Some observations that I found “interesting”

[2008 National Champ]

1. Phillips spent most, if not all, of the game at nickel with Vaughn and Marks at corner. Don’t remember seeing Mataele. Not sure if that was by design or due to injury. It would be nice if there was a super secret place I could find out player status if I promised to never reveal it. In the second half, it felt like the moves hurt both positions instead of strengthening.

2. I guess we’ve given up on the Jackson wildcat? Essentially tried to run it once with Rising but OSU was all over it. One would think that a wildcat might have had a better chance on the failed red zone trips than the multiple passes short of the end zone. If Jackson isn’t available, why couldn’t Costelli run it? Or one of the RB’s? Seems a waste to introduce that against WSU and use it again against ASU but not try it yesterday.

3. I can’t figure out the WR rotation. For all I could tell, Dixon only got the one snap where he was thrown the ball. Enis was back but ignored until the 4th quarter. Parks had looked good the last two games but don’t remember him getting on the field until the 4th.

4. Pac-12 camera angles suck! No way to tell live if the intermediate passing game was being covered or just ignored. Rising had done a lot of his damage the last two weeks in the 10-19 yard range and especially across the middle. This week most of the throws were either single receiver deep routes off play action or to the flats. Couldn’t tell whether that was by design or OSU was taking away what had been working.

5. The “special” in special teams is starting to have the same connotations it used to in education. For a unit that Whitt is supposed to be personally involved with, I can’t understand how it could have gotten so bad so quickly. It could be argued that it has now cost the teams two games – or at the least, been a major factor. Missed field goals, missed extra points, giving up returns for scores and now getting both punt attempts blocked? That unit needs a complete overhaul.

6. Playcalling on both sides of the ball. I’ve long been a critic of Ludwig’s apparent need to run in a different personnel package every play. But OSU did a good job of taking advantage of Scalley’s tendency this game. He has gotten into the habit of not calling his defense until the offense has lined up on the ball. OSU completely neutralized this by lining up quickly and running their play without multiple formation shifts. Having half the defense looking to the sidelines while the QB is calling his cadence was what I felt led to OSU having success early in the game and building confidence.

7. The Linebackers? What the hell is going on there? I was completely wrong when I panned Karene Reid coming as a walk-on and if I haven’t eaten enough crow will gladly take another couple of helpings. At the same time though, after Lloyd was asked to leave the premises, seeing a 4-3 with Sewell (2* transfer, converted safety), Reid (low 3* walk on) and Furey (not shown as on scholarship, can’t find a rating) did not inspire confidence. I was one of the guys praising Swan with filling the room this year with talent but where is it? Tufaga, 2 Calverts, Reynolds, Ellis.,, Injured? Ineffective? Recruiting rankings wrong? For a defense that is playing its young talent everywhere else, the lack of it at LB is puzzling.

8. Run defense. I can’t decide if the failures this year are schematic or execution. Lloyd was making tackles in the first half but they were 5-8 yards downfield. OSU was pounding the B gap (guard-tackle) all game with little to no resistance. In fact, their run game resembled the Utah run attack we were so used to seeing with Booker. For a team used to allowing under 100 yds/gm, getting gashed for 150 per takes away alot of the options they rely on. Has Scalley been running the same schemes for so long that other teams now know how to beat them regularly?

9. Turnovers? Where are they? For a team that prides itself on getting nasty (can’t remember the acronym), they are not very good at forcing/creating turnovers.

10. This is way too long but I also can’t figure out the RB’s. All 3 got a chance early. All 3 made plays. Then they went with Thomas only until he got hurt but tried to turn him into a scatback. Why keep running your 235 pound back wide when he is gashing the defense as a downhill runner? Seems like Bernard or Pledger would be more suited to those plays, especially the failed option play.

Smith at OSU is a good coach and will probably win a lot of games in his career. At the same time, this game seemed like the Utah coaches outcoached themselves more than anything OSU did. I’m not knocking the effort OSU put out and they absolutely deserved to win that game. I just felt that Utah did not manage the game as well as I would have hoped.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

I thought I read somewhere that Whit had handed off special teams to Shah this season.  Shah was a co-cordinator of ST for a couple of seasons so I don’t know why things have gone so horribly wrong this year?

[Trailgoat]

Solid obeservations. Remarkable how consistent Rising is playing with so few games under his belt. 

Every coach has weaknesses, one theme with KW as head coach over the years is the mental struggle/pressure of coaching his team to play as a league front runner. Understood this is a unique year considering all what the team has been through. 

This team is going to get a ton of hype next season with high expectations. Utes will miss the leadership of Ford, Covey, and Lloyd all big shoes to fill. Will miss Davis, and Mckinney on defense. Obviously losing the long snapper Markgraf is already impacting special teams. No way Kuthie or Kincaid are ready for the pros. 

[Utesbyfive]

I’m with you in the LBs. Are the 4* recruits so bad they can’t beat out a walk-on etc, as you say. I don’t get that one.

[Utah5410]

Kuithe won’t be back. His brother is gone. He would have been a senior this year. He’s done after this year. Much like covey. So enjoy him while we have him.

[Yergensen]

Good stuff.

#2 – Jackson needs to be in every game. Wildcat, Taysom package, all of the above. We simply aren’t using our playmakers.

#3 – IMO WR rotation and personnel under Ludwig has always been a mystery, doesn’t make sense. JD is another playmaker. Get him the ball.

#5 – Can’t remember this many special teams gaffes in a season and we’re only halfway thru.

#6 – Agreed

#7 – Agreed, said something similar in an earlier post. What’s the status of our multiple 4*?

#9 – We turn teams over when we pressure the QB. This DL doesn’t do this consistently well. Pressure this year has come more from blitzing.

#10 – To me it looks like RB is still unsettled and very much a committee. I don’t know that it will change. Yes, Thomas got close to 20 carries last night but his YPC wasn’t good. So, there’s that combined with the injury. While this group of RB has been effective, I expect Parks or Glover will win this job next year.

[Charlie]

1. I think we always wanted Phillips inside due to height but the greatest need is outside so he was needed there. A 6’+ CB is needed since we are on the short side. Our CBs play both spots but I am sure it remains hard to move them around. We miss JT.

2. We need to run Jackson in the wildcat and I expect he could pass often enough to keep 9 defenders collapsing.

3. I think the WR rotation is much impacted by the 12 and 13 sets we run with TEs. They take WRs off the field but since TEs are targeted so often it takes away from the WRs. We need to target the WRs more down field.

5. As was the case a few years ago, if you show your punts can be blocked, expect other teams to pile on. We have to recognize punt block better, it showed pre-snap. No one on gunners is a give away. Tighten the splits but most important dont get concerned with releasing blocks until the punter yells ‘away’. OSU noted some take off early. Because we have been beat we must be super conservative with punt block for several games.

6. When teams go fast, we need to go with base with simple adjustments called by a LBer. Base can consider down and distance and just be automatic.

7. I have wondered about LBs also. Utah does not play a lot of first year players on defense and learning the defense favors folks that have been here a while. Still, I would have expected to see one or two new guys get some time. Reid is an exception everyone missed on, he is more ready than most freshmen. I felt we ran a lot of 2 LBer sets when Lloyd left, either way we became very vulnerable to the run. It’s midseason we should see some of the recruiting stars creeping into the 2 deep.

8. OSU’s run game is going to challenge everyone they play, they are good. They got off track playing WSU, had a bye, and came out with a vengeance and we paid the price. I hope it gets us ready for UCLA whos run game is similar. We need a DT that demands a double team for the defense to play like we are accustomed to.

9. Noted above, in the past TOs are a function of pressure on the QB. They will come as sacks and hits on the QB come.

10. So far I am ok with the RBs but I would prefer to use 2 over 1 main guy. It may settle into just 2 but Bernard catching passes is something Ludwig clearly likes to do.

All will be on schedule if we can beat UCLA.

[noneyadb]

11- Double Reverse- uhmm, I’m not sure what to say other then ask the question- Who the hell draws this up? They had to practice this at some point, please tell me this wasn’t the best play Ludwig could come up with on 2nd and 10 on the edge of FG range. Absolutely dumb play call.

[2008 National Champ]

I’m not necessarily anti-reverse or even double reverse or the reverse covey pass they tried to set up against ASU. The problem is that those plays work best when you’ve been having success on the stretch or other outside runs. If a defense is staying assignment sound like OSU was all game, you don’t get the over-commitment necessary for those plays to work.

They did run one jet sweep to Covey early with moderate success and never came back to it. Running a reverse off that motion might have had a better chance than the version they called. It all goes back to my main Ludwig complaint which is sequencing plays. I watched some FAU games when Kiffin / Kendall Briles were there and they did such a great job of setting up the defense. They’d call a stretch run and if it got more than 5 yards, they’d come right back to it but have the receiver fake a reverse. Then they’d immediately run the same thing again as a reverse. And if they felt frisky, they’d run the exact same thing with the double reverse. All out of the same personnel and same looks. The defense wouldn’t know what hit them, they’d run the plays with tempo and they would have gained 40-50 yards in what felt like seconds.

Ludwig could also pull out tapes of Mullen’s playcalling from 2004 to see how to set up a defense. Perhaps I’ve just watched enough of his games the last 3 years but I feel like I can guess the play 75% of the time just from the personnel package he sends to the huddle. I’m sure that’s an exaggeration but if I was correct even 40%, that still points to noticeable tendencies that other teams will be able to pick up even quicker than I do.

[noneyadb]

The reverse was open. Covey should have the option to keep if he sees green. But with the defense staying home, I’m not sure why Ludwig thought a double reverse was the optimal play at that moment. The entire momentum shifted after that play.

[belli1976]

Enis only came in after Howard went down injured. My guess is Enis is not 100%, but had to go.

Covey has been around to long and the novelty is gone. Along with his twitch. He needs to start his coaching career.

[crash11]

@Onlyu, any answer to the LB question or the Dline struggle?

[PNW Ute]

I’ll add this, would like to see Utah place with pace more often. They look a lot better when they are getting to the line quickly.

I forget which, but either their last drive that resulted in a field goal or the one before it when they got stopped on fourth and goal was a great example. They came out and ran the hurry up and moved the ball right down the field on four or five plays. I was at the game, and it was clear that OSU’s defenders were tired. Their d-linemen were gassed, and couldn’t get off the field because Utah was going fast. What happens as soon as Utah gets into the redzone, they slow down and huddle. I sat there and watched four very relieved d-linemen run off the field to get replaced by a fresher unit. Shockingly, suddenly the defense looks a lot better the next four plays. What the hell, Ludwig? I know you want to get a different personnel package in there, but you’re giving a very tired defense the same opportunity. Press your advantage

[Author]

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