that.  It was 6 turnovers.

[Puget Ute]

Yup. One was a pick in their end zone. If we get at least a FG on that trip then the end of the game is not in any way in doubt.

[Puget Ute]

Ditto the pick after their targeting call. The pick should have been reversed, and we were charging to score on the drive.

Ball bounces the other way and we left 14 points on the field.

[ironman1315]

We also coughed up the ball in easy field goal range twice, which a competent team would have punched in at least once. That gave them another 6 points.

[UteThunder]

As far as looking at depth, maybe this is a decent exercise, but overall I think it is a very flawed way to compare talent. Take RB for example. Are Shyne and Moss really the equivalent of having 1.5 stars at that position? I don’t think so.

As for QB, I’m interested to see whatever comparison you come up with for that because I think a very strong case could be made for either QB being the better option.

[Utah]

I agree with you. BUT, it just one more area that shows we are better than they are. 

You can definitely argue that our RB’s are better than BYU’s. They’ve shown more on the field (as Troy has shown more than Mangum). BUT, where can you argue that BYU’s players have shown more? 

QB? Nope.

RB? Nope.

WR? Nope. 

OL? Maybe, because Utah hasn’t played many of these kids, but they come in with a much higher base level of talent and have better coaches.

TE? Nope. 

DL? Nope.

LB? Maybe. But even then, it’s probably close to a draw, with slight edge to BYU. Luafatasaga is the best LB in the state and it’s not even close. 

CB? Maybe, again, not because of talent (although this is the one position where BYU’s talent is on par with Utah’s). BUT, BYU’s secondary was terrible last year. 

S? Nope. 

So, why do people give BYU such a big shot in this game?

Becuase they took 45 mins to come back from down 35? 

Because they has 6 TO’s and lost? 

In those last two games, I think BYU has lead for 3 mins. That is all. 

I just don’t get why people are so bullish on BYU. 

It would be if any Ute fan was guaranteeing a win vs USC. Hell, not just guaranteeing, but guaranteeing a blowout vs USC. It’s just silly. 

[NarfUte]

Troy was a 4* out of high school. That means he has 7 stars vs. Mangums lowly 4. Plus an adidas commercial

[Utah]

Rivals had him as a three star when he came to Utah. If he is a 4 star, then it would be equal, 4 vs 4. 

[NarfUte]

Yeah, 3* coming out of JC. 4* out of high school. Add them together and he’s clearly better than Mangum 😉

[RiseasUtes]

Scout or 247 had him as a 4* out of JC so it just depends on the site we are looking at for info.

[Utah]

LOL. I love it. 7 stars it is. 

[BD]

This is great work. And I don’t mean to ask you to do more work (which I am not) as this is good and makes your point well. But I think using a recruiting ranking as opposed to stars would be more accurate and make your point even better. 

For example, 247 has Tyquez Hampton as a 3* but with a rating number as 0.8813, which is Utah’s highest rated 3* in 2017. However, Devin Lloyd is a 3* with a rating of 0.8195, which was 247’s lowest 3* rating for Utah in 2017. There is quite a bit of difference between a high 3* vs a low 3*.  Given that most of Utah’s and BYU’s recruits are 3-stars, and given most Utah’s are mid-to-high 3-star recruits and BYU’s are low-to-mid 3-star recruits, I suggest that the gap might even be higher than we think. Of course I agree that there is more to it than just a star or ranking number. 

[Utah]

Oh man. I’d love to see that too. Maybe another day. That being said, I think Utah would really distance themselves from BYU if you did that.