2016 Utah at California-Berkeley

[Redbird]

4pm MST start.

A win here would give the Utes a road win in every P12 North stadium in only their 6th year as a member of the conference.

Northern California has been very welcoming to Coach Whit. Including bowl games, Utah is 5-1 in the area (Emerald Bowl; at SJSU x2; Fresno; Stanford). Their only loss came to these same Cal Bears in 2011, when they played their home games in San Francisco.

[LA Ute]

ESPN PAC-12 Blog:


7. California 2-2, 0-1 (No. 5 last week)

Much like Arizona State -- the team that downed the Bears Saturday night -- Cal is a ton of fun to watch. The defense actually played better, only allowing the Sun Devils 164 yards on the ground and 3.3 yards per carry. But the turnovers proved costly. They’ll need to find some consistency with undefeated Utah coming to town Saturday.

[LA Ute]

Kyle Goon:


Explosive plays were a problem for Utah's defense in the 31-27 victory over USC, a problem slightly neutralized by three takeaways and a key stop on the last drive. But the Trojans had 14 plays which gained 13 or more yards, thanks to both Davis' speed (126 yards on 10 carries) between the tackles and Sam Darnold's arm.

For a unit that prides itself on a bend-don't-break mantra, there will be some serious reflection on that statistic as No. 18 Utah (4-4) prepares for a Cal (2-2) passing offense that is No. 2 in the country averaging more than 450 yards per game.

http://www.sltrib.com/home/4395736-155/utah-football-after-getting-gashed-utes

Game on!

[LA Ute]

A poster on UF.net makes this interesting observation about what happened after Lowell left the game:


After that, USC didn't have to double team a d-lineman and their O-line had their way with our D-line. The drive right after Lowell came out we gave up the 49yd run. USC went on to score on their next 4 drives. Thankfully the line settled in and stopped them on their 5th drive (Forcing the first punt of the night for $C). Hopefully Lowell comes back soon.

[DrumNFeather]

Looks like it will be on the Pac 12 Network.

[wally]

This game makes me nervous for some reason. I really want to see Troy continue where he left off with USC, and prove that he's got things clicking for real. I would like to see Utah's offense chew up the clock and not let Cal get that passing game into any rhythm.

[concerned]

Plenty of reasons to be nervous. First road test. High powered offense. Loutuleilei injury status. Turnover issues.

That said, we are coming out with a W.


another: let down. (a big reason to be nervous, to my mind)

[Utah]

I love how our OL has played. We should run for 300 yards in the game. We might have time of possession of over 45 mins.

[U-Ute]

I love how our OL has played. We should run for 300 yards in the game. We might have time of possession of over 45 mins.

Harding's reaction to the final TD was priceless.

[LA Ute]

Cal opens as a one-point favorite.

[LA Ute]

Official Utah press release on the game:

*****

Media,

Below are a few notes on this week’s Utah football game at California. A complete release with stats, depth chart, etc. is attached as a PDF.

The Game

* No. 18 Utah (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) vs. California (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12)

* Saturday, Oct. 1, 3 p.m. PDT/4 p.m. MDT, California Memorial Stadium

* Televised on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Mountain, Pac-12 Bay area

* Search #UTAHvsCAL for conversation

Whitt 100 Watch

* Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is one win away from career victory No. 100. He is 99-46 in his 12th season at the helm.
* There are 23 active FBS head coaches with 100 career victories.
* Whittingham, in his 23rd season overall at Utah, has participated in more wins (184) than any football coach—head or assistant—in school history.
* Nine of his 99 career wins as a head coach have come in bowl games and Whittingham has the best bowl win percentage (.900) in NCAA history. He is 9-1 in bowl games and 2-0 in BCS bowls (predecessor to the College Football Playoff games). See sidebar on page 2 for more on Whittingham.

Five Facts

* In its second week in the top 25 this season, Utah is No. 18 in both the AP and Coaches’ polls. The Utes jumped six spots in the AP rankings and five places in the Coaches’ poll from a week ago. See pages 16-18 for Utah’s history in the national rankings.

* Utah is off to a 4-0 start for the second-straight season and the fourth time in Whittingham’s head coaching career. Utah finished 13-0 in 2008, won its first eight games in 2010 and won its first six games last year.

* Utah’s 31-27 win over USC last week marks the second year in a row the Utes have won their Pac-12 opener. Utah beat Oregon in its first conference game last year. The Utes are now 2-4 in Pac-12 openers.

* Utah is playing in Berkeley for the first time since joining the Pac-12 six years ago. Utah’s game against the Bears in 2011 was played in San Francisco’s AT&T Park, where Cal played its home games while Memorial Stadium was being renovated. The two teams played in Salt Lake City in 2012 and 2015 and did not meet in 2013 and 2014. See page 2 for complete series notes.

* The Utah-Cal series is tied at five wins apiece. Utah is 1-4 in road games against California.

Statchat

* Utah ranks No. 1 in the nation in net punting (48.47).

* Utah is tied for No. 1 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in fourth down conversion percentage (1.000, 5-for-5).

* Utah is tied for No. 4 in the nation (No. 2 Pac-12) in takeaways with 11 (6 INT, 5 FR).

* Utah is No. 6 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in total sacks (16).

* Utah is tied for No. 8 in the nation and is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in fumbles recovered (5).

* Utah is No. 9 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in sacks per game (4.00).

* Utah is tied for No. 10 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) with six interceptions.

* Utah leads the Pac-12 in fewest sacks allowed per game (1.25).

* Utah is tied for the Pac-12 lead in tackles for loss (30) and TFL per game (7.5)

* Utah leads the Pac-12 in time of possession (34:37 per game).

* Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in total defense (314.3 ypg).

* Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (15.8) and pass defense (182.3 ypg).

* See sidebar on page 3 for complete Utah rankings.

In the Huddle

First-year Ute sophomore punter Mitch Wishnowsky ranks No. 1 nationally in punt average (52.1) … True freshman Zach Moss is averaging 92.5 yards since becoming the starter two games ago. He has played three games total and is averaging a team-high 81.0 rushing yards per game … Senior receiver Tim Patrick has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games (121 vs. San Jose State, 100 vs. USC) … Senior cornerback Dominique Hatfield saw his first action last week after coming back from an injury and had five tackles and a pass breakup … Eight true freshmen have played: Moss, Bradlee Anae, Julian Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, Leki Fotu, Tyler Huntley, Demari Simpkins and Donavan Thompson.

Two-Minute Drill

Utah has passed for more yards than its opponent in all four games … Utah is 1-0 on the road a win at San Jose State on Sept. 17… In last year’s win over Cal, Utah intercepted Bear QB Jared Goff five times, including three picks by current Utes Dominique Hatfield (2), Marcus Williams and Justin Thomas. See box on page 2 for a recap of the 2015 game … The Utes have sold out 41-straight games in Rice-Eccles Stadium since the 2010 season opener. Of those sellouts, 38 have been standing room-only crowds.


Liz Abel
Sr. Associate Athletics Director
Director of Communications
University of Utah
801.581.3511
label@huntsman.utah.edu

[Diehard Ute]

Kyle said they're "hopeful" Lowell Lotulelei will play


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[SeattleUte]

Kyle said they're "hopeful" Lowell Lotulelei will play


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Did he say what his injury is?

[concerned]

Did he say what his injury is?

No. Most people seem to think it is some form/degree of dislocated shoulder.

[SeattleUte]

No. Most people seem to think it is some form/degree of dislocated shoulder.

That's not good. I'd rather it be a stinger.

[LA Ute]

Summon hostile.

[SoCalPat]

I love how our OL has played. We should run for 300 yards in the game. We might have time of possession of over 45 mins.

Down boy. That would break the current all-time NCAA mark by nearly 3 minutes.

[Brian]

Cal opens as a one-point favorite.

That might help a little with the hangover/letdown. I'm a little nervous about this game.

[LA Ute]

That might help a little with the hangover/letdown. I'm a little nervous about this game.

Last night I watched the last quarter of the Cal-ASU game on PAC-12 football in 60. They throw and throw and throw -- almost every down. Remind me of BYU's circus offenses in the 1980s. It'll be an entertaining game. Domo Hatfield says he can't wait.

[concerned]

Last night I watched the last quarter of the Cal-ASU game on PAC-12 football in 60. They throw and throw and throw -- almost every down. Remind me of BYU's circus offenses in the 1980s. It'll be an entertaining game. Domo Hatfield says he can't wait.

On Monday, Bill Riley said Webb gets rid of the ball faster than all but two qb's in college football (probably Faulk at WSU and the guy who beat him out at Texas Tech, since they all run the Mike Leach offense). Said he averages 2.5 seconds (or something like that) before he gets rid of it. Webb is not mobile and will just stand there, but hard to sack. have to disrupt the timing with his receivers, force TO's. .

[LA Ute]

On Monday, Bill Riley said Webb gets rid of the ball faster than all but two qb's in college football (probably Faulk at WSU and the guy who beat him out at Texas Tech, since they all run the Mike Leach offense). Said he averages 2.5 seconds (or something like that) before he gets rid of it. Webb is not mobile and will just stand there, but hard to sack. have to disrupt the timing with his receivers, force TO's. .

Riley also pointed out that Webb does better against the blitz than against a standard rush. Scalley will probably come up with other ways to disrupt him.

[UBlender]

On Monday, Bill Riley said Webb gets rid of the ball faster than all but two qb's in college football (probably Faulk at WSU and the guy who beat him out at Texas Tech, since they all run the Mike Leach offense). Said he averages 2.5 seconds (or something like that) before he gets rid of it. Webb is not mobile and will just stand there, but hard to sack. have to disrupt the timing with his receivers, force TO's. .

This is one place where we really miss Kylie Fitts. His knack for getting into passing lanes and tipping passes was great for disrupting the quick passing game without necessarily getting in the QB's face.

[Utah]

Utah has split the scout team into three offenses so they can practice vs a super uptempo team.

[U-Ute]

Random fact of the day.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160928/ecae3ec62ef3d796c6f13dfc16135cd1.jpg

[Applejack]

This is one place where we really miss Kylie Fitts. His knack for getting into passing lanes and tipping passes was great for disrupting the quick passing game without necessarily getting in the QB's face.
This.

[DrumNFeather]

Their WR Hansen has 50 catches through just four games. KW described him as being a Nelson Spruce type of WR. Feels like we've struggled with guys like this in the past.

[Applejack]

Their WR Hansen has 50 catches through just four games. KW described him as being a Nelson Spruce type of WR. Feels like we've struggled with guys like this in the past.

But he is an Idaho State transfer, therefore Whit will know all about his weaknesses.

[DrumNFeather]

But he is an Idaho State transfer, therefore Whit will know all about his weaknesses.

People who walk out of Pocatello walk out proud.

[U-Ute]

But he is an Idaho State transfer, therefore Whit will know all about his weaknesses.

He gets ill at the smell of potatoes. The defensive secondary will eat french fries on the bench.

[U-Ute]

Their WR Hansen has 50 catches through just four games. KW described him as being a Nelson Spruce type of WR. Feels like we've struggled with guys like this in the past.

I think Williams and Hansen are the difference this year.

This year we will get some hot Hansen on Hansen action!

I'm more concerned with our LB's in the middle of the field. That's where they torched us last year.

[Diehard Ute]

People who walk out of Pocatello walk out proud.

Doesn't everyone walk out of Pocatello?


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[U-Ute]

Doesn't everyone walk out of Pocatello?


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Some run.

[Diehard Ute]

I think Williams and Hansen are the difference this year.

This year we will get some hot Hansen on Hansen action!

I'm more concerned with our LB's in the middle of the field. That's where they torched us last year.

Saw a breakdown of Utah a couple of weeks ago. Mentioned that Utah is almost always going to get beat in the middle due to scheme. Because we play man 99% of the time the soft spot is the middle.

It made sense. That's always where we get beat, even by so so teams.


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[U-Ute]

Saw a breakdown of Utah a couple of weeks ago. Mentioned that Utah is almost always going to get beat in the middle due to scheme. Because we play man 99% of the time the soft spot is the middle.

It made sense. That's always where we get beat, even by so so teams.


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I guess that's what we give in our scheme. That makes sense. If you give something up, that's the best place to do it where the defense can rally.

[LA Ute]

So far Cal's D isn't looking so awful.


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[LA Ute]

So far our D isn't looking so great.


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[Diehard Ute]

So far our D isn't looking so great.


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Nope. And Domo's good tackle was negated by a bad spot


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[LA Ute]

Nope. And Domo's good tackle was negated by a bad spot


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They show signs of settling down. I'm wondering if Cal's D is as bad as advertised. So far they look good against us.


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[Diehard Ute]

No Butler-Byrd. And Diehlman had gone to the locker room. Not good for the U


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[LA Ute]

Uh-oh.


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[Diehard Ute]

They show signs of settling down. I'm wondering if Cal's D is as bad as advertised. So far they look good against us.


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You spoke too soon


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[mpfunk]

Ummmmm, that confidence I had in the offense was misplaced.

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[Diehard Ute]

Ummmmm, that confidence I had in the offense was misplaced.

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Well now we're missing Partrick too

Missing 3 starters now isn't helping.


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[LA Ute]

Well now we're missing Partrick too

Missing 3 starters now isn't helping.


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Nope. Maybe others can step up. Team looked a bit unprepared to play at the beginning. Cal knocked them right back on their heels. Also Williams has been pretty inaccurate.


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[mpfunk]

Well now we're missing Partrick too

Missing 3 starters now isn't helping.


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It should not matter against this Cal team. We should put up points with our second string. It is one of the worst defenses in the country. Zero points in the first quarter is pathetic.

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[Diehard Ute]

It should not matter against this Cal team. We should put up points with our second string. It is one of the worst defenses in the country. Zero points in the first quarter is pathetic.

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Diehlman hurts, I don't care who you're playing. And he's out for the game and in a boot.

And that means we're actually playing our third string center.

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[LA Ute]

At least we are getting some pressure on Webb now. That one pass he completed under pressure was lucky. If we keep that up it should pay off.

[LA Ute]

It should not matter against this Cal team. We should put up points with our second string. It is one of the worst defenses in the country. Zero points in the first quarter is pathetic.

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I wonder if after USC the Utes went in over-confident and not taking Cal seriously. It looks that way in the first quarter.

[LA Ute]

Do our special teams coaches teach Boobbie not to run backwards?

[LA Ute]

Well, we dodged a bullet on that fumble.

[LA Ute]

Could the running game finally be taking hold? I hope so because Troy is just off today.

[LA Ute]

This drive has been what we wanted to do -- eat up clock. But time of possession means nothing if you don't score at the end of the drive. The foul on Cal was a stroke of luck. And we pretty much ate up the 2nd quarter on the drive.

[Diehard Ute]

This drive has been what we wanted to do -- eat up clock. But time of possession means nothing if you don't score at the end of the drive. The foul on Cal was a stroke of luck. And we pretty much ate up the 2nd quarter doing it.

Just a stupid move by that Cal player. We'll take it.


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[LA Ute]

Holding Cal and going in 14-10 would feel pretty great after that start. DEFENSE!

I like the idea of coming out after some halftime adjustments and starting the 2nd half with the ball.

[LA Ute]

PICK AFTER PRESSURE! Love it.

[Irving Washington]

What happened to auto Andy? Tough angle but a bad, bad kick. Still optimistic. A long drive to start the third quarter would be nice.

[U-Ute]

Gunther tweeted this about how Bolles is a mean, nasty man

56Zt1JtraaY

[U-Ute]

LOL. This one too.

56ZUYYVxUP0

[U-Ute]

Bolles is very fun to watch. Someone ends up on their back nearly every play.

[U-Ute]

You know, you'd think Wishnowski was lucky except that he just keeps dropping dimes inside the 5.

[Irving Washington]

Not the long drive I was hoping for. Nice punt

[Devildog]

This Cal defense is not what was advertised, or our O sucks.

[chrisrenrut]

Why do we keep throwing passes where the receiver has to look into the sun?

[Devildog]

Our damn gameplan is obvious. We need to be able to run behind the line. Run and burn the clock.

[U-Ute]

This drive is to win the game.

[LA Ute]

This drive is to win the game.

Now we just need a stop and one more clock-eating TD drive.

[LA Ute]

Killing us with short passes and screens. They've seen something in our D.

[Diehard Ute]

All the stats show Webb is far more effective when blitzed. So what does Scalley do? Blitz. Don't get it.


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[Irving Washington]

That was way too easy.

[U-Ute]

Damn. That was an amazing throw.

[U-Ute]

Why do we keep throwing passes where the receiver has to look into the sun?

I have wondered the same thing.

[LA Ute]

Not sure our freshman DB should be on an island with Hansen. He got beaten badly that time.

[U-Ute]

Why do we have Blackmon on Hansen? That's just begging to be lit up.

[LA Ute]

All the stats show Webb is far more effective when blitzed. So what does Scalley do? Blitz. Don't get it.


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Except before halftime the pressure was working well. We just can't leave Hansen (Cal no. 6) alone any more.

[Diehard Ute]

Except before halftime the pressure was working well. We just can't leave Hansen (Cal no. 6) alone any more.

We weren't blitzing, that was pressure with 4 and sometimes 5. We sent 7 on that TD


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[U-Ute]

So, to recap who we have lost today: Dielman, Patrick, Fulks, and CBB.

Depth being tested.

[LA Ute]

We weren't blitzing, that was pressure with 4 and sometimes 5. We sent 7 on that TD


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I didn't notice that. I hope we can get pressure again with only 4.

[chrisrenrut]

So, to recap who we have lost today: Dielman, Patrick, Fulks, and CBB.

Depth being tested.

Next man up!

[mpfunk]

Next man up!
Yep, never blame a loss on injuries.

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[Diehard Ute]

So, to recap who we have lost today: Dielman, Patrick, Fulks, and CBB.

Depth being tested.

Word is CBB's fiancé gave birth to their child last night and thus he didn't make the trip.



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[LA Ute]

I love our 4th down plays but I still can't get over it.

[U-Ute]

Ugh. Why go outside when you are making hay up the middle?

[Diehard Ute]

Still time but that's a blow.


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[U-Ute]

In a game like this, FG's don't do any good. I'm ok with that call

[LA Ute]

Time for the D to make some plays. How about a TO?

[mpfunk]

In a game like this, FG's don't do any good. I'm ok with that call
Exactly we weren't going to win this game with FGs. The reason we should have gone for it at the end of the half. Pathetic showing by our offense so far.

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[U-Ute]

Domo is on the side Blackmon was on. I guess he was the one out on the last series.

[LA Ute]

Webb has made some nice passes while going down.

[Diehard Ute]

And there's your ballgame.


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[LA Ute]

Not getting that first down looms pretty large now.

[mpfunk]

Loss is 100 percent on the offense. An even mediocre offense scores 40 in their sleep against this pathetic Cal defense. I was wrong about this offense. Last week was an anomaly.

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[LA Ute]

Not to be making excuses, but our guys being so banged-up has made a big difference in this game.

[concerned]

Our receivers for the most part are awful. Especially without Patrick. We're slow and we can't hold on to the ball

[mpfunk]

Not to be making excuses, but our guys being so banged-up has made a big difference in this game.
Hawaii scored 31 against this team. No excuse at all. None.

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[LA Ute]

Loss is 100 percent on the offense. An even mediocre offense scores 40 in their sleep against this pathetic Cal defense. I was wrong about this offense. Last week was an anomaly.

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Holding Cal under 30 is an achievement for our D. But you're right, the O has to finish drives.

[Diehard Ute]

Wow. Didn't see that coming


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[concerned]

Not getting that first down looms pretty large now.

Okay I take it all back. I apologize.

[concerned]

Our receivers for the most part are awful. Especially without Patrick. We're slow and we can't hold on to the ball

This is the tweet I meant to take back. I really apologize. Oh ye of little faith

[LA Ute]

Hawaii scored 31 against this team. No excuse at all. None.

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I think Cal's defense is 11th in the PAC-12.

[LA Ute]

Isn't our D due for a big play? Like a pick or a fumble recovery?

[LA Ute]

Isn't our D due for a big play? Like a pick or a fumble recovery?

Like maybe a SACK???

:jig:

[LA Ute]

Remember when our punt return teams were a weapon?

[LA Ute]

Troy, Troy, Troy....

[LA Ute]

Come on, finish!

[LA Ute]

We got the ball at midfield, got to a first and goal situation. Gotta finish.

[LA Ute]

Well, against the second-worst D in the conference you've gotta score from the one with the game on the line. Moeai has to catch that pass when it hits him in the hands. In the end we got outplayed.

[Diehard Ute]

If you can't punch it in from the 2 you don't deserve to win.


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[Solon]

If you can't punch it in from the 2 you don't deserve to win.


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I agree Cal earned it.
i wonder if Moss was supposed to run right on that play. Instead, he ran right into the spot vacated by the pulling left guard.
bummer.
time to learn a little humility, I guess.

[Devildog]

We deserved this loss. We had our chances and we failed.

[Diehard Ute]

I agree Cal earned it.
i wonder if Moss was supposed to run right on that play. Instead, he ran right into the spot vacated by the pulling left guard.
bummer.
time to learn a little humility, I guess.

The whole timeout issue with the officials certainly made things more interesting.

Utes had to rush more than they wanted to. Part of the game.


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[LA Ute]

I agree Cal earned it.
i wonder if Moss was supposed to run right on that play. Instead, he ran right into the spot vacated by the pulling left guard.
bummer.
time to learn a little humility, I guess.

Yeah, it looked like he ran straight into a wall. I just watched it over again a few times and it looked like the hole was supposed to be on the right.

[mUUser]

You have to occasionally pull the ball on a read option. I don't think Williams pulled it once. And the pass to Moeki at the goal line? Ugh...

[Devildog]

Williams did not shine. He looked very average this game. Cal's defense has been bad so far, but they looked great against us.

[LA Ute]

Is it possible the o-line was gassed after running 97 plays?


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[U-Ute]

The pass to Moeai was the difference. We didn't make that play.

[U-Ute]

This is one of those games where it was a shame that someone had to lose.

[LA Ute]

The pass to Moeai was the difference. We didn't make that play.

It was a great call and it worked. He just needed to hang onto it.


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[chrisrenrut]

It was a great call and it worked. He just needed to hang onto it.


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Troy needed to wait 1 second longer to throw it to let him get some more separation, and it needed to be about a foot lower. If he caught the ball above his head with his back to the end zone as it was thrown, he would not have been able to gather, turn, and get in, would have been tackled, and the clock would have run out.

[Devildog]

This is one of those games where it was a shame that someone had to lose.
'How many chances did we have? No excuses... we failed against a crappy D.

[LA Ute]

So where do we go from here? I hope the team (the O-line, especially) gets mad and decides never to let that happen again.

I still contend that we still don't know how good this Ute team is. We haven't yet beaten a P5 team that is playing well.


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[LA Ute]

Troy needed to wait 1 second longer to throw it to let him get some more separation, and it needed to be about a foot lower. If he caught the ball above his head with his back to the end zone as it was thrown, he would not have been able to gather, turn, and get in, would have been tackled, and the clock would have run out.

Maybe. We'll have to look at the tape!


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[Devildog]

I wish A-rod and I had a chance to talk. I would love to tell him how lame his play calling is against a substandard Cal defense. People can say this is weak, but seriously... Hawaii scored 30 on these clowns. Our offense can't score from inside the 10 on several attempts? Shame on that fawker.

[Diehard Ute]

Well, USC is taking it to ASU right now. Don't think too hard about it. College football will never make sense.

Our offense moved the ball just fine in this game. 440 yards (Cal with just 360). We just missed on some really important downs, and we gave up some huge pass plays. We won total yardage, time of possession, and the turnover battle. Won't lose very often with that combination.

10 players with receptions again. This is a real positive. Singleton had 98 yards. 98. I was really wrong about him.

We are losing key player after key player this season. Fitts, Lotouleilei, Dielman, Patrick. Couldn't find too many more valuable than those four. This can't continue!

And we lost or were without Fulks/Butler-Byrd who are our shifty open field guys


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[LA Ute]

We are losing key player after key player this season. Fitts, Lotouleilei, Dielman, Patrick. Couldn't find too many more valuable than those four. This can't continue!

I'm not despairing, just trying to stay cautiously optimistic.

You're right about the injuries. It does seem that KW and his staff are recruiting well -- we'd have been a lost cause in the past with so many players dinged. I hope Lowell will be back soon, and that Tim Patrick can return soon. Butler-Bird should be back too. A very nice season is still possible. They just have to get a little better at finishing drives, and we need Troy to be sharp. He wasn't tonight.



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[chrisrenrut]

Does anyone really think that there is any comparison between Hawaii scoring 30 on Cal in the first game of the season in Australia, and us playing them in the 5th game of the season on their field?

Cal is a good team at home. They were 5-1 last year, and 2-0 this year with wins over Texas and Utah. Our offense didn't play its best tonight for various reasns, but we were a foot away from getting the road win.

[chrisrenrut]

And we lost or were without Fulks/Butler-Byrd who are our shifty open field guys


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What happened to Fulks? I missed hearing he was out.

I'd like to see more of Simpkins. His move on the sidelines to pick up a first down (3rd quarter?) was nasty.

[NorthwestUteFan]

This is big boy football. Bonnie of the teams on the schedules are easy.

If we were to play a 10-game series, I think we beat Cal 5-7 or so times. And we beat USC 3.5-5 times.

Next week we get Arizona. I think we beat them 7.5 times out of 10.

But we still need to bring our A game, because every team in the schedule can steal a game away from us. OSU included.

[LA Ute]

One weird thing even I noticed: On the TD pass from Webb to Hansen, we had a true freshman, Blackman (sp?) who looks like a smurf, on Hansen, who's 6'4" tall and one of the leading receivers in the USA. Did we have no choice due to injuries?


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[concerned]

One weird thing even I noticed: On the TD pass from Webb to Hansen, we had a true freshman, Blackman (sp?) who looks like a smurf, on Hansen, who's 6'4" tall and one of the leading receivers in the USA. Did we have no choice due to injuries?


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He is not a Smurf. He is 6- 1
He was in for a couple plays. Either injuries or cramps or because of his height

[LA Ute]

We are 11th in the PAC in red zone scoring at 80%. Tonight we were 3 out of 5, or 60%. Going into this game Cal was last in the PAC in red zone defense. Until tonight they had not stopped anyone this season in the red zone. Ouch!


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[LA Ute]

He is not a Smurf. He is 6- 1
He was in for a couple plays. Either injuries or cramps or because of his height

I was wrong about his height. Also, Kyle said in the post game interview that Blackman went in for just a few plays because of injuries.


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[Solon]

We are 11th in the PAC in red zone scoring at 80%. Tonight we were 3 out of 5, or 60%. Going into this game Cal was last in the PAC in red zone defense. Until tonight they had not stopped anyone this season in the red zone. Ouch!


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Remember when the Utes used to have a shuffle pass, the pop pass (Ben Moa!!), and other creative ways to attack a defense in short yardage, short field situations?

those were good times.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

I listened to the ESPN 700 feed for the 4th quarter so I could get the kids out of the house. (Tried the PAC-12 Network app to watch but was told that I was "Unauthorized to view this content" despite having the channel at home.

Anyway, I just finished watching the last few drives. Man. Everyone is talking about the Moeai drop, but the play driving me nuts is Moss' first down run from the 2 the play before that. Seemed he had the angle to the pylon with the receiver holding a nice block on the corner, but Moss slows down to cut up field and that's when he gets buried by three guys. If he aims for the corner, I think we get in pretty easy.


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[hostile]

Anyway, I just finished watching the last few drives. Man. Everyone is talking about the Moeai drop, but the play driving me nuts is Moss' first down run from the 2 the play before that. Seemed he had the angle to the pylon with the receiver holding a nice block on the corner, but Moss slows down to cut up field and that's when he gets buried by three guys. If he aims for the corner, I think we get in pretty easy.

I told my son the same thing. On the replay it looked if he would've ran hard at the wide out he gets in easy.

[Ultimate Ute]

You play three down to the wire games, you're likely to lose one.

Anyway, my Rose Bowl dream is still alive.

[U-Ute]

Does anyone really think that there is any comparison between Hawaii scoring 30 on Cal in the first game of the season in Australia, and us playing them in the 5th game of the season on their field?

Cal is a good team at home. They were 5-1 last year, and 2-0 this year with wins over Texas and Utah. Our offense didn't play its best tonight for various reasns, but we were a foot away from getting the road win.

This.

[U-Ute]

Kyle said this after the game about the TO issue.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161002/34fcde79c7d3db9c5a80848956c76d6c.jpg

[LA Ute]

I'm proud of the team's effort and see lots of bright spots in it, especially the response to adversity and the way players stepped up. I would love to be a fly on the wall during coaches' meetings as they try to figure out how to get better at red zone scoring.


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[UTEopia]

A lot to discuss from execution, play-calling and time management. Before getting into that, we are 2-1 in games decided in the last 30 seconds. A pretty good ratio. I expect several future games this season to be just as close, so hopefully the odds remain in our favor. Monday morning quarterbacking can be fun or aggravating. I don’t for one minute believe that my experience as a pee wee football or high school coach qualifies me to really second guess our coaches, since I watch the team play once a week. They coach these guys year round and certainly know their strengths and weaknesses better than me. No matter how many episodes of Law and Order Kyle has watched, I don’t need him stepping in to give me trial strategy. Likewise, he doesn’t need me to give him strategy.


Having said that, here we go. I’m going through this in chronological order as best as I remember it.


Defense. Four touchdown passes over the top. Unacceptable. But maybe that was the risk we decided on in order to keep their offense from coming close to their averages.


Offense. Control the ball. Check. No turnovers. Check. Score touchdowns in the red zone. No check.

One comment on Troy Williams. He has his strengths and his weaknesses. I have repeated this from the day he arrived on campus. He is not a dual threat QB. Despite having that label coming out of HS, he does not like to run, is not a good runner and does not run the read-option well. Listening to people say that they should have him run more is like listening to them say that they should make Travis a better passer. It doesn't work like that. Players are who they are not who we or the coaches necessarily want them to be. Travis does not make the play Troy made at the end of the USC game. Travis might have had a better chance of getting a running TD on the 2 failed 4th quarter goal line attempts than Troy.


10-14; Badly missed FG at the end of the first half. By itself, it did not lose the game, but it did change the mentality of the game decisions in the 4th quarter. Andy is no longer automatic.


17-21; Decision to Go for it on 4th and 1 inside the 20 with about 10. If Andy makes the earlier FG, I believe Whit kicks the FG here. But Andy missed and we are left with a decision. I understand the thought process of going for it. Andy has not been himself and a FG still leaves you behind by 1. With 10 minutes left, Cal is likely to score again. We have converted a lot of 4th and shorts. I understand going for it.


Play call was the same play that we had been gashing them on the whole day. I get it. Why not change it up and go play-action? Very possible. How did that work our for Stanford a few years ago when they went away from it’s strength and we held them at the goal line. How did it go for Pete Carrol when he decided to pass instead of run in the Super Bowl. Whatever the decision, if it works you are brilliant. If it doesn’t, you suck.


28-23; Time management when it gets to 4th and goal at the 11 with about 40 seconds remaining. Whit lets clock run down to 20 seconds and uses first timeout. I think this was a mistake even given the miscommunication that resulted in the second timeout. If the PI is again called and the same amount of time runs off the clock, we have it first and goal at the 2 with 36 seconds and 2 timeouts instead of 14 seconds and 2 timeouts. Run on first down took 7 seconds and a TO. Pass on 2nd down took 4 seconds and left 3 seconds on the clock. Regardless of the miscommunication, we have 3 seconds left and cannot run more than one play. If he does not run the clock down, we have 36 seconds and 2 timeouts. Run on first down takes the clock down to 29 seconds and we use second TO. If you pass again you have 25 seconds left even if you have the TO snafu. You can definitely throw a pass and then have a 4th down. I don’t think you can safely have a run play and then get another play off.


I guess this discussion can be avoided if the players execute and Moeai catches the pass and scores or the line and RB’s get a score. Oh well. Go Utes.

PS. It was great to see Ma'ake at the game.

[SeattleUte]

A lot to discuss from execution, play-calling and time management. Before getting into that, we are 2-1 in games decided in the last 30 seconds. A pretty good ratio. I expect several future games this season to be just as close, so hopefully the odds remain in our favor. Monday morning quarterbacking can be fun or aggravating. I don’t for one minute believe that my experience as a pee wee football or high school coach qualifies me to really second guess our coaches, since I watch the team play once a week. They coach these guys year round and certainly know their strengths and weaknesses better than me. No matter how many episodes of Law and Order Kyle has watched, I don’t need him stepping in to give me trial strategy. Likewise, he doesn’t need me to give him strategy.


Having said that, here we go. I’m going through this in chronological order as best as I remember it.


Defense. Four touchdown passes over the top. Unacceptable. But maybe that was the risk we decided on in order to keep their offense from coming close to their averages.


Offense. Control the ball. Check. No turnovers. Check. Score touchdowns in the red zone. No check.

One comment on Troy Williams. He has his strengths and his weaknesses. I have repeated this from the day he arrived on campus. He is not a dual threat QB. Despite having that label coming out of HS, he does not like to run, is not a good runner and does not run the read-option well. Listening to people say that they should have him run more is like listening to them say that they should make Travis a better passer. It doesn't work like that. Players are who they are not who we or the coaches necessarily want them to be. Travis does not make the play Troy made at the end of the USC game. Travis might have had a better chance of getting a running TD on the 2 failed 4th quarter goal line attempts than Troy.


10-14; Badly missed FG at the end of the first half. By itself, it did not lose the game, but it did change the mentality of the game decisions in the 4th quarter. Andy is no longer automatic.


17-21; Decision to Go for it on 4th and 1 inside the 20 with about 10. If Andy makes the earlier FG, I believe Whit kicks the FG here. But Andy missed and we are left with a decision. I understand the thought process of going for it. Andy has not been himself and a FG still leaves you behind by 1. With 10 minutes left, Cal is likely to score again. We have converted a lot of 4th and shorts. I understand going for it.


Play call was the same play that we had been gashing them on the whole day. I get it. Why not change it up and go play-action? Very possible. How did that work our for Stanford a few years ago when they went away from it’s strength and we held them at the goal line. How did it go for Pete Carrol when he decided to pass instead of run in the Super Bowl. Whatever the decision, if it works you are brilliant. If it doesn’t, you suck.


28-23; Time management when it gets to 4th and goal at the 11 with about 40 seconds remaining. Whit lets clock run down to 20 seconds and uses first timeout. I think this was a mistake even given the miscommunication that resulted in the second timeout. If the PI is again called and the same amount of time runs off the clock, we have it first and goal at the 2 with 36 seconds and 2 timeouts instead of 14 seconds and 2 timeouts. Run on first down took 7 seconds and a TO. Pass on 2nd down took 4 seconds and left 3 seconds on the clock. Regardless of the miscommunication, we have 3 seconds left and cannot run more than one play. If he does not run the clock down, we have 36 seconds and 2 timeouts. Run on first down takes the clock down to 29 seconds and we use second TO. If you pass again you have 25 seconds left even if you have the TO snafu. You can definitely throw a pass and then have a 4th down. I don’t think you can safely have a run play and then get another play off.


I guess this discussion can be avoided if the players execute and Moeai catches the pass and scores or the line and RB’s get a score. Oh well. Go Utes.

PS. It was great to see Ma'ake at the game.



Good post. I would also add that Troy is a top ten passer in the country and that what Die Hard said about the coaches not wanting to risk injury where his strength as a passer is so vital, and with so little depth, makes sense too. I think it's easier to add some running plays for Troy than to turn Travis into as good a passer as Troy. But I'm fine with Troy as he is. I don't want him injured.

[Redbird]

Good post. I would also add that Troy is a top ten passer in the country

based on what? he's not even top-ten in the PAC-12 for completion percentage or QB rating.

I have no issue with him, but at the moment he's not even in the top half of passers in the P12.

[LA Ute]

based on what? he's not even top-ten in the PAC-12 for completion percentage or QB rating.

I have no issue with him, but at the moment he's not even in the top half of passers in the P12.

Hey, he's not stuck at 11th or 12th. Based recent Utes history at the QB position, that is progress!


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[SeattleUte]

based on what? he's not even top-ten in the PAC-12 for completion percentage or QB rating.

I have no issue with him, but at the moment he's not even in the top half of passers in the P12.

The graphic they posted during the game.

[SeattleUte]

based on what? he's not even top-ten in the PAC-12 for completion percentage or QB rating.

I have no issue with him, but at the moment he's not even in the top half of passers in the P12.

By the way, your post is gobbledygook. That he's not in the top ten in the Pac 12 doesn't mean he's not in the top ten in the country.

[Redbird]

By the way, your post is gobbledygook. That he's not in the top ten in the Pac 12 doesn't mean he's not in the top ten in the country.

he's outside the top 50 in completion pct, yards per attempt, and QB rating nationally.

[chrisrenrut]

The graphic they posted during the game.

i don't remember what specific measurement the graphic referenced, but I do remember seeing it. I think it was for statistics through last week's games.

Through this weekend, ESPN has Williams rated as the #74 QB based on passing rating, at 132.9.

[Redbird]

That he's not in the top ten in the Pac 12 doesn't mean he's not in the top ten in the country.

Also, I'm curious about your logic here. If he's 11th out of 12 passers, what possible way could he be 10th or higher when more passers are included?

[Hot Lunch]

Aaron Roderick. This loss is on him falls 100% on his shoulders. Cal can't stop anyone except for an Aaron Roderick led offense. At the end of the day, Utah will never make that next step in the PAC until we find an innovative OC. It very clear in all aspects of the game and recruiting.

[DrumNFeather]

Aaron Roderick. This loss is on him falls 100% on his shoulders. Cal can't stop anyone except for an Aaron Roderick led offense. At the end of the day, Utah will never make that next step in the PAC until we find an innovative OC. It very clear in all aspects of the game and recruiting.
Kyle was very complimentary of Al Borgess after SJSU...maybe he goes and gets him.

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[SeattleUte]

i don't remember what specific measurement the graphic referenced, but I do remember seeing it. I think it was for statistics through last week's games.

Through this weekend, ESPN has Williams rated as the #74 QB based on passing rating, at 132.9.

I'm not an NCAA stats geek. I'm just going off of the graphic they showed last night of "top Pac 12 quarterbacks". I have to assume he's top ten by some metric.

[LA Ute]

Aaron Roderick. This loss is on him falls 100% on his shoulders. Cal can't stop anyone except for an Aaron Roderick led offense. At the end of the day, Utah will never make that next step in the PAC until we find an innovative OC. It very clear in all aspects of the game and recruiting.

What do you see in Utah's offense that causes it to grind to a halt when the team gets to the red zone? I'm curious. According to Bill Riley post-game last night, Utah scores 80% of the time when it gets to the red zone, which makes them 11th or 12th in the PAC-12 (I don't recall which). So 1 out of every 5 trips to the red zone we come away with nothing.

[Hot Lunch]

What do you see in Utah's offense that causes it to grind to a halt when the team gets to the red zone? I'm curious.

Very vanilla and predicable play calling. Same plays and we never try and create mismatches with some of the athletes we have. Red Zone brings everyone closer to the line of scrimmage, makes it easier for the defense to stop the run. When 1st and 2nd down typically end of being zone read, you shoot yourself in the foot and create 3rd and long.

[UTEopia]

Aaron Roderick. This loss is on him falls 100% on his shoulders. Cal can't stop anyone except for an Aaron Roderick led offense. At the end of the day, Utah will never make that next step in the PAC until we find an innovative OC. It very clear in all aspects of the game and recruiting.

This loss doesn't fall 100% on anyones shoulders. There were plenty of mistakes by a number of people, including Roderick. If Moss follows Asiata into the hole on the last play and we win, everyone is a genius. Moss, for some reason, runs right into the area that Asiata vacates and gets smothered. I do wonder why Ericksen chose to have Moss in at the end as opposed to Shyne.

[LA Ute]

This loss doesn't fall 100% on anyones shoulders. There were plenty of mistakes by a number of people, including Roderick. If Moss follows Asiata into the hole on the last play and we win, everyone is a genius. Moss, for some reason, runs right into the area that Asiata vacates and gets smothered. I do wonder why Ericksen chose to have Moss in at the end as opposed to Shyne.

Someone on the post game show said Erickson's thought Moss was the "fresher" back.


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[SeattleUte]

In the Super Bowl in the same situation Darrell Bevel tried to be innovative with a one yard pass. He'll never live down the second guessing that he should have done the predictable thing and called hand off to Lynch. Had Russell Wilson thrown a better pass Bevel would have been a genius.

Specialists making judgment calls in their field is never as easy as it looks. Judgment calls second guessing by lay people is pretty meaningless.


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[SoCalPat]

In the Super Bowl in the same situation Darrell Bevel tried to be innovative with a one yard pass. He'll never live down the second guessing that he should have done the predictable thing and called hand off to Lynch. Had Russell Wilson thrown a better pass Bevel would have been a genius.

Specialists making judgment calls in their field is never as easy as it looks. Judgment calls second guessing by lay people is pretty meaningless.

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All HCs are overpaid if they let their coordinators make the final call in a situation like that. During the Bills' Super Bowl years with Jim Kelly calling plays, even Marv Levy took over play calling inside the 5-yard line. I suspect something similar is the case with college teams.

[Hot Lunch]

This loss doesn't fall 100% on anyones shoulders. There were plenty of mistakes by a number of people, including Roderick. If Moss follows Asiata into the hole on the last play and we win, everyone is a genius. Moss, for some reason, runs right into the area that Asiata vacates and gets smothered. I do wonder why Ericksen chose to have Moss in at the end as opposed to Shyne.

Utah was the first team to score less than 30 vs Cal. Every other team besides Hawaii had scored more than 40. We should have never been in the situation that we needed a true freshman running back to follow the blocker on the last play of the game.

At at the end of the day, the are a few things that stays constant with Utah football. One of which is a predictable offense that is easy to defend.

[Hot Lunch]

This loss doesn't fall 100% on anyones shoulders. There were plenty of mistakes by a number of people, including Roderick. If Moss follows Asiata into the hole on the last play and we win, everyone is a genius. Moss, for some reason, runs right into the area that Asiata vacates and gets smothered. I do wonder why Ericksen chose to have Moss in at the end as opposed to Shyne.

Moss might not have seen Asiata because Sam Tevi got destroyed. Asiata was pulling around him yet the D End Sam was supposed to block was 2 yards in the backfield.

[LA Ute]

Utah was the first team to score less than 30 vs Cal. Every other team besides Hawaii had scored more than 40. We should have never been in the situation that we needed a true freshman running back to follow the blocker on the last play of the game.

At at the end of the day, the are a few things that stays constant with Utah football. One of which is a predictable offense that is easy to defend.

Sadly, we were the first team Cal has stopped from scoring in the red zone this season. We scored on 3 of our 5 opportunities. Every other Cal opponent so far has scored every time they entered the red zone.

The way I see it (just a fan who never made it past jayvee football in high school) every team has games like this. I hope the coaches and players look hard at the film and feel rotten enough about what happened to make sure it doesn't happen again. For one thing, they came out flat at the beginning (again). They've got to stop doing that.

I don't know about the whole OC thing. That's been going on for years now so I'll just watch and hope.


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[SeattleUte]

All HCs are overpaid if they let their coordinators make the final call in a situation like that. During the Bills' Super Bowl years with Jim Kelly calling plays, even Marv Levy took over play calling inside the 5-yard line. I suspect something similar is the case with college teams.

Pete Carroll has been nothing but loyal to Bevel, taken personal responsibility, and expressed no regrets. Actually, 100% of the fault is on Russell Wilson, who threw a bad pass to an open receiver. Last night, Utah's players didn't execute either; but I don't blame them; it's hard.

[Hot Lunch]

Sadly, we were the first team Cal has stopped from scoring in the red zone this season. We scored on 3 of our 5 opportunities. Every other Cal opponent so far has scored every time they entered the red zone.

The way I see it (just a fan who never made it past jayvee football in high school) every team has games like this. I hope the coaches and players look hard at the film and feel rotten enough about what happened to make sure it doesn't happen again. For one thing, they came out flat at the beginning (again). They've got to stop doing that.

I don't know about the whole OC thing. That's been going on for years now so I'll just watch and hope.


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So far this year, we have only seen good offensive football for a quarter and half. That was the end of the SC game.

I tried to justify the BYU offensive outing on them having a good defense. After Toledo did what they did to them on Friday night, that changed my thoughts quickly.

i guess I should be used to it by now. As a fan, I want more.

Go Utes, Beat Zona!

[UTEopia]

I don't know about the whole OC thing. That's been going on for years now so I'll just watch and hope.


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I believe that if you want to see a different offensive philosophy, you are going to need to hire a new HC. His philosophy is well-documented. Other than the outcome, he would have loved the offensive performance last night. Big time of possession, grind out long drives, no turnovers. From what I have been able to see, Moss might have scored on the first play from the 2 if he had kept running towards the pylon. Moeai might have scored had he caught the ball on the 2nd play or Troy might have scored had he run instead of thrown. Moss would have scored had he followed his blocker through the hole. We would have had another opportunity if Whit had not let the clock run down to 20 seconds before calling the first TO and we passed instead of run on the third play. Could we have won? sure. Should we have won? yes, IMO. We didn't win because Cal made 1 more play than we did. We now better hope that we can get some guys healthy and that we can beat Arizona.

[SeattleUte]

I believe that if you want to see a different offensive philosophy, you are going to need to hire a new HC. His philosophy is well-documented. Other than the outcome, he would have loved the offensive performance last night. Big time of possession, grind out long drives, no turnovers. From what I have been able to see, Moss might have scored on the first play from the 2 if he had kept running towards the pylon. Moeai might have scored had he caught the ball on the 2nd play or Troy might have scored had he run instead of thrown. Moss would have scored had he followed his blocker through the hole. We would have had another opportunity if Whit had not let the clock run down to 20 seconds before calling the first TO and we passed instead of run on the third play. Could we have won? sure. Should we have won? yes, IMO. We didn't win because Cal made 1 more play than we did. We now better hope that we can get some guys healthy and that we can beat Arizona.

GREAT POST. There are a lot of what ifs, but ultimately, it's football.

Yes, Utah is the first team that scored less than 30 on Cal. It's also the first team to hold Cal under 40 points. That all was by design. Whit said so post-game. It's like basketball; he didn't want to play Cal's run and gun game.

[Solon]

So far this year, we have only seen good offensive football for a quarter and half. That was the end of the SC game.

I tried to justify the BYU offensive outing on them having a good defense. After Toledo did what they did to them on Friday night, that changed my thoughts quickly.

i guess I should be used to it by now. As a fan, I want more.

Go Utes, Beat Zona!

So, am I persona non grata if I confess that I am not sold on Williams as QB?
I like him okay, but I don't think he's all that. Don't get me wrong - I am not a "put in the backup!" kind of guy, but Troy hasn't really impressed me much. If we were dating, I'd keep seeing him, but I wouldn't be shopping for engagement rings anytime soon.

He's probably a nice kid, though, and I hope he wins me over.

[LA Ute]

GREAT POST. There are a lot of what ifs, but ultimately, it's football.

Yes, Utah is the first team that scored less than 30 on Cal. It's also the first team to hold Cal under 40 points. That all was by design. Whit said so post-game. It's like basketball; he didn't want to play Cal's run and gun game.

It's like UTEopia said: We score the touchdown at the end, and everyone involved is a genius. The game plan was so well executed that even giving up touchdown passes of 40, 39, 24 and 56 yards, all we had to do was finish that final drive to win. If we had finished the other two drives we had into the red zone, the game would not even have been close.


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[U-Ute]

So, am I persona non grata if I confess that I am not sold on Williams as QB?
I like him okay, but I don't think he's all that. Don't get me wrong - I am not a "put in the backup!" kind of guy, but Troy hasn't really impressed me much. If we were dating, I'd keep seeing him, but I wouldn't be shopping for engagement rings anytime soon.

He's probably a nice kid, though, and I hope he wins me over.

Is he a Heisman candidate? No. Is he better than anything we've had since Brett Ratliff (maybe Wynn's FR year)? Yes.

[Ma'ake]

Back in SLC, great to see UTEopia at the game. Before the game I ran into some stadium staff guy who asked me if I knew who Ryan Lacey is.

"Of course, he was a corner for us, good kid, I worked with his uncle." Guy explained he was his Lacey's coach from peewee ball up until HS. THEN, I saw Ryan Lacey, and told him I saw his youth football coach, and Ryan and his friends went crazy with excitement, and he hit his cell phone trying to get his coach's phone number. Good stuff.

Talked at length with some of Marcus Williams' family. Seriously impressive family. His older brother was a point guard for Cal State Fullerton. I asked if he had hops like Marcus, he said "no, Marcus got everything", with a hearty laugh. Troy Williams had a contingent of about 20 people, Raelon Singleton's parents were there from Texas - they're justifiably proud of their Sophomore. I'm sure there were many, many others I missed. Utah fans definitely represented.

The team looked sluggish. Webb and Hansen are definitely a potent combination. Brian Allen got beat on a couple of TDs, the first had a small pushoff, but probably not enough to call OPI. Then Brian got a pick on a deep sideline route. Julian Blackmon got the baptism by fire when he spelled Domo and then got torched in the NW endzone. Keep fighting, guys.

I sat next to a Cal fan who said nobody else in the PAC ate up the clock like we did, he was getting a little frustrated because he wanted to see their aerial circus more.

*Really* nice to see Armand Shyne play well, because he's from Oakland, and because he's becoming a seriously good RB, with good punch and really quick feet.

Not getting that win blew, but the best thing I've seen was the array of responses from players and Whit, after the game, including Zack Moss' response. Exactly the right response to that kind of setback. There's zero time to sag or pout. Responding with ferocity to adversity is Utah football.

I hope Patrick's injury is short term, and whatever happened with JJ Dielman, Falemaka did a *great* job filling in, was perfect on the snaps.

Can't believe we'll be halfway through the season Saturday.

[Utebiquitous]

I don't like to play the what if game much - I like Whittingham's no excuses approach; but before we place too much blame on Troy Williams or on Roderick or any other one person let's put things in proper context. Troy did not have Tim Patrick in the second half. He didn't have Butler-Byrd the entire game. He lost Fulks on the first drive of the third quarter. An all conference offensive lineman went down on the first series. Still, there the Utes were at the end of the game having executed their game plan so well with a next man up mentality that they were one well-executed play away from a win.

I really like this team and the mental toughness they are demonstrating and learning.

[Ma'ake]

...but before we place too much blame on Troy Williams or on Roderick or any other one person let's put things in proper context.

Well put. All these guys are competitors. They're not going to let yesterday define them.

We went back to the hotel and watched the Lamar Jackson show... geez. And *they* had a player make a mistake while driving for the game winning score.

It's football.

Trying to assign blame for our loss is a pointless exercise. The team isn't stewing about who to blame, or who let them down.

Now... we owe Rich Rod. If that shot at redemption doesn't get you motivated...

[UBlender]

It's very frustrating to lose that game in that fashion, no doubt about it. But I feel like it's just football. We checked off most of the boxes and played the game we wanted to play. We won the yardage battle decisively, the TOP battle, the turnover battle (ended up being a non-factor), didn't hurt ourselves with penalties, etc. We did everything we wanted to do other than giving up too many big plays on defense and obviously finishing drives on offense. Of course those things are a big failure.

Utah continues to do a lot of things right. It's college football, sometimes crap happens and you lose a game where you played well enough to win. I guess I am not too broken up about it because I feel like Utah's been on the opposite side of it more often over the last 2-3 years. We've had several wins where the stat sheet didn't support the notion that we played the better game. We're on the opposite side of that coin this week. It's life in football.

[SeattleUte]

It's like UTEopia said: We score the touchdown at the end, and everyone involved is a genius. The game plan was so well executed that even giving up touchdown passes of 40, 39, 24 and 56 yards, all we had to do was finish that final drive to win. If we had finished the other two drives we had into the red zone, the game would not even have been close.


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Agreed. The Utes did a lot of things right to wind up with seven chances to win from nine yards out. On the other hand, those are probably the toughest nine yards to be overcome in football.

A problem with the rules: if I'm a coach and I'm ever in Cal's position, I tell my team, if you're beat, pass interference is preferable to a TD; knock him down, and we'll deal with the consequences of first and goal from the 2 with second left.

[U-Ute]

I just heard a recap of Whitt's post game presser this morning, and Porter was out the second half as well, which is why we were seeing Blackmon.

[Applejack]

It's very frustrating to lose that game in that fashion, no doubt about it. But I feel like it's just football. We checked off most of the boxes and played the game we wanted to play. We won the yardage battle decisively, the TOP battle, the turnover battle (ended up being a non-factor), didn't hurt ourselves with penalties, etc. We did everything we wanted to do other than giving up too many big plays on defense and obviously finishing drives on offense. Of course those things are a big failure.

Utah continues to do a lot of things right. It's college football, sometimes crap happens and you lose a game where you played well enough to win. I guess I am not too broken up about it because I feel like Utah's been on the opposite side of it more often over the last 2-3 years. We've had several wins where the stat sheet didn't support the notion that we played the better game. We're on the opposite side of that coin this week. It's life in football.

Frustrating loss. But in the end, we probably deserved to win on Saturday and lose to USC the week before. In the end, it's better to have a win over the PAC-12 South.

[U-Ute]

Frustrating loss. But in the end, we probably deserved to win on Saturday and lose to USC the week before. In the end, it's better to have a win over the PAC-12 South.

How dare you bring calm and logical thinking to this discussion!

JWLp2eO1gdYFG

[LA Ute]

Chris Hill was livid about the phantom timeout and is making an issue of it with the conference. Maybe officiating will improve a bit.


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[concerned]

Our red zone performance Saturday was enhanced by the true gift of the throat-slashing dead ball penalty in the first half that converted our field goal into a touchdown. We could have won; not sure we deserved to win. Our db's getting burned deep really hurt.

[LA Ute]

Our red zone performance Saturday was enhanced by the true gift of the throat-slashing dead ball penalty in the first half that converted our field goal into a touchdown. We could have won; not sure we deserved to win. Our db's getting burned deep really hurt.

Those long Cal touchdown passes are interesting. I haven't watched a second time but at least two of them looked like blown coverage, with the Cal receivers all alone. "Bend but don't break" wasn't happening. Was it the defensive backfield injuries?


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[U-Ute]

Those long Cal touchdown passes are interesting. I haven't watched a second time but at least two of them looked like blown coverage, with the Cal receivers all alone. "Bend but don't break" wasn't happening. Was it the defensive backfield injuries?


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Cal had a solid game plan and the athletes to do it. It seems like they basically put our safeties in a quandry: come up and help on the short stuff they were gashing us with, or help over the top on the deep stuff.

I think missing Lotulelei in the middle of that defensive line hurt us more than we think in stopping that short stuff.

[SeattleUte]

Those long Cal touchdown passes are interesting. I haven't watched a second time but at least two of them looked like blown coverage, with the Cal receivers all alone. "Bend but don't break" wasn't happening. Was it the defensive backfield injuries?


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This is what Cal does. You're bound to give up a couple of long touchdowns at least--because they have great athletes, they do it well, and they try it often. It's like North Carolina basketball--up tempo, firing the long ball; they're going to hit some home runs. That's just he way it is. It's not our game. Utah could have scored over 30 or even 40 points in this game had it joined Cal in playing this type of game. As Whit explained in his post-game, that's not our game. He probably felt our odds of winning a game with both teams in the 40s or 50s was lower than both teams in the 20s. He deliberately tried to consume 10 minutes in a drive, even when down 14 in the first half. But when we needed to move the ball faster we did.

This is all judgment, and fans who don't do this for a living really aren't very interesting second-guessing a successful coach's judgment, especially when the coach lives with this team day in and day out. And it's easy in retrospect, looking at film, saying gee, if Troy had just kept the ball he'd have walked into the end zone. As Tolstoy said, in a battle there are too many parts moving too fast for anyone to be a genius at that moment.

Note how much alike our basketball and football teams are. Football stays within the hash marks, grinds it out, basketball plays a half-court game. Defense is a hallmark for both. Heavy reliance on JUCOS. We just don't have the horses to play a racehorse game with teams like Cal and all its four star thoroughbreds. We have coaches well suited for Utah's challenges.

[UTEopia]

Chris Hill was livid about the phantom timeout and is making an issue of it with the conference. Maybe officiating will improve a bit.


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That was a bad mistake, but I don't think it would have impacted the game. We had 2 timeouts and 1st and goal at the 2 with 14 seconds on the clock when the timeout was given. The first down run play with Moss going to the side took the clock to 7 seconds and we used our last timeout. I don't think you can risk running the ball on 2nd down and be sure you will have time to call another timeout and get a 3rd down play. You would need to pass, which we did. You definitely are not going to get 3 plays in 7 seconds regardless of how many timeouts you have. Whit's big mistake was allowing the clock to run down from 40 to 20 seconds before taking the first time out before the 4th and goal. IMO, that limited what they could do much more than the timeout snafu.

[LA Ute]

Whit's big mistake was allowing the clock to run down from 40 to 20 seconds before taking the first time out before the 4th and goal. IMO, that limited what they could do much more than the timeout snafu.

Probably true.


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[UTEopia]

Probably true.


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I come here for validation. I get more from LA than from my wife.

[concerned]

That was a bad mistake, but I don't think it would have impacted the game. We had 2 timeouts and 1st and goal at the 2 with 14 seconds on the clock when the timeout was given. The first down run play with Moss going to the side took the clock to 7 seconds and we used our last timeout. I don't think you can risk running the ball on 2nd down and be sure you will have time to call another timeout and get a 3rd down play. You would need to pass, which we did. You definitely are not going to get 3 plays in 7 seconds regardless of how many timeouts you have. Whit's big mistake was allowing the clock to run down from 40 to 20 seconds before taking the first time out before the 4th and goal. IMO, that limited what they could do much more than the timeout snafu.

We have done that two weeks in a row; it didn't cost us against USC, but did against Cal. Can't allow that to happen.

[SeattleUte]

I come here for validation. I get more from LA than from my wife.

Probably true, BUT isn't part of the tactic to prevent Cal from getting a final chance. Even 30 seconds is plenty for this Cal team if the Utes are up 1 or 2 or 3 for Cal to beat or catch up, especially with its timeouts. Also, maybe Whit thought Cal would call timeout. But they followed the Belichick approach.

[concerned]

Probably true, BUT isn't part of the tactic to prevent Cal from getting a final chance. Even 30 seconds is plenty for this Cal team if the Utes are up 1 or 2 or 3 for Cal to beat or catch up, especially with its timeouts. Also, maybe Whit thought Cal would call timeout. But they followed the Belichick approach.

You don't let it run down on first down. You wait until 3rd or 4th to make sure you have enough time

[wally]

Did anyone else have a traumatic flashback to that game in the MWC where we couldn't punch it in the endzone against UNLV with 4 consecutive tries from the 1? I lost all verbal communication capability for 16 hours, I was so disturbed.

[SeattleUte]

You don't let it run down on first down. You wait until 3rd or 4th to make sure you have enough time

True. He must have been playing time-out chicken. But the first order of business is scoring!

[LA Ute]

The team's poise was excellent.


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[SeattleUte]

Did anyone else have a traumatic flashback to that game in the MWC where we couldn't punch it in the endzone against UNLV with 4 consecutive tries from the 1? I lost all verbal communication capability for 16 hours, I was so disturbed.

Nope. I don't let the losses ruin my day. A loss is like a bee sting that goes away quickly. But when they win, I'm Master of the Universe for a day (in my own mind). I learned this trick a long time ago.

[concerned]

Did anyone else have a traumatic flashback to that game in the MWC where we couldn't punch it in the endzone against UNLV with 4 consecutive tries from the 1? I lost all verbal communication capability for 16 hours, I was so disturbed.

I thought that was Colo State???? At the time, I didnt think KW would last the season, and wasnt sure he should.

[SeattleUte]

I thought that was Colo State???? At the time, I didnt think KW would last the season, and wasnt sure he should.\

I remember he lost to UNLV 27-0 his second? season. Was the CSU game then too? At some point after that UNLV the team transformed, slaughtering Louisville (which had been ranked, I think) on the road and winning out except a heartbreaker vs. BYU.

[U-Ute]

Did anyone else have a traumatic flashback to that game in the MWC where we couldn't punch it in the endzone against UNLV with 4 consecutive tries from the 1? I lost all verbal communication capability for 16 hours, I was so disturbed.

That game was a turning point for the program. I hope this game has a similar effect.

[concerned]

\

I remember he lost to UNLV 27-0 his second? season. Was the CSU game then too? At some point after that UNLV the team transformed, slaughtering Louisville (which had been ranked, I think) on the road and winning out except a heartbreaker vs. BYU.

I googled it. The colo st game was 2005, KW's first year. With BJ and Ganther no less. Here is a recap:


FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Kyle Bell scored a 49-yard touchdown run with 5:05 remaining, then the Colorado State Rams stonewalled the Utah Utes on the goal line on three straight plays with less than a minute left for a 21-17 win Saturday.
After Bell's touchdown, Utah drove from its 20-yard line to the CSU four.
On first-and-goal, running back Quinton Ganther ran for a three-yard gain, but the Rams stuffed quarterback Brian Johnson (http://www.utahutes.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2957) for no gain on the next two plays.
After a time out, Ganther again tried to take the ball to the end zone on fourth down, but was tackled by CSU's defensive end Jesse Nading with 22 seconds remaining.

[Irving Washington]

You don't let it run down on first down. You wait until 3rd or 4th to make sure you have enough time

Unless we score on 1st down, then there's 34 seconds left.

[SeattleUte]

Unless we score on 1st down, then there's 34 seconds left.

I watched the Falcons beat the Seahawks, who were up by 1, in 28 seconds in the playoffs three years ago.

[wally]

I googled it. The colo st game was 2005, KW's first year. With BJ and Ganther no less. Here is a recap:


FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Kyle Bell scored a 49-yard touchdown run with 5:05 remaining, then the Colorado State Rams stonewalled the Utah Utes on the goal line on three straight plays with less than a minute left for a 21-17 win Saturday.
After Bell's touchdown, Utah drove from its 20-yard line to the CSU four.
On first-and-goal, running back Quinton Ganther ran for a three-yard gain, but the Rams stuffed quarterback Brian Johnson (http://www.utahutes.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2957) for no gain on the next two plays.
After a time out, Ganther again tried to take the ball to the end zone on fourth down, but was tackled by CSU's defensive end Jesse Nading with 22 seconds remaining.




So traumatic, I blocked out the opponent. Colo State it was. It's all becoming clear again to me. UNLV was 27-0, with that bowling ball running back they had.... man, you gotta admit that it feels better to have our hearts ripped out against P5 competition rather than UNLV, though.

Didn't they bring in some therapists or a shaman or something in the middle of that season to fix the programs psyche?

[concerned]

I watched the Falcons beat the Seahawks, who were up by 1, in 28 seconds in the playoffs three years ago.


Tennessee on Saturday is an even better example. Still, I would much rather take the risk that we score on first down and have enough time on second, third and fourth if we dont.

[redastheycome]

I googled it. The colo st game was 2005, KW's first year. With BJ and Ganther no less. Here is a recap:


FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Kyle Bell scored a 49-yard touchdown run with 5:05 remaining, then the Colorado State Rams stonewalled the Utah Utes on the goal line on three straight plays with less than a minute left for a 21-17 win Saturday.
After Bell's touchdown, Utah drove from its 20-yard line to the CSU four.
On first-and-goal, running back Quinton Ganther ran for a three-yard gain, but the Rams stuffed quarterback Brian Johnson (http://www.utahutes.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2957) for no gain on the next two plays.
After a time out, Ganther again tried to take the ball to the end zone on fourth down, but was tackled by CSU's defensive end Jesse Nading with 22 seconds remaining.




I remember that on one of BJ's two attempts on 2nd/3rd downs, he actually got the ball over the goal line and the ref on that side of the field inexplicably didn't give him the TD call. Seems like sour grapes to whine about that now, but I was livid at the time. If memory serves (and it might not, after 11 years) it wasn't even that close - BJ got in.

I wonder how that non-call may have affected things long-term, if at all.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

\

I remember he lost to UNLV 27-0 his second? season. Was the CSU game then too? At some point after that UNLV the team transformed, slaughtering Louisville (which had been ranked, I think) on the road and winning out except a heartbreaker vs. BYU.

That game was 2007. I was there. This was the game that sparked my bad "in person" juju streak.

[UTEopia]

I remember that on one of BJ's two attempts on 2nd/3rd downs, he actually got the ball over the goal line and the ref on that side of the field inexplicably didn't give him the TD call. Seems like sour grapes to whine about that now, but I was livid at the time. If memory serves (and it might not, after 11 years) it wasn't even that close - BJ got in.

I wonder how that non-call may have affected things long-term, if at all.

I was standing right at the goal line on that series. I gave the touchdown signal twice.

[LA Ute]

Nothing new here but a decent analysis:

http://www.blocku.com/2016/10/2/13137696/why-did-utah-lose-to-cal-utes-golden-bears-blog

Our coaching staff is smart. We'll see what changes based on all of this. Whit himself talked about red zone efficiency in his presser today, said they need to be "more creative." Hot Lunch must've gotten to him.

What about coming out flat at the beginning of the game? Seems like that happens too often with KW teams, although no so much thos year (or am I forgetting something?). Anyway, it is 100% correctable and that is up to the coaches.

[Hot Lunch]

Nothing new here but a decent analysis:

http://www.blocku.com/2016/10/2/13137696/why-did-utah-lose-to-cal-utes-golden-bears-blog

Our coaching staff is smart. We'll see what changes based on all of this. Whit himself talked about red zone efficiency in his presser today, said they need to be "more creative." Hot Lunch must've gotten to him.

What about coming out flat at the beginning of the game? Seems like that happens too often with KW teams, although no so much thos year (or am I forgetting something?). Anyway, it is 100% correctable and that is up to the coaches.

I called him last night and disccussed a number of things. :rockon:

[concerned]

I called him last night and disccussed a number of things. :rockon:

So that's why his line has been busy all night