Do You Know the Way to San Jose? Spartans visit Utah 9/16/17

[DrumNFeather]

Third game of the year and final non-conference game of the year. We still don't know a whole lot about our beloved Utes, but they are 2-0, and our opponent this week is 0-2 having been blown out against Texas 55-0.

I expect to see a lot more Moss, McCormick and even some DHC sprinkled in there (if not now, when?). And, I hope we cut down on the penalties as well.

Heading into a short week vs. Arizona, I'd imagine we'll see a number of the young guys get time into the 4th quarter.

[Utebiquitous]

This team would not beat North Dakota on the road or at home. It's too bad the Utes aren't playing someone who can provide a little better test. Oh well, it's another opportunity to clean things up and demonstrate good knowledge of the most important schemes and plays Coaches Taylor and Scalley will lean on as we look to the Pac-12 schedule.

[sancho]

I expect to see a lot more Moss, McCormick and even some DHC sprinkled in there (if not now, when?).

I hope we see Troy and Cooper in the fourth quarter.

[sancho]

Utah Proud helmet:

908009981810589696

[Scorcho]

Utah Proud helmet:

908009981810589696

I love that helmet and it was designed by the Ute Tribe

[sancho]

I love that helmet and it was designed by the Ute Tribe

I like it alright, partially because it was designed by the Ute tribe. I'm not wild about the tri-color uniform. It's takes the right three colors for a tri-color uniform to work (see LSU, USC, UCLA), and red, white, and black just doesn't do it.

We have the colors to make some great, classic bi-color unis (red/white or black/white). Whenever we put all three together, it looks like someone let their high school class tackle a design project.

[Applejack]

Utah Proud helmet:

908009981810589696

Yikes.

[Utah]

White helmet with black face mask?

🔥 🔥 🔥

[UTEopia]

I like it alright, partially because it was designed by the Ute tribe. I'm not wild about the tri-color uniform. It's takes the right three colors for a tri-color uniform to work (see LSU, USC, UCLA), and red, white, and black just doesn't do it.

We have the colors to make some great, classic bi-color unis (red/white or black/white). Whenever we put all three together, it looks like someone let their high school class tackle a design project.

Tell that to the West High Panthers.

[sancho]

Tell that to the West High Panthers.

The Panthers are bi-color (or at least they were when I was there) with red/black. Not my favorite combo, but better than the full red/white/black mix.

[Sullyute]

I love the helmet!

[Utebiquitous]

All black or all red uniforms with the new stripe design would have been the way to go in my opinion. Still very cool.

[U-Ute]

I like the pieces individually, but the white pants look like someone forgot to pack the right color pants.

[U-Ute]

I just heard on the radio that Derrick Odum is the DC for San Jose.

[U-Ute]

Athalon breakdown.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/san-jose-state-spartans-vs-utah-utes-preview-and-prediction-2017

Their prediction:
Utah: 46
SJSU: 10

[Applejack]

Game day!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp-F1jTgx40

[mpfunk]

I think it is safe to say our offense still sucks. I think it may suck less than last year though.

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[LA Ute]

Red zone issues are baffling.

[Diehard Ute]

Refs blew it on that fumble. The pylon was incorrectly placed. Since it wasn't in bounds as it's supposed to be that wasn't a touchback.


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[sancho]

I was just sitting there thinking how amazing Sam Darnold's jump pass was, and then I saw Mitch Wish's left footed punt. Wow.

[LA Ute]

From Riley on the post-game show:

Huntley had more passing yards tonight than any Utah QB in the PAC-12 era.

The last Ute QB who had three straight games like Huntley's was Brian Johnson in 2008. (SDSU, BYU, Alabama).

Carrington has had 3 straight 100-yard receiving games. Dres Anderson was the last Utah receiver to do that. (Not sure about that one.)

Carrington does a nice interview.

He says Coach Taylor has a lot more "in his back pocket" that he'll show during PAC-12 play.

Whitt:

• Kyle says the team "took a big step forward" tonight. The only real negative was the 3 TOs in the first half.

• He'd like to see more production from the running game, although tonight was not bad.

• He's happy with the D, except "we let them get behind us a couple of times tonight."

• Henry-Cole has great potential and will see more time on the field as he learns pass protection better. (Picking up blitzes, etc.)

• Huntley is "getting better at every facet" with each game.

• Gushed about Marquise. "I think he's a guy with a ton of upside."
_______________________

I think if we get to 9 wins we'll do it by victories over these 6 PAC-12 teams, none of which is guaranteed by any stretch:

Arizona
ASU
Oregon
UCLA
Wazzu
Colorado

Maybe there will be some surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant.

[SoCalPat]

Refs blew it on that fumble. The pylon was incorrectly placed. Since it wasn't in bounds as it's supposed to be that wasn't a touchback.


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I think you're wrong on this. The front of the pylon, regardless of where it's placed, represents the absolute front of the end zone. Once it hits the pylon, it's in the end zone. Going out of bounds completed the touchback.

So if the pylons are set in the field of play (another matter on which I think you're wrong), the ball bounces to the right of the pylon and doesn't hit it. Doesn't matter, as the end line, for purpose of spotting the ball, is not limited to the field of play. Ball is in the air, past the end line. Also a touchback.

The fumble was clear, and there's no way you could give Utah possession at the spot where it went out of bounds, because it didn't go out of bounds until it had clearly crossed the end line.

[SoCalPat]

Tonight did little to alleviate my concerns about the offensive line. Our best efforts in what Kyle calls the "pure" run game came late in the game. Huntley is our short-yardage back. That's not good. We also have to produce a lot of our throw game on rollouts. More athletic secondaries will be able to make us pay.

But you can't argue against back-to-back 300-yard passing games. And Carrington is a bonafide Biletnikoff candidate.

Gay is amazing. Two 50-yard-plus FGs in the same game has to be a Utah record, and the 56-yarder has to be the longest in school history without use of a tee. I have fought the Sakoda vs. Phillips wars for several years -- Louie, and it's not really close, but Gay might be better than Louie by the time it's all said and done. BYU gets grief for having passed on Gay, but let's not make our coaches some kind of savants when it comes to identifying kickers -- Gay wasn't even our first choice vs. UND.

This team will never be boring. We play close to the edge, and in some cases, needlessly so. Huntley stretching the ball out four yards short of a first down is one example. Moss was fortunate enough to be just close enough to the end zone on his TD for it not to hurt us. There are at least 10 plays in this game that, when looked at on film, will leave the coaches shaking their heads. But for a change, we weren't clean and still won big.

Given the late start, nobody who votes will apply the eyeball test to this effort. Four teams ranked 18-25 lost on Saturday, and No. 14 Louisville is due for a sizable tumble. I don't think SDSU leapfrogs us, and the Aztecs are the only team within range of us that are worthy of a huge jump. Maybe Vanderbilt could. I say we move five spots, all the way to No. 21.

[Diehard Ute]

Gay is the only kicker to kick two 50 or longer field goals in a game for Utah.

56 is the second longest ever, and longest without a tee. Longest is 59 (Marv Baterman 1971)

Huntley is first back to back 300 yard passer since Brian Johnson and first since joining the Pac-12

Carrington said after the game Taylor will open up a lot more of the offense in conference.




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[justaute]

I don't care how big our playbook is until our o-line and running game are better. Glad we got the win, but it was San Jose State, which had new coaching staff and 48 freshman players.

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[sancho]

I don't care how big our playbook is until our o-line and running game are better. Glad we got the win, but it was San Jose State, which had new coaching staff and 48 freshman players.

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Everything felt a little out of sync for the offense. Feels weird to say that considering all the stats. Fumbles, a bad pick, other bad throws, low snaps, ugly handoffs.

[sancho]

Have to think Gay is a leading candidate for special teams POW.

[UTEopia]

We fans are funny. We have thrived with a traditional run game for several years and people were always lamenting that we did not have a running QB for executing the read-option. Now we have a QB who can execute the read option and for the most part has made the right reads and people are lamenting that we do not have a traditional run game. Now there were a couple of short yardage plays where Huntley took the ball and followed the RB into the hole. I would prefer a short yardage set with someone who looks a lot like Shawn Asiata in the backfield and handing off to Moss. Sometimes I think Moss dances in the hole when he should just put his head down and run with power.

Overall, I like the offense and maybe this is what the TT offense looks like.

[LA Ute]

I think you're wrong on this. The front of the pylon, regardless of where it's placed, represents the absolute front of the end zone. Once it hits the pylon, it's in the end zone. Going out of bounds completed the touchback.

So if the pylons are set in the field of play (another matter on which I think you're wrong), the ball bounces to the right of the pylon and doesn't hit it. Doesn't matter, as the end line, for purpose of spotting the ball, is not limited to the field of play. Ball is in the air, past the end line. Also a touchback.

The fumble was clear, and there's no way you could give Utah possession at the spot where it went out of bounds, because it didn't go out of bounds until it had clearly crossed the end line.

I doubt that Samson will try to change hands with the ball while being tackled anytime soon.

[sancho]

We fans are funny. We have thrived with a traditional run game for several years and people were always lamenting that we did not have a running QB for executing the read-option. Now we have a QB who can execute the read option and for the most part has made the right reads and people are lamenting that we do not have a traditional run game.

I think the timing is just a little frustrating. For a few years, we've had a great line and RBs, but our QB situation was just okay. Our WR situation was worse than okay. Now, we have an all-conference caliber WR and a good QB, but the line and RB situations are not great. Next year, the line and QB will be more experienced, but there may not be an all-conference WR or RB. So close to putting it all together, but close doesn't count.

We've been used to feeling good about 4th and 1, so it's hard to have to feel nervous about it now.

And it's easy to daydream about having Booker, Carrington, Huntley, and Bolles at the same time. That's a conference championship offense right there.

[concerned]

We fans are funny. We have thrived with a traditional run game for several years and people were always lamenting that we did not have a running QB for executing the read-option. Now we have a QB who can execute the read option and for the most part has made the right reads and people are lamenting that we do not have a traditional run game. Now there were a couple of short yardage plays where Huntley took the ball and followed the RB into the hole. I would prefer a short yardage set with someone who looks a lot like Shawn Asiata in the backfield and handing off to Moss. Sometimes I think Moss dances in the hole when he should just put his head down and run with power.

Overall, I like the offense and maybe this is what the TT offense looks like.

As SoCalPat has been saying for a while, we cant run between the tackles. We need more balance in the run game, or Huntley is going to get killed. Defenses are getting faster on the edge now, and we arent going to be able to rely almost exclusively (so far) on the qb as the short yardage back. It wont work if our rb's dont take the pressure off. Booker or John White would be perfect in this offense.

I am surely no o-line expert, but a lot of tweets last last night were bashing Agasiva. Is he the weak link?

P.s. Can Moss run with power? I am not sure.

[SoCalPat]

We fans are funny. We have thrived with a traditional run game for several years and people were always lamenting that we did not have a running QB for executing the read-option. Now we have a QB who can execute the read option and for the most part has made the right reads and people are lamenting that we do not have a traditional run game. Now there were a couple of short yardage plays where Huntley took the ball and followed the RB into the hole. I would prefer a short yardage set with someone who looks a lot like Shawn Asiata in the backfield and handing off to Moss. Sometimes I think Moss dances in the hole when he should just put his head down and run with power.

Overall, I like the offense and maybe this is what the TT offense looks like.

We ran a play early-mid fourth where we lined what looked to be a tight end up in the backfield. The TE locked up the rush end with a great block and sprung the RB for a good gain. It was glorious.

[concerned]

I think the timing is just a little frustrating. For a few years, we've had a great line and RBs, but our QB situation was just okay. Our WR situation was worse than okay. Now, we have an all-conference caliber WR and a good QB, but the line and RB situations are not great. Next year, the line and QB will be more experienced, but there may not be an all-conference WR or RB. So close to putting it all together, but close doesn't count.

We've been used to feeling good about 4th and 1, so it's hard to have to feel nervous about it now.

And it's easy to daydream about having Booker, Carrington, Huntley, and Bolles at the same time. That's a conference championship offense right there.

PK tweeted out last night, "If the Utes had Carrington last year, would Troy Taylor even be here?" Arod may not have had Carrington, but he had 4 NFL linemen and and NFL running back. What would this years team look like with them?

[SoCalPat]

As SoCalPat has been saying for a while, we cant run between the tackles. We need more balance in the run game, or Huntley is going to get killed. Defenses are getting faster on the edge now, and we arent going to be able to rely almost exclusively (so far) on the qb as the short yardage back. It wont work if our rb's dont take the pressure off. Booker or John White would be perfect in this offense.

I am surely no o-line expert, but a lot of tweets last last night were bashing Agasiva. Is he the weak link?

P.s. Can Moss run with power? I am not sure.

Not just balance in the run game, but this line doesn't pass block well at all. Huntley got hit way too many times on drop backs last night, and the only way we really minimize that issue is by rolling him out.

[sancho]

PK tweeted out last night, "If the Utes had Carrington last year, would Troy Taylor even be here?" Arod may not have had Carrington, but he had 4 NFL linemen and and NFL running back. What would this years team look like with them?

True. WR was always the missing ingredient for ARod. In the few years that we had WRs, they ended up hurt.

[Utebiquitous]

SoCal,
I think there's more to rolling out Huntley than just the O'line issues. I don't think Huntley's very comfortable in the pocket yet. There were a few plays last night where San Jose did a nice job of containing Huntley with the D'ends. I haven't seen Ty go to a third read yet this season - in fact, he tends to lock in a little too much an an initial read. To your point, he doesn't have a lot of time but he still had plenty of downs last night where the protection held and he could have looked elsewhere. The interception at the end of the first half is a good example. He had time to go elsewhere but he locked in on Carrington and threw it late (Carrington was open early in the route).

I don't mean to sound negative - Huntley is a playmaker. It's really quite impressive for his third start. I think he'll get better in the pocket and the O'line will improve as well. I worry whether or not Barton has the foot speed/footwork to stay with D'ends from his tackle spot. Agasiva had a few brain cramps as well last night but he sure can get physical.

Where is the tight end in this offense? I sure hope Handley gets incorporated more. He has worked too hard to be cast aside as just a blocker.

[Applejack]

SoCal,
I think there's more to rolling out Huntley than just the O'line issues. I don't think Huntley's very comfortable in the pocket yet. There were a few plays last night where San Jose did a nice job of containing Huntley with the D'ends. I haven't seen Ty go to a third read yet this season - in fact, he tends to lock in a little too much an an initial read. To your point, he doesn't have a lot of time but he still had plenty of downs last night where the protection held and he could have looked elsewhere. The interception at the end of the first half is a good example. He had time to go elsewhere but he locked in on Carrington and threw it late (Carrington was open early in the route).

I don't mean to sound negative - Huntley is a playmaker. It's really quite impressive for his third start. I think he'll get better in the pocket and the O'line will improve as well. I worry whether or not Barton has the foot speed/footwork to stay with D'ends from his tackle spot. Agasiva had a few brain cramps as well last night but he sure can get physical.

Where is the tight end in this offense? I sure hope Handley gets incorporated more. He has worked too hard to be cast aside as just a blocker.

I've wondered the second thing abut the tight ends. They have completely disappeared after being effective last year. It might be part Huntley (he's looking for Carrington every play) and part necessity (we need blockers!) And part Taylor's offense.

[sancho]

I've wondered the second thing abut the tight ends. They have completely disappeared after being effective last year. It might be part Huntley (he's looking for Carrington every play) and part necessity (we need blockers!) And part Taylor's offense.

I was told this summer that Taylor wasn't going to use TEs as much. I think someone posted that here.

As for looking for Carrington every play, I think that's what you do when you have a Carrington. That said, we did have 8 people catch passes. Nacua had 7 receptions. And the old Huntley-to-Simpkins connection came alive on at least that one drive.

[Diehard Ute]

I've wondered the second thing abut the tight ends. They have completely disappeared after being effective last year. It might be part Huntley (he's looking for Carrington every play) and part necessity (we need blockers!) And part Taylor's offense.

Reading between the lines, our TE's missed so much time they're behind.

Reality is they were out all of fall camp with a new offensive coordinator.

Couple that with the way Taylor has said he likes to run the offense and they're not seen much. Taylor likes to run, from his previous statements, a guy who can play as a TE or blocking back....not sure our TE's are versed enough on this offense to do that yet.


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[U-Ute]

I doubt that Samson will try to change hands with the ball while being tackled anytime soon.

He wasn't hit. The fumble was because his plant foot slipped.

That being said he had another slip planting his right foot later in the game. He needs to keep his feet under him or get longer cleats.


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[LA Ute]

He wasn't hit. The fumble was because his plant foot slipped.

That being said he had another slip planting his right foot later in the game. He needs to keep his feet under him or get longer cleats.


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Right. I forgot. Still, he shouldn't be changing hands while he's falling down.

[hostile]

Maybe not a big deal but on a couple punt returns there were blockers who had poor angles and were unable to get in front of their targets. Instead of giving up or blocking in the back they continued downfield and just got in the way of the defender. Seems like in the past we would get a flag in those instances. It was nice to see the discipline.