would anyone feel better about the team and its prospects this season if we had pulled it out? I know I would not. I am encouraged by the energy and play of Rising and would not have been more encouraged by a win. It will be interesting to see if he progresses from his week 1 to week 2 and his practice reps increase from 25% to 70%. I continue to be concerned about OL and DL play and that would have not been different with a win. I did notice a change in defensive personnel in the 4th quarter. Utah played Furey at LB most of the time, giving us a 4-3-4 group as opposed to a 4-2-5. The Utes have blitzed much less this year than in prior years. I wonder if it is a lack of confidence in the DB’s ability to man cover. Special teams has been atrocious.
I watched the first half of USC/Wazzu and the Wazzu defense was giving the Trojans trouble with a variety of blitz packages.
The opportunity for a special season has passed. I am now just hoping for game-to-game improvement.
That freshman quarterback for USC is legit. I watched him play his first High School game at Roy High years ago. I could tell that day that he was something special.
Like UTEopia, I’m concerned about what’s happening up front. Early on D we stuffed their run, then that wore down and Bell & Co were getting to the 2nd level. In the second half it was clear they would rely on the run, so we went 4-3, the traditional run stop defense.
For whatever reason, it seems the OL-DL progression has stalled. Nick Ford’s interview after Game 2 was really revealing. Stuck with the base blocking scheme because the new guys would struggle with a LOS adjustment.
With no Broughton, Marks was starting opposite Phillips, and with just 2 CBs/NBs, on multiple plays we ended up out of balance, but didn’t get torched by it. Against Wazzu we’ll be in a 4-2-5, maybe a dime defense a few times. But how to bring pressure…
Game to game - we’ll see how we do against Wazzu. They’ll be motivated, especially the way they lost here last year. LOS play has to improve.