Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
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The Utah Football team comes into this week's game having dropped in the polls a spot even having beat Wyoming soundly.
The rivalry with Colorado State is the 4th longest rivalry in Utah Football History dating back to 1902. The series is 76 games old with Utah having a huge advantage at 52-22-2. Utah has won the last 5 games and leads the series 30-8-2 in Salt Lake City.
The last time the Rams won in Salt Lake City was 2002.
What did we learn about Utah vs. Wyoming?
We learned that the Wyoming Football team is not very good. That being said we also learned that the Utes can score in many different ways, from Sean Smith's interception return for a touchdown, Aiona Key's blocked punt that he picked up himself and returned for a touchdown or R.J. Rice's capitalizing on a muffed punt that ended up as a touchdown.
The Utes simply took advantage of a very bad team that is unsettled at the most important position on a football team. After the game, both Wyoming Head Coach Joe Glenn and quarterback Karsten Sween were very distraught at the fact that couldn't make a single play against the Utes.
One statistic that has drawn attention in the game against Wyoming is total yards. Utah had 242 total yards and Wyoming had 252 total yards. As anemic as Wyoming was, they still out gained the Utes by 10 total yards.
While this is alarming, in the context of the game, maybe it shouldn't be. As discussed earlier, the Utes scored on defense once and on special teams twice. By the time Aiona Key scored, the game was basically out of reach.
What questions remain about Utah?
If you listened to Kyle Whittingham's presser, he was very critical of the offense. He listed many categories that the Utes were statically very good in, however, he said that the offense has lacked rhythm all season.
Ute fans have also been very critical of this lack of rhythm. It has been very noticeable that senior quarterback Brian Johnson has not been comfortable. Coach Whittingham was also very unsatisfied the way the Utes ran the football against Wyoming. All of these factors point in one direction. That direction is at offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.
The fact that the Utes haven't found their rhythm through the 7th game of the season is for one thing disheartening as well as amazing at the same time. How are you 7-0 and ranked in the top 15 in the country having never found any rhythm offensively?
If the Utes ever find that rhythm that Head Coach Kyle Whittingham is seeking, they may be worthy of that lonesome 1st place vote they received in the Harris Poll. Maybe they don't deserve the top spot in the nation yet, but deserving of the top 15 ranking that they currently own.
What can Utah expect from Colorado State?
The Utes can expect a team that is playing better and coming off a game where they had many chances to beat TCU. The Rams have scored touchdowns in their first drive 3 out of the last 4 games. The Utes can expect the cleanest team in the league. The Rams do not beat themselves as far as penalties are concerned. The Rams average just over 37 penalty yards per contest.
In past years, Colorado State has had some decent quarterbacks, this year they have openly struggled at that position, which will give Gartrell "The Predator" Johnson many opportunities to run the ball. Against TCU (which has the number one rushing defense in the country) the Rams called 8 rushing plays on the first drive of the game and ultimately giving Johnson the ball and scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run.
Look for the Rams to do very much of the same against the Utes.
The Utes can expect a tough defense from Colorado State. Larry Kerr is back coaching the defense where he was from 1993-2002 under Sonny Lubick. The Rams have 10 takeaways in their last 4 games and are plus 3 in turnover ratio this season.
What can we expect from Utah vs. Colorado State?
One thing the Utes have been all season is focused. They have been ready for big games, small games, and trap games, every game this season. The Utes are poised and ready to keep the 5 game winning streak against Colorado State in tact, and also to keep their unbeaten record in tact as well.
Look for the Utes to expect the run early from Colorado State, as this is their best chance of winning. The Rams are ranked 12th in the country in time of possession and hope to keep the ball in the hands of Gartrell Johnson as much as possible and the clock moving. The trouble with that statistic is that Utah is 3rd in the country in time of possession.
If this game becomes a field position battle, the x-factor will then become Louie Sakoda. If it comes to that, Sakoda will help the Utes win the field position battle.
With the way that Kyle Whittingham criticized last week's running attack at Wyoming, the Utes will surely look to establish the running game and get Brian Johnson into a rhythm. The best the Utes have looked offensively was in the 2-minute hurry-up against Oregon State. If all else fails, Andy Ludwig could look to this option to get Brian Johnson and the offense into a rhythm and finally clicking.
Miscellaneous:
Conclusion:
The Utah Football team is getting better every week in many key categories. They have cleaned up their messy play from earlier in the season. The Defense is getting better and could get much better after this week barring any injury as 1st team defensive tackle Kenape Eliapo is scheduled to return soon.
Look for the offense to start showing real signs of improvement. It seems to now be a priority to get the offense into a rhythm and with the season being 7 games old, the Utes will have to start proving offensively that they belong in the BCS conversation.
