So, here are my projected starters for next year's team at every position, plus their stats for the year (minus the bowl game, obviously), and with some committed recruits plugged in. Thoughts?

Continue reading this post »

I loved MWC Connection when we were in the MWC.  I still head over there a couple of times a month to see what they're talking about, for nostalgia's sake.  I know Jeremy Mauss (the head blogger) is a Utah fan, and I was wondering if anyone has any plans to put together a similar PAC 12 blog, or if there already is one where I should start visiting/commenting so they get SB Nation status.  Any ideas, rumors, thoughts?

I thought I'd do a list of all PAC 12 players possibly or likely leaving early for the draft.  Let me know if you're  a fan of one of these teams and I missed someone:

Continue reading this post »

In order to validate that, I pulled the NCAA stats for 2010 TCU through week 9 and the stats for 2009 TCU through week 9.  Here they are.  2009 raw number first, followed by national ranking in parenthesis then 2010 raw number followed by ranking.

OFFENSE:

Rushing Offense: 233.38 (7); 270.89 (9).  This is interesting.  40 more yards per game but two rankings down.

Passing Offense: 213.63 (65); 214.78 (60).  Pretty close.

Total Offense: 447.00 (12); 485.67 (11).  Again, 40 more yards but actually up one spot.  Basically the offense in these three categories is about equal to last year.

Scoring Offense: 35.25 (11); 40.78 (9).  5 more points, only two spots up.  Still, pretty similar.

Passing Efficiency: 162.15 (4); 158.62 (13).  This one is interesting too.  I'd have thought Dalton would have improved by a few points, but he's dropped a few.  Still, basically the same.

Sacks Allowed: 1.13/gm (21); .56/gm (9).  Pretty good.

DEFENSE:

Rushing Defense: 89.38 (8); 98.33 (9).  Again, pretty close.

Passing Defense: 146.38 (6); 119.00 (1).  A little down this year, but still great.

Pass Efficiency Defense: 96.80 (9); 94.53 (4).  A little up this year, pretty much the same.

Total Defense: 235.75 (1); 217.33 (1).  Same ranking, but 20 yards better.

Scoring Defense: 11.13 (3); 8.67 (1).  Pretty close.

Sacks: 3.13/gm (9); 2.22/gm (46).  This is a big one.  No Hughes, no Washington, lose almost a sack a game.

Tackles for Loss: 5.63 (69); 6.33 (42).  The only category where TCU isn't outstanding, and it's getting into the backfield.

Turnover Margin: -.13/gm (66); +.56/gm (27).  Significant improvement.  Dalton not giving it away as much.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Net Punting: 35.00 (74); 36.81 (58).  Average both years.

Punt Returns: 15.62 (12); 13.50 (19).  Pretty good, but not quite as good as last year.

Kickoff Returns: 29.76 (4); 25.90 (10).  A little worse than last year again.

So, it appears I was very slightly right, TCU is a little tiny bit worse this year.  But it's not as big of a change, statistically, as I was thinking it was.  Luckily, Utah is a lot better than we were last year.  Let's hope it's enough.

So last week went just about as well as we could have hoped (except the Notre Dame loss, stupid domers).  Oregon or Auburn could have lost, but other than that, good week.  Ohio State is off this week.  Here's this week's games:

1- #3 TCU @ #5 Utah.  There is no game more important for us than this one.  Doesn't matter if Oregon and Auburn and Alabama and Boise and everyone else lose this week if we do.  Gotta beat the Frogs.  Win and we're BCS-bound (and maybe the championship if things break right).  Lose and we're going to Vegas.  That's all there is to it.

2- Washington @ #1 Oregon.  Locker's out.  Oregon will roll.  Moving on.

3- Chattanooga @ #2 Auburn. Ridiculous.  Hope it ruins their SOS.  Moving on.

4- Hawaii @ #4 Boise.  Game on the island, this is close.  In Boise, in November?  It's not.  Keep an eye on it, but Nevada is probably the only team that can get anywhere near Boise the rest of the season.  Moving on.

5- #6 Alabama @ #10 LSU.  This is a lose-lose for us.  LSU jumps up if they beat Alabama, Alabama keeps moving up if they beat LSU.  Still, LSU has looked bad and they still have to play @ Arkansas at the end of the year, so let's root for LSU right now, and then Alabama can beat Auburn at the end and get us our National Title game.

6- #7 Nebraska @ IA State.  IA State is decent this year (despite what we and OU did to them) and it's at home.  Keep an eye on this one because Nebraska and Oklahoma are both threats if they win the Big 12.  The best thing would be for Nebraska to fall to 10 or 11 (or lower) and not get to the big 12 title game because they won't get picked as an at large if they're low enough. 

7- #8 Oklahoma @ Texas ATM.  It would be nice if aTm won this one, but it doesn't seem likely.  Still, they're 5-3 and it's worth keeping an eye on it.

8- #9 Wisconsin @ Purdue.  Not likely.  Moving on.

9- #12 Missouri @ TTech.  Not likely.  Moving on.

The games below Missouri really don't matter very much. 

Pitt @ UCONN.  Another one Pitt should win pretty easily and may actually get into the rankings if they win convincingly.

Notre Dame is just waiting for us.

I had a personal tragedy and haven't really been posting, but I'm trying to get back into my regular life, including stuff like this.  Thanks to Gambit for picking up the slack in my absence.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, now that we're in the top 10, I'm going to narrow the focus of these posts to the top 15 plus Pitt and Notre Dame.  Rankings are BCS poll.  Again, most likely upsets/changes are in bold.  #10 Wisconsin OU and #15 Iowa are on a bye.  Here we go:

1- #1 Auburn @ Ole Miss.  There are a few national personalities picking Ole Miss to win.  Not out of the question (Auburn has looked beatable, especially on Defense).

2- #2 Oregon @ USC.  Oregon looks like the better team, but the game is in LA and USC is always good, regardless of their goofy coach and the sanctions. 

3- La Tech @ #3 Boise.  Boise doesn't lose at home to LA Tech.  Moving on.

4- #4 TCU @ UNLV.  UNLV has improved.  Not enough.  Moving on.

5- #5 MSU @ #18 Iowa.  MSU has been living on borrowed time.  This is probably their super bowl, however, since they don't have to play OSU.  Win this and the national title game is easily within their reach.  Still, Iowa's probably better, and it's in Iowa.  Go Hawkeyes.

6- #6 Missouri @ #14 Nebraska.  Go Huskers.  Nebraska looks better than Missouri too, and they're far enough back that beating MU probably doesn't hurt us too much.  Missouri wins out they're probably in the title game, Nebraska needs a lot more help (probably depending on who the opponent is in the Big 12 title game). 

7- #7 Alabama @ #12 LSU.  This is a lose-lose for us.  LSU jumps us if they beat Alabama, Alabama stays ahead if they beat LSU.  Still, LSU has looked bad and they still have to play @ Arkansas at the end of the year, so let's root for LSU right now.

8- #8 Utah @ AF.  GO UTES!  Moving on.

9- CU @ #9 OU.  CU win would be nice, just for future conference mates.  Not happening.  Moving on.

10- #11 OSU @ Minn.  Minn not winning.  Moving on.

11- #13 Stanford @ Washington.  I put this in bold because it's in Washington and Stanford looks good, but not unbeatable.  Still think Stanford wins by 10+, but worth keeping an eye on.

12- #15 Arizona @ UCLA.  Same with this one.  UCLA is better than they've looked, game's on the road, and Arizona looks beatable (especially if Foles is injured).

Louisville @ Pitt.  Obviously want Pitt to win, but the advantages of a 8-4 or 7-5 Pitt team on the schedule are few.  Still, Pitt should win this one.

Tulsa @ Notre Dame.  Again, Notre Dame is not giving us the boost we were hoping for, but they really need to win this one.

Now that we're in the top 10, I'm going to narrow the focus of these posts to the top 15 plus Pitt and Notre Dame.  Again, most likely upsets/changes are in bold.  #6 OU and #15 Iowa are on a bye.  Here we go:

1- #1 Alabama @ #19 South Carolina.  South Carolina is 3-1, so they're the first team who can beat Alabama and still not necessarily jump us.  Go Gamecocks!

2- Indiana @ #2 Ohio State.  Upset very unlikely (even though OSU looks beatable, I don't think this is the game).

3- #3 Oregon @ Wash. State.  WSU might be the worst AQ team in America.  Upset not happening.  Moving on.

4- Toledo @ #4 Boise.  Boise doesn't lose at home, especially not to a team that just lost to Wyoming.  Moving on.

5- Wyoming @ #5 TCU.  Wyoming's win streak ends at 1.  Moving on.

6- #7 Nebraska @ KSU.  KSU is looking pretty good so far (not great) and it's at home.  Upset possible, keep an eye on it.

7- #8 Auburn @ Kentucky.  Upset possible here as well.  SEC road games are tough, UK has looked decent (not great) and Auburn is sketchy (a couple of close wins over SC, Clemson and MSU so far).  Keep an eye on it.

8- Oregon State @ #9 Arizona.  I think OSU is pretty good and Arizona is not as good as they appear.  OSU has better coaching, and they certainly have the talent to play with UA.  They'd be ranked if their OOC didn't include two top-5 teams (Boise and TCU).

9- #10 Utah @ ISU.  Utah wins.  Moving on.

10- #11 Arkansas @ Texas A&M.  I think Texas A&M is looking decent (not great).  They might beat Arkansas at home (removing a threat).  I don't think Arkansas passes us even with a win, but worth watching.

11- #12 LSU @ #14 Florida.  Go Gators.  LSU is undefeated (although poorly) and Florida has a blowout loss to Alabama.  I guess LSU can win and then get beat by Alabama later, but if LSU wins they'll jump us (and they're already ahead of us in the Coaches' poll)

12- #23 FSU @ #13 Miami.  Go Seminoles.  BYU's season is so ruined that it won't matter if FSU is the best team in the nation, so I won't have to hear any excuses from BYU fans about SOS if FSU wins.  Plus Miami is a legitimate threat, FSU is so far down that it will take a lot to catch us, and there aren't a lot of statement wins in the ACC.

13- #17 MSU @ #18 Michigan.  I know I just said that we're only doing the top 15, but the winner of this game probably jumps us.  We want Michigan to win because they still have OSU, PSU, and Iowa and MSU only has Iowa and PSU.

Notre Dame and Pitt actually play each other this week (in South Bend).  Not really sure what I want.  Probably want Notre Dame to win so they look better when we play them (ND is 2-3 right now and Pitt is 2-2).

Here are the important games for Week FIVE (yes, week FIVE) for Utah.  All of the top-20 matchups plus keeping an eye on Pitt and Notre Dame.  Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Arkansas and South Carolina are on bye this week.  Likely to help us are in bold (I was wrong about Texas-UCLA last week, so there are likely upsets coming again):

1- #7 Florida v. #1 Alabama.  Alabama wins big, we pass Florida (who has looked very average).  Alabama wins tight, we don't pass UF.  Florida wins big, Alabama still probably stays ahead of us.  So root for Urban to get blown out.

2- #2 Ohio State v. Illinois.  Upset unlikely but possible on the road.  Go Illini.

3- #3 Boise v. NMSU.  Upset would be great.  Not happening (since NMSU is the 2nd worst team in IA, behind UNM).  Moving on.

4- #9 Stanford v. #4 Oregon.  Oregon winning is best for us, as it will be easier to pass Oregon than Stanford, but either team winning in a blowout will help us.

5- #5 TCU v. CSU.  TCU winning is important.  We control our fate vis-a-vis TCU.  Go Horned Frogs.

6- #8 OU v. #21 Texas.  Go Horns!  With the recent UCLA upset, Texas beating OU probably doesn't advance them ahead of us (even on a bye week, when we're even more likely to get jumped).  We want a close, ugly game that Texas wins, preferably on a questionable call by the officials.

7- LA Monroe v. #10 Auburn.  Not happening.  Moving on.

8- #11 Wisconsin v. #24 MSU.  Sparty is 4-0 with Wisky.  This game is lose-lose for us.  MSU winning is best, but they'll probably jump us with a win.  Again, close and ugly is what we want, with Sparty winning late and badly.  Maybe 6 to 4 like the PSU - MSU game a few years ago.

9- Tenn v. #12 LSU.  LSU has looked bad.  Their offense is atrocious.  I still don't think Tennessee can beat them at home.  Worth watching but not likely.

10- #16 Miami v. Clemson.  This one actually is primed for an upset and I think Miami losing is good for us (although they're not a huge threat, a win over clemson may vault them over us, despite the OSU loss).

11- #22 PSU v. #17 Iowa.  Penn State is the team for us here.  Iowa wins big and they'll jump us despite the Arizona loss.  Go Nittany Lions!

12- Washington v. #18 USC.  Go Huskies?  Not really going to matter, USC is not a threat in the real world because they won't be in the BCS poll.

13- #19 Michigan v. Indiana.  Doesn't matter, even if Indiana wins, Michigan isn't a threat for a few more weeks.

As for our OOC opponents: FIU v. Pitt (Pitt had better win) and Notre Dame v. BC (a toss up, but Notre Dame certainly can win that one)

This was promoted from the fanshot section to the front page.

MWC Names Football Players of the Week for Week 4

Offense: Pete Thomas (CSU). 29-of-37 pass attempts (78.3 percent) for 386 yards and three touchdowns in win over Idaho.

Defense: Jon Davis (AF). Six tackles (five solo stops), one tackle for loss (-6 yards), an interception and a fumble recovery in win over Wyoming.

Special Teams: Jeremy Kerley (TCU). Returned five kickoffs for 172 yards, including a career-long 83-yard return in win over SMU.

Personally I don't have a problem with Thomas or Kerley (although I think CSU's kicker probably deserves it, the 83-yard return is a good one). But Davis is being over-rewarded for covering the fumble that sealed the game. There were better performances in several games, like Lamar Chapman - Utah (6 tackles, 4 solo, 1.5 for loss, 1 sack) or Sidney Hodge - UNLV (4 tackles, all solo, 1 for loss, forced fumble) or Leon McFadden - SDSU (7 tackles, 5 solo, 3 for loss and a pass breakup)

Here are all the top-25 games this week, as well as keeping an eye on Notre Dame and Pitt. The ones that have a good chance to help us or hurt us are in bold:

1- #1 Alabama v. #10 Arkansas. Roll Tide! If Arkansas wins then we'll stay where we are because Alabama won't fall below us. If Alabama wins, especially if they win big, then we'll move up.

2- Eastern Michigan v. #2 OSU. Upset would be great. Not happening. Moving on.

3- #24 Oregon State v. #3 Boise. Losses for Boise are good. Oregon State will jump up several spots for beating the Broncos, but probably not 10 spots. Boise losing opens the door for our BCS game. If they keep winning they'll be nearly impossible to jump.

4- #4 TCU v. SMU. Need TCU to keep winning so our Nov. game is huge. If they lose we'll jump them, but it will be bad for us.

5- #5 Oregon v. ASU. Upset would be great. Not likely. Moving on.

6- S. Dak. St. v. #6 Nebraska. That's South Dakota State. Upset would be great. Not happening. Moving on.

7- UCLA v. #7 Texas. Maybe the big win over Houston has UCLA revved up and ready to beat Texas. Worth watching, but not likely.

8- #8 OU v. Cincinnati. Cincy is bad, OU is overrated. This would be a good spot for an upset, but again, it's not likely.

9- UK v. #9 Florida. I'm not sure Florida is as good as #9, but UK is pretty bad too. If this were in Lexington I'd feel differently, but UK isn't beating UF in the swamp.

10- Austin Peay v. #11 Wiscy. Upset would be great. Not happening. Moving on.

11- #12 South Carolina v. #17 Auburn. Not sure what we want to happen here. I guess an Auburn win is best, but they'll probably jump us if they win. S. Carolina has Alabama and Arkansas in the next few weeks, while Auburn has Arkansas and LSU. I guess if SC wins then they can lose to Alabama in a few weeks and we'll get both of them out of the way, but even if Auburn wins, they probably lose to ARK or LSU.

12- SJSU v. #13 Utah. Winning by 6 TD would be good. Moving on.

13- Cal v. #14 Arizona. Cal win would be good, and is certainly possible. Keep an eye on it.

14- #22 WVU v. #15 LSU. LSU might pass us by beating a very average (but ranked) WVU team, so WVU winning would be good.

15- #16 Stanford v. Notre Dame. Notre dame winning is good on two fronts. One, strengthens the schedule, two, eliminates possible ranking competition. Go Domers.

16- Ball State v. #18 Iowa. Doesn't matter, Iowa's not passing us for beating Ball State.

17- #19 Miami v. Pitt. Pitt win is good for SOS and Miami is nearby and looking to close the gap in a very weak ACC. Go Panthers.

18- #20 USV v. WSU.  Doesn't matter, WSU sucks.

That's the whole top 20 (21-25 aren't really important unless they're playing a team above them, like WVU and OSU).  Lots of chances for things to go our way, and of course some concerns as well.  All in all, should be a good week.  I'm thinking #11 on Monday.

So, Jazzy had a good idea. Here's a poll. Who is your favorite Utah football player? These are just football players and pretty much from 1999 through the present (since I wasn't really a Utah fan prior to 99). If I left someone out, feel free to vote for other and leave the name and the reason in the comments. My personal vote is for Weddle, but man it's a tough choice. Poll is open through the end of the month.

I have posted this as a comment on some MWCconnection stories, but I thought I'd make it a fanpost here.  Here are the number of returning starts for every MWC team:

Obviously, to get 22 players to 220 starts requires an average of 10 starts per starter. Now, several of these teams are replacing big pieces (Utah with 5 players to the NFL), but the returning starters for these 5 teams indicate a good chance of success for each of them:

1. UNLV:
Offense: 154
Defense: 180
TOTAL: 334

2. SDSU:
Offense: 183
Defense: 140
TOTAL: 323

3. TCU:
Offense: 185
Defense: 117
TOTAL: 302

4. Wyoming:
Offense: 131
Defense: 144
TOTAL: 275

5. Utah:
Offense: 144
Defense: 78
TOTAL: 222

I think UNLV should be much improved with new coaching, a better D, and some very good offensive talent (especially Payne). Wyoming should be better than last year, but their record might not show it (OOC includes Boise, Texas and Toledo along with SUU), TCU should be terrifyingly good, and I think Hoke has SDSU on the way to a bowl game (they should be 3-1 OOC winning against USU, NMSU, and Nicholls State, but losing to Missouri). Utah loses a lot of defense, but defense is rarely the problem at Utah.

CSU (218) and AF (216) are right near the line, so they might be okay:

5. CSU:
Offense: 90
Defense: 128
TOTAL: 218

6. AF:
Offense: 84 (all skill players, no line)
Defense: 132
TOTAL: 216

The last 2 teams have more to be concerned about:

BYU:
Offense: 105 (almost all line, plus Jacobson)
Defense: 70
TOTAL: 175

UNM:
Offense: 104
Defense: 61
TOTAL: 165

UNM really can’t get much worse, so I expect they’ll go 2-12 or 1-11 again. BYU might be in line to have their 4-year streak of double-digit wins broken this year, as they have no offensive talent returning to run or throw behind their very good OL, and their defense should take a big step backward. Losing Harvey was a big blow.

And then, as I've also posted several times, here is Utah's 2011 likely starting lineup:

QB: Wynn, JR (third-year starter)
RB: Shakerin, JR (first-year starter)
OL: Cullen, SR (second-year starter) or Percy T, SO (second-year starter)
OL: Brenner/Stevens, JRs (second or third-year starter)
OL: Sai or Jones, JRs (no matter who it is, a first-year starter)
OL: Brenner/Stevens, JRs (second or third-year starter)
OL: Bergstrom, SR (third-year starter)
WR: Matthews, JR (second-year starter)
WR: Christopher, JR (second-year starter)
WR: Lee, SR or Fitzgerald, JR (first-year starters)
TE: Moeai, JR (third-year starter)

So that’s 8/11 returning starters on O, and then the D:

DL: Shelby, SR (fourth-year starter)
DL: Siliga, SR (third-year starter)
DL: Kruger, JR (third-year starter)
DL: Talimaivao, SR (third-year starter)
LB: Williams, SR (third-year starter)
LB: King, SR (third-year starter)
LB: Fehoko, SO (second or third-year starter) or Martinez, SR (third-year starter)
CB: Burton, SR (third-year starter)
CB: Black, JR (could be a second-year starter because he may start in 2010)
SS: Washington or Spikes, both would be Sophs and first-year starters
FS: Bird, SR or Payne, SO (whoever wins the job this year will start again in 2011).

That’s 9/11 or 10/11 on D, replacing only one CB (and maybe not even that, if Black starts this year) and SS. If 2010 Utah is as good as I think they’re going to be, 2011 Utah should be absolutely special.

I thought these two things were interesting.  There should be some 2010 surprises in the MWC (UNLV for instance) and I am expecting great things out of Utah in 2011.

I followed Alabama and several of the SEC blogs in the run up to the Sugar Bowl (and for several weeks after, because they had a lot of cool information/discussion about the MWC based on the Sugar Bowl result).

But now there are like 10 new blogs I want to follow, and my "My Blogs" quicklist at the top of the screen is full.  Obviously I can still follow those blogs, but it makes them much more difficult to access.  Jazz, will you tell SB Nation to make it so we can set which blogs show on the "my blogs" quicklist.  I'm sure as the designated blogger for the most desirable school in America, you have the pull to get this accomplished.  I expect results by the close of business today.

Just wanted to point out that I was right about Notre Dame.  With Weiss leaving Tate and Clausen are gone to the NFL.  Plus they'll be breaking in 4 new offensive linemen.  Should be a good game for our Defense, if we get someone to fill the linebacker spots.  I do not remember how their defense looks, but I posted that in another thread.  I will try to find it and post the numbers again.

Tate and Clausen off to NFL

What is the injury situation?  I heard about Reynolds today.  I hope he's better soon, because I'd like to see you have some success OOC and he's an important part of that.  I've also heard that several other players have been injured.  Are a lot of players seriously hurt and possible to miss games?  The Utes have been lucky so far this year because we don't have any serious camp injuries right now (I'm keeping my fingers crossed).

So, I mentioned in one of Jazzy's posts below that I don't think Oregon will be as tough as everyone else.  I am much more worried about Air Force, TCU and BYU (not necessarily in that order).  In fact, I am more worried about SJSU, because they will be dangerous if we overlook them.

Here, based on cfn.com and the 2008 Oregon statistics from the official ncaa statistics, is a look at Oregon's 2009 team and losses from 2008:

OL:  As I discussed, Oregon has 1 returning offensive lineman and a combined total of 20 offensive line starts, good for 118th out of 120 IA college football teams.  Offensive lines are made up of units and they need time together to gel.  Oregon won't get it, facing a very good Utah D line.  This year's line will consist of Sophomore Mark Asper (a 2* recruit from Ogden Utah, he's 6'8" but just got back from an LDS mission), Junior Jordan Holmes (a 2* recruit from CA, 6'4" but no other offers coming out of high school), Freshman Carson York (a 4* recruit from Idaho, he's 6'4" with a lot of offers), Junior Bo Thran (3* recruit from Oregon, had offers from OSU and Cal), and the only returning starter, Junior CE Kaiser (6'4").  There's a lot of meat on the line, and what appears to be a significant amount of talent, but as I've said 1000 times, Offensive Lines need time to gel.  This one won't get any.

QB: Masoli is back after missing Purdue last year as well as being knocked out early in the Boise game.  The kid's a gamer, no question.  But working behind the reworked OL will make for some dangerous days for him.  I don't know if he's as good under pressure, as he had 4 seniors and a sophomore protecting him last year.

RB: Jeremiah Johnson is gone, but Blount returns.  Oregon had TWO 1000-yard rushers last season, although I know Blount won't be as effective this year behind the new OL and without Johnson to wear down the defense early.  Still, Bount is a good player and shouldn't be overlooked.

WR:  Two returning starters but they lost a couple of significant starters in Scott (750 yards, 50 catches, 5 tds) and Williams (35 catches for 430 yards and 4 tds).  Still, there is some good talent here with some good experience.  Luckily, we should be able to get some pressure on the QB.  I am worried if they go 4 wide and run quick slants because these are some talented receivers.

So, to recap the offense, that's 4 returning starters (2 WR, 1 QB and 1 OL).  Talent can make up for a lot, but experience is very very important in college football.  I'd rather have a less-talented team full of seniors than a more talented team full of freshmen, in college.  You'll win more often.

As for the Defense, well, that's not much different.

DL: 1 returning starter (Tukafu, a great player who will be a 3-year starter and came from SLC) but replacing both DTs and one DE.  Tukafu is great, had 7.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss last year.  But, despite all the recruiting of DL, there's not much in the cupboard.  Kenny Rowe (230 lbs) seems to be the other end, and I guess Simi Toeaina (Sr, played in only 5 games), and Blake Ferris (Sr, played in only 5 games) would be the natural choices.

LB: 2 returning starters (Matthews and Paysinger) are both solid, although I wouldn't consider either of them spectacular linebackers.  The other starter will probably be Pleasant, the backup OLB last year.  He saw very little time last year, mostly on special teams.

DB: 2 returning starters (one corner, Thurmond, and one safety, Ward).  Both are seniors and both are very talented.  There is also a lot of talented depth here, so I don't think they'll lose to much after losing their FS and CB to the NFL.  Still, no substitute for quality starts.

So that's 5 returning starters on D.  In comparison, Utah returns 3 OL, 1 RB, 2 WR (6) plus 3 DL, 3 LB and 2 DBs (8). 

I guess I just don't understand the fear.  Oregon is a solid, talented team, and Autzen is a very tough place to play, but they have a new coach, they've lost some players, and their OL (really the backbone of any offense) is completely rebuilt.  And I know, other than Louisville and Michigan, both closer than they should have been, KW-coached teams have shown a difficulty with BCS teams on the road.  But I think this is maybe the 4th or 5th toughest game on the schedule, not #1.

When Jerry Rice was at MVSC his coach would line him up solo on one side of the field and would line up 4 receivers on the other side, who would all run crossing routes. If the opponent double- or triple-covered Jerry then the didn't have enough guys to cover the other wideouts and the QB could hit them for a big gain. If the opponent single-covered Jerry (like only an idiot would) then he'd get wide open for a huge gain or touchdown.

via assets.sbnation.com

The blog author talks about which SEC teams could use the formation, and against which SEC opponents, but I was looking at it and thinking it would work GREAT at Utah, at least in some situations. There are very few MWC teams that have 5 talented and fast cover corners who could cover Utah's wideouts one-on-one (TCU is the only one who comes to mind). Every other MWC opponent would have to make the choice between letting the outside man get open deep (I suggest using David Reed or Aiona Key as the outside man) or double-covering him and leaving one of our smaller/quicker receivers (Brooks, Lacy, Matthews, Wesson, etc.) open for a shorter but still decent gain.  Not saying we should use it every down, but when we're running no-huddle with five-wide, it would certainly be interesting.

Links below:

Speed Kills SEC blog about which SEC teams could use the formation.

Smart Football Blog post that inspired the Speed Kills post

Jazzy probably has all of these on video, but here are the top 10 moments of 08-09 for me:

10- Godfrey's TD at the end of the 1st half against Michigan.  If he doesn't push in from the 1-yard line I don't know if we win that game.  Probably would have ranked higher if Michigan did not suck so much.

9- The closing minute drive against AF.  No play really stands out, maybe the TD run.

8- The two sacks to take TCU out of FG range in the first half of the game.

7- The defensive performance of the last quarter of the UNM game.

6- The first interception of the BYU game.  Good read, good play, but nothing compared to what we were about to see.  

5- Sack #1 on John Parker Wilson, by Sly, which let us know we weren't giving up anything against their "more-talented" OL.

4- Kruger's pick in the BYU game.  Would probably be #2 if he hadn't fallen down at the 2 yard line.

3- The last two minutes of the Oregon State game.  I'll admit, I gave up when they scored the touchdown.  But then Brian goes down, ties it up, defense gets the stop and Brian gives Louie the chance to win it in regulation, which (of course) he does.  Never should have doubted him.

2- The last minute drive against TCU.  We had, prior to that drive, 200 yards of TOTAL OFFENSE all game.  An average of about 50 yards per quarter.  We finished it off with an 80-yard TD drive to win the game.  This game I actually watched the whole ending, because after the OSU game I was sure Brian wasn't letting us lose.  The 4th-and-5 conversion is the best play of the drive, especially considering Brian had just missed an easy TD by overthowing Casteel.

1- TD number 3 against Alabama.  Two great long drives, plus the one short drive after the interception, and I knew we were in this game for real.  A 14-0 lead after one quarter is pretty good, but a 21-0 lead is soul-crushing for the other team. 

Anyway, that's mine.

I just wanted to let all of you know how impressed I have been by your fans on this site and what a great job you do of representing the University of Alabama.  I know you are still smarting from yesterday, but I was very impressed by the class of your players yesterday as well.  Often when teams are losing to an underdog (although hopefully people will stop calling us that soon) they start acting classless and I think your team did a great job of staying above that yesterday. 

I thought it was a great game by both sides.  I'm sure Smith had something to do with our win last night, but I feel like both teams played pretty well and Utah just got the better of a very good Alabama team.  Considering we beat 4 ranked teams this year, I'd hope we get some #1 votes.  Congrats on a great season, Alabama, and considering the average age of your players, I doubt it will be very long before your next Sugar Bowl and maybe a NC game.  Hopefully we get a playoff soon, in which case I look forward to seeing all of you again.

Don't know if you all have seen this, but whatifsports.com's computers seem to think Utah will win it on a last-second drive and a 51-yard FG by our All-American kicker.

What If Sports previews the Sugar Bowl.

I would be pretty surprised if Coffee Runs for 191 and Ingram for 121 and Utah still wins the game.  The two lost fumbles and the two missed FGs really seem to be the difference.  I wouldn't be surprised if the team that wins the TO margin wins the game.  Of course, I'm a Ute, so I still think we have a chance against you.  I know many here feel differently.