Heard about this site on Utefans.net (cougarboard 2.0 lol) so I figured I’d check it out. Hope I can contribute to some intelligent conversations, breaking news, or what-not. I post on Block U as THEeyepatch. I don’t bother posting on SLTrib or DNews because it’s just a waste of my time going through the moderators but I do haunt both sites when I’m looking for a good chuckle.
As of now I don’t see a line on Oregon but as I’ve posted on Block U, I believe the Utes can take this game. If there were a year to take down the Ducks, it’s this season!
Welcome! I think we’re all trying to figure out this new age of Utah message boards. I’m liking this place and hope it takes off.
Thanks Brettski, yeah… so far so good. Now it’s just a matter if people hang around and more people join.
The admin has stated he’s been swamped with a couple hundred new user requests over the last couple days, so I think the interest is there. The job now is on the users to make sure the discussion and community keeps up and supplies the topics.
The Utes Equipment twitter usually posts them once the team has selected the uniform combination.
I think satin helmets with white jersey and white pants would look cool.
If we can’t get approval for all red then I like this idea.
All red vs. an oregon in their all green would really look good under the lights!
This is what I want to see as well. Throwing a black mask on the satin red looks awesome too. Like this:
I miss the 70s, 80s and 90s. Red helmets, red jerseys and white pants at home. Red helmets, white jerseys and red pants on the road. Simple, effective, great-looking and Utah always looked like Utah.
I realize that time is past though, for now at least. Hopefully the alternate uniform overkill will eventually cause a backlash And teams will go back to their classic unis and we’ll be able to turn on a game and instantly know what teams are playing without having to be told.
I would love it if they could find that same color scheme and do an exact replica (or close to it). I think it would be a cool tribute to those guys from that era.
Yeah, at least for one game and bring back some of the old legends to attend.
This is what I think Tacoma looks like during uniform discussions…
Don’t get me wrong. I think a lot of the new uniforms and helmets look ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. I honestly do.
They just don’t look like Utah. Then again there’s probably people older than me who think it’s not really a Utes helmet without the double block U.
I know, I just needed an excuse to post that image…
Honestly, I think the main reason teams are seen branching out into different uniform combos is because its completely and wholly superficial, but its something that excites the recruiting base. There is no performance increase, there is no substantial change because of the uniform (outside of the indirect benefit of any increased merchandise and retail sales), but it gives the recruits something to talk about and be excited for.
Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the U came out next year with a Gray uniform or accent on some of their stuff.
I’ve been expecting the gray version for a couple years now. We already had a basketball version. Maybe we could call it “Dress Like Wazzu Night”. 😀
Yeah, and back then it was a HUGE deal when they wore all red against TDS. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade things now overall, but I remember when it was a big deal and really exciting when they would switch up the uniform combination once the entire year by wearing all read. Now a new uniform means it’s just another week. Kind of takes away from it being special.
…excuse to post a couple of old images of the all reds from the 80s:
Yeah, and back then it was a HUGE deal when they wore all red against TDS. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade things now overall, but I remember when it was a big deal and really exciting when they would switch up the uniform combination once the entire year by wearing all read. Now a new uniform means it’s just another week. Kind of takes away from it being special.
…excuse to post a couple of old images of the all reds from the 80s:
I love the all red, but I’m not a fan of those black stripes
Actually, I agree. These two are the best of all time, in my opinion:
I’d assume Oregon will be wearing green. They have a season long “what to wear” section that is telling their fans to wear green this weekend. What to wear
Oregon wearing green? No. That won’t work. That’s their team color. That won’t impress recruits. 😉
To be fair they will probably look more like a glow in the dark green highlighter than their “actual school color” green.
I think a compromise would be in order. Classic Ute uniform combos in 9 games, alternates in the other 3. That would keep us oldies happy who have had the classic look ingrained in our gray matter for decades. It would also allow for a little bling and flash for the recruits.
Also, if they didn’t change it up so often it would seem like more of an event when they did wear alternates as opposed to wondering every single week what the team will look like.
I’d really love to see the throwbacks in more than one game this year. Those are too sweet for one-offs in my opinion.
They look great & I really wish Utah’s regular uniforms were more like them. They are clean & sharp looking.
I love the classic uni that Eddie Johnson is wearing in UteSteve’s icon.
Hoping for all white. All red would look sweet if they were in all yellow
Seems like they saved their special unis for the homecoming game against cal (throwback), which are pretty sweet imo
The uniforms work because they’ve got us all talking – generating some hype. If they were always the same then it would just be one less thing to talk Utes about around the virtual watercooler. That said, White, White, White, White this week please.
I’m ready for the White helmet. I think I like our bowl game look last year better than the All Whites though.
I loved the candycane look. Maybe we reserve that for the holiday/bowl season?
Love the throwback uniforms that were announced for Homecoming. Would like to see something like that for our “normal” uniforms. For this game I want all white with White helmets.
Yep, and white facemasks. Quad-white.
+1
Although triple white with black facemasks would be a sick storm trooper look.
Then our quarterbacks would have an excuse as to why they can never hit a receiver…
They will be wearing all whites with the white facemask. Stormtrooper look.
Is anyone else concerned with Phillips inability to reach the endzone with his kickoffs?
Not until we lose… It’s a little concerning, but until it matters I think we have to let him do his thing.
I still like PHillips as our field goal kicker, it just seems like we should have someone that can kick the ball into the endzone.
I will be fine up until its reported he is supposed to be kicking it out of the endzone and has not been able for whatever reason (injury/psychology/etc.)
He has displayed ample leg strength in preceding years, so I’m not sure if this is a Morgan Scalley design to try and stop the returns before the 25 yd line, or if its a mistake by Philips.
Explain to me especially with the altitude in slc, why Phillips can’t or shouldn’t be kicking it out of the endzone.
Couldn’t agree more with this topic and its concern. Phillips seems to be like a Jeremy Olsen type? Lack of focus? Idk. But I sure am frustrated if its a coaching thing but because that usu kick to the 40 was bad.
I know at one point Whitt mentioned the shorter kickoffs were by design. The idea is to get good hang time and drop the ball inside the 5. Usually when this is executed perfectly (including good tackling) they are able to tackle the kick returner before he reaches the 25. Not sure if that’s what happening right now, but it has been explained in the past.
I know that two years ago, Phillips didn’t have the leg strength to get it to the end zone. Last year after working out in the off-season, he was able to boot it out of the end zone. I am wondering if he left off on some of the strength training this off-season, and isn’t able to do it any longer.
I just think that his kicks look more similar to two years ago, than last year.
I hope it’s not a strength issue as I get the impression Andy is a pretty hard worker. You could be right though…perhaps he got too confident in his abilities after all the praise he’s been getting and took it easy over the offseason. I trust the coaches to get it worked out one way or another.
The line not posted yet I believe but prediction is Oregon by 14.
Whitt’s Press Conference.
http://espn700sports.com/espn700-interviews/kyle-whittingham-press-conference-9-21-15/
Mark Helfrich’s Sunday Conference.
What defines a good defense, Utah look ahead. Utah discussion from 5:18. D scheme discussion from 8:20.
Can we make it possible to copy the embed code and paste into message body?
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/utah/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2015-16/release/release_20150921aaa.pdf
You’ll have to scroll to page 12.
At first glance the only thing I noticed was that Boobie Hobbs is no longer in the 2 deep at nickel.
i think Domo starting is new to this week too
I watched the MSU game and wasn’t too impressed with him. I’m hoping our D can get after him a bit. We have been kind of passive the first three games. He seemed to get rattled when MSU blitzed.
Royce Freeman is a beast. I am nervous about him.
I hope we can finally get Oregon this year, but my head is saying we lose this one.
What do you guy think?
I actually like Utah’s chances. I think we will see more stunts and blitzes off the edges to get to Adams. I think if we loosen up the 8 man box we’ll see Booker can have a big day and get tons of yards. Oregon has some tackling problems it looks like.
Yeah, I want to hope for a win, but it just doesn’t seem likely.
First conference game, on the road, at Oregon and our play in the last game was a bit sloppy. We need to tighten it up big to have a chance.
Good. There will be no excuses.
He broke the index finger on his throwing hand. That has to adversely affect his passing.
I don’t think it really matters who starts a QB for Oregon. This is setting up for a great opportunity to knock off Oregon.
He broke the index finger on his throwing hand. That has to adversely affect his passing.
That’s how I see it. It’s like last year when I would rather see Taylor Kelly against ASU when he was coming back from injury and wasn’t 100%. That was a game we could have easily won.
My gut feeling tells me we are going to win this one. We will have to play better than we have so far and will probably need a long return or two to help us out. I’ll say 31-28
Edit: What the hell. Make it 38-28
So are Defense will be scoring 21 pts ?
If we can get pressure on Adams like MSU did, then I could see us getting some INTs and fumbles that could lead to some defensive scores.
Both teams have had sub-par play the last few weeks, with Oregon’s concerns coming on Defense and Utah’s on Offense (mostly).
If Utah’s front 7 can control the line of scrimmage, force the ball out of Freeman’s hands and make Adams have to throw, I really like our chances. I feel our Offense with TWilson back will have enough success that we can keep control of the clock and keep Oregon off the field.
Coach Whitt will do his best to turn this into a heavyweight brawl, hoping to wear down Oregon and make them play our game, just like Stanford used to when they had their success against the Ducks. It all comes down to how well our Line play is on both sides of the ball.
[Insert obligatory #ThrowGame reference here]
We will need to be able to move the ball and dominate time of possession. TW will need to be given a longer leash to throw down field and make the offense 2-dimensional and prevent Oregon from stacking the box on Booker.
I don’t think TW lack of downfield throws is necessarily a ‘length of the leash’ thing, but more a product of him taking the easy throw. I really wish he hadn’t of been hurt, because I thought he was doing some great things in the USU game, and the Fresno St. game would have looked a lot different with his ability to get the ball to the right place on time.
Our screen game will be active, but I think we have been setting up some great misdirections off those looks. I also think our OLine is finally getting into a groove and should be able to do some good things – but we’ll have to watch out for Buckner and the rest of Oregon’s front 7.
Our playaction is going to drive opposing Defenses crazy for the rest of the year – Booker is too good to not respect in the run game that we will be able to dupe linebackers and safeties into biting on fakes. Covey has been making hay with quick passes so we’ll get nickelbacks and strong safeties biting on the low routes too. It just depends on whether we can have some additional success stretching the field. We just have to keep defenses honest and our run game will do the work.
I don’t think we’ll ever develop a big passing game with our current coaching staff and the type of players they recruit.
However, I don’t think we need to have that type of game to consistently compete in this conference.
A passing game between 5-20 yards that is effective enough to keep teams from stacking the box is all we need to give our run game the room it needs to be effective.
I have a hard time being optimistic against teams who can score as much as Oregon. Our defense is good, but it’s a lot to ask to keep Oregon (even without Mariotta) under 30. And it is really damn hard for the Utes to score more than 30.
I hope, but I doubt.
Jake said: I hope, but I doubt.
This is my sentiment as well. I can’t shake that doubt, but I think that comes with being a Ute fan – we’re (mostly) a pessimistic bunch. Maybe has something to do with the cosmos demanding we counter the overbearing optimism from down south, but who knows.
But, I will say, we have more of a chance this year than we did last year, and we had quite a good thing going leading up to the infamous drop.
Our screen game will be active, but I think we have been setting up some great misdirections off those looks. I also think our OLine is finally getting into a groove and should be able to do some good things – but we’ll have to watch out for Buckner and the rest of Oregon’s front 7.
Our WR screen game has been really non-productive because 1) our receivers have been poor blockers and 2) defenses have made just about every one-on-on (and Peppers with some one-on-two) tackle. A few misses tackles from Oregon DBs who have struggled mightily with tackling, and our WR screen game starts rolling. WR screen game starts rolling and defenses cheat. Defenses cheat and the long ball is open.
I believe Utah has been very vanilla on both offense and defense thus far (At least that’s what I tell myself to help me sleep at night). No disrespect to our OOC opponents, but I think Utah could get away with not exposing any exotic blitz packages or special weapons on offense. I’m really hoping the Oregon game will be their coming out party.
I think Adams will be affected by his finger throwing the ball so I expect to see a heavy dose of Rolls Royce Freeman. I think the D-Line and LBs will be up to the challenge against the run, hopefully the secondary will be alert enough to pick off some errant passes. Oregon is going to get their yards and points (I would guess 30-40 range) so the offense is going to have to score. Lucky for Utah Oregon has not looked particularly good on that side of the ball.
My heart tells me Utah will get this thing done, my head tells me Oregon is just too powerful on offense. Either way, I think it’s going to be very close (spread is way too much in favor of Oregon FWIW). Ah hell, I’ll go ahead and say 38-34 Utes pull off the upset!
I can’t help but wonder if the vanilla look is intentional or if that’s just who we really are… i would imagine that the defense would have the personnel to at least do SOME blitzing, but the offense, i suspect, is going to be exactly what we’ve seen so far
I felt Travis really started to get it together and then he got hurt. I’m hoping to see more improvements from him if he’s healthy.
Utes will improve as they have always had those “rise to the occasion” moments. They tend to play up (or down) to their level of competition at times. They have got to get a passing game going though to allow Booker room in the box. Utah by 5!
I would love to see a Utah victory. But I am not going to hold my breathe. I am an old fart who remembers too many games back in the 8os before Utah was even close to being good. Learned not to get your hopes up.
That being said, I do believe Coach Peace has something special drawn up for this game to get after Adams. Rattle him in conjunction with a broken finger and something good might happen.
That being said, I do believe Coach Peace has something special drawn up for this game to get after Adams. Rattle him in conjunction with a broken finger and something good might happen.
Would love to see that. Increased and consistent pressure on the QB would be a nice improvement.
I believe we have put plenty of pressure on the opposing QB (I can think of three INTs that came as a result of hurried throws) but we’ll put even more when Pease starts calling in more stunts and attach blitzes as well. I think we can confuse the snot out of Adams who can’t throw with as much velocity with that broken finger of his.
Someone speculated before that maybe the defense(read Pease) was holding back something on defense by playing vanilla for when we start play in conference.
I usually don’t listen to that type of talk since that is usually what people say about our offense and then nothing every changes. However, it does seem odd that a team that registered so many sacks last year has had difficulty getting sacks.
Here’s to hoping that Pease has something up his sleeve to dial up some pressure on Adams. Not exactly the best time to put more blitzes into the scheme though, as Adams will make the defense pay with his legs if their over pursue.
The two things I would like to see:
1) More sacks from the defense
2) More consistency from the passing game & more explosive down field plays.
Autzen Stadium is supposed to be the loudest, toughest place to play in the league. That’s one major concern I have about this one. The Utes need to be nearly flawless to come out with a win, but I’m afraid there will be several miscues that end up being too costly, caused in part by crowd noise, etc. I’d feel much better about it if it were in Rice-Eccles.
Then again, two of our best wins last year were at the Rose Bowl and at Stanford Stadium — so we have shown a decent ability to win on the road.
I went to the oregon game that terrance cain started and it was loud and their fans were dicks.
Boise State fans. Just farther west… So I’ve been told.
Talking to dave fox today, he says kW thinks Davis will be starting but it doesn’t really matter who the qb is, that running back will give the Utes a lot of trouble. Again, not my words.
vernon adams, not davis.
While Oregon’s defense looks somewhat suspect, they still seem to be able to score a lot… which well we don’t seem to be able to score a lot :/
^^^^THIS^^^^. To have a shot at beating Oregon you have to score points, because eventually their speed wears down any defense.
Utah has shown they can score on Oregon’s defense in the past, but we seem to make big mistakes at the worst times.
It’s gonna take a clean and full-60-minute effort to have a chance.
I never count out our Utes!
Hopefully our D-Line depth will help keep the defense fresh. We also have some pretty decent depth at corner.
Defensive depth is definitely something we have. However, experience is a bit in short supply at the corner position.
If we can maintain assignment integrity and avoid getting beat deep I like our changes.
Here’s my own test post.
Testing, testing…
Seems to be working!
And this is my test post
With conference play starting up, it might be fun to have a weekly prediction contest for all the conference games.
Also, is there any way to expand the topic title beyond 80 characters? I’m a firm believer in putting as much content into the topic as possible.
Not sure about the character thing.
Polls are pretty easy to setup. Just swimming in new user registration issues right now!
/s Serious? two-days in and you can’t handle the flood of new users?
But for realsies, it is a testament to the status of the online Ute community that this site has taken off like it has. Yes, twitter can fill the void somewhat, but you can’t have sustained indepth discussions like you can on a message board.
Speaking of twitter – you should see if you can implement some integrated ‘share’ function for good posts/threads…you know, once you dig yourself out from the pile of new user requests.
No worries, thanks for the response. Your priorities are in the right place
Predict the 2019 Utah Football regular season record
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