"QB- (A+) Rice 21-29 275 2TD's no INT's. Great game, great confidence, showed some great zip finding people in between the zones."
By: S. Gil
Posted By: Charlie
Date: Saturday, 22 September 2001, at 6:28 p.m.
What kind of a start do you need to come back from a bad year and challenge for the conference title? Consider taking care of Utah State comfortably in an opener, playing a top ten on the road very well keeping a very good ofence under control, and beating a lower division Big 10 on the road. I feel we have the start we need.
Keeping Randal El under control makes you believe we can keep lesser running Qbs at UNLV and BYU under control. The young secondary is coming along. Our QB is not a weakness, the running game is strong, and the receivers are producing. I don't think the conference will be any harder than we have seen we can handel. Just got to keep it going...
Welcom in Bo and Dennis Smith.
Posted By: Wakara
Date: Saturday, 22 September 2001, at 8:57 p.m.
First off, this is a very nice win for Utah. If we can hold serve at home, then we have a shot at a very good year. I'm sticking with my 7-4 prediction made at the beginning of the year.
Randle-El - I read the hype, but it was no where near the truth. He was much better. He was as elusive as any college player I've ever seen, Steve Smith included, and his passing was pretty decent
This was not the team that lost to NC State last week, this was the team that was one of the top offensive teams in the country last year. The difference was they moved Randle El back to QB, where they tried another QB last week. We had to play a very good game on both sides of the ball to win.
The
Good -
Kudos to the defense. Other than the 2 consecutive off sides that gave them
the touchdown, they should feel good about keeping this team off the scoreboard
more. D-Line nutted it up against what one observer ranked as the 3rd best O-line
in the country, especially on the 2 4th down plays. While many look at the game
and say the d faltered, I think they did pretty good containing one amazing
football player. Really, you had to watch him to see how talented this kid was.
O-line - dominated IU's dline. open truck like holes for hunter and gave rice time to throw.
Hunter - didn't see tate much, but DH is not the same player as last year. Runs hard and fast and hits the holes quickly. We truly have too many good RB's. There are still some IU safeties looking for the license plates of the truck that hit them.
Rice---not as good as his line indicates, but hey, you have to give the kid credit. Good reads, quick throws, and few mistakes. He continues to throw too high, but his short throws were close enough, although some of those catches go to the athleticism of the receivers...especially one:
Dennis Smith. Why hasn't this guy played to date? He is big, quick, great hands, and can sky. The last touchdown was his alone. Rice just lobbed a pineapple, and he went and got it, absorbing a punishing hit. He made a spectacular catch earlier on as well.
Ver Stegg - Realizing Rice limitations, VS put in a game plan that played to our strengths, mixed it up, and got the ball to the right players. Kudos for finally bringing in Dennis Smith, and kudos for calling plays to match the talent. We were running up the middle a lot, but we succeeded for a while at that. When it stopped working...WE CHANGED. VS did a great job calling lots of throw over the middle where IU had holes. In general, VS did a great job at exploiting the weaknesses of the IU d. I'm afraid the lack of the long ball will waste Russell's ability, but hey, at least the offense executes.
The Bad
In keeping with my goal of turning over a new leaf, I won't print any bad spots (but if I did, I would mention two specific penalites that gave them a touchdown) but in general, everyone had a pretty good game.
The summary
IU is a pretty good team with Randle El at QB. They will win some home games in the Big Ten. You could tell they were not quite there mentally because their stupid penalty cost them the 2-point conversion that would have tied it. So, in that sense, they gave it to us, but our penalties gave them a TD as well, so it evened out.
Utah is good enough to win the MWC this year. Whether they do or not depends on luck and what other schools do. I am liking the change in the offense. We adapt, we play to our strengths and to the d's weaknesses. The team looks coached. Rice is not a great QB, but VS is helping him be a good one through offensive strategy.
Good Win Utah...don't take the next three as gimmies, especially SF.
Out
Posted By: codeRed <yugly@utahutes.com>
Date: Saturday, 22 September 2001, at 11:42 p.m.
The good:
Get off you high horse people. Rice is quickly becoming a good QB. It's time to admit it. Don't give me this "Indiana has a bad D" crap. While it's true, their D's week, Rice made the plays he needed to, when needed. And though some of the play calling was great, we ran waaaayy too much on first down in the third quarter....setting Rice up for quite a few third and longs.....he converted many. He'll be just fine. The hand off was clearly not his fault either.
Randle El is fun to watch....just not against us.
The bad:
I have a major bitch with Russell......Finish your routes! Once today, at least four times on the season Rice has gone deep to him and he has slowed way down on the route thus putting him out of position. Some of you have been blaming Rice for this. But you are wrong. Watch the games on tape. Today, for example, Rice threw it deep and Russell was all but stoped then when he saw the ball he tried to restart. If he would've been on full stride it would've been an uncontested TD. I guess he figures since most passes are short he doesn't want to run down field for nothing. To me this in unexcusable. He should do it when ask regardless of how often he sees the ball. It makes him the decoy. If he doesn't he useless.
The Ugly:
The two offsides. KJZZ.....They SUCK. I'm so sick of the camera being every where but on the game. Or Steve Brown saying something like...."it's going to be a long afternoon for him" when it's the 4th quarter.
I feel we really outplayed both IU and USU however the scores don't indicate such. This team is better than last years but they need to learn to capitalize on their opportunities. They've had plenty but seem to be ungracious receivers. I haven't joined the 'Let's keep Mac ' bandwagon yet, but I'm slightly encouraged. Rice is a keeper though. He will continue to improve though most the people on this board will never admit it. His #'s for the year are pretty good, considering his bad game against USU, with TD's being the exception (58 of 100...58% completion rate, 198 ypg, .3 int\pg, .66 td\pg.)
Just my thoughts.
BTW, does anyone have better looking cheerleaders year in and out than USC? If so, I've never seen them. I bet that's the real reason Norm Chow moved there.
Go Utes!
Posted By: UTEopia
Date: Sunday, 23 September 2001, at 5:02 p.m.
Offensive game plan: I liked it with two exceptsions. Too many runs on 1st down and too few attempts to go downfield.
Offensive execution:
QB: Rice was very efficient. He made some nice throws into some tight coverages. He has made alot of improvement. I think the Utes need to go up top at least 4 times against UNM.
OL: Very strong game. Rice was not sacked and was only presuured a few times. Ta'amu looked as if he was possessed.
TE: Richadson made some nice plays. It was great to see Dennis Smith get some action and make a contribution.
RB's: Hunter looks very good. Is Tate pouting a little. I would still like to see a few sweeps.
WR's: Lyman is solid. The offense needs to adjust to get russell off the line better. Maybe some motion would help. Russell did make a nice cut and kept his feet on the TD.
Defensive scheme: It looks like the Ute coaches knew that Randle El would be at QB and did everything they could to contain him. He is one shifty guy, and although he made some Utes miss and look pretty bad in doing so, I think the game plan was a good one. I don't think we were as physical as the coaches would have liked, especially Sanders.
DL: With the exception of the two off sides, this unit was again very solid. They put pressure on Randle El, but did not lose contain.
LB's: I was sorry to see Jeremy Lyman go down. He is a great kid and has worked very hard to get some starting time. this unit was solid.
DB's: Sanders was out of position a couple of times and needs to be more physical when he tackles. D'Shaun Crockett got picked on a little bit but was in good position on almost every play. Nagahi may have a little more size and quickness to the ball, and i wouldn't be surprised to see him start.
Special teams: Solid across the board. It would have been nice to see Kneshiro make that FG, but it was 47 yds out and i was surprised that they tried it.
The team has come through the 1st 3 games 2-1. I doubt anyone realistically expected any better. I think we get a break with the rescheduling of the AFA game. We now have 3 home games that we should be favored in. In years past, the Utes have faltered against a team they whould beat just when I was ready for them to make a statement. This team still has a long way to go. A win against New Mexico would be a great step. I look for the Utes to make some big plays on offense and beat the Lobos 31-13.
Posted By: S. Gil
Date: Sunday, 23 September 2001, at 10:29 p.m.
The whole game I kept thinking that IU could run a power game as much as they wanted, but the Utes could of thrown all they wanted. I was surprised that IU never really seemed to send extra people at Rice even in obvious passing situations. IU's zone (which they used way to often) was paper soft but Lance Rice was on the money efficent. Some of you refuse to get on this guy's side just because Elliot and Breska came in with more pub. To hell with pub, if Elliot transfers I wish him well. He hurts himself playing basketball and expects things to be handed to him when the season starts. His act in the press is wearing very thin with me. It's time that those of you who are still holding on to nothing but what Breska/Elliot did in High School forget about it and get behind Rice. It's Lance's team like it or not.
Here are my grades:
QB- (A+) Rice 21-29 275 2TD's no INT's. Great game, great confidence, showed some great zip finding people in between the zones. I think he still has room to improve.
RB- (B+) Hunter 31 for 165 2TD's. Ran hard all day great effort. Tate on the other hand acted like he had something better to do. He ran soft and never seemed to be into the game. The Utes are a team who rely on error free ball control football. Fumbles are unexceptable. I would of liked to see Perolus in the 2nd half for Tate. I'd also like to see the FB used in the running game once or twice. We've got to use them for more then a blocker and 1 or 2 catchs a game. Fortune is an excellent blocker.
WR/TE- (A) Russell, Lyman, Richardson and Dennis Smith. I love Lyman. The guy looks like he couldn't get open against anyone but always seems to. We have alot of really good WR's. I'd love to see Utah think throw first and run second, just once. Richardson is an above average reciever for being a lineman. Just when you mark Dennis Smith MIA he arrives, nice game.
OL- (A) Protected Rice nicely all game and opened things up for Hunter. McQuivey was awsome at times. Ta'amu will get better. This will be a solid group.
DL- (C-) Indiana's OL may be the best we'll see. Our DL was exposed and beat'n up in the middle. We are quick and hustle well but not strong. Some one should introduce Garrett Smith to the weight room. He has the smallest arm's of a DL I've seen and looks like a pear. Kaufusi looked real good.
LB- (C-) All of them missed a ton of tackles Dwinell, Deckart (who played hurt), and Bahr. Hopefully Lyman will get back quick. This groups needs to grow up and get better in a hurry. We can't afford injuries here.
DB- (D) The only thing keeping this an F was the Nagahi pick. These guys didn't cover well and tackled terribly. I could do without watching Antwoine Sanders looking like road kill against opposing RB's. He missed more tackles then he made. Parker didn't look good either. As big as these guys are, they need to be bigger hiters. They may never see a better player then Randal'El but they will see a better option team. Call me old school, but is it to much to expect these kids to tuck in their shirts? It's hard to play good if you look like a slob.
Special Teams (B-) Kickoff team gave up to much field position, Scalley gave us good field position, Kanishero's PAT's were UGLY!!!, and Lewis' punting was bad. They need to be better.
Posted By: Mr. Crimson <me@me.com>
Date: Monday, 24 September 2001, at 1:47 a.m.
First A win is a win is a win, especially because last years team would have lost that game.
Rice plays a very solid game. But I agree with Mike Norseth we need to find a way to get a big play, I'm still not sold on Rice delivering that, but if Breska was in would we have to trade an int for the big play and would that be worth it. With Elliott not being able to compete for the job with the injury, I know understand the choice.
Seriously this offense would be a god damn nightmare to prepare for. Do you go 2 deep zone and let the Utes run and throw over the middle, Do you go 3 deep and let the Utes attack the wings do you blitz with Rice now being solid at short passing. Plus they control the ball forever.
Randall El is the real deal, its too bad they didn't surround him with more talent during his career so he really could have blown up.
The stupid mistakes came but unlike past years we over came. The last few years seemed to see the team collaspe under that weight.
Any FG beyond 45 should be tried by Lewis or not at all, I like Kaneshiros accuracy but he has no leg.
This team is going bowling. This conference is down. CSU loses at home to a not so good SDSU team. UNLV looks like crap. Wyoming gives up 42 points to a USU team we essentially gave up 6 too. BYU is talented but I'd like to see them play a team not in the bottom 20 of the country to see how much. But there is no reason that this team shouldn't go to Provo 8-1. No I won't freak out if they do drop another but there is something much more solid about this years team that those of the past.
Posted By: Swoop
Date: Monday, 24 September 2001, at 10:00 a.m.
While I intend to support this team, I am not convinced of anything yet. I guess I am gun shy from seasons past. Don't get me wrong, this was a decent win on the road against an average team with one outstanding player in Randle El. Indiana will be fighting to stay out of last place in the Big 10, but heck the Utes couldn't beat PAC 10 bottom feeders last year.
Contrary to some belief, Rice had an almost perfect game. Let's just base it on this game only. Not what he did in previous games, or the fact he can't throw the long ball very well yet. His line of 21 for 29, 275 yards, 2 TDs', 0 ints is exactly what the team needs from the QB position with the running attack they have. I didn't have the benefit of watching the whole game. Too many hunny do lists. The parts I saw Rice looked very composed.
There is no reason that we can't expect to beat every team, except BYU in the MWC. Indiana was on the talent level with the MWC, maybe better at some positions. I don't think the Utes will face a tougher O-line.
All in all trying to stay positive, and look for the good in the team. I see alot more positive about this team than last years model. Amazing what a different O-coordinater can do. I'm still afraid of the collapse, and losing 2 straight somewhere on the schedule. But until then I'll take it one game at a time hoping for the best. 7-4 would be a nice turn around, and anything better would be gravy IMO.
GO UTES!!!!!
Posted By: coug4ever
Date: Monday, 24 September 2001, at 8:33 a.m.
Saturday was the first Utah game I've watched this year, so it's the first time I can really comment. I think it was a very nice win for Utah. Indiana is not a great team, but they did go up on Utah twice, and you all came back and scored on the ensuing drive both times. That speaks of a team with some character, last year you'd have figured out how to mess up both those drives.
As far as the offense, it really reminds me of Notre Dame last year. No big plays, nothing that looks extremely scary, but very efficient and no mistakes. Rice was very solid on those short passes across the middle. The thing about those passes is that they force the linebackers to hold their spot, which opens up the middle for the running game.
The only problem with the offense is there is no room for mistakes. If you are going to make long drives and not have big plays, you better be efficient. That's exactly what they were on Saturday, good execution, not many mental errors.
As far as negative stuff, I would have to say that your 2 safeties will probably eventually be pretty good, but they were incredibly unimpressive on Saturday. They look terrific, and seem to run well, but their tackling was horrible. Sanders looked like he was suprised that everytime he touched someone they didn't fall down.
Also, it will be interesting to see what happens when people force Rice to go long. I don't mean the deep ball to Russell, I mean 15-20 yard crossing patterns. Indiana seemed to want to keep everything in front of them, which played right into Utah's hands.
Anyway,
in the end, nice win at a big 10 Stadium. At least somebody from the MWC beat
a BCS team. As scary as it is, Utah may be the only chance BYU has of playing
a ranked opponent this year.
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