So what do you all think?

[ProudUte]

We saw a different offense on Saturday night.  Was this because we played a team in turmoil?  Have we resolved some issues?  Bill Riley seems to think that the offensive line is the difference.  They certainly looked better than they had, but what really changed?

Looking at ASU – I don’t see any real patterns.  They have had some games where their pass D was excellent.  Stanford passed a lot and had some good success.  However, they were intercepted three times.  As far as their offense is concerned, they seem to be run-first.  Daniels has the ability to get out of the pocket and make some game-changing runs.  We cannot allow Daniels to do what Hall did against us on Sep 11.  We need to contain him.

I admit that I am not yet 100% convinced that our offense has turned the corner.  But, I am hopeful.  When Rising is given time – he can throw down the field with success.  IMO we need to start Tavion.  He is the guy who can make the long runs.

Interested in reading your thoughts.

[Utesbyfive]

I think Cam Rising has made most of the difference. He makes plays. When the offense makes plays, everyone plays harder.

[UteBacker]

The Utes did exactly what we all hoped they would do and that’s to come out and punch USC right in the mouth.  I think the question was whether USC was going to punch back or not.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around whether it was the Utes finally opening things up or if USC just plain sucks (Stanford L 28-42, OSU L 27-45 at home).  I would say it’s a little bit of both, but whatever, I think the Utes gained a LOT of confidence Saturday night and that will go a long way with our youth.  Whether that continues to pay off this year, great, but I KNOW it’s setting us up for a fantastic ’22 & ’23 like a lot of us thought.

I think it was at Pac12 football days that Daniels mentioned that Utah was his least favorite place to play.  Do you think he has a little PTSD from that last game he played up here?  If Utah can pressure him and get some good hits on him early, I think he will start to press and release early.  ASU is good, but they don’t have any more talent than the Trojans.  If we don’t have a classic letdown we’ll do very very well.

[Ghost of the HEB]

Wasn’t just the OL blocking better; the TEs showed up in that respect in a big way. Kuithe had the key block that sprung Tavion’s long TD run. All of the TEs had been struggling in run blocking assignments all season, but it looked like something finally clicked Saturday.

[Hellhound152]

The concepts in the passing game seemed to get receivers in open space similar to 2019 and the last 4 games of 2020.  By that same token, Rising was putting the ball on guys that were covered pretty well one on one.  The fade to Covey comes to mind.  

The O-line had their best game by far but USC’s front 7 has been less than stellar this season.  I noticed that Thomas was only carrying the ball in his left arm and I wonder if the fumbles were a product of attempting to change his approach to the more traditional outside arm technique.  Some guys never get comfortable with that (Ahman Green only carried in his left arm even in the NFL).  Thomas is the most complete back on the roster and will be critical moving forward.

I have only watched ASU 3x this season but they seem reliant on explosive plays rather than sustained drives.  I think we are looking at another week of smoosh rush, cover 2, bend don’t break on the Defensive side of the ball. 

[2008 National Champ]

Yes, Rising was the key on Saturday. His ball placement kept the drives going and opened everything up for the rest of the offense. Howard’s catch was another that was thrown right where it needed to be.

The question becomes, is Rising the QB who completes around 60% of his passes like he had prior to USC or was the USC game a new standard that he can keep up. I loved that he was willing to take shots, even when the receiver didn’t have an obvious cushion. However, if he is missing by even a foot on those same passes, the game looks a lot different.

[Charlie]

I think it was a combo of things that benefited everything else and created rhythm. Some improvement in one aspect takes pressure off others. I saw the most improvement in play calls, no WTF situations at all. The effort and smarts improved together.

With multiple backs the last one will see a more tired D and the most dispondent D. Thomas with size will be the ideal finish guy.

Take what ASU gives us which may be different than USC’s week points. With all the emotion of the last weeks home field will be a big advantage. Utes win.