Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
The Utes once again came up frustratingly short against an opponent they probably should have beaten.
Here are my immediate takeaways from the Utes 21-7 loss to the Oregon State Saturday in Corvallis, Ore.
What details? This team is not smart at all. The Utes have the athletes to compete in games against top ten teams like Oregon State, but the execution is down right terrible. There was a conversation on twitter about what Urban Meyer would think if he were watching this offense. Play calling is obviously different but the execution is the major difference.
Some fans believe there is some sort of curse on the Utes because on seemingly every big play, there is a penalty. Nope. The team just isn’t putting as much attention on the details as they should. Take the Brian Blechen 3rd down helmet-to-helmet. He and too many other Utes in the secondary are too concerned with making the highlight reels by lighting someone up instead of making tackles. The bad form from Blechen on that tackle led to an Oregon State touchdown.
Then there’s the drops, the bad special teams play, the 3rd-and-long conversions, the poor tackling and blocking, the turnovers. Utah needs to focus on the fundamentals or there will be no bowl game in 2012.
Utah lost, Oregon State didn’t win. Utah has no one to blame but themselves. The Utes dominated this game, but the turnovers simply cost them the game. The Beavers had to drive a total of 26 yards to score their first two touchdowns after Utah gave them the ball deep in their own territory. The Utes took another touchdown off the board when DeVonte Christopher fumbled the ball on a reverse that would have scored a touchdown.
If you want to go even further, Oregon State may not have scored a touchdown all night if Brian Blechen had made a clean tackle on the third-down play late in the game. But, once again, if ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas.
Blechen and Christopher are no-shows in 2012. Both these players were supposed to be leaders on this team, but their play and their leadership has let their team down to say the least. Blechen was suspended for the first three games of the season for breaking team rules, but in all reality he was absent the first six games of the season. His poor angles have led to confusion in the defensive backfield ever since he returned to the field. Then when that gets shored up, he tries to be a hero instead of making a routine tackle, costing the Utes a touchdown.
The first interception of the game was mostly Christopher's fault instead of Travis Wilson's. Yes, the ball was thrown a bit high but it went right through Christopher's hands. The ball had to be caught. Also, the fumble on the reverse in the third quarter would have likely gone for a touchdown. He had one man to beat and had a superior angle on the defender. His head is not in the game. Whether that's because he wants the ball more or for some other reason, it doesn't matter. If he wants the ball more, he needs to make the plays he has a chance to make.
For Ute fans ... and football fans in general, this team is so frustrating to watch. I am a lifelong Red Sox fan, so I know frustrating teams. I am used to watching teams load the bases on my Sox, only to let the Sox get my hopes up by somehow managing to get to two outs without scoring a run in. Then invariably, the opponent (usually the Yankees) would hit a grand slam.
This Utah team is just as frustrating to watch, if not more so for Ute fans. Why? Like I said earlier, the talent is there. Utah outplayed Oregon State, yet still managed to get beat by two touchdowns. Utah gave up a 26-yard pass on first down and 25. First downs and touchdowns are constantly taken away by penalties, while more touchdowns are given away by turnovers. That’s why this team is frustrating to watch. Pundits who don’t know football are going to spout off this week about how untalented Utah is. I can see the headlines now: “Maybe Utah is Just Not That Good.”
You see, that’s what is so frustrating. The talent is there, but the wins are not.
Speaking of the Red Sox … Sorry to go all baseball on you, but I promise there is a football tie here as well. There is a saying in New England that Red Sox fans are eternal pessimists like Cubs fans are eternal optimists. The Cubs could be 10 games out with 20 games to play and their fans would still be saying, “This is our year, I can feel it.” Meanwhile, the Red Sox could be 10 games up with 20 games to play and their fans would be saying “We’re going to blow it, I can feel it. I don’t know how, but it’s going to happen.”
Well, Ute fans are turning into Red Sox fans, and it’s just as annoying. After two early turnovers (one unlucky and the other having nothing to do with head coach Kyle Whittingham), the Twitterverse was calling for Whittingham’s head. Come on.
The problem is not Whittingham, it’s your expectations. Utah is talented and has great playmakers. They are no doubt underachieving and at some point that has to fall on the coaches, but give them some time. This is a tough transition and, like last season, the hardest part of the schedule is behind the Utes. Remember, the sky was falling this time last year, too.
At the end of the day … At the end of the day, Utah outplayed the eighth-ranked team in the country. Utah outgained the Beavers 307 yards to 226. Utah had 19 first downs to Oregon State’s 15. Utah ran for 135 yards, Oregon State ran for 52. Utah had the ball for 34:27 while Oregon State had it for the other 25:33 of the game. Too bad you have to keep going down the stat line to “score.”
Granted, Oregon State is probably not good enough to be ranked that high and I believe they will lose three games this season, but it’s undeniable that the Utes outplayed the Beavers.
Play calling must be better. For all those jumping off the John White bandwagon and onto the Kelvin York bandwagon, slow down. White is just as good as he was last year, and no, the Pac-12 has not figured him out like some are saying. Norm Chow was incredible at creating different ways for White to get the ball and make plays. Brian Johnson’s scheme’s are too simple and predictable and no running back is going to succeed in that situation.
The rest of the play calling is also far too predictable. It’s like there is no middle ground for Johnson. One week, he gives the ball to White 11 times when he’s averaged four yards per carry. The next week, after he’s publicly rebuked by Whittingham for not running enough, he calls 45 run plays to 28 pass plays. I know Wilson is young, but he’s been pretty efficient. Also, it’s time to go ahead and bag the Travis Wilson-sack-left play. It’s working too well.
For more opinion, rankings, bowl projections and takeaways, go to BYUtahInsiders.com.
Trevor Amicone is the founder of byutahinsiders.com, which covers BYU, Utah and national college football with weekly polls, bowl projections, opinions and analysis. Follow its brand new Twitter page at @BYUtahInsiders and Trevor's at @TrevorAmicone.
