Utah opens at an impressive -8.5 against Northwestern

[cjd1]

Maybe people have noticed our great defense. And the fact Whitt is fantastic with bowl games.

[Utahute72]

I watched their game against Ohio State.  Don’t be fooled by the line they are a good solid team.  I wouldn’t have been surprised to see them favored.  Their defense is equivalent to Washington’s (in my opinion).

[DataUte]

Utah and Washington are top 15 in total defense. NW is 48th. CU is 55 for comparison.

[EagleMountainUte]

Too bad statistics don’t match that narrative. 

[Utahute72]

I don’t think statistics have won many games.

[EagleMountainUte]

Yeah but Whitt has won many bowl games. Northwestern won’t score a touchdown. 

[Utahute72]

I hope so.  I’m just surprised at how lightly Northwestern is regarded.

[EagleMountainUte]

Just looking at final scores their most impressive game to me was a loss to Michigan only by three. It took overtime to beat Nebraska. 

[TheJuggernaut]

Northwestern’s D is nowhere near the same level as Washington’s.

Scoreboard is what matters – Washington #5 scoring D, Northwestern #40.

[alharmon]

Wow that’s very surprising. They are a SOLID team and I’m surprised the lines that high. Initially I’m thinking Utah 16-13. Low scoring.

[PlainsUte]

Yeah, I think the UNDER is the best bet with these teams.

[Hellhound152]

Imagine Stanford without huge recievers, an elite running back, or “dudes” playing db.  Fitzgerald is a fantastic coach who does more with less, in the mold of coach Whitt, but Utah will have a huge team speed advantage in this game on both sides of the ball.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

TOSU repeatedly torched their DB’s in the vertical passing game.  Of course TOSU probably starts 4 5* receivers every game so some of that is to be expected, but NW didn’t seem to be able to hang in the downfield passing game.  It kind of reminded me of USC’s game plan for much of the year, but with a much better quarterback.

[Utahute72]

Yea but OSU has receivers that can get separation and catch the ball.

[Rmndcat]

Hardage is the best guy in the secondary. He had injury problems during the course of the season, but a month to heal should help.

Skowronek has some height, but most of our receivers aren’t huge.

For the running game, look at the last few games of the season–Bowser, Mouton and Hanaoka, to some extent, have given us a much more balanced attack than mid-season when the offense was mostly on Thorson.

[Rmndcat]

NU was also a dog against Iowa and Wisconsin, somewhat understandably, and against Minnesota, which was kinda ridiculous. I would expect a fairly close score. We had little running game for much of the season due to injury, but had significant improvement at the end. Our passing game is very inconsistent–can pummel opponents when it has momentum, but Thorson is very prone to INTs. If the NU defense is healthy, Utah will need to have success passing, because NU should be able to contain the ground game. Huntley could definitely burn us if he’s healthy. I think 8.5 is a bit high. I would have expected perhaps 4 or 5.

[Hellhound152]

Does Thorson suffer from Brett Favre syndrome or does he have issues with identifying coverage?  The times I have watched NW on TV he seems to be the best player on offense and is trying to do everything.    

[Rmndcat]

More of the former, though if he is under pressure, he will sometimes force things he shouldn’t. 

[EagleMountainUte]

Not a good thing with Utah’s defense. Yet Browning forced quite a lot in the CCG and Utah dropped two picks. 

[Puget Ute]

From the bit of the B1G CCG I watched I noticed NU was VERY good at getting second-level blocking in the run game.  Your RB (Bowser?) was a real bowling ball bouncing through OSU’s secondary.There were some great passes as well.

I am very excited for this matchup. It is two lesser-known and very respectable opponents, who rely on smart players and coaching rather than raw talent.