SB Nation User Blog: displacedute

Question for you BYU fans.

displacedute — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:45:43 -0000

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).

Oregon's 2009 team.

displacedute — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:10:33 -0000

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.

Use of the "Jerry Rice" formation at Utah.

displacedute — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:16:33 -0000

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

Top 10 moments of 2008-2009.

displacedute — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:53:43 -0000

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.

Great Game Tide.

displacedute — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:16:25 -0000

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.

What If Sports

displacedute — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:16:46 -0000

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.