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2014 College Football

jazzman12 said:
Any Utah fan, and I stress "any", would have taken 6-2 after 8 games. As frustrating as last night was, I still can't complain with the fight and overall talent of this team considering they cannot complete a forward pass. It will be interesting to see how they finish out the year but I really feel next offseason needs to be about developing Brandon Cox and Donovan Isom. They need to be the 2 guys fighting for the starting spot next year.
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I'd like to see Chase Hansen at least get a shot at QB as well.
 
Not saying Wilson had a good game but he did look good to start the 3rd Qtr, I think Dres being out along with the same old ultra conservative play calling (playing not to lose) had some to do with it. As soon as the U got the lead it was run 3x and punt and they should be feeding Booker but they have to occasionally counter with a pass and play action to keep the appearance of balance. ASU's D was ultra aggressive and rarely did the offense even try to counter that to pretend to try and make them pay, the whole 4th Qtr it just looked like the offensive play calling was lets just punt the ball, even after a few good special teams play and bad punts by ASU.

You are right I am happy with 6-2 if you look at what I thought at the beginning of the season.

I'm not one (even when they're losing lots of games) that wants any coaching changes, I'm happy with the coaching you just have to understand with all the good things Whitt brings that playing not to lose is something that comes with him.
 
//r00t 4 Jazz said:
Not saying Wilson had a good game but he did look good to start the 3rd Qtr, I think Dres being out along with the same old ultra conservative play calling (playing not to lose) had some to do with it. As soon as the U got the lead it was run 3x and punt and they should be feeding Booker but they have to occasionally counter with a pass and play action to keep the appearance of balance. ASU's D was ultra aggressive and rarely did the offense even try to counter that to pretend to try and make them pay, the whole 4th Qtr it just looked like the offensive play calling was lets just punt the ball, even after a few good special teams play and bad punts by ASU.

You are right I am happy with 6-2 if you look at what I thought at the beginning of the season.

I'm not one (even when they're losing lots of games) that wants any coaching changes, I'm happy with the coaching you just have to understand with all the good things Whitt brings that playing not to lose is something that comes with him.
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I give Whit a pass on both losses this season. Against Wazzu, Utah was throwing in the 4th qtr, guys were just dropping passes. Last night, Utah didn't have any kind of effectivity in the passing game. He felt like running the ball and playing D gave them the best chance to win, and had Andy Phillips made that FG in OT, it may have worked.

Whit needs to stand pat with Christensen as OC in the offseason and they really need to develop one of the younger guys at QB. I've said it before on here, but I think Donovan Isom is going to be a really big deal and Brandon Cox might be too. Most of the Oline and DeVonte Booker will be back. That seems like a really good time to bring along a younger QB.

Considering the passing woes, it's a miracle that they're 6-2. They get that fixed next year and they could really start to become a consistent threat in the PAC South which is all any of us could hope for.
 
How can the Utes develop one of the younger qbs next year? Won't Wilson be a senior? You want to bench a 3 year starter? Or begin to use a 2 QB system? Why not use he 2 QB system right now?
 
The Thriller said:
How can the Utes develop one of the younger qbs next year? Won't Wilson be a senior? You want to bench a 3 year starter? Or begin to use a 2 QB system? Why not use he 2 QB system right now?
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IMO, the last 4 games of the year serve as an open audition for Wilson to keep his job in 2015. Yes, he will be a 3 year starter, but what good is that if you struggle to pass for 100 yards per game? It's a tough call, made more complicated by the fact that Utah is actually winning. However, and it kills me to say this, the next 3 games against Oregon, Stanford, and Zona are going to further expose Utah's ability to complete a forward pass. Now if the pass game improves and Utah manages to win a couple of these games, then maybe it's a decision Whit doesn't have to make. If they continue to struggle however, they may just have to do the unthinkable and sit a returning senior with 3 years experience.
 
Thompson's only a Jr. too, right? That's 2 Srs that you would have to chuck out of the way to start seeing what those other guys have in games.
 
That game was a fun game to watch and exciting. I feel good that they have been in every game and are winning our fair share. I don't blame Phillips. I blame conservative coaching and our DB's being unable to catch 2 INT's that end that game with the ball right in their hands. The Utes have played much better this season than I expected but they are still making too many mistakes that are costing them games.
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I counted 8 straight unsuccessful runs in a row in the 4th quarter. Every once in a while you have to try a play action or regular pass. If for nothing else than making the defense respect it a little. That team had no respect for our pass. Not once did they try and go over the top. How about run a max protect against that blitzing defense and throw a fade or streak? At least once. You can get one on one coverage and back the defense off even if it's unsuccessful.
 
Duck Rodgers said:
Thompson's only a Jr. too, right? That's 2 Srs that you would have to chuck out of the way to start seeing what those other guys have in games.
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Or Whit could be stubborn next year, leave Wilson and Thompson at the top of the depth chart, pass for 75 yards a game and risk losing his locker room. Wilson passed for 54 yards against ASU. If Brandon Cox were to be thrown into the fire against Oregon, I'd bet the mortgage he could generate more than 54 yards through the air. The obvious risk is more turnovers but is protecting 54 yards and Zero turnovers worth it?

I think moving on from Wilson/Thompson is a bigger deal than people think. Yes, this team has made amazing strides and yes, it is nice to be 6-2. But let's face reality: Utah is a missed FG against UCLA and a 4th down conversion vs USC away from being 4-4 and needing to find 2 wins against a tough ramaining schedule just to reach bowl eligibility. (Sound familiar?)

There's so much going right with this team and the QB play is so brutal, why not take advantage of having a great defense and special teams and give Cox a chance? If the downside is a loss against Oregon, was Wilson/Thompson going to lead them to a win?
 
jazzman12 said:
There's so much going right with this team and the QB play is so brutal, why not take advantage of having a great defense and special teams and give Cox a chance? If the downside is a loss against Oregon, was Wilson/Thompson going to lead them to a win?
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Well if the oregon have turns in to a blowout, then we better see one of the other qb's in garbage time at least
 
jazzman12 said:
Or Whit could be stubborn next year, leave Wilson and Thompson at the top of the depth chart, pass for 75 yards a game and risk losing his locker room. Wilson passed for 54 yards against ASU. If Brandon Cox were to be thrown into the fire against Oregon, I'd bet the mortgage he could generate more than 54 yards through the air. The obvious risk is more turnovers but is protecting 54 yards and Zero turnovers worth it?

I think moving on from Wilson/Thompson is a bigger deal than people think. Yes, this team has made amazing strides and yes, it is nice to be 6-2. But let's face reality: Utah is a missed FG against UCLA and a 4th down conversion vs USC away from being 4-4 and needing to find 2 wins against a tough ramaining schedule just to reach bowl eligibility. (Sound familiar?)

There's so much going right with this team and the QB play is so brutal, why not take advantage of having a great defense and special teams and give Cox a chance? If the downside is a loss against Oregon, was Wilson/Thompson going to lead them to a win?
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They are also 1 dropped pass and 1 of 2 dropped INT's away from 8-0.
 
gregbroncs said:
They are also 1 dropped pass and 1 of 2 dropped INT's away from 8-0.
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Pretty sure most teams can say the same thing about their losses. One INT here one TD there...

The truth is, the utes have the worst QB in the conference and it's preventing them from competing for a pac 12 championship. You don't usually have a NFL RB, top defense, and physical o line like the utes have this year. Booker is probably the best RB they've had and orchard will probably go down as the #1 sacker in the school's history. The Utes should be 8-0... But because they have a an avg QB from the WAC, they're sitting with 2 losses.
 
It's seems like the CFB playoff rankings are partially based on the following weeks matchups.

This week #6 will be playing #7 and #9 will play #10
 
Duck Rodgers said:
Thompson's only a Jr. too, right? That's 2 Srs that you would have to chuck out of the way to start seeing what those other guys have in games.
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That might just be what you have to do. Honestly, if you were the Utah coach would you want a repeat of QB play that you got this year next year or would you want to go with another option in the hope that you can develop that player? I would go with the latter.
 
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