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– THU 2/20 8:30PM – FS1 TV
He talks about Penisini finishing that play. Goodness that was amazing how he quickly tosses his guy and gets to the gap.
Watched more of the post game. Thought it was cool to see TT being interviewed. Is this a change?? Whitt is allowing more access to the media now with his assistants? Whitts post game on Pac12 was fun. This was a fun win, for a warm-up game it was great.
Defensively what problems could you see? Freshman QB that I brought up before the game looked very much like a freshman FCS QB pagainst Utah. He got the TD on a short field and that was pretty much the only negative defensively all night. Anae hype train being a little tarnished from the penalties but Utah played vanilla and made Schramm look like a damn fool.
Special teams was average just like Whitt said. Punt coverage wasn’t great didn’t give Covey much field to work with. The Wishnowsky juke was AWESOME!! You put something on film that opponents need to prep for. Wishnowsky is kicking more like an NFL punter. Gay booted some great kickoffs I think. Covey will take one to the house this year I guarantee it. Turnover was ugly but again coverage sucked.
Offensively ok biggest takeaways and I don’t mean the actual times WSU got the ball from Utah. Utah has some weapons all over the amount of times the ball got spread around was SICK! Moss didn’t even look like he was trying and busted one 86 yards. His vision is better and he hits the hole quickly. Penalties? Cleanest game I have seen from Utah for a long time. Can’t remember a game being that clean. Usually Utah has around 1/4 of their actual yards in penalties. No drive killers from stupid mistakes. For three quarters Utah blew the air out of a team who had a lot of momentum and made them look silly. The improvement from fall camp to game one is pretty much non existent. The improvement from game one to two???!! Yeah this offense is going to be good with more installs. Huntley needs a little more touch on his passes I think. Backup QB?? An area of concern for me to start the season. Shelley is dynamic and I hope he sees the field more. Oline is now my primary concern going forward. Barton was great but they looked better than 2017 game one.
TLDR version: GO UTES!! Is it September 8th yet??
The only year that the assistants weren’t allowed to speak with the media was when Dave Christiansen was here. I hear interviews with the coaches all the time.
Yeah I remember that just this is the first time in post game that I can remember. Maybe it was because the PAC Network did more of a feaux Gameday type thing made me notice it.
Great post, I appreciate your thoughts and opinions, @battlegroundute.
They call them tune-up games for a reason. There is a lot to work on (turnovers, special teams, dropped balls), but we also saw a lot of good things last night.
We’ve got a lot of film to watch and a lot to improve. But, we also have a few extra days to do it. I’m sure we’re all eager to see how we look in the first quarter against NIU. That should be the biggest indicator of what kind of team we have this year. If the offense is sluggish and sputters again, we might have cause for concern. If they come and execute right off the bat on the road — well then, we might just have something we can work with.
A thought I had related to the term “tune-up”, this was valuable I think last night. The negatives are better for the coaches than just plowing into WSU all game. FCS teams I have said this all off season are just not valuable for the most part. If it was a 69-0 game I mean do you even learn anything about this team? I like the adversity they had to face and in game correction with no panic happening on the fly.
I don’t like FCS teams. I think they should be banned from P5 play, if you create a 8 game playoff with auto qualifiers. You can not allow Bama to play sisters of northern Bama College in November. Now if you want to create a “preaseason” gate game for the fans and to raise money for these lesser programs I am fine with that. Make it part of fall camp but overall you don’t learn much from these games.
No drive killing penalties but WR’s had some drops that had they been converted, would have sustained some drives. The Nacua one sticks out to me mainly. Right through his hands on a 3rd down forcing a punt. That actually may have been the fake punt now that I think about it. But he still has to pull that one down.
I think they will get there as a group though. As was mentioned below, some played very well.
I’m with you on the Oline. They sleepwalked through that first quarter. Not getting any push and being the reason for Huntley’s int in my opinion. It doesnt matter if we have the best skill guys in the world if they don’t have time or room to operate. They seemed to play better in the second half, but this could be this teams achilles heel if they don’t get it figured out.
Initially I thought it was the Oline bumping Huntley. It was actually Jake Jackson who got pushed into Huntley. I almost don’t like Huntley throwing that ball. The LB read it all of the way no way it gets through to his guy. Huntley was careful after that INT maybe a little too careful against WSU he can do that.
I didn’t notice that. Only saw it live and haven’t had a chance to re-watch the game yet. That makes me feel a bit better but they still have some things to work on obviously.
The early rush attempts between the tackles is most concerning. Once they started to run it outside it was just the team speed of Utah overwhelming WSU. TT adjusted nicely after the first two series went no where.
Really fun to see Dixon and Enis getting some catches. And fantastic to see so many receivers (and TEs) get touches – it is hard to stop an offense when you can’t blanket a single receiver.
Amazing to see how Covey appears to be back in full form after the two years hiatus. I would hate him if he were on another team – not because he is arrogant, but just because he is so good and elusive, yet does not appear as though he should be. He has proven people wrong his whole life. If he knocked on your door as a missionary and told you he was an all-american college football player, you would laugh at him, but then he just does what he does. Increndible.
Not sure what to think of Nacua. I have heard people say he catches everything in practice, but there were 2 drops last night, and the same thing happened enough last year that it stood out to me. Hope it is not now messing with his head everytime the ball comes his way. I assume Enis will be asked to step in if things do not change, and he looks ready to do it.
I was very unimpressed with Nacua last year. Last night further confirmed my opinion. Hoping he proves me wrong. Very impressed with how evenly we spread the ball around, however. Last year, Carrington seemed to be our only receiving threat. I like the fact there isn’t a clear number one at this point. Mariner, Enis, Covey and those damn freshman TEs tho!!! (Not to mention Moss’s playmaking ability as a receiver…)
Totally agree.
I thought Mariner played really well. He caught some tough balls in traffic.
Yes he did. He and Covey were the brightest spots at WR. I am excited for Enis and Dixon. There are a lot of options.
Covey’s an All-American? Missed that news.
Freshman All-American
He was the game time decision, obviously that decision was to sit him this week. Dealing with lingering injuries from fall camp. It sounded like he shouldn’t be out too long.
I was concerned and relieved when Chase would drill their QB after he released the ball. In the past, it seems that we have seen some flags on those hits. TheirQB is probably quite sore today
Overall – a VERY clean game 1 from a penalty perspective. Great to see.
Those hits all looked clean to me, clear intent to interrupt the pass rather than “punish the passer” to use the NCAA language.
I don’t know – they were after he released the ball. Does the fact that he was outside the pocket matter?
By I think there’s like a step or two grace atea for the defender. Those hits were all right there.
I think it does subjectively. Hansen is also really good at leading with the shoulder and because of that he can give a good pop and doesn’t have to dramatically ride the quarterback to the ground. If he didn’t hit so hard, he’d probably get called for pulling down the QB. Overall, the penalty is even more obscure than targeting.
Definitely surprised flags weren’t thrown on those. Not that I think they should have been because they were good, clean hits but it seems like those kinds of hits on the QB always draw flags these days.
I was terrified when I saw those 2 hits also. Chase did use his shoulder, but I have memories of refs calling a penalty for “launching” like that, not sure if that is no longer a thing because the gray area on this stuff is tweaked every year.
In a lot of the tighter officiated PAC12 games we’ve seen, some of those hits could easily have been called, but the officials had a light hand last night as both teams had small penalty counts.
But Chase had a great game last night and was a monster.
Best game I have seen from a Pac12 crew.
I’m sure it might have been discussed in one of our threads- I confess to not opening all of them.
Just gotta say that he passed the eye test – granted, it wasn’t a great team he was playing but if something were to happen to Huntley – he seems like a dynamic player. He made a fantastic throw and had a great run.
Still am curious to see Tuttle sometime.
Shelley has been under the radar but he was a pretty good recruit. MVP of his division in Texas a couple years in a row – and had offers from Clemson and UVA when he signed with Utah
Shelley was a big get when we got him. He picked us over Texas, A&M, Clemson and Ohio State. It may not have been as publicized because Tuttle’s parents are maybe the best PR and social media marketers on the planet. I mean, they should consult on the side.
I’ve got Washington winning 27 – 23.
Petersen has made his money on early season wins.
I think Browning is the most over-rated QB since Jake Heaps.
20-17 Washington in an ugly, ugly game. Washington’s DL controls the game. Gaskins runs for 150 yards. Washington goes +2 in the TO category and wins it.
Comparing Browning to Heaps? And you have the nerve to call Ute fans who saw flaws with last night’s performance ignorant?
Wow.
q
Yup, and you prove me right again. Did I say Browning was as bad as Heaps? Did I say they were similar players? No to both.
I said Browning was overhyped to the same level as Heaps. Both players’ reputation was vastly better than their actual skill.
People talk about Browning like he is first round pick. He’s not an NFL QB. That level of over-hype is very Heaps-esque.
Did I say that you said they were similar players? No. But you compared them and your comparison couldn’t be further from reality.
Heaps was the #1 QB in the country and fell flat on his face in college.
I’m not sure what Browning’s rating was coming out of high school, but his performance has been every bit what you would expect from a top flight QB coming out of high school. There is no way he has been over-hyped. Saying he is over-hyped like Heaps was is one of the most laughable statements I have ever heard. He had 43 TDs to just 9 INTs as a sophomore and you think he is over-hyped? Unbelievable.
Last year he was 19/5. Sophomore year he had a nearly 5:1 TD to INT ratio. Last year was about 4:1. That’s a pretty big slide.
It would appear most of that drop was due to running the ball more in the red zone last year compared to the year before. As a team they had 37 rushing TDs last year, up from 24 the year before. Browning also attempted 60 fewer passes as a junior than he did as a sophomore.
Regardless, you can’t be overhyped if you throw 43 TD passes to only 9 INTs in any year of your college career. @Utah is completely up in the night on this one.
He had two or three big time talents his sophomore year at the receiving positions.
Most of that drop was because John Ross graduated. That’s why they had to run the ball more. Plus they had several WR injuries last year. Browning is a system QB period. It was his receivers and Petersen’s system that made him look good.
Auburn
Gotta go with Auburn. I hope Washington can surprise and represent the conference well, but we will see. 24-20 Auburn is my prediction.
27-24, Washington.
Auburn does have an outstanding run game, but I think Washington matches up well against the run. UW also has a top-tier secondary and can make Auburn one-dimensional. Browning is a better QB than Stidham, and I give Peterson a slight edge as a coach over Gus Malzahn.
It’s going to be a tough, physical game, but I think it comes down to UW being able to stop Auburn’s rush attack and force Stidham to throw on crucial downs. If they can do that, maybe get a turnover or two and the UW defense gets some time to rest, I think Washington wins.
Auburn by 10. Home game for them and I’m not sure Browning can beat a top team.
Pulling for the conference mates, but I just don’t believe they can get the big win that the PAC-12 reputation desperately needs.
27-24 War Eagle
The PAC-12 needs a reputation boost. A lot of analysts have crapped on the conference all offseason. Some criticism has been valid but most of it is overblown based on bowl results.
I also believe the SEC lives in a bubble that protects themselves. They are very good at selling their conference as the best in the nation, which they typically very good but not as much as some would have you believe.
That being said, (one of my favorite lines of recruit speech) I want Washington to win in a bad way.
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