Utah Football 2015

[Iceaxe]

Also several missed tackles on 3rd downs that allowed USC to keep drives alive. Back when I was coaching HS football I used to tell my guys... "sometimes the other team just makes great plays".

[accadacca]

Well, it'll be a dog fight to the end. Several teams are now only one game back with USC having the tiebreak on Utah. The games against UCLA and Arizona could be BIG.

Washington State is playing well lately and is currently #2 in the Pac-12 power rankings. The Stanford @ Washington State game should be a good one this week.

[Iceaxe]

USC still has UCLA on the schedule so that game will knock at least one team out of the picture.

If UCLA wins out they will be South champion as they would own all the tie breakers, except against Arizona State but the Sun Devil's will lose at least one more.

[accadacca]

[Iceaxe]

Utah is a 21.5 point favorite over the Beaver. This would be a great game for Utah to get firing on all cylinders. The Beavers did hold Stanford in check for the first three quarters a couple weeks ago.

[Iceaxe]

7-1 life is good in the PAC 12.

[accadacca]

[accadacca]

Thoughts on the Washington game? They dominated Arizona and really reminded me of Utah on both sides of the ball.

[Iceaxe]

Utah is a 1 to 1.5 point favorite depending on which bookie you check with. This game is going to be a dog fight. Washington being at home is a big advantage in their favor.

[Deuce]

Utah is a 1 to 1.5 point favorite depending on which bookie you check with. This game is going to be a dog fight. Washington being attention home is a big advantage in their favor.

Utah currently +1/1.5.

Utah getting a point and a half, that's win all day long.

For some reason, I'm just not worried about Washington at all.

[accadacca]

Utah hasn't beaten the Huskies since they joined the Pac.

[Iceaxe]

Utah hasn't beaten the Huskies since they joined the Pac.

Utah hasn't beaten the Huskies.... EVER.... that is 0-8 dating back to 1931.

[Deuce]

Though always a fun stat, its irrelevant. Utah has like 6 starters who have ever played a game vs Washington. Utah is a totally different program today vs the program they were back in 2012, let alone when they were MWC orWAC.

The teams/programs are who they are as constituted today.

They have 4 common opponents so far this year. Utah is 3-1 & has outscored those opponents by 40 points total. Their winning margin ofvictory in the 3 wins is 19 PPG. Washington is 2-2, has outscored the opponents by 7 points total and their margin of victory inthe 2 wins is 10 points.

Vegas tends to be pretty good at this, but for some reason, I feel pretty good about the Utes chances. I really hope Norris is back and healthy.

[taatmk]

Washington wins by a touchdown.

[gholt]

Utah by 6

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[accadacca]

Old news by now, but Utah is #12 in the college football playoff rankings. There are currently zero Pac-12 teams in the playoff or even on the outside looking in. However #2 LSU plays #4 Alabama, #1 Clemson plays #16 Florida State and #8 TCU plays #14 Oklahoma State this week. Beyond that there is still A LOT of sledding left.

Will the Pac-12 get left out?

[Deuce]

2 SEC teams are not getting in. I think if Ohio State AND Notre Dame went undefeated the rest of the way, there would be a chance the PAC12 was left out. Either Utah or Stanford need to win out, and I think that team would get in. Hard to leave out the PAC12 out. Like last year, you will see teams drop, even when they win.

Ohio State still has games vs both Michigan teams, ND is playing Stanford.

[Iceaxe]

If Utah or Stanford wins out they will be in.

If you look at last years poll only one team in the first top 4 was still there at the final poll. And a 16 seed in the first poll made the final four.

[accadacca]

Utah enemy camp: 5 questions with a Washington beat writer

Sitting at 7-1, the Utah Utes are currently the Pac-12 South leaders. But with UCLA and USC clipping at their heels, winning each game from here on out has become necessary if the Utes want to make it to the Pac-12 championship game in December.

This makes Saturday's contest at Washington a pivotal one, despite not being the game that Ute fans probably didn't circle prior to the season's start. The Huskies are coming off of a 49-3 drubbing of Arizona, and it looks as if they may be hitting their stride at the right time with No. 14 Utah coming to town.


In preparation for the showdown, we caught up with Adam Jude, Washington football beat writer for The Seattle Times, to get the inside scoop.

DN: Washington is coming off of a huge win over Arizona, yet dropped its two games before that. How confident are the Huskies right now heading into this matchup with Utah, and have they found their stride?

AJ: This is a young UW team, and the expectations coming into the season, at least from the outside, were that this would be a rebuilding year. In some ways, they're ahead of schedule. The defense has been excellent, leading the Pac-12 in scoring defense (16.9 points per game). The offense has been hit-or-miss, but that was to be expected with the youngest offense in school history. Jake Browning became the first true freshman to open a season as the Huskies' starting QB, and he's been playing behind an entirely new offensive line. But they did have their most complete performance against Arizona, and they've certainly build some confidence from that.

DN: The Huskies hung 49 points against the Wildcats. What kind of offense should the Utes expect to see? What offensive players will give Utah trouble on Saturday?

AJ: Browning accounted for five total touchdowns against Arizona, including his first rushing TD, a week after sitting out the loss at Stanford with a minor injury to his right throwing shoulder. The Huskies have a modified spread offense that features multiple formations with a bunch of personnel groups; they substitute freely on offense, looking for matchup advantages. True freshman running back Myles Gaskin has been a pleasant surprise for UW, rushing for 655 yards and six TDs (6.1 yards per carry). Dwayne Washington is the Huskies' versatile big-play threat; they use him in both the running and passing game, and he leads the team with seven touchdowns.

DN: Will Washington be able to contain Devontae Booker and the Utah run? How are the Huskies preparing for a hit-or-miss quarterback in Travis Wilson? What Washington defensive player should Utah keep an eye on?

AJ: The Huskies have already played the Pac-12's two leading rushers in Oregon's Royce Freeman and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey — both had productive games against UW — and the Huskies see Booker as a combination of those two. Their priority will be to (try to) stop the run and force Wilson to beat them with his arm. The Huskies have good cover corners in Sidney Jones and Darren Gardenhire who they will leave in one-on-one coverage quite a bit. Outside linebacker Travis Feeney leads the Pac-12 with 6.5 sacks, and inside linebackers Azeem Victor and Keishawn Bierria are playing at an all-conference level.

DN: Utah is still fighting for a Pac-12 title and potentially a College Football Playoff spot. Is there extra motivation for this UW squad to hinder Utah's chances for a conference championship?

AJ: That hasn't come up specifically this week. Even for a young team, the Huskies seem to be doing a good job buying into Chris Petersen philosophy of, 'Just worry about ourselves.' Petersen has a lot of respect for Utah — he said Utah's is the kind of program he's trying to build at UW — but the Huskies would no doubt relish the chance to knock off a top-15 team at home.

DN: What do the Huskies have to do to win on Saturday? Prediction?

AJ: UW's defense has kept the Huskies in every game this season, even as its offense has sputtered. Their upset at USC was a prime example: UW held USC to one touchdown, and the offense did just enough to eek out a 17-12 victory. If the Huskies are going to beat Utah — and that's a big if — it feels like it needs to be on the heels of another great defensive game.

http://m.deseretnews.com/article/865...m.facebook.com

[accadacca]

Anybody else wanna call their shot?