U of U recap

Despite a few well-documented classless actions by fans, players, and coaches over the past several years, I have the utmost respect for the University of Utah. If it weren't for the non-silent minority, they would certainly be one of the classiest institutions in the western United States. Unfortunately, all of the teams that all of us root for have fans we wish would go away. As a Cubs fan, there are many of my ilk that I cringe to associate with in the hope that "next year is here."

Now to football:
While those who had outrageous expectations for this team might be disappointed, I feel that the U of U exceeded what I thought possible this season. I figured this was the year they lost to Air Force, CSU, or UNLV. All 3 games were close, but they came out on top.

The defense was slightly better than I thought. What surprised me the most about the D was that the back 7 turned out to be the strength of the team. You knew the LBs were going to have great production, but I thought the line would be better against the run than the DBs were against the pass. Other than one or two bad games early (and TCU where they looked like a high school team), the pass D was phenomenal. Looking ahead to next year they have some promising players returning, but they are losing 8 significant players on D. The left side of the line stays in tact. 2 of the top 3 corners are back. Beyond that, pretty much everybody is gone. They also didn't get in a lot of blowouts to give backups some game experience.

The offense was very typical of Utah offenses. If the big play is clicking, they can score in a hurry and in bunches. If not, hopefully the D and special teams are scoring because they aren't driving the ball down the field. In 6 or 7 games that I watched them this season, I remember ONE drive that lasted over 10 plays. I would say that inexperience at QB and on the line cost them, but I know better. Other than Alex Smith's 2004 Utes, they have not put an offensive juggernaut on the field, really ever. Even last year's undefeated team was not a top 20 offense. They just aren't great on O: the Utes are a defensive-minded team. The good news is: an experienced unit returns next season. Jordan Wynn is a very promising QB. The line returns 4 of 5 starters. The WRs/TEs are losing 5 major players, but they have such a large rotation (10 guys saw significant action this year) and speed that they won't be hit too bad. Again, this is not the unit that this team is built around, but they should be able to get back to that 30 points/game plateau next year.

Special teams improved throughout the year. It will be interesting to see how kickoffs go next year. Ben Vroman has been money the past two seasons, putting just about every kickoff into the end zone. Return game got better as the year went on, but they didn't have the type of production they are used to. This unit was solid but unspectacular. Other than Vroman, the special teams will stay fairly similar I imagine next year. Usually this is where freshmen get a chance to play, and they have a buttload of speedy recruits from Cali and Texas that can make names for themselves here.

Outlook for next year:
The non-conference schedule has a lot of high-profile but very winnable games.
Pittsburgh and San Jose State travel to Rice-Eccles. Utah travels to Iowa State and Notre Dame. Utah should be able to go 3-1 with that schedule, but it is in the realm of possibilities that they go 4-0, or 2-2 for that matter. SJSU is a win for sure, Iowa State quite possibly is (though they improved dramatically this season and might pose a threat), and they could certainly win against Pitt or at Notre Dame.
In conference they have a good balance of good teams at home and on the road: Colorado State, UNLV, TCU, and BYU at home; Air Force, Wyoming, New Mexico, and SDSU on the road. CSU, UNLV, New Mexico, and SDSU should all definitely be wins. I expect TCU to be a loss. The other 3 are certainly winnable or losable. I think another 9-3 season is about right for the Utes. If they end up having a pretty good team, they could get up to 11 wins, or if things don't gel on O (again), and inexperience on D proves a real issue, that number could drop to 7 wins. I think the outlook would have to be TCU and then BYU, Utah, and Air Force battling for second place. It might be Air Force's year to get to 2nd: who knows...