On the one hand, that was as bad of a home loss as we’ve seen in a long, long time. Playcalling in the red zone (especially on 4th down) was atrocious. We should have been up 21-3 at halftime and had that game locked up. Wilson - while he has potential - is still a freshman doing freshman things. The defense looked completely lost for half the game, blowing coverages and letting AZ open massive running lanes. We got dominated in the trenches, which feels quite out of character. There’s no sugarcoating it, that was a bad, bad loss.
On the other hand, if you would have told us preseason that Rising would have only played two quarters of meaningful football and that both Reid and O’Toole would miss three games (we sorely missed both last night), I think that nearly all of us would be happy with a 4-1 record at the bye week.
So…now what?
The Big XII is obviously not what everyone was expecting, with some unexpected teams rising (BYU and CU) and others not nearly as good as advertised (OK St, Kansas, and arguably Utah). I think it ultimately shows that this league has parity and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least for at least one of the teams in the title game to have two losses. In that respect, Utah is still very much in the hunt…along with nearly everyone else.
I think the next few games will tell us everything about this team. If Rising returns and leads Utah to dominant wins, then we’re right back in the hunt as we enter a tough November. If he is still sidelined or comes back rusty, or if the defense continues to get gashed by some not-great teams then we’re looking at a hugely disappointing season. I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet (as some others seem to be) but the leaders on this team - including the coaching staff - need to step up and be leaders. We shall see…
Two other random thoughts:
As we continue to watch Rising get dragged across the pavement by the fanbase, I would really love to know how much input he ultimately has on the decision to play. Are Whit and Ludwig coming to him before the game saying “can you go?” and he decides yay or nay? Or are they telling him “you’re not it today”? I honestly have no idea (and I doubt we’ll ever know for sure) but that would tell us a lot about his leadership.
If nothing else, this loss may mercifully shut up the obnoxious “Utah runs this truck stop conference” dolts on social media. Gods, those dorks are tiresome.
I said before the season that if we won our first two conference games, I really liked our chances. Now after a couple of games, I can see that some of the teams that I didn’t expect much out of are doing rather well and we aren’t doing as well. So…my expectations are obviously much lower. Still hoping we can make the conference championship game though.
One other thing. I also said before the season started that the only game that I truly expected to win was SUU. We could win every other game, or we could lose every other game. No games were gimme’s, as we have seen played out.
The 3 games prior to this one were pretty damned physical. The OSU game was knock down and drag out in a phone booth there in Stillwater. Given all the focus and energy prior to this loss, seeing the team go as flat as 50 cent champagne, though disappointing, is not surprising.
Arizona had a two weeks to prepare and heal up prior to playing here. This new conference didn’t do what the PAC 12 used to do in scheduling both schools being on a bye before playing the game. We looked tired all night and they looked fresh. It wouldn’t surprise be if Zona had spent the week in Flagstaff prepping to play us at altitude. This is something the BIG 12 needs to fix for next season.
The officiating was equally bad and utterly incompetent. It was like the BIG 12 went out to a local little league football field and recruited the 5 oldest guys to come play official. Zona didn’t get an advantage from them, but (like @Ma-ake pointed out) the flow of the game was pure trash.
In the end, unlike the old Mac WTF losses this one was not one of those. Hopefully our week off can help us get right for the push through the rest of the season.
What’s the deal with “disconcerting signals?” The only thing I saw was Utah defensive linemen moving parallel to the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. Is that now illegal?
This was the first one. I still can’t make out exactly what the ref said. Something about “movements.” I’ve gotta go or I’d post the one you’ve referenced.
The offense had opportunities to establish a significant lead in the first half. Redzone offense was putrid. 4th down play calling was not creative enough to convert. Wilson missed a wide open TE for s sure TD on one of those. He underthrew Lohnor in the endzone as well. OL created no push.
The defense was excellent most of the game, but when the offense finally broke through to score a TD and momentum seemed to be with the Utes, they could not get off the field.
I doubt any team finishes with 0 losses and there will probably be 3 or 4 that finish with 1. At that point, it will be a contest of the tie-breaker.
I’m going to take a week off of football and watch my Padres hopefully win a couple of games and then match-up with the Dodgers in the NLDS
The 4th down call to Lohner was OK if the QB waits until he is set & turns around & then throws it high so at 6’8” he has to jump & will be able to out jump the d-back. Instead Wilson threw it too early, when Lohner was still moving & at shoulder level.
Utes miss Glover at RB, he can be explosive & what happened to Damien Alford transfer from Syracuse who caught 69 balls there last year?
If he truly dislocated his finger he might be out all season. He’s certainly at risk for re-injury. Throwing a football isn’t typing on a computer.
Hard say’n not know’n
Trying to throw things with a sprained finger is hell. The pain is like having your finger ripped off. Assuming no ligament damage, it takes about a month for it to heal up enough to throw normally.
If there is ligament damage, it might take six months to fix.
I can accept that. When it’s loud and linemen are looking for the snap, a movement intended to mimic the snap could do it.
Officiating is not easy, and the NFL guys make it look easy. Still, based on a preponderance of evidence, if any of you guys are giving the officials free brownies before the game, please cease.
I am not a sophisticated football guy, so tell me if this would be out of line or illogical.
If Rising does return to the starter role, would it be good coaching for the staff to tell him that he may scramble/tuck and run only when given the green light–such as in a fourth and one situation? If he fails to follow that rule, he will be benched for the next possession.
I think not, because there are way too many variables in every down and distance case. You pretty much have to have the action on the field determine what he does.
Whitt talked about this a few weeks back, but with Rising, It’s hard to “program” him on when to shut down a play, especially when the adrenaline is flowing.
The same competitiveness that made him so great in beating USC at home in 2023 makes him vulnerable.
In Game 1 when he was running up the middle against SUU I thought “What is he doing!?”, but that’s his game, he was happy to be playing again… hard to reign in the adrenaline.
Whitt wasn’t excusing that decision vs Baylor, just providing some insight. Seems to me with more game snaps instincts would sharpen.