With the loss of TDS yesterday to TCU, we are in complete
control of our own destiny to get to a 2nd BCS bowl game.
TDS was the only Non-BCS team ahead of us in the polls and
assuming we win on Saturday, we'll be the highest ranked Non-BCS team.
Now...don't get too comfortable.An undefeated season is needed for us to go
to the BCS and it isn't a guarantee we'll get there even if we do go
undefeated.Boise State
is clipping right at our heels and we need to prove that we are the Non-BCS
team that is worthy to go.
We will have the advantage since we are higher ranked now
and we have the potential to still play 2 ranked teams in our remaining
games.Boise
only has one potential ranked team in Fresno State
(who is not currently ranked).This
means our SOS will be better, so we should be better off in the computer
rankings, but we still need to improve how the nation views our team.We've allowed teams to hang around and haven't
put up the big score against a recognized team yet.We need to get one of those to give our team some
national prominence.
We had better put things together and prove that we can play
an entire game at a high level.After
what I saw out of TCU last night against TDS, they'll come in here fired up and
will want to knock us off.They feel
they still have a shot at the BCS because their only loss so far has been on
the road against Oklahoma.We'll need to play solid offensive and
defensive games against TCU and TDS.
We definitely have all the pieces we need to put together
another trip to a BCS game, but I lack confidence in this team as opposed to
2004 because we haven't proven that offensively we can put together a full
game.We have been relying on our
defense almost all season and need the offense and special teams to continue to
make plays when they are needed if we want to crash the BCS party again.
The 13th ranked Utes head to Laramie, Wyoming
to take on the Wyoming Cowboys.The
biggest talk around this game is that Wyoming
will want revenge for the 50-0 loss they received from the Utes last year at
Rice Eccles Stadium.
The weather is supposed to be a big factor in this game as a
major storm is expected to hit Wyoming
today.The Utes should dominate this
game from start to end since Wyoming
has yet to prove that they can compete against any teams that are good.Wyoming has
only managed to score 3 points thus far in Mountain West Conference games and
they are facing a tough Utah
defense today.
This should be a scrappy game that the Utes should manage to
dominate and easily pull out a victory.This game will likely stay close if the weather is poor, but should be
fully dominated by the Utes.
Kickoff is set for 12:00 PM MT and the game can be seen on
The Mtn.The game can also be heard on
KALL 700 AM.
The Utes were slightly rewarded for their last second
victory over Oregon
State on Thursday
night.Utah moved up two spots to 13 in the
USA/Today Coaches Poll, up two spots to 13 in the Harris Poll and up one spot to 14 in the
AP Media Poll.
The Utes have been ranked in the top 25 since beating Michigan in the first
game of the season.
Utah had better be thanking their lucky stars after pulling the game out of the fire to win on a 38-yard field goal by King Louie with 2.0 seconds to go. Brian Johnson had a horrendous game where he turned the ball over two more times, both deep in Utah territory and resulted in 12 points on two touchdowns for Oregon State.
Utah did have some shining moments in the game. Brent Casteel had the best game of the season. He caught 5 balls for 105 yards and 1 touchdown. His catches came at critical times including a drive to score late and another drive to get into fieldgoal range to win.
Utah's defense played as well as you can expect for as much as they were on the field. They were faced with short field situations on a couple of occasions and Oregon State was only able to sustain two drives. The defense did have some costly penalties including a facemask and unnecessary roughness penalty. Both came on crucial third down situations and allowed Oregon State to keep the drive alive. Greg Newman was a shining point on the line where he was in on several tackles and helped keep Jaquizz Rodgers wraps and not let him break out. Rodgers had one delayed draw play for 33 yards, but was held to only 68 yards on 24 carries or 2.8 yds/carry for the rest of the night.
Students Rush Field After Win - Photo by Jared Phifer
In the end it was Brian Johnson throwing two strikes to Casteel and Godfrey with under 2:00 to play. After a pass interference call on a failed pass to David Reed on the two-point conversion, Johnson ran the ball in on a play action pass to tie the game up at 28-28. The defense came up big and forced a three and out and the punt into the wind left the Utes with the ball on the Utah 45. Johnson threw one incomplete, then followed it up with two passes to the sideline that got the Utes within fieldgoal territory. Darrell Mack ran the ball for 4 yards, then the Utes let the clock tick to 2.0 seconds.
Enter King Louie Sakoda.
King Louie kicked a perfect 38 yard field goal as the clock ticked off and the Utes pull out the victory.
Wow... That's all I can say. Wow.
So are the Utes (in true zoobie fasion) "Living Right"? I don't know about that. I think they dodged a .60 calibur bullet that would have blown their season to pieces. Let's hope the "O" can right the ship and Brian Johnson can quit overthinking and trying to force things.
Next Up: Wyoming. No let downs and no revenge for the Cowboys. Let's nail the Pokes to the wall. Go Utes!
If there was ever a good time for the Utes to make a
statement in their running for the BCS, that time is now.Oregon
State shocked the country
as they knocked off USC for the 2nd time in 3 years.USC was ranked #1 heading into that game.
With the victory over USC, Oregon State
has stirred up the national media and now they will be looking this game much
closer than before.Utah
is coming off a lackluster performance against Weber State.They dominated the game until the 2nd string
entered the game and allowed Weber to score two late touchdowns to make the
victory look less impressive.As a
result, the Utes were only able to climb two spots in the polls.They need to make a statement now if they are
to get any credible respect.
Utah's defense must perform
at a high level tonight against Oregon
State.They will need to dominate in the box because
Jaquez Rogers tore apart the USC run defense.We have a strong secondary that can handle the pass game as long as they
know they don't need to help out on the run.Utah's front seven will determine how
successful Utah
will be in tonight's game.
On the other side of the ball, Brian Johnson needs to put
together a solid performance.He can't
have the turnover problems that he had against Air Force and the Oregon State
defense likes to throw out confusing looks, so he needs to make his reads and
trust them.The run game can work with
Mack and Asiata, but Johnson needs to keep the Beavers honest defensively. If the offense plays mediocre, then we're in
for trouble.
As I stated earlier, we need to make a statement and we need
to make it now!!
Kickoff is at 7 PM and will be televised on Versus .Radio broadcast will be aired locally on KALL
700 AM .
The Wildcats of Weber State head into Rice Eccles Stadium to
take on our Utes this week.Normally
this game would have no significance other than to local schools battling it
out, but Ron McBride (former Utah head coach)
will make his first appearance back at Utah
since being fired after the 2002 season.
Weber
State has had pretty good
success so far this year, but they will still be undermanned and undersized
against the Utes.The Utes have one of
the top defenses in the country and as long as they can limit their turnovers and
mistakes, they should have no trouble beating Weber State
handily.
The game is not televised this week, but can be heard on
KALL 700 AM.Kickoff is at 6 PM.
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