Posted By: ColoUte - Official Broom-Boy for the Bandwagon
- YOU PEOPLE ARE PIGS!!! <everutes@hotmail.com>
Date: Monday, 12 November 2001, at 9:01 a.m.
1. I'm going to start off this post with a Zoob-esque pre-emptive strike - just in case the unthinkable does occur. If I could, I'd like to paraphrase some of our favorite Zoobies like Ryan Denney, Reno Mahe, and even going back to Steve Sarkisian and Chad Lewis - NO ONE can move the ball on our defense. If a team does manage to score on us, it's not because they're better, it's just because we didn't come to play.
That will become my Mantra for the coming week, and should we lose, for the coming year. I'd advise the rest of you to deal with the trolls in a similar manner. After all, I've taken this straight from THEIR script.
2. In case anyone was wondering, our defense is good. Let's look at a couple of stats, shall we?
- In our 5 conference games, we've allowed 52 total points. That's 10.2 per
game which isn't too shabby. However, 16 of those points were scored on our
offense, so we've basically allowed 36 points in conference this year - TOTAL.
- The D has shut out 2 conference opponents, and held another to 3 points.
- No conference team has scored more than 19.
- In the last two games, the Utes have allowed the opposition to cross their
40 yard line exactly 5 times.
- SDSU didn't have a single first down in the 3rd quarter, and their offense
had NEGATIVE total yardage.
3. One question I had about the SDSU game: J.R. Tolliver was killing us on that 15 yard out all day long. Why did he go away from that? Crockett was giving Tolliver 5 yards on the cushion, and he was beyond the 1st down marker every time. I'd like to see us sit on that a little better this week.
4. Want to know what the nicest thing about our Defense is? We return all but 3 players next year.
5. That said, I can't say as I agree with Arnold Parker's post game comments. It's not that I think they can't do it, I just don't think he should have said it. Maybe I'm too superstitious, but in '92, the Utes ran their mouths before the game, and got lit up in the first half. In '95, the Zoobs ran their mouths, and got waxed. I just would have preferred for him to keep his thoughts internal, and do his talking on the field. That's just my opinion.
6. I wish I could be as optimistic about our Offense. Yes, we've just come off of games against 3 of the better defenses in the conference, and BYU's defense has been suspect. (Hey, I'm trying to be nice.) But Rice has now had 3 consecutive sub-par games. Yes, we've won two of them. Yes, the running game has been dominant - 230+ per game over the last three. And NO, I'm not calling for Breska or Elliot. I'd actually be pissed if that happened. I'm just saying that if we're going to win on Saturday, he's going to have to return to his form from the Indiana, USF, Wyoming games.
7. The thing about the offense that bothered me in this game was that we had 3 more opportunities to score, and shot ourselves in the foot. We had our first drive killed on a stupid personal foul penalty. (Actually, Hunter should have scored on the first play, but got tackled by an displaced blade of grass.) We had a blown blocking assignment on 4th and 3 inside the red-zone. And we had a holding call move us out of Kaneshiro's FG range.
8. Speaking of Kaneshiro's FG range, I'm starting to think that doesn't extend much beyond 25 yards.
9. I thought it was interesting that we went for it on 4th and 3 inside the red zone. Granted, the crowd was absolutely screaming for Mac to go. The funniest thing was that when we did go for it, and didn't get it, the crowd was screaming at him for not kicking it. I guess he just can't win.
10. Did I mention that the defense was good?
ColoUte Tip of the Week: (And I have to give UBlender credit for this) Don't let the Zoobs convince you that this is our Bowl Game. That argument doesn't hold water anymore. We'll be going to an ACTUAL bowl game this year - making #6 in the past decade. Yes, this is a huge game, and a win would be great for the program, but it doesn't make or break the season either way. The season's already been made. Lest we all forget, we were picked to finish 4-7 and in 6th place. Even if we lose, we finish no worse than 7-4, and probably 8-3. That's a pretty successful season, and could prove to be the lead-in to something very special next year.
GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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