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SALT LAKE CITY — Going into a season opener must be one of the most difficult tasks for a coaching staff. After an entire offseason practicing against your own squad, how will you match up against other opponents?
Game Notes- Utah (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) vs. Northern Colorado (0-0, 0-0 Big Sky)
- Date: Thursday, Aug. 30
- Time: 5:15 p.m. MDT
- Site: Rice-Eccles Stadium (45,017/FieldTurf)
- TV: Pac-12 Networks • in Utah Comcast 757 (HD) & 37 (SD)
- Radio: ESPN700
- Series Record: Utah leads 2-0
- Last Meeting: 1937 (Utah 7-6)
- Kickoff Weather: Partly cloudy, temps in the upper 80s
Here are the keys to the game for the Utes in their season opener against Northern Colorado.
1. KISS: Keep it simple, stupid
One of my first real development projects at ksl.com was to build a Most Popular widget that displayed the top stories based off of site traffic. I wanted to impress everyone at my new office, so I tried implementing some new and radical ideas. Needless to say, I ended up crashing the site for about ten minutes, making thousands of people send angry emails to me for not being able to post classified ads about yorkie puppies or their new hot rod that once the wife found out just had to go.
My point? Sometimes inexperience leads to wanting to go above and beyond to prove your worth as an employee. First year offensive coordinator Brian Johnson has mentioned that he wants to make a statement. Ute fans don't want another Andy Ludwig that is going to run a reverse on 3rd and 1 for a loss of 8. Keep it simple Brian, and lean on John White IV, just like the Utes did last season.
2. Punt, kickoff coverage
The most notable and noticeable of several rules changes made by the NCAA rules committee for this season moved the spot of kickoffs up from the 30 to the 35-yard line. Also, the kicking teams can line up no more than 5 yards from the 35 when the ball is kicked. And when a touchback does occur on a kickoff, the offense will start at the 25-yard line instead of the 20. Read more...
The Utes offense, even when being conservative, should put up a lot of points against Northern Colorado, which means that kickoff specialist Nick Marsh will be teeing the ball up quite a bit. Watch out for Bears returnman Dominic Gunn (#16), who already holds the school single season and career kickoff return yardage records. Only a few things can crush a team's momentum more than giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has stated that the Utes aren't anywhere near where they have been in years past in punt and kickoff coverage - have the Utes been able to fix that in the last week of practice?
3. Clean execution
Yes, it is possible that the Utes could still beat the Bears with seven turnovers. But you don't want to leave that bad taste in your mouth, do you? In Utah's last season opener, the game was never in doubt, but the Utes struggled putting away Montana State. No longer in its initial year in the Pac-12, Utah should be much more focused on the task at hand - winning games. Remember to have fun, play football and do your job - no missed assignments on the new offensive line, no blown coverages in the secondary and no fumbles on punt returns.
