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SALT LAKE CITY — The week one slate of games is in the books for the local college football teams.
For the Utes, they endured a hard fought 30-26 win over Utah State, while Weber State outlasted Stephen F. Austin 50-40 in a shootout in Ogden.
Saturday the Utes and the Wildcats will square off in Rice-Eccles Stadium as each team tries to improve to 2-0 on the young 2013 season. To help you get the scoop on what each team needs to do to win, we brought in Utah insiders Mike Grant and Robert Jackson and Weber State insider Jon Oglesby.
Here are five keys for each team to come away with the all important 'W' in week two:
Last week, Utah State quarterback torched an inexperienced Utah secondary for 314 yards on 31-40 passing. While the Wildcats are more of a run-heavy team, any team that goes through film study has to notice Utah's pass defense as a weakness, and I fully anticipate any and every team to try and exploit that until the Utes can figure things out in the defensive backfield.
Weber State senior wide receiver Erik Walker is coming off a career-day in Saturday's 50-40 victory. The Park City, Utah native totaled 166 all-purpose yards in the win and had two touchdowns, including seven catches for a career-high 127 yards. Look for the Utes to try a plethora of cornerbacks to contain him, especially if him and quarterback Jordan Adamczyk get into rhythym early on.
It wasn't until mid-way through the third quarter that Utah's offensive and defensive lines began to take shape against the Aggies. The defense was able to force three second half 3-and-outs by the Aggies, while the offense was able to maintain possession and run time off the clock late in the fourth quarter.
That said, both lines were far from perfect. The defensive line let Chuckie Keeton continuously escape the pocket and scramble for first downs, while the Utes had six chances to punch in touchdowns from inside the three yard line, only converting one of the six.
Moving ahead, I would like to see the lines continue to gel, and against a much smaller Wildcat line on both sides of the ball, there's no reason that the Utes can't control the line of scrimmage on offense and defense.
Wide receiver Kenneth Scott was poised to have a career year — finally healthy with an offseason of hard work preparing him for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, on the Utes third series, Scott suffered a season ending leg injury while trying to block for a swing pass.
Going through this game with Weber State injury free is critical, especially with the lack of depth at certain positions. Once conference play begins, any and all depth will be needed.
Last week Utah averaged a mere 3.4 yards per rush, something that Coach Whittingham specifically mentioned as not being good enough. The goal should be averaging 5.0 yards per carry, especially if Utah is able to control the line, like they should, this week against Weber State. The Utes used three running backs last week — expect to see those three (York, Poole & Williams) and Lucky Radley to all get chances to run the football Saturday.
Utah running backs put the ball on the turf once against the Aggies, with Karl Williams losing the ball in Utah State territory. Luckily the defense was able to force a quick three and out, but against Pac-12 foes every possession could make or break a game. Limiting turnovers will be key moving forward.
Weber State's bread and butter is running the football. Utah's run defense was average last week, keeping Aggie running back Joe Hill to 75 yards on 18 carries. While Aggie QB Chuckie Keeton scrambled for an additional 85 yards, Weber State quarterback Jordan Adamczyk isn't going to provide the same rushing threat as Keeton. The Wildcats rushed for 315 of its 484 yards of total offense, mostly out its shotgun, high tempo offense that ran 88 plays Saturday.
Stopping the run is as easy as controlling the line and wrapping up - not allowing the Wildcats to get past the first line of defense.
Week one saw the Wildcats use a large stable of running backs, as three different Weber backs scored touchdowns. Additionally, the Wildcats gained 315 yards on the ground and used their ground game to control the time of possession in their game against Stephen F. Austin.
If the Wildcats can continually rotate fresh backs in against the Utah defense, they may be able to earn an easy score when a fresh Weber running back meets a tired Utah defender. For the Wildcats to win, fans will need to hear the names Bo Bolen, Zach Smith and Josh Booker all afternoon.
Weber State quarterback Jordan Adamczyk doesn't have the firepower to win a game solely on his back, but he still plays an important role in Robin Pflugrad's offense. Adamczyk must not make the big mistake, whether it is a turnover or a badly thrown ball, but instead must play to his strengths which are running and short-yardage throwing situations.
Again, the Wildcats do have a running game they can rely upon to assist the senior quarterback. If Weber can consistently get third-and-short situations, Adamczyk will be in a position where he can thrive.
The Wildcats surrendered 450 passing yards to the Lumberjacks last weekend, but can't afford to do that this weekend against Utah's receivers. Whether the Wildcats utilize more zone coverage schemes or mix and match defensive backs to get matchup advantages, Weber State has to do whatever it can to keep Utah below the 300 yards receiving mark. If Jody Sears' team can do that, the Wildcats will be in this game long enough to lead to some nervousness amongst the Utah fans.
The Wildcats beat Stephen F. Austin last week, 50-40, and a large reason behind the victory was Weber's play on special teams. Bo Bolen, who is back with the team after serving an LDS mission, returned a kickoff for 100 yards and left the Lumberjacks punch drunk from the results.
Field position will be key in this game, as the ‘Cats can't consistently start drives around the 20-yard line and expect to finish drives with points. Additionally, Utah special teams coordinator Jay Hill made several gutsy calls last week against Utah State, so Weber must prepare for all scenarios.
Jody Sears was thrust into one of the most unenviable situations possible when he was named the Weber State interim coach in 2012, after John L. Smith left for Arkansas. Year one was rough, as the Wildcats managed only two wins. Now, with a season-opening win under his belt, Sears can focus on trying to add Weber State's name to the list of FCS schools that have knocked off FBS teams already this season.
Basically, this is the biggest game of Sears' career as he has a chance to also create a name for himself in the coaching ranks. And, if there was ever a time to beat the Utes, it is now when there is still some doubt as to exactly how solid Utah is at certain positions on the field. The Aggies exposed a variety of ways to beat Utah. Now, it's up to Jody Sears to prepare his team using that blueprint.
