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Arizona – Sat Nov 23 8PM – FS1 TV 
do others feel the same in regards to our offense? I definitely don’t feel as confident in the offense as I am in the defense, but I feel if we have 2-3 quarters of really good offense I would be much more at ease with our schedule. At the same time, hence my uneasiness, it can take just 2-3 more quarters to prove our offense isn’t going to score more than certain opponents and we are stuck relying on the defense again. I know we have the talent but its hard to put money on our offense when I haven’t been “convinced” enough. Heres hoping the staff has been holding back a bit prior to conference play. I think Oregon is a great time to prove this.
Coach was asked if he was holding back prior to conference play. He said no. The conservative, power offense and good defense have served Whitt well and I don’t see it changing much unless we get some more talented players at key positions.
Do you feel Whit is playing the question all together? I wonder how many coaches hold back a bit during non-conference games prior to their first conference game. Not disagreeing, just wondering.
Whitt would never say yes to that question. Especially if he actually was holding back. That said, I dont think we were.
Though DC was much maligned, he did come into Utah and tell them there is no way you can win with the Turnover Margin you have. There is no way you can win throwing 18 INTs against 16 TDs. So they pulled back on trying to win games based on the passing game first and emphasized the run game. Some whine that they put a leash on Travis Wilson. I would argue that they altered the game plan to fit his abilities while emphasizing ball control. Many will complain that this is not sexy, but at the end of the day, scoreboard is what matters, especially for coach looking to keep his job. Just be prepared for low scoring games with the outcome determined by 2 to 3 key plays.
I’ve re-watched the first 25 minutes (1st Quarter and half of 2nd Quarter until TW gets injured) and I’m convinced that THAT offense can get it done in this conference. No, we will not score eleventy-billion points and boat-race inferior teams…but we WILL win with a suffocating defense, soul-crushing special teams, and some consistent, grind-your-face-into-dust punishing offensive drives led by our running game.
Is it Saturday yet?
I feel we can get it done, maybe Im always comparing our offense to the Alex Smith and B Johnson days when I was a student. We sure got spoiled with our offensive production under those guys. I also feel its hard to be a player and not have a consistent coaching staff year in and year out. I do like our staff, just too new to see how well they can be together.
But even with BJohnson in 2008 – there were times our offense was terrible. I remember a game where Johnson was responsible for 3 turnovers I think…but we still got it done at the end of the day. The only thing that matters when its all said and done is how many W’s can be counted.
I thought we had exactly one good year of genuinely good offense: 2004. My recollection on 2008 was we played just well enough to be in it at the end and BJ was in such command that when he got to run the 2 minute drill he could orchestrate at a very high level. The Alabama game was so shocking because we did just the opposite: we ran the 2 minute drill 3 times early on, got a lead and held it. When Bama got close again we let Brian off the leash again. Nope our offense has lacked pizzazz and really had no identity for a decade. Every year I hope we develop something watchable and every year I am disappointed. Oh well. Such is life.
Ludwig tried to make that 08 offense something it wasnt. It had special potential, and we saw that towards the end of the year
I hear ya hockey, too many heart attack wins even with those undefeated seasons.
You can see a difference this year in our offense when Wilson is at the helm. It’s not a HUGE difference but I think it brings enough variety and production to get us another win or two above last year.
10-2 has a nice ring to it and I honestly don’t think it’s an unrealistic outcome.
I’m REALLY looking forward to Saturday to what our Utes can accomplish in Autzen.
I like 10-2…and with the way ASU, USC, and UCLA have been playing, it may be enough to win the south if we can upset AZ…
I think Zona is the key this year. Rich Rod always seems to have our number each year, and we’re at their place.
If we can knock them off along with two out of ASU, USC, and UCLA then we’re in business.
Get out of here with your optimism. Are you sure you’re a Utah fan?
All kidding aside I think Utah will go anywhere from 7-5 to 10-2. I think 10-2 get us into the PAC-12 championship game. If I had to guess though I’d say we go 9-3 with losses to Arizona, USC & wait for it….Oregon. Unfortunately football is just too unpredictable with injuries & everything else. There isn’t a team on our schedule I don’t think Utah can’t beat.
We are a tough team to beat when we don’t turn the ball over.
Here’s an idea I’d like to see when we punt. Teams are putting two returners deep which counters the benefits of the rugby style punt. This gives us numbers when it comes to a fake. Whitt has said as much. Something is cooking here. Here’s my wild idea. Put a sturdy QB like Chase Hansen in a deep shotgun with Hackett to his side and run an option punt type play. If the return team keeps two men deep, look for the option (pass or Chase runs) if it’s not there, flip to Hackett and he punts on the run. If they pull one of the two deep men to support the fake, Chase flips to Hackett and he punts the hell out of it rugby style away from the return man.
Essingfield.com has a tent dedicated to Ute fans. They extended an invite.
Couldn’t get the link to open. Do you know where they will be location wise?
@LAUteAlumni invited to tailgate @Essig_Field in private Ute tent. FREE entry, live music, cable TV, full bar &more! http://t.co/V4GJcQlDDA
— Essig Field (@Essig_Field) September 24, 2015
I spelled it wrong. Essig Field.
Thank you this will be helpful, I will be there as well.
I cannot believe some of the out of touch posts I see sometimes. Ute2004 seems like he sleeps with a Mariota doll, sits outside Mariota’s house with binoculars, and rummages through Mariota’s garbage.
My M-in-law said once a guy reaches 40 he’s finally hit his peak. Mellowed out but yet experienced enough not to be totally irrational when it comes to many things.
I’ve loved the lack of posts on UteHub which marginalize the Utes, and spend too much time on the periphery of teams and players which don’t matter to me.
Thank you all.
I’ll say one thing, I will be much more inclined to come here after a Utah loss than other sites.
I usually avoid going to fan forums like the plague after a loss, but I think I’ll stop by here.
I normally stay away from UFN for 24 to 48 hours after a loss. Members come out of the wood work who only seem to post after a loss and it’s never good.
The one thing I don’t like about the running format is that even during wins it’s a non-stop bitchfest. I cannot stand the posters who think they know more than the coaches, especially when it comes to play calling. How in the f**k does somebody grow the balls to question the calls when they have spent ZERO time with the players/personnel, and ZERO time scouting the opposing team or studying film (outside of maybe watching some games)? Once in a while a weird play will come in out of left field that makes you scratch your head, but I’m talking about the guys who sit there the entire game, and rail the OC for every single f**king play. It’s so goddamn exhausting.
They made it painfully obvious how little they know when they complained during the Michigan game. Roderick called a brilliant game, and they had the nerve to jump on him for not airing it out more. Have they not watched any Utah football over the past four years.? Travis has been incredibly accurate with the short to mid range passes this season, but he’s never been one to put a bomb on the money. You need to know the limitations of your personnel, and adjust accordingly, but they want to force things because Utah’s style of play apparently isn’t entertaining enough for them. Funny thing is these are the same guys that will bitch about the playcalling the moment the first pick is thrown from a quarterback being too aggressive.
Sorry, off my soapbox now. Just needed to vent a bit.
EDIT: This is not an indictment of ufn posters, or anybody in particular as this is something that is seen often within every fanbase, and on every board. I just was pointing out that the format of ufn makes visiting that site during games quite frustrating.
I think that Ute2004 gets a bad rap because he tends to be a bit optimistic about Utah, but in his defense he usually posts with a pretty good set of information to back up his claims.
That being said, I do agree that things can get a bit intense on UFN on occasion when some users don’t agree on a topic.
I’ll take Ute2004 any day of the week over the Chicken Little, Debbie Downer sky is falling crowd. I noticed one certain poster who bashes the hell out of TW has disappeared since our 3-0 start and after seeing how much better the offense looks with Travis.
If the Ducks beat us handily he’ll be all over UFN afterwards.
Yup. Sadly, he gives Ute fans in your’s and my state a bad name. =)
What the SeaTac are you talking about?
I know of who you speak.
Agreed. I like Ute2004. He makes some bold claims, but he has stats to support his argument and I think it makes for fun debate to have someone take a strong stand. And, as you said it is refreshing that stand is actually pro-Utah. I hope Ute2004 makes his way over here. I will welcome him.
Seems to be losing steam. I was just on UFN, and it’s going stronger than ever before. Some new names that I’ve never seen before. Suspect?
I actually think this site is doing really well – topics and posts keep cropping up, and it seems like we have several stalwarts that always try to contribute with more lurkers making the plunge into posting everyday.
Resistance is futile
I enjoy that people are actually talking about football on this site. I could get used to this.
Football? Never heard of it.
You one of those rare Utah Baseball fans? #ShotsFired
Seems to be losing steam.
Really? The Oregon/Utah game poll just got 384 votes.
It seems that with regards to this site people see what they want to see. It’s almost like politics. 600 members in 5 days seems awesome to me. Certainly that pace will slow and I hope that the base continues to participate as fantastically as they have so far.
I’m glad to NOT see a bunch of personal attacks between users. I’d like to avoid that and keep the focus on the UTES!
Just getting started here. The sky is the limit.
I found Ute2004 to be insufferable. I mean the guy literally posts responses to himself. But my real problem was how he literally would trash certain Utah QBs in public with posts stating that Jon Hays or Adam Schulz were not D1 or PAC 12 level players. These guys were playing their hearts out for Utah and deserved better.
The fact is that Jon Hays took Utah to a Bowl Game and lead them to a bowl win over a P5 team, something his beloved Travis Wilson has yet to do. Furthermore, both Jordan Wynn and Jon Hays still have higher career passing efficiency ratings than Travis Wilson and it’s not really close. He dismissed Jon Hay’s season as simply handing the ball off to Jon White IV. Uh, hate to point this out, but without Booker, we’d be staring at 18 INTs if we looked to Travis Wilson’s arm to win games. Reality is Utah is a run oriented game management type offense and that is what they’re looking for the QB to do. Utah will never win meaningful games relying on the arms of any of the current QBs they have. They just need the QB to keep the defense honest which will open lanes for Booker.
Wynn and Hays did some good things for Utah, but I would argue that Wynn played against a lower level of competition for the most part and Hays had the support of Norm Chow who was a wizard with getting the most out of sub-par talent.
Wilson may not be that great but you can’t deny that he’s won us some big games, and Wilson has done it against tougher opponents and with a lot less coaching support and consistency.
Totally agree with this.
Discussing our opinions on the team and players is part of what makes sites like this interesting to participate in but we need to remember they are young kids and playing their heart out for the team and we should respect that.
Wilson is a gamer and has great agility for his size. He’s not the best raw QB out there be for the most part he is a winner. Tough for us to find that gem of a QB, but then again, there aren’t many out there.
Whew I think my arm and forefinger are going to fall off. All pending users who didn’t activate their accounts, have been activated and an email manually sent out to them from a non-site email address in hopes they receive notification.
656 users now.
I think I speak for all of us when I give you a huge THANK YOU for all of your efforts. I hope you are able to catch a break to sleep once in a while.
Your work is much appreciated sir!
Thanks Tacoma. You’ve been a great supporter for the 4.5 days the site has been running!
Job well done, I don’t know how many users are on the other forums. I think utehub is off to a pretty dang good start.
Job well done, I don’t know how many users are on the other forums. I think utehub is off to a pretty dang good start.
Thanks. I do too. I hope we can keep the momentum going! We have a great base now.
I’ve been doing a little bit of recruiting by sending board mails to a few excellent posters on other sites that I think would be great additions. I don’t want to do it too much but I think if others did the same we could bring in some of best contributors on other sites.
Yes yes exactly. Just a couple of invites here and there, nothing spammy. Thanks for doing that.
First there are only three games with ticket prices higher, maybe four, than the Oregon – Utah game this weekend, according to their “XX tickets available on Stubhub for $83”
Two or three are SEC games between an unranked opponent or two unranked opponents. Then Maryland – WVU, there is nothing else to do in Morgantown. However some of those games with higher ticket prices have less tickets available. There are about 840 available for the Utah game.
Second oddball bit I picked up, Utah has offered quite a few players for next year who also have offers from SEC, BigXII and Pac-12 schools. I hate the fact they list offers alphabetically, because if I see that stupid A of Alabama on one more recruit we’ve offered I’m gonna barf. However it seems there are quite a few players from TX, FL, LA, and CA which are “considering us” so that is good.
Problem is I didn’t see many visits scheduled to Utah for these “offered” kids. Is that a problem?
If we keep winning it will do a lot for those kids to start looking for visits into SLC. Unfortunately, I (and many others) believe Utah has a lot of negative recruiting ground to make up to even get to a point where a kid would consider us.
That said, this staff is very capable of getting and signing classes that help us compete in the Pac12, and we’ve seen our depth continue to increase year after year. So I’m not too concerned – a lot of those kids on that list on ESPN wouldn’t have even blinked at an offer from Utah 5 years ago, and now we’re at least getting a bunch to take serious looks.
Having Dennis Erickson on the staff does not suck!!! I credit the Southeast recruiting to him.
Hey idiot^^^ hit reply next time so it doesn’t look like you’re a crazed lunatic talking to yourself. The previous post was in response to Hockeybeard. Imagine it is indented. I need to go to bed.
My brother and I will be guests of a good friend for the Utah @ USC game. I checked StubHub and the tickets in his section are going for $400. We reciprocate and host him at the USC @ Utah game where my brother has seats on the W 50, midway up. Hard to get any better. Oh and I went to USC for my MBA.
Nice article at the 3-0 start
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/five-burning-questions-utah-entering-pac-12-play
Good read – I have a couple answers/rebuttals to his 5 questions:
1) KScott’s numbers need to include the 4 targets that came down as PIs that helped get first downs. Yes, it would have been better to have an actual completed pass on those plays, but I’ll take the yards just the same.
2) Our defense has been playing with the lead – that means teams are going to get pass-happy going into the 4th Quarter. Yes, our pass defense can improve, and I don’t think anyone is doubting that, but I also think it needs to be mentioned that our defense has been able to keep everything in front of it when it counts the most.
