Observations on the win over Utah, 10-7!

1-Our defense looked pretty solid, but that is partly because Utah's offense was pathetic: 9 first downs, 3 of 16 on 3rd down conversions, punted 11 times, 2 passes picked off, across the 50 only once in the game, 20 rushes for 13 yards. We only had one sack. Combs has really gained confidence at the corner (8 tackles in the first half). McClintock logged a lot of playing time at inside linebacker. Hobson was excellent with 11 tackles! If we can't shut out Utah, we can't shut out anyone.

2-Our offense struggled, Perry has consistently fumbled in every game so far; he did play well in the second half and ended with 26 carries for 91 yards. Askew looks solid at fullback (5 rushes for 43 yards and 4 catches for 37 yards. Our offense had 48 rushes for 175 yards, and Navarre was 19 of 36 for 183 yards and 1 TD/0 picks. Time of possession was about 12 minutes in our favor, but we were only 5 of 19 in 3rd down efficiency (3 of 3 in 4th down) with 22 first downs (2 fumbles, one lost) and two sacks.

3-Julius Curry had a nice game with 8 punt returns for 105 yards and 2 interceptions; Braylon Edwards has 9 catches for 109 yards and 1 TD.

4-We punted 8 times for 39.9 yards (I believe 3 or 4 went for touchbacks), missed two fields, and took another punt blocking penalty. Our kickoff and punt return coverage was decent. We were 1 of 3 field goal attempts, and have only 3 of 11 for the season. The fake field goal was nice, but didn't result in points.

5-Utah has a solid defense! Revill had 15 tackles and Sanders 11; they had 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. Their defense will keep them in a lot of games. We had 4 red zone opportunities for 7 points; they had zero red zone opportunities.

6-I have been thinking of ways to help our defense, and the only things I can consider are putting Stevens or Orr (let's hope his injury isn't serious) at Mike-Inside Linebacker replacing Diggs in obvious running situations or moving Hobson over. We are going to have to do something different against Big Ten opponents in stopping the run. Of course, Utah only had 13 yards in 20 rushes and 221 yards in 59 plays with 9 first downs. The Utes are 3 of 16 in 3rd down conversions (0 for 1 on 4th down). Lance Rice was 23 of 38 for 186 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks.

7-Avant and Stewart were the only true freshman who played; it looks like everybody else will redshirt. Markus Curry was benched for some reason, and didn't play at all (Carr dodged this questions in the post-game conference).

8-Their offense crossed the 50 once of all their drives and scored once for 7 points, our offense crossed the 50 10 times and earned 10 points.

9-We did a nice job showing reverse, but running straight ahead. Then, later on, we were successful on a reverse. We also did a better job on penalties with only 2 for 15 yards, and one turnover with a +1 turnover differential.

10-Overall, we looked primed for a 3rd or 4th place finish in the Big Ten race behind Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa or Wisconsin. This should send us to the Outback, Sun or Alamo Bowls with a solid 8-4 or 9-3 record.

Observations on the first half with the Utes, 10-0!

1-Our defense looks pretty solid, but that is partly because Utah's offense is pathetic. We only have one sack. Combs is really starting to gain confidence at the corner (8 tackles in the first half). McClintock is logging a lot of playing time at inside linebacker. Hobson is very dominant (8 tackles also)! They have punted 8 times; if we can't shut out Utah, we can't shut out anyone.

2-Our offense is still struggling, but the best move was to bench Perry and give Bracken and Underwood some playing time. Bracken looks better than Perry, and hopefully he won't fumble. Perry has consistently fumbled in every game so far. Askew looks solid at fullback, and we now have discovered a backup fullback in Phil Brabbs. The best play of the game was the fake field goal with Brabbs up the middle. Our offense has 20 rushes for 76 yards, and Navarre is 10 of 19 for 109 yards and 1 TD. Time of possession is about even, but we are only 1 of 8 in 3rd down efficiency with 10 first downs. (2 fumbles, one lost) and one sack. Navarre did look good on the one run towards the end of the half.

3-Julius Curry has had a nice first half in punt returns (5 for 61 yards) and the interception. Braylon Edwards has 5 catches for 80 yards and 1 TD.

4-We have 5 punts and 3 touchbacks; where's the pooch punting? How many times are we going to run into the punter this season? Is this the 3rd penalty in 3 games? Finally, we have a field goal! Our kickoff and punt coverage is looking better.

5-Utah has a solid defense! Revill has 8 tackles and they have 1 sack and 2 tackles for loss. Their defense will keep them in a lot of games.

6-I have been thinking of ways to help our defense, and the only things I can consider are putting Stevens or Orr (let's hope his injury isn't serious) at Mike-Inside Linebacker replacing Diggs in obvious running situations or moving Hobson over. We are going to have to do something different against Big Ten opponents in stopping the run. Of course, Utah only has 10 yards in 16 rushes and 84 yards in 36 plays with 4 first downs. The Utes are 2 of 11 in 3rd down conversions. Utah doesn't look to have any "big play" threats.