Give me three expectations for this game. OTHER THAN A WIN

[EagleMountainUte]

1. Ball Security. I want the Utes to leave with zero turnovers or at least win turnover margin. 

2. Health. Zero injuries please against a mediocre opponent. I want this every game but you can’t afford an injury this close to Washington. 

3. 15 sacks!!!! Well at least give me some sacks. 

[ironman1315]

Fewer than 8 penalties.

[SalUteopia]

You beat me to it.

[EagleMountainUte]

No Illegal man downfield or false starts.  

[SalUteopia]

Fewer penalties compared to the 2017 season opener.

[ironman1315]

I like the way you think for no. 3.

[cjd1]

I would love to see Tuttle play a couple series. We may need him later this year.

[EagleMountainUte]

Shelley is the number two. 

[Grimmetal]

1. Penalties. Specifically on ineligible receiver downfield and targeting. Lots of problems with those calls all year last year.

2. Big defensive plays. I feel like these had a specific name but just can’t remember… something along the lines of ‘chaos’ plays? Sacks. Interceptions. Forced Fumbles. Those game-changing and game controlling plays. I need more of those. Directly into my veins, please.

3. Red Zone opportunities. Yep, another issue that reared its ugly head at times throughout the season last year. Gotta convert them. Gotta score more points. Simple.

[FtheY]

Warning – high expectations, long post, but doable. First and foremost, play smart football and never overlook your opponent. 

We should have to size/athleticism/speed to win the 1 on 1 matchups so being vanilla should not be a concern. We can set the tone for the season with a clean game. Lots of good callouts by others on this post already. 

1. 15 sacks!!! Honestly, I want qb pressure without blitzing. Could be hurries, sacks, ints – just get pressure and everything else takes care of itself. Bonus: right d end makes some plays. 

2. Covey Electricity. One nice play to give him and us some confidence that those missions legs aren’t a thing. Bonus: special teams gets a kick or punt return. 

3. Huntley decision making. A clean game, no ints or major mistakes. He’s learned what be needs to do in the off-season, let’s see the execution. Bonus: a nice deep ball on a go route. 

4. Clean snaps. No reason to have bad snaps anymore, these guys have the experience. I think Tyler bailed us out of lot with his athleticism here last year and good snaps will reduce his “carries”. Bonus: direct snap to moss for a TD. 

5. Red zone touchdowns. Increase the red zone TD ratio above last seasons average. If we can’t do that this season, we won’t have a shot to win the PAC 12. Bonus: Shelley or Tuttle get one. 

6. Mitch Wish. Don’t know if he was hurt or what last year, but he wasn’t himself toward the end of the season. Let’s see a 60 yarder. Bonus: inside the 10 yard line. 

7. Receiver Robin hood. Spread the wealth to more guys than the #1 – Carrington bailed us out a lot last year. Bonus: one of the freshman makes a big play. 

8. Gay has a perfect game. Get him back on the field for practice as we’ll need him this year. Red zone is Huntley’s time, non red zone is all Gay’s. Bonus: 60+ yarder going into the half. 

You can never glean too much from game one – let’s change that year. Camp was too good not to. Go Utes! 

[ProudUte]

I like your list.

[FtheY]

Thanks ProudUte! I really think it comes down to execution for us this year. 

[Anonymous]

1- Tyler directs four 1st half TD drives and sits the entire 2nd half. 

2- Zack carries 20-25 times for a 100+ day and also sits the 2nd half. 

3- Lots of guys get real game minutes. Shelley and Tuttle get a quarter each, two drives each. 

[TheJuggernaut]

1 – No injuries
2 – No injuries
3 – No injuries

Weber is no pushover, but I don’t really think we’re going to learn a lot, especially considering Whit’s tendency to play an extremely vanilla gameplan when facing early season lesser competition. Just get out of the game with a W and everyone healthy.

[Tony (admin)]

1. Clean game: low penalties, getting plays in, subs, game management

2. Offensive efficiency

3. Starters sit out most of the 2nd half

[Minneapolitan_Ute]

My expectaion for this game is a bit less structured than some of yours. I’ll be looking for Utah to pass the “eye test” on defense but especially on offense. There’s just something about a team that is clicking on all cylinders that you can see when you watch a football game, no matter the opponent, that can’t be described. I often see this with Utah’s defense. I haven’t seen it in a decade with utah’s offense. I’m hoping to see execution and a dynamic element to the entire team that you just know it when you see it. I’ve got a lot of hope that this is the first year of several to come that we see it on both sides of the ball at Utah. GO UTES!!!

[Utebeam]

If I see the kind of “clicking” that Hawaii had at the CSU game on Saturday I will be elated. That is the eye test for me.

[COFfrom83]

3rd down efficiency

red zone touchdowns

3rd down efficiency

oh, did I mention 3rd down efficiency?

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