Posted By: ColoUte <everutes@hotmail.com>
Date: Monday, 8 October 2001, at 9:04 a.m.
I apologize if I repeat someone else's takes on the game. I just don't have the time (or desire) to scroll through the 442 new messages since I'm sure 358 of them are from YzGay telling us how BYU actually didn't struggle defensively against USU.
I was obviously late to the game, but after watching the first half on tape, I think we learned a bit more about our team this week.
1. Lance Rice showed exactly the type of QB he will be for Utah. Basically, he's the type of guy who's not going to hurt you, who's able to stretch the D just enough to open up the running game, and is able to do enough to move the chains and get the job done. He's still not as consistent as he needs to be, but that will come. He still doesn't really make optimal use of his receivers (Cliff Russell needs to get more than 3 touches a game)but he'll also probably develop that. He's never going to win a Heisman or be an All American, but he's also never going to take us back to the Crowsheneaux era.
2. I think Elliot's probably gone. I also don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. It's certainly in his best interests. He simply won't see the field until he's a senior - barring a major rash of injuries. I could be wrong. This coaching staff showed this off-season that they're not afraid to shake up the two-deep by switching Tate and Hunter. Tate was 2nd team All MWC, and they dropped him to 2nd string because Hunter looked better in Spring and Fall. That's turned out to be a great decision. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Elliot move into the 2nd string spot, but Rice simply is the type of guy who won't do anything to lose his job. I wish Brett the best of luck in whatever he chooses.
3. I actually think Mac left Rice in too long. I personally would have pulled him after the first TD in the second half to make it 38-0. This would have been the perfect opportunity to give Breska game-time snaps with a full play book. Also, when the cheap shots started to fly following that series, I think Mac should have gotten his starters out to prevent injuries. It would have been nice to see Breska for the remainder of the 3rd, and Elliot for the last couple of series in the 4th. Oh well.
4. I think the biggest reason for Rice's improvement from the USU game to now is the O-Line. He's got all kinds of time to pick his spots and deliver the ball. Seriously, he's got Ty Detmer like time. The Line has been nothing short of incredible so far. Rice hasn't even been hit that often. Now, we really haven't faced a decent front 7 yet. That's the obvious weakness in Oregon's team. Indiana's is actually pretty decent, but their secondary is so bad that the LB's can't cheat up to stop the run since they have to sit back in their two-deep zone. We'll see what we're really made of in 3 weeks in Ft. Collins.
5. That was a nice double-pass by Dennis Smith, though I probably would have used J.D. Jorgensen as the TE - until I heard that Dennis Smith played some QB in JUCO. Mac said he was 7 of 8 on that play in practice. Mac also said he played QB, TE, WR, and CB in JUCO. It's nice to see that Mac's finally finding a way to get a guy with that kind of athleticism on the field for nearly 4 plays a game.
6. Someone needs to teach the Stat geek at the Trib how to count. I saw Cliff with at least 3 receptions in the first half, and he got a lot more than six yards. His first reception was for 8. Nevertheless, he's got to touch the ball a lot more than that. If we can't do a better job of incorporating him into the offense, it could come back to bite us later on.
7. The second half was just plain ugly. I was really upset at how we lost our composure. Granted, USF was letting their frustration show, but we need to learn to be bigger than that. I don't understand why USF was talking so much smack when they were down 52-7, but how hard is it to just point to the scoreboard, laugh, and walk off? It just got ridiculous after a while. I'm not saying our guys were completely at fault, but it's always the guy who retaliates who gets the flag. That said, a couple of those interference calls were pathetic.
8. I must say, though, that I saw one of the funniest things I've seen in a while on the tape. With 1:51 left in the first half, USF jumped offsides, and the play was blown dead. Jordan Gross was blocking his guy, and left his hand on his arm after the whistle was blown. The USF guy knocked his hand away, and Gross put it back up. USF knocked it away again, so Gross put his other hand up on his chest. USF knocked that one down, so Gross put his other hand back up on his chest. Finally, the USF guy just clocked him in the earhole and walked away. Gross got in the last word, though, by laughing and giving him a good goose as he walked away. I don't think my description of the incident did it justice. It really must be seen to be appreciated.
9. Antwoine Sanders should have jumped out to an insurmountable lead in the national interception race on Saturday. He had an opportunity to pick 3, but left with none. He almost got one as the first half ended, but Nagahi made a brilliant defensive play by knocking Sanders out of the play just as the ball got there. Now, if he could only defend the opponent like that. In the third, he actually did get a pick in the end-zone, but it was negated by a stupid personal foul on Garrett Smith. In the fourth quarter, he had another ball hit him in the chest, and bounced off, and into the hands of a USF defender. It was actually a pretty classic play - for them.
10. I think we learned today how badly we screwed our perception last year. We're 4-1, our only loss was a close one to a top 5 team (wow, I'm glad we got Oregon when we did. They're pretty freakin' scary now that they've gotten it together.) we've won our last two games by an average score of 45-18, and we have one of the top 15 RB's in the nation. What do we get for this? One vote in the coaches' poll. It's probably from the coach of USF. If CSU had done what we've done, they'd be top 20 by now. If we wallop Wyoming, we may get 4 or 5 votes. We'll have to thump CSU and UNLV on the road to get anyone to notice. We seriously set our program back a decade perception-wise last year.
Sorry for the long post. Overall, I'm pleased with the direction of the team. We're improving week by week, and this was a game that we would have struggled with traditionally. I'd like to hope things have changed, but there are still some questions. Don't think for one minute that the Wyoming game isn't dangerous given the tradition of the team. I just hope we can stay consistent, and take care of business. This team looks like it could be really good by the end of this year, and absolutely frightening next year. They just need to maintain this rate of improvement.
GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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