My thoughts on tonight

[ALUF]

I thought preseason without cam we would lose this game and with him it would be razor thin.

I’m still of that opinion despite our defense being better than advertised preseason. I’m nervous about our pass D for this game despite what others have said about DJ U. He is probably the best qb we have faced to this point and I think our corners will let people get behind them. I think they will held to the at best their average on running the ball on us with how good our run D is. But I think these backs at home will be better than UCLA and Florida’s backs were on the road. I think they score 24 points on us, 3 TDs and a field goal.

Our offense is such garbage right now. Our running game isn’t what I thought it would be but I think Bernard and jackson out that is the reason I feel so down on that group for tonight. Their run D is pretty darn good so I think they hold us in check for the most part there. QB is still questionable with how NJ isn’t very good at holding on to the ball. I feel like he will let one slip tonight, turn it over and give osu field position for east points. We have to be able to throw tonight to win since their pass D isn’t great. I think we have solid receivers but I don’t think NJ on the road can do it. Our tight ends have not been what I hoped even without Kuithe, yaz looks like a dude who is lost. Our kicking is a problem without Becker so it’s not like we can get points no question once we get in “field goal range”. Our Punter will need to have another incredible week I think. I think the offense can score a TD maybe two tonight. I think we score 14

I’m pretty confident we lose also because of how bad we are on the road against bowl teams..let alone the top 25. I doubt baylor gets to 6-6. We’ll see. When was our last top 25 win on the road? Was UW ranked in 2019 when we won there? I bring this up every week we are on the road against good teams and everyone seems to discount this because we beat wazzu last year..cool, that’s 2 including UW out of a lot!

I really hope we win and that I’m wrong. With a loss tonight we still don’t lose out on the CCG or playoff (imo). We will see

Go Utes!

[Hellhound152]

Who brought the good news bear. Somebody better go get it some effing honey…

[ALUF]

Please do, I’m starving!!

[RoboUte]

[ALUF]

Finally got my honey..Utah by a million

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I agree ALUF with all your points. That’s why I’m taking the Utes to win. We’ve had 4 games to figure out our offense and what we have to work with. Johnson has a good game and our defense gets a couple turnovers. Go utes

[ALUF]

Love it!! Hope it happens

[Charlie]

This nearly describes a worst case scenario, there is also a best case and in-between a most likely case. OSU is at home which is nice for them but I am not sure they can count on their average running game and passing could be difficult with the Utah rush. Their QB is inconsistent, if he is having a down day their offense will suffer. Utah is very capable of bringing out a down day for a QB.

Our running game can pick up speed if Jackson and/or Curry return. Glover may benefit from his first full load game. I don’t think Yaz is lost, he has often been used as OL. I am not sure why the TEs are not used much, maybe NJ needs to add that part of the game, maybe TEs were focused on UCLA’s very good DEs. The TEs will show up soon and will be noticed. Possibly the offense and passing will pick up when there is more necessity to score as opposed to hold a lead.

OSU is not without a good worry list coming into this game. Their crowd may help, wet grass may help them, Utah could do something to beat themselves, but for now OSU has not beat a team as good as Utah this year. There is also a case that Utah will simply handle what is needed to get the win.

[SalUteopia]

I agree, ALUF. They will score in the 21-28 range, and I think we’ll be in the 14-17 range. OSU is 13-1 in their home games since covid. We won on the road against UW in 2019, but they were not ranked.

[DataUte]

OSU is a tough team, but I think they will press a little because they can’t afford a 2nd conference loss. I think that causes DJU to be his inaccurate version. After our D stops the run, DJU makes enough mistakes that they will be limited in scoring to <20. Now, can we score more than that? We’ll have to see.

[AlohaUte]

I’ll admit, I’m not a believer in DJU, I don’t think OSU’s pass game is going to be all that great, especially if/when we get pressure on him and hit him a few times. This game feels like it will play out a bit like the UCLA game. But being on the road makes it scarier.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Play calling will be a key. Don’t get NJ rattled early. Have some plays that he can throw for some easy completions and be careful of early big hits on him. They watch film and know he is fumble prone.

Get him to the sidelines and utilize his speed. Make their inexperienced dab’s and safety’s tackle in space. We got exposed last year against USC. They will stack box and take away our two yards and a cloud of dust.

[ProudUte]

ALUF, I get what you are saying. However, maybe just maybe we come out with a different offensive game plan tonight. WSU destroyed them through the air. Maybe we move to a short passing game and try to exploit their weakness. Of course, we have to throw in a few long passes to open things up.

I do agree, if we depend on our running game to win tonight, we will likely lose. We don’t have a running game right now and OSU will stack the box for obvious reasons. We need to get the ball to Money, Vele, and Yassmin.

[Rick]

Just looking at common opponents UCLA beat SDSU 35-10 and Oregon State beat SDSU 26-9. Based on our game with UCLA last week, I see a very tight defensive game in the 17-14, 21-17 range for the Utes. We cannot have turnovers and our defense or special teams probably needs to make a score but I think it is a game we can win.

[The Miami Ute]

I concur Rick. I predicted this game to go 21-17 Utah. The key, obviously, is to stop the run and force DJU to beat you. If that happens, I like our chances. We also need Jack Bouwmeester to continue his out of his mind punting season.

[krindor]

Our last road win against a ranked team (not including neutral site as road) was against Colorado in 2020.

Our last 5 road games against ranked opponents have gone
Loss (2022, #12 Oregon)
Loss (2022, #18 UCLA)
Win (2020, #21 Colorado)
Loss (2017, #16 Washington)
Loss (2017, #13 USC)

Prior to that we also beat #13 Oregon at Autzen in 2015

That said, I’m not sure “doesn’t regularly beat ranked teams on the road” is a pretty high bar. Oregon is 2-3 in their last 5 of those types. USC is 1-4 (and the 1 is @UCLA which isn’t really a road game, without that one they’re 0-5)

[Jim Vanderhoof]

The line is OSU -4/12. We have not shown we can move the ball consistently. Under dog on the road. Let’s make this “personal” and get a win. I’m taking the Utes.

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