Yeah, gonna agree with @SkinyUte, le’em chirp. Ignore’em, they’ll get bored and go away on their own.
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Only if lessons are learned and applied. I’m not certain of learning and application. I’m glad Dampier is here, but his accuracy leaves something to be desired. Yes I know, that was a known, but couldn’t he work on that? (application portion of learning)
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Correct. He was last here one year ago, after last year’s game. I wonder if he’ll be back in a year if Utah wins? His vacation will be over by then.
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Has Whit said anything about why he didn’t take the two 3-point opportunities?
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Said the analytics said to go for it. 
Here’s another analytic. When 20 of the past 25 meetings have been decided by one score, points are very obviously at a premium. SO TAKE THE DAMN POINTS.
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In thinking about it, the game really turned on two plays:
- The muffed punt. Utah was about to get the ball back with good field position and a couple minutes to try and put some extra points on the board and then get the ball coming out of the half. Even though BYU only got three points from that drive, it felt like such a massive momentum swing when the punt was muffed.
- The targeting call. Setting aside the fact that it never should have even happened if we could have tackled him in the pocket, it was just an absolutely brain-dead play for Barton to make. Your Captains can’t make that sort of mental mistake. They ran it right at where he would have been for the dagger.
Every game against them hinges on one or two plays, and we always seem to be on the wrong end of those one or two plays. Dunno if that’s coaching, talent, mental toughness or a combination of all of the above, but it’s certainly frustrating to watch happen over and over again.
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“Road Game 101” says take the points in the first half. I get touchdowns are a premium, but in a phone booth fight you take everything you can get.
We left too much on the table, and TDS made us pay for it.
Oh well, on to the next game, the 4:20 Buffs.
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My wife did exactly the same thing. And I agreed. Zero reason both times to leave those points in the field and surprise they made the predicable difference in the games.
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Given the results of the last few years of choking in so many big games, especially every damn bowl game…maybe Whitt needs some new analytics?
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It’s only a matter of time before we see a school openly replace a coach with GPT.
Openly is the key word.
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It feels odd to post this, but I do think Kalani deserves props.
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Andy Larsen sure didn’t hold back in poking at Utah’s decision making on Saturday. Hard to argue with his assessment.
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Agreed. I am very curious about what the analytics say about chip shot field goals on 4th down early in a rivalry game in which your team is only a three-point favorite.
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If I get some time I’m going to research what constitutes the analytics. Stats can be easily misinterpreted by people that haven’t had to learn how they’re prepared and/or work with multiple variables. They’re not binary predictors. I worry that’s how Kyle sees them. The biggest drawback I see is they’re ignoring the biggest variable of all - human behavior. That’s nearly possible to model mathematically so I have no faith a single guidance card for odds should drive all game decisions.
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When you are playing on the road against a good defense in a game you know is going to be close, it’s senseless to not kick these field goals. Kind of makes me ill to think that Utah should have been up 13-7 with the ball close to midfield with 2 minutes to go before the half–and they got the ball to start the 2nd half. But the punt return miscue and the awful decisions from Whit did in the team.
The past two seasons against TDS have been filled with bad bounces, close misses, and unfortunate breaks in favor of TDS.
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Analytics are a double-edged sword. If Bray gets the 1st down, and we get 7, it looks brilliant & decisive. Instead, our body language sagged and the homefield advantage got worse, so the situation really has to be factored, especially with young guys.
Bray’s long TD run was a brilliant play and he looks like a nice weapon going forward.
The other positive was the continued emergence of Larry Simmons at WR and Tobias Meriweather having some success in a pressure packed situation on the Bentley fumble.
I hope the team is pissed and not so defeated. Take care of business, see what happens. ASU responded really well after their second loss - we should be able to, as well.
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When was the last time Whit was criticized this way by the Utah press? All of the points are valid. I don’t recall Whit being criticized this way in the last several years. I recall plenty of explanations for poor this or that on the offense over the last couple of years. Yet to see the program get lit up is new, as far as I can recall.
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Kalani is a very good guy.
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100%.
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I can’t point to anything specific, but I think Josh Newman gave criticism when warranted.
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