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Where to begin with the Utes? A few things were clear:
1. Utah both underestimated Utah State and overlooked the Aggies for BYU. The Aggies were better coached and more motivated with better schemes.
2. Utah State is a solid football team. It is getting kind of disgusting hearing about how bad the Utes played when the team on the other sideline is getting no credit whatsoever for putting together a great game plan and wanting the win more than the Utes.
3. Aggies head coach Gary Andersen had the perfect defensive game plan for the Utes. Utah State stacked both sides of the line and brought the house from that side. The inexperienced offensive line couldn’t handle it and that meant Jordan Wynn was under constant pressure, which led to his injury.
4. As sad as it is to say, Wynn’s injury helped his team tremendously. Wynn is the third-best quarterback on the team. He is a great kid and worked hard to get back to where he was, but shoulder injuries have been to Wynn what drugs and alcohol have been to Lindsay Lohan. He’s never been the same since the first injury took him out.
5. The Utes love playing for Jon Hays. It was clear that everything changed when Hays entered the game — the momentum, the team’s energy and the offensive production.
The biggest concern coming out of the upset loss for the Utes is the offensive line. All the Utes' playmakers are back and they’ve added a few, but they mean nothing if the offensive line can’t protect the quarterback or pave the way for John White.
I don’t know what’s more concerning: the constant pressure and three sacks that Wynn dealt with or the measly 3.6 yards-per-carry average from White. If the Utes are going to compete to become bowl eligible, the O-Line is going to have to open up bigger holes for White to establish the run.
Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson did a decent job of making in-game adjustments. The Utes gave up three sacks with Wynn in the game, but the line did do a better job with Hays. One problem that Johnson will now face if Hays is going to lead the offense from here on out is how to get White the ball in a position to succeed. That was one thing Norm Chow was amazing at last season — finding different ways to get the ball in White’s hands when every defense knew the Utes had to run it.
Johnson will have to do this if the Utes have any hope of a winning season in the Pac-12.
Positives from the game (and yes there are some):
1. The defense looked really good again. In reality, the defense only gave up one sustained drive. The other two touchdowns were the results of a blocked punt and key defensive breakdowns. Obviously the latter is the defense’s fault, but don’t expect that to happen often.
2. I was waiting for the emergence of Kenneth Scott and Friday seemed to be that day. Scott is the prototypical Pac-12 receiver and he could be the kind of receiver that Hays can rely upon to make the big play in big moments.
Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
For the Cougars, we got about what we expected out of the Weber State game. The Wildcats were clearly outmanned against the Cougars. It was a little shaky early for BYU, but eventually the offense started rolling as it ought to against Weber State and the defense looked fairly strong.
There’s really not much to take away from this game. Riley Nelson will have to be a lot smarter with his throws against the Utes this Saturday. The Utes may be the fastest defense the Cougars see all year even without safeties Eric Rowe and Brian Blechen. There were still a couple throws that Nelson shouldn’t have made. He can get away with those throws against the Wildcats, but not against Utah.
With that, we really find out who these two teams are next week when they play each other.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin better watch out in Madison this week or the Aggies will pull another upset and be looking at a possible BCS-busting run. I know ... crazy, right?
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.
