SB Nation - Koa Misi

Seven Cougars Selected All-MWC 2009

sroufe — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:12:15 -0000

BYU's Jan Jorgensen tackles CSU's Leonard Mason on Sept. 26th. Jorgensen, the "Hammer from Helper", is the MWC all-time sack leader with 29. He has recorded 6.5 sacks and 56 tackles in 2009. (AP Photo/George Frey)

Browse more photos »

Jan Jorgensen, Dennis Pitta, Matt Reynolds, and Harvey Unga were awarded All-Conference First-Team honors today. Andrew George, Max Hall, and Andrew Rich were selected to the All-MWC Second-Team. Additionally, six Cougars earned Honorable Mention status: Coleby Clawson, Brett Denney, Scott Johnson, Brian Logan, Riley Stephenson and R.J. Willing. Johnson and Matt Bauman were named Academic All-Americans last week as well. Congratulations to each of these student-athletes!

It should also be noted that Pitta was one of only three players (Jeremy Kerley and Jerry Hughes, TCU) in the conference to be a unanimous selection. For Pitta and Jorgensen this was their third time on the All-MWC First-Team.

TCU had an incredible 15 selections between the 1st and 2nd teams and nearly swept the player/coach of the year awards. The Utes also finished with six players on the All-MWC First-Team.

2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Andy Dalton	Jr.	TCU
WR	David Reed	Sr.	Utah
WR	Ryan Wolfe**	Sr.	UNLV
RB	Harvey Unga	Jr.	BYU
RB	Eddie Wide	Jr.	Utah
TE	Dennis Pitta**#	Sr.	BYU
OL	Matt Reynolds	So.	BYU
OL	Erik Cook	Sr.	New Mexico
OL	Marshall Newhouse	Sr.	TCU
OL	Marcus Cannon	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Beadles*	Sr.	Utah
PK	Ross Evans	So.	TCU
PR/KR	Jeremy Kerley*#	Jr.	TCU
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Jan Jorgensen**	Sr.	BYU
DL	Jerry Hughes*#	Sr.	TCU
DL	Koa Misi	Sr.	Utah
DL	John Fletcher	Sr.	Wyoming
LB	Carmen Messina	So.	New Mexico
LB	Daryl Washington	Sr.	TCU
LB	Stevenson Sylvester	Sr.	Utah
DB	Reggie Rembert	Jr.	Air Force
DB	Rafael Priest	Sr.	TCU
DB	Nick Sanders	Sr.	TCU
DB	Robert Johnson	Sr.	Utah
P	Adam Miller	Sr.	New Mexico
--Two-Time First-Team Selection *--Three-Time First-Team Selection #--Unanimous Selection
2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Max Hall	Sr.	BYU
WR	Vincent Brown	Jr.	San Diego State
WR	DeMarco Sampson	Sr.	San Diego State
RB	Joseph Turner	Sr.	TCU
RB	Jared Tew	Jr.	Air Force
TE	Andrew George	Sr.	BYU
OL	Nick Charles	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Peter Lusk	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Caleb Schlauderaff	Jr.	Utah
OL	Jake Kirkpatrick	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Taylor	Jr.	Utah
PK	Erik Soderberg	So.	Air Force
PR/KR	Dion Morton	Sr.	Colorado State
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Wayne Daniels	Jr.	TCU
DL	Ben Garland	Sr.	Air Force
DL	Johnathan Rainey	So.	New Mexico
DL	Cory Grant	Jr.	TCU
LB	Tank Carder	So.	TCU
LB	Mychal Sisson	So.	Colorado State
LB	Brian Hendricks	So.	Wyoming
DB	Andrew Rich	Jr.	BYU
DB	Anthony Wright	So.	Air Force
DB	Tejay Johnson	Jr.	TCU
DB	Chris Prosinski	Jr.	Wyoming
P	Brian Stahovich	So.	San Diego State
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Andy Dalton, Jr., QB, TCU
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jerry Hughes, Sr., DE, TCU
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jeremy Kerley, Jr., KR, TCU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Austyn Carta-Samuels, QB, Wyoming
COACH OF THE YEAR Gary Patterson, TCU

2009 HONORABLE MENTION
Air Force:	John Falgout, Sr., LB; Brandon Geyer, Sr., P; Ryan Gonzales, Sr., OL; Chris Thomas, Sr., DB.
BYU:	Coleby Clawson, Sr., LB; Brett Denney, Sr., DL; Scott Johnson, Sr., DB; Brian Logan, Jr., DB;Riley Stephenson, Fr., P; R.J. Willing, Sr., OL.
Colorado State:	Adrian Martinez, Sr., OL; Nick Oppenneer, Sr., DB; Cole Pemberton, Sr., OL; Shelley Smith, Sr., OL; Tim Walter, Sr., OL.
New Mexico:	Kendall Briscoe, Sr., DL.
San Diego State:	Davion Mauldin, Sr., KR; Jerry Milling, Sr., LB.
TCU:	Evan Frosch, Jr., TE; Antoine Hicks, So., WR; Jeremy Kerley, Jr., WR; Ed Wesley, Fr., RB; Jimmy Young, Jr., WR.
UNLV:	Jason Beauchamp, Sr., LB; Joe Hawley, Sr., OL; Matt Murphy, Jr., OL.
Utah:	Joe Phillips, Jr., K; Sean Sellwood, Fr., P; Sealver Siliga, So., DL; Mike Wright, Sr., LB.
Wyoming:	David Leonard, Jr., WR; Austin McCoy, So., P; Mitch Unrein, Sr., DL.

2009 Mountain West All-Conference Football Team Announced

Jeremy Mauss — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:54:10 -0000

As expected TCU lead the way with all-conference selections, but they ran away with 15 first and second team selections which more then doubles second place BYU with seven spots. The Horned Frogs also took home three of four player of the year awards, and coach of the year -- the one loss was freshman of the year which went to Wyoming's QB Austyn Carta-Samuels.

Some irony in the list is that New Mexico had the first team punter; he did have the most chances to impress. A choice that was not expected when the season started was Utah RB Eddie Wide who ran for over 1,000 yards but was to be the back up before Matt Asiata tore his ACL in the Louisville game.

The offensive player of the year award went to TCU's QB Andy Dalton while the defensive award went to TCU's DE Jerry Hughes. The rest of the awards are after the jump.

2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Andy Dalton	Jr.	TCU
WR	David Reed	Sr.	Utah
WR	Ryan Wolfe**	Sr.	UNLV
RB	Harvey Unga	Jr.	BYU
RB	Eddie Wide	Jr.	Utah
TE	Dennis Pitta**#	Sr.	BYU
OL	Matt Reynolds	So.	BYU
OL	Erik Cook	Sr.	New Mexico
OL	Marshall Newhouse	Sr.	TCU
OL	Marcus Cannon	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Beadles*	Sr.	Utah
PK	Ross Evans	So.	TCU
PR/KR	Jeremy Kerley*#	Jr.	TCU
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Jan Jorgensen**	Sr.	BYU
DL	Jerry Hughes*#	Sr.	TCU
DL	Koa Misi	Sr.	Utah
DL	John Fletcher	Sr.	Wyoming
LB	Carmen Messina	So.	New Mexico
LB	Daryl Washington	Sr.	TCU
LB	Stevenson Sylvester	Sr.	Utah
DB	Reggie Rembert	Jr.	Air Force
DB	Rafael Priest	Sr.	TCU
DB	Nick Sanders	Sr.	TCU
DB	Robert Johnson	Sr.	Utah
P	Adam Miller	Sr.	New Mexico
--Two-Time First-Team Selection *--Three-Time First-Team Selection #--Unanimous Selection
2009 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND-TEAM
Offense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
QB	Max Hall	Sr.	BYU
WR	Vincent Brown	Jr.	San Diego State
WR	DeMarco Sampson	Sr.	San Diego State
RB	Joseph Turner	Sr.	TCU
RB	Jared Tew	Jr.	Air Force
TE	Andrew George	Sr.	BYU
OL	Nick Charles	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Peter Lusk	Sr.	Air Force
OL	Caleb Schlauderaff	Jr.	Utah
OL	Jake Kirkpatrick	Jr.	TCU
OL	Zane Taylor	Jr.	Utah
PK	Erik Soderberg	So.	Air Force
PR/KR	Dion Morton	Sr.	Colorado State
Defense
Pos.	Player	Cl.	School
DL	Wayne Daniels	Jr.	TCU
DL	Ben Garland	Sr.	Air Force
DL	Johnathan Rainey	So.	New Mexico
DL	Cory Grant	Jr.	TCU
LB	Tank Carder	So.	TCU
LB	Mychal Sisson	So.	Colorado State
LB	Brian Hendricks	So.	Wyoming
DB	Andrew Rich	Jr.	BYU
DB	Anthony Wright	So.	Air Force
DB	Tejay Johnson	Jr.	TCU
DB	Chris Prosinski	Jr.	Wyoming
P	Brian Stahovich	So.	San Diego State
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Andy Dalton, Jr., QB, TCU
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jerry Hughes, Sr., DE, TCU
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jeremy Kerley, Jr., KR, TCU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Austyn Carta-Samuels, QB, Wyoming
COACH OF THE YEAR Gary Patterson, TCU

2009 HONORABLE MENTION
Air Force:	John Falgout, Sr., LB; Brandon Geyer, Sr., P; Ryan Gonzales, Sr., OL; Chris Thomas, Sr., DB.
BYU:	Coleby Clawson, Sr., LB; Brett Denney, Sr., DL; Scott Johnson, Sr., DB; Brian Logan, Jr., DB; Riley Stephenson, Fr., P; R.J. Willing, Sr., OL.
Colorado State:	Adrian Martinez, Sr., OL; Nick Oppenneer, Sr., DB; Cole Pemberton, Sr., OL; Shelley Smith, Sr., OL; Tim Walter, Sr., OL.
New Mexico:	Kendall Briscoe, Sr., DL.
San Diego State:	Davion Mauldin, Sr., KR; Jerry Milling, Sr., LB.
TCU:	Evan Frosch, Jr., TE; Antoine Hicks, So., WR; Jeremy Kerley, Jr., WR; Ed Wesley, Fr., RB; Jimmy Young, Jr., WR.
UNLV:	Jason Beauchamp, Sr., LB; Joe Hawley, Sr., OL; Matt Murphy, Jr., OL.
Utah:	Joe Phillips, Jr., K; Sean Sellwood, Fr., P; Sealver Siliga, So., DL; Mike Wright, Sr., LB.
Wyoming:	David Leonard, Jr., WR; Austin McCoy, So., P; Mitch Unrein, Sr., DL.

Getting to know the Utah Utes: Q&A with Mountain West Connection

jtlight — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Utah's Terrance Cain will need to handle the pressure of Autzen for the Utah offense to have success. While he has the ability to make the defense pay with his running ability, his ability to throw the ball downfield could be much more important tomorrow afternoon.

Browse more photos »

We haven't spent a whole lot of time talking about the Utes, so we caught up with Jeremy of Mountain West Connection and asked him a few questions regarding Utah's team this season.

1. Utah has looked fairly pedestrian against two not very good teams (USU, SJSU). Is this just little motivation against terrible opponents, or is there something to suggest that this team isn't as good as everyone thinks it is?

It is a little bit of both. The Utes are slightly overrated and are getting the benefit because of their 2008 season. The reason to be concerned about Utah is that their cornerbacks are not as good as last year. Both Brice McCain and Sean Smith were both drafted in the NFL. The Utah corners are expected to play tight man coverage with no safety help, and these replacement corners RJ Stanford and Brandon Burton so far are not up to the challenge. Plus their alleged sub 4.5 speed seems to be inflated becaus these guys were getting beat by Utah State receivers.

The Utes are breaking in a new starting quarterback in JUCO transfer Terrance Cain who has been pretty good but all his throws have been quick slants to David Reed and Jereme Brooks and let them do the work. Cain has been hesitant to run the ball when the Utes run an option read, but instead hands the ball of each time and that lets the defense crowd the middle. Also, Terrance Cain has yet to show he can stretch the field and has been inaccurate on the deep ball. I am unsure if offensive coordinator Dave Schramm is set on running a vanilla offense or will unleash a new wrinkle as the season progresses to catch the opposing team off guard.

The strength of this team is the defensive line and the offfensive line, all of the skill or speed positions are question marks because of lack of talent or new players trying to field the void; the only exception is RB Matt Asiata. Oregon is a team that could exploit the Utah secondary which is by far the worst unit of the team, becuase if Jeremiah Masoli is able to scramble and by time the Utah secondary could be in for a long day.

Oh and did I mention that Utah Senior kicker Ben Vroman is being replaced by walk-on Joe Phillips.

2. Starting RB Matt Asiata has been listed as questionable for the game. Is he likely to play and, if not, how will his loss affect the Ute offense?

Utah has a policy of only discussing injuries on Monday, but as of today he was wearing the non-contact yellow jersey to protect his shoulder; which obviously is not good for Utah. He is officially listed as questionable but Asiata is a beast and I would go out on a limb and say he will play. If Asiata is not able to play the biggest omission from the offense is the 'Asiata Package' that puts Asiata in the shotgun where there are a ton of possibilites in that formation. So far that formation has yielded all of his touchdowns, but in that package Asiata has the option of running up the middle, handing of to a back, run the option with a receiver in motion, or he will pass. When not in that formation Asiata runs up the middle and is big enough to break tackles and wear down a defense which is huge in the fourth quarter.

If Asita is not able to play then look for Utah to plug in Eddie Wide who is a small and very fast running back, and then Sausan Shakerin who is built more like Matt Asata and is able to wear down defenses. Shakerin would get more of the carries since he is similar to Asiata then Eddie Wide is, but Shakerin is a redshirt freshman and quite green.

3. Maybe the biggest difference in the Utes this season is new quarterback Terrance Cain. What should Duck fans expect from him?

Terrance Cain is a similar player to former QB Brian Johnson. Now that is in no way to mean Cain is as good as Johnson, but their game is similar. Cain does not have the strongest off arm and has not yet attempted to go deep often, but when he has those throws have not been too accurate. Cain also is able to take off and run the ball, and against San Jose State he broke out with 69 yards. Look for Cain to throw quick slant passes which has been his go to throwing play, and has been very successfull with that play. Cain is careful with the ball and has only one pick on the year in sixty-one attempts.

The one thing that Cain should do is run more, because he is a great athlete however if Matt Asiata is out he defintely should run more. The one play that Utah runs a lot is a read option play where Cain has the choice to either hand the ball of or run the ball. In the San Jose State game Cain would never take the ball and run which allowed the Spartans to crowd the middle. Look for that to be fixed where Cain will hadn the ball of a few times, but then once the defense is sucked in he will fake that hand off and take off to the edges.

4. The following quote is from Utah coach Kyle Whittingham "We're not making impact plays (on defense). Impact plays to us are sacks and takeaways, and we're not getting that done". Tell us a bit about the Utah defense, bearing in mind that Oregon's offense has struggled mightily thus far this season.

The defense returned seven starters from last year, but as mentioned earlier the corner backs are the key to the defense, they are not covering well in the man scheme that the Utes run which allows for big plays. Last year the corners were able to lock down any receiver and allow Safety Robert Johnson to roam the secondary and make plays. The defense has not been terrible but like Coach
Whitt said they have not made the big plays like last year. Part of that is that preseason all-conference DE Koa MIsi injured his back in camp and missed the Utah State game and played sparingly in the San Jose State game. Koa Misi is now fully healthy and expected to play a full starters slate. By having Koa Misi back the Utes will have their normal defensive set with each player playing their natural position.

The defensive line is the strength of the Utah defense, and the Oregon offensive line is inexperienced and not that good. I expect the Utah line to get pressure on Mosali for most of the day. Also, the linebacking corp is stacked as well and it starts with Stevenson Sylvester who is a beast at linebacker who makes plays and is a big hitter and blitzes quite often So far this year the Utes have not been as dominate against the run or the pass, but have been just above average. I think the Utah defense has been complasive by playing inferior opponents and will be jacked to play this game and will come intensity that will match their play. Expect Utah to have their best defensive effort and create a few turnovers.

5. In my opinion, the Mountain West is clearly the class of the non-AQ conferences, and probably better than the Big East and ACC. They probably deserve an automatic bid, even moreso if they were to add Boise State as a 10th member (why hasn't this happened yet?). How frustrating is it knowing that it is nearly impossible for a MWC team to play for a national title, even though they have shown to be on par with at least some of the AQ conferences?

The expansion talk with Boise is something I have written about extensively and really expect the invite to come this summer. The reasoning behind that is that the four year evaluation cycle ends in the 2011 season, and it takes a full year for a school to change conferences. That would give Boise State three years in the WAC and one in the Mountain West, however the record and rankings that Boise received while in the WAC would then count toward the MWC. Getting to a national title game itself would be a huge landmark for any non-AQ school, but the real frustrating thing about that is the issue of schedules because outsiders say only Utah, BYU, and TCU are any good. However the bottom of the league is stronger then people think, just look at last year when Wyoming beat Tennessee on the road, UNLV beat Iowa State and Arizona State. I know those are not world beaters but those opponents were all in the same tier within their respective league, and when the SEC or Big 12 is supposed to better from top to bottom then these wins should not happen.

Really what is the difference then last year with Washington, Indiana, Northwestern, Duke, Mississippi State, and Duke; these teams plus others are at the bottom of their leagues and are no better then the bottom of the Mountain West. Also, this year there is a real possibility that the top three teams in the MWC could finish higher then the Big East champ which could be unranked or the top two teams could finish ahead of the ACC champ. What is a shame is that a team could go 8-4 in a medicore conference and then are awarded with the near 20 million dollars that go with the BCS game while the champ of the MWC can go 11-1 and be left out despite being ranked higher.

What We Learned from Week One

Jeremy Mauss — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:00:32 -0000

More photos » by Jack Dempsey - AP

3 months ago: Colorado State quarterback Grant Stucker (18) passes against Colorado during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Boulder, Colo.,on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Browse more photos »

The Mountain West is not going anywhere and picked up right off from last year with a pair of big wins. The league went 2-1 over Big XII opponents with BYU beating #3 Oklahoma, and Colorado State taking out Colorado. Overall the league went 6-2 with loses coming by the hand of Texas A&M over New Mexico and UCLA beating San Diego State. That puts the league at 2-2 against automatic qualifying leagues.

Yes, the league id beat up on two FCS teams and Utah beat Utah State, but the league could not be more giddy for the BYU win over Oklahoma and the Colorado State win over Colorado. We know for sure that the Mountain West looks to be as good as last year.

Starting with the Utah game last Thursday we do know that RB Matt Asiata is carrying the load and is a stud as he had 38 touches, two scores, and 156 yards. The Utes main target looks to be David Reed he had 172 yards receiving. The quarterback position is fully in the hands of Terrance Cain. Cain did not have to go deep but made his reads and took what the defense gave him, and then allowed the receiver to make the plays.

The Utah defense was so-so at times, that 96 yard waltz was an example, but the Utes were missing Koa Misi so some adjustments needed to be made. Plus, the corners could be in trouble as they did not seem as fast as that 4.4 speed as claimed.

The things to take out from the Air Force game is that the Falcons are the same team that runs the ball like mad, and using everyone to move the ball. Next week when they play at Minnesota is when we will find out about Air Force.

BYU having a solid defense is the most surprising, because last year the Cougar secondary was getting burned by nearly every school they faced. While Oklahoma was replacing most of their starting wide outs and with the loss of Jermaine Gresham the Sooner receivers were not able to beat BYU deep. The offensive line for BYU held up when they needed it most. Yes, Max Hall was pressured, threw interceptions, and was sacked; however on that fourth down pass to win the game he was nicely protected. The coaching staff made freaking adjustments, it took a while but BYU was moving the pocket for Max Hall to bide more time.

The big news out of the Wyoming game was not that Weber State made a comeback but that their was a quarterback rotation. This rotation was unbeknown to starter Robert Benjamin; the replacement was true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels who had more snaps then Benjamin. Next weeks showdown against Texas will be interesting in the quarterback situation.

New Mexico is not as hyped as Mike Locksley claimed for them to be. The Lobos had no running game against Texas A&M and the pass defense was even worse. This could be a long season for the Lobos, because Texas A&M is nothing special.

San Diego State is showing improvement, despite their defense giving up 30 straight points to UCLA. QB Ryan LIndley was solid as he was in 2008 with two touchdown passes, but the rushing game needs major improvement as does the defense. However, the Aztecs do not look like the team last year that rolled over once the lead got away.

UNLV provided a solid performance over FCS Sacramento State winning by 35 points. The running game was the most intriguing to see who would replace Frank Summers. Most thought it would be CJ Cox but it actually was Channing Trotter who had three scores and 102 yards rushing.

The last quasi-upset of the weekend came out Sunday with Colorado State taking out Colorado. The big surprise was that Grant Stucker came out early and performed well behind that offensive line. His first drive was great with a deep pass that set up the early 7-0 score. He ended up with a decent 208 yards and a score. The running game was looking for a replacement and found it in Leonard Mason who in his first collegiate game had 107 yards rushing and 20 yards receiving.

There you have the important stuff we learned from week one of the Mountain West. Hopefully more can be made from UNLV, Wyoming, and Air Force since they are not playing FCS schools next week.

Utah Takes out Utah State 35-17

Jeremy Mauss — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:46:04 -0000

More photos » by Steve C Wilson - AP

Utah quarterback Terrance Cain (7) passes against Utah State during the first half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)

Browse more photos »

To no surprise Terrance Cain took the field on the Utes first drive and took only two plays to throw his first FBS touchdown pass with a slant to David Reed for 65 yards. The notice has been put out to college football Matt Asiata is a stud and had a workhorse load with 36 rushes, 156 yards, and two scores. Thene there is David Reed who put up huge numbers with 10 catches for 172 yards and a score.

Terrance Cain looked very good 20 for 29 with 286 yards and two scores. The only concern is that Cain did not throw a down field pass which could come back to bite the Utes when they play good teams with speed, and when he did challenge down field he was not as accurate. He looked good with the quick passes and using the check receivers. The only concern was the pick that was not off tip, or trying to use his legs to get out of the pocket which was successul in junior college but he needs to be more conserviative because this is not JUCO football any more. The other thing that Cain needs to learn was on that fourth and one on the one where he decided to go off tackle instead of running behind the big boys up the middle.

With this offensive performance Ute fans need to send thank you letters to Andy Ludwig for leaving town, because this offense looked good and was not being fancy to just be fancy. The offense was good by getting the ball to their receivers with slants and quick throws, and just running the ball up the middle with Asiata. This may seem boring football by running up the gut, but Utah plays from the gun and has multiple wide receiver sets which spreads the defense and allows the running game to open up.

Now the game was not all rosy for Utah, the Utes had three turnovers --albeit one pick was a tipped pass-- also the loss of Koa Misi may be a bigger issue if he is not back by the Oregon game. Well, maybe not because Oregon did not look good agaisnt Boise State.

Give Utah State credit defensive front for Utah was considered to be one of the best in the country but gave up a very easy 96 yard run touchdown run by Robert Turbin who also had 148 yards on the night. Fleet footed quarterback Diondre Borel to make plays with his feet by evading the rush.

The Aggie team showed effort and did not give up like they did in past games, while this game was in Utah's favor for the majority but the Aggies did not just roll over. The Aggie defense did give up 519 so they were outplayed in the game by Utah, but if you take away that 96 yard touchdown run and short field they were given this game would have been a much bigger blowout.

The Utes looked good and if they can cut down on turnovers and mental mistakes they have a chance to be in and win every game.

Poll

Grade the game

A - Repeat BCS

1 votes

B - Asiata is a stud

7 votes

C - Defense needs a little work

5 votes

D - 3 turnovers

2 votes

F - It was only Utah State pipe down

4 votes

19 votes | Poll has closed

Week One Preview: Utah State (0-0) @ #18 Utah (0-0)

Jeremy Mauss — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:00:35 -0000

Next Game

Utah State Aggies
@ Utah Utes

Thursday, Sep 3, 2009, 7:00 PM MDT

Rice-Eccles Stadium
TV: The Mtn
Radio: KALL 700 Sports

Complete Coverage >

The longest offseason in Utah football history is finally coming to a close. Fans have anxiously waited for this day to come since Utah's unbelievable 31-17 victory of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. The #18 Utah Utes will open the 2009 football season against in-state rival the Utah State Aggies.

Utah State finished last season with a 3-9 record and caused a total reformation of the coaching staff. This game offers so many intriguing story lines the first with Utah State head coach Gary Anderson -- former Utah defensive coordinator-- is coaching his first game for the Aggies against his mentor Kyle Whittingham. Anderson was hired by the Aggies following Utah's undefeated regular season and has made many changes both offensively and defensively. Most obvious is the birth of the spread offense at Utah State. The odds however are against the Aggies however; Utah State is coming into Salt Lake City as a 21 point dog.

The biggest story line for the Utes would have to be who will be their starting quarterback? It will be between true freshman Jordan Wynn and junior college transfer Terrence Cain are both looking to fill the massive shoes that former quarterback Brian Johnson left. After the teams first scrimmage head coach Kyle Whittingham set the depth chart with Wynn as the starter closely followed by Cain.

Reports coming out of practice indicate that Terrence Cain may be the team's starter, because he has been taking more snaps then the freshman Wynn. Whittingham knows who the starter is as does the player, but is keeping it under wraps and making everyone wait until the offense takes the field Thursday. Not sure if this is any indicator but the Ute depth chart on Rivals has Terrance Cain as the number one quarterback.

The receivng corp for Utah is a concern as well with the top three graduated off the team. The receivers should be nearly as talented and deep as last years team. The starting four in the Utah spread will be Aiona Key, Jereme Brookes, David Reed, and John Peel. Then the next few are right on the cusp with convereted quarterback to wide receiver DeVonte Christopher and Shaky Smithson.

The strengths of the Utah offense will be their no-huddle offense which was used to perfection in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama. The receiver depth will come in handy with quick subs to keep those players fresh. However, the best friend of the new quarterback is the stacked offensive line lead by captain Zane Beadles and bowling ball Matt Asiata. Look for the Utes to run the ball early and often to wear down the undersized Aggie defense.

The first quarter of this game may be boring and slow with the running game being featured, but coach Whittingham is a great coach and has his reason, so fans just relax and enjoy the setup for the big second half of this game.

Their strength this year should once again be the Utah defense which returns seven starters. Led by All American candidate linebacker Stevenson Sylvester the defense is expected to be as good if not better than last season, even with the loses of NFL draft picks Sean Smith and Paul Kruger. The defense will be missing all-conferece defensive end Koa Misi do to a back injury he suffered in camp, not a huge deal in this game.

The concern for Utah is the cornerbacks, because Utah runs a tight man coverage on the edges and Whitt expects them to be able to cover one on one. The new corners are speedster R.J. Stanford and Brandon Burton, and their is a concern with the two mainly because of who they are replacing. They are replacing two NFL players in Sean Smith and Brice McCain, both who were the perfect fit for the type of corner defense Utah ran. Stanford and Burton will not be alone because safety Robert Johnson is one of the best in the league and will come up with big plays if something comes across the middle on a post pattern. The speed is there at the corner spot which can help make if they get beat, but the main thing for the two is to bump at the line and stick their man.

Utah State is led by a very athletic quarterback in Diondre Borel who is expected to play very well in Anderson's spread offense. Never a good sign is when your teams quarterback leads the team in rushing as well as passing, which was the case with Aggie Dionder Borel. Howver some good news is that the leading rusher from the running backs is back for 2009 in Robert Turbin and he will be asked to carry more of a load in the running game. Last year he averaged a solid 4.7 yards per carry, but with Utah State down in most games they need to take to the air attack which took away from using the ground attack.

Utah State will also be featuring a new defense scheme which is very similar to Utah's which focuses on speed. Anderson switched many players' positions from offense to defense in the offseason to gain more defensive speed, again something similar to what he did at Utah. This could be interesting because Anderson was behind the schemes at Utah which were highly successful in his years there. Look for Andersen to use multiple looks to confuse the Utah quarterback who has never taken a snap at the FBS level.

In this rivalry nicknamed "The Battle of the Brothers" Utah leads 76-28-4 having won the last eleven meetings, and this should be number twelve. Utah is a 21 point favorite in this game and has insisted that they are taking the Aggies seriously.

The pressure is on for both the Aggies and the Utes to start the season out right. Can Gary Anderson pull off the upset? Have the Utes moved on from their #2 AP ranking and undefeated season?

Predicted Score: Utah 28 Utah State 13

Poll

Who wins?

Utah by 7 or more

15 votes

Utah by 7 or less

0 votes

Utah State by 7 or more

0 votes

Utah State by 7 or less

0 votes

15 votes | Poll has closed

The Morning Blitz: Daily Utah links

JazzyUte — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:45:23 -0000

Now that fall camp has ended and we're closing in on the season, there won't be any more practice reports. Of course, that doesn't mean there won't be any Ute news to report and that's what I want to establish here. So this is basically a carryover from that.

This marks the final week of any type of preseason speculation, so get it out of the way. I think we've all got to emotionally ready ourselves for that first loss and the end of Utah's long winning streak. Not that I hope it happens, but you know it's coming and how many of you are actually ready for it?

I know I'm not.

In fact, I remember 2005 when the Utes lost to TCU and how hard it was to take that loss. You know, Utah entered that game last losing to the Lobos in 2003 - a stretch longer than their current one - and the losing feeling was so foreign to me. Well Utah hasn't lost since the '07 Holy War and again, I find myself wondering what losing feels like.

I hope we don't find out and if we do, I really hope we only find out once.

Anyway, that's my little rant for the day.

Maaco Bowl Las Vegas extends MWC, Pac-10 through 2013 - Sports: Upon Further Review - Las Vegas Sun

Meyer up for Utah challenge - Salt Lake Tribune

Preparations Begin for Football Season Opener - UTAH OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Utah football: Once a QB, not always a QB - Salt Lake Tribune

Utah football: Whittingham not keen on stricter rules on fouls - Salt Lake Tribune

ksl.com - 5 observations from fall camps

Utah's Fotu to start in Misi's absence - College Football Nation - ESPN

Prediction: Spartans go .500 again - Sports

ksl.com - Utes begin regular season practice, pick team captains

Oh and how about that awesome Maaco Bowl? Our conference totally rules!

Yeah right.

Fall camp final day links

JazzyUte — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:43:21 -0000

Fall camp is over. That means the Utes now start planning for the Aggies and the start of the 2009 season.

Yes, we're that close.

What we do know coming out of the final scrimmage is that Koa Misi is questionable for Utah's game against Utah State, however, will most likely play a week later against San Jose State. That's a huge relief, especially since it looks like Utah will have him for the Oregon game.

Of course, all eyes were on the quarterback battle and reports now indicate maybe Terrance Cain is the front runner to start the opener. Jordan Wynn, though, still might get the nod, depending on how the game practices go.

But I think at the moment, it's safe to say we should expect to see Cain starting against USU.

One interesting tidbit from the list of links is Meyer admitting Florida and Utah were looking to schedule each other this season. Obviously it didn't happen, but I think that would have been a very anticipated game, though not one I think Utah could win this year (maybe in 2010).

Ute Football Camp Countdown: Final Day - UTAH OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Utah Camp Report with Ben Bagley 8/21

Deseret News | Utah Utes football: Team plenty deep at the end position

ksl.com - Utes, Cougars ranked in AP preseason poll

Coordinators change, Utes' defense doesn't - Salt Lake Tribune

Starting QB still undecided as Utes end camp - Salt Lake Tribune

Deseret News | Utah Utes football notebook: Team wraps up camp with scrimmage

Deseret News | Utah Utes football: Misi 'questionable' for season opener

Deseret News | Utah Utes football concludes camp minus starting QB

Meyer liked idea of game against Utah

Gators toyed with scheduling Utah this season - Miami Herald

Poll

Would you have liked to see Florida on the schedule this year?

Yes

82 votes

No

30 votes

112 votes | Poll has closed

Fall camp day ? links

JazzyUte — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:43:17 -0000

I am totally lost on what day of camp it is. How sad is that?

Anyway, the big news yesterday was the confirmation of Koa Misi's injury, which looks worse than I first thought. Hopefully he'll be good to go against the Aggies and I actually think he will, but with no details being released on the extent of the injury, we just don't know.

Beyond that, though, it seems Terrance Cain might be making his move on Jordan Wynn. But we probably won't have a starter named until the week of the USU game.

Who do you think will start?

College Football: Utah's Zane Taylor on Preparing for the Season - WSJ.com

Watts thrilled to be able to contribute on O line - Salt Lake Tribune

Football Camp Notes: Practice #17 - UTAH OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Monson: Utes' Robert Johnson has reason to be happy - Salt Lake Tribune

Utah football: Young linemen get chance in Misi's absence - Salt Lake Tribune

Deseret News | Utah Utes football notes: Offensive line doesn't care which QB is playing

Deseret News | Utah Utes football: Defensive end out with back spasms

Poll

Who do you THINK will start?

Terrance Cain

79 votes

Jordan Wynn

66 votes

Toss-up right now

10 votes

155 votes | Poll has closed

Fall camp day 14 links

JazzyUte — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:40:22 -0000

The big news out of camp yesterday was Koa Misi's back injury. Though we won't know until later today how serious it was, from what I've read, it didn't look that bad.

Utes Football – Misi goes down with back injury

Preseason NCAA football rankings need improvement - Covering The Louisiana State University Community (LSU) -- Tigerweekly.com

Ego Trip: Corbin Louks Reluctant to Adapt with Utes | Bleacher Report

Deseret News | Utah Utes football: Eight receivers are enough

Deseret News | Utah Utes football notes: Backup RB Wide is carrying a load

Key aims to make impact as receiver - Salt Lake Tribune

Utah defensive line looking good - ABC 4.com - Salt Lake City, Utah News

Utes Midway Between Start of Camp and First Game - UTAH OFFICIAL ATHLETIC WEBSITE