(sigh)
The 2011 season is officially in a free fall….It’s a disaster. After falling to the Cal Bears 34-10, the Utes look like a team that could lose to any team remaining on their schedule. This season has gone from one where championship dreams were flowing throughout the Salt Lake valley to one where I’m wondering just how much trouble they’re in. Utah totaled 178 yards of total offense on Saturday and I was surprised to see it was that many. Kyle Whittingham called Utah’s offense “anemic.” ANEMIC!? This offense could very well be the worst in college football. The offense is--
· LAST in the PAC 12 in total offense. 108th nationally
· LAST in passing offense. 93rd nationally
· LAST in passing efficiency. 92nd nationally
· 9th in rushing offense. Surprised its’ that high
· AND 11th in scoring offense. 92nd nationally
With those numbers it’s a testament to the Utah defense that the Utes are 3-4. At this point, the 2011 season is about trying to get to a bowl game and carry some momentum into next year. Where does it begin? Hopefully this week against the Oregon State Beavers. At 2-5, the Beavers look like a solid candidate to begin the University of Utah football rehabilitation program but looks can be deceiving. Oregon State has won two of their last 3 and they have found their quarterback in Sean Mannion. By recent standards, the Utes will need to play well to win this game. Some of my keys to the game—
· Jon Hays has to tighten it up. He’ll never be great. 0 turnovers would suffice.
· Utah’s offensive line has to open up holes for John White.
· The defense must produce turnovers. Clearly the common thread in Utah victories this season.
· DeVonte Christopher (back off injury) has to return to early season form.
I’m still hoping for 8-4…..The eternal optimist.
The Utes are struggling; that's a fact. This is a warm-up season for them. The recruiting power will be shown next season. John Hays isn't a good quarter back. His time will be short though. Wynn will be coming back next season along with a freshman quarterback that was red-shirted this year. Utah will hopefully be a force next season. Right now, we're going to have to just keep trying hard and fight for a bowl game, like you said.
ReplyDeleteI know this post was posted last week; I'm interested to see what you have to say about the victory over Oregon State.
Also, for the rest of the season, I think we can beat Arizona, Washington State, and Colorado. UCLA should be our only close call.
Oregon State slaughtered Washington State, so they should be an easy victory. Colorado, our conference rivals, are 0-5 in the Pac-12 conference, 1-8 overall. They should be our easiest victory of the year. Time will tell.
Good to know that some easier teams are ahead.
ReplyDeleteHays needs a lot of help so that we finish off the season, and maybe more confidence boosts will do the trick. As its stands now it seems he is either really nervous all the time, which has an adverse effect on his targeting or just likes to throw to the other team more than throwing to our team.