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Utah Utes expect real test from Beavers' freshman RB
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Will the same strategy work against the Beavers, or will Oregon State make Utah pay for selling out to stop the run? Oregon State's coaches have seen the tapes of the Air Force game, so they'll come prepared.
This will be the acid test for Utah's defense, stopping the run and the pass. Utah's offense needs to help out the defense by not giving the Beavers easy scoring opportunities.
It's time for the Utes to produce a complete game. Anything less and their undefeated season and Top 25 ranking will end this week.
Good luck Utes!
and doesn't that state have a record for the most ugly uniforms by two college teams
the ducks and the hideous green and yellow, and the beavers who look like halloween
hope the utes carve the pumpkin early this year.
The reason there is no mention in the paper of these rankings is becuase they are absolutely meaningless this early in the season.
OSU is no cake walk. Halloween may still not come until the 31st.
I think you guys will torch this team and beat them soundly.
My prediction is that you beat them by about three touchdowns.
Utah 31
Oregon St 10
Prediction:
OSU 24, Utah 19
Go Beavers!!
GO UTES!!!
Even then, the ratings will change week to week. Win/loss record and SOS of schedule are both used in the calculation.
The SOS will change every time a former opponent wins or loses a game.
A 1-3 team today, COULD be 9-3 at the end of the regular season. A 3-1 team today, COULD be 3-9 at the end of the regular season.
Projecting a team's end of season SOS is just as much guess work as projecting a team's end of season record.
In the end, the only thing any team has control over is beating the teams on their schedule.
As it stands today, if both BYU and Utah are undefeated on November 22nd, the winner will be guaranteed the non-BCS automatic BCS bowl bid, with an outside chance to be playing in the NC game (sorry Boise State, you'll just have to hope for an unprecendented at-large bid).
SOS will only be a factor in determining 1st or 2nd in the BCS poll and the NC game qualifiers. It won't affect which non-BCS team gets the automatic bid to a BCS Bowl.
Computer rankings won't help the Utes beat the Beavers.
Focus Utah.
This is why Whittingham has failed to win a conference championship the past three years; losing games the Utes should have won if they'd been more focused.
SOS won't make any difference in the head-to-head comparison of BYU and Utah, since their November 22nd matchup (if they're both undefeated) will be THE DECIDING FACTOR in deciding BCS bowl bids, but it could play a role in determining whether BYU or Utah qualifies for the NC game.
my prediction...
Beavers 31 - Utah 27
SO what does all of this have to do with the yewts? Nothing. That's why they play the game. OSU has to travel to Utah. The altitude seems to bother the west coast teams. Utah has acquired a habit of losing to teams to whom they should not lose, but I doubt that the yewts are overlooking this one. Besides, it's payback time for last year. That can be a powerful motivation.
My guess is that the yewts will notch another win. At the same time, I suspect that RES will be nervous place until it's over. It will be close.
There is such a thing as too much focus from fans, and announcers come to think of it. I hear some team's fans/announcers say "we should have......" or "why didn't we......". I always laugh at people like that and ask what position they play.
You must be a Ute fan.
One could argue that after such a big win there's the chance of a letdown for OSU, but the Utes can't fall into that trap. If Utah can come out hitting hard and really set the tempo (like they did in the 2nd half of the UNLV game) I think they have an excellent chance of winning this game.
If they spend a half trying to "find themselves" again on offense, could be a game of trying not to lose instead of going out to win.
Here's hoping the real Utes show up a for a full 4 quarters.
Go UTES!
The Utes had better be ready for a balanced, focused team come Thursday.
A weak schedule does not PROVE that a team isn't any good; it only suggests that a team hasn't been tested.
As we saw with OSU beating USC, Ole' Miss beating Florida, UNLV beating Arizona State, even the "untested" theory is suspect, since, on any given Saturday, ALMOST any team can beat ALMOST any other team.
That's why the knee-jerk reaction that a good team can't be any good because they ALMOST lost to a bad team is so misguided.
Sometimes, the true test of a good team isn't in blowingout every opponent, sometimes the true test comes in surviving a close win.
Ground control to Major Tom.....over...........
Ground control to Major Tom...over
Go ahead control... Major Tom here....over
Have you got a fix on Rogers? .....our linebackers have lost site of him....over
Control he's tight... WR just off left tackle.... now he's got the ball.... now he's at shoe top level just btween guard and left tackle...over ......
Major Tom.....Ground control say again....over.......
Major Tom... this ground control.. I say again..repeat your last transmission....... over!!!
Ground Control....this is Major Tom....be advised that I have retuned to base to change the sponsoring banner's sir.....over...........
Roger,.. Major Tom......I'll let Whitingham know.....We'll have to go to plan B..and put the grocery isle mirrors along the sidelines to keep track of the little runt....er I mean guy...
control out....
So who has BYU played? Talk about suspect rankings.
Utah will be ready for some payback!
Utes 35 Rodents 17
Go UTES!
Very blatant attempt to infuse a little piece of the big picture. Not even a half-decent try though.
Go back to watching your one team and finding "out of context" and false made-up facts and let the real sports lovers blog here.
Utah has defeated:
Michigan (2-2) who just knocked off #9 Wisconsin
Air Force (3-1)
UNLV (3-2)
USU (1-3)
Weber State (3-2)
opponents are a combined 12-9
byu has defeated:
Northern Iowa (2-2) who just lost to S. Illinois
Washington (0-4)
UCLA (1-3)
Wyoming (2-3)
opponents are a combined 5-12
Neither team has played a tough schedule. The Utes will get a good test tomorrow night with OSU coming to town. When will byu finally get a test?
Open your eyes and think before you post a comment that will make you look foolish.
What real test has Utah had? Zip, zero, nuttin'. Enjoy your last week in the Top 25. Once the Beavers roll over them they will be exposed as highly overrated. My prediction: Beavers by 10!
You proved my point.
UNLV just got blown out (27-49) by a 1-2 Nevada team whose only previous win was against Grambling State.
Nevada was destroyed by Missouri (17-69) a couple of weeks ago.
The toughest team Utah has played so far is Air Force. THAT was a quality win, but the Utes didn't exactly dominate the game.
BYU and Utah are both very good teams, but, so far, BYU has looked more impressive.
Utah gets their chance tomorrow night against an OSU team that I'm still not convinced is that good, despite their domination of previously #1-ranked USC.
OSU losses at Stanford (28-36), not a very good team, and at Penn State (14-45), with a lone win at home against a terrible Hawaii team (45-7), don't exactly validate the win over USC as being anything more than a fluke.
But, the USC win does focus the eyes of the college football world on the Utah game to see just how good the Beavers are.
AP, Sep 27, 2008
Kyle Dougherty kicked a 40-yard field goal as the clock ran down for the fourth period to break a 24-24 tie and lead Southern Illinois to a 27-24 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday. Dougherty also had another field goal for Southern Illinois (2-1). The Salukis started the game with a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown run from running back Larry Warner.
Northern Iowa is currently ranked 10th in the FCS Coaches Poll (I-AA), down from 5th
Southern Illinois is currently ranked 11th, up from 13th
The jury is still out on whether BYU or Utah will finish the season with the tougher SOS. That may not be decided until November 22nd when Utah's SOS inches past BYU's SOS, because they played the higher ranked Cougars.
BYU's SOS took a hit last week when Locker was side-lined for 6 weeks with a broken hand. With Locker, the Huskies had a chance of winning several games in the PAC-10; without Locker, they'll be lucky to beat Washington State.
SOS can be just as arbitrary as the human polls.
We need a playoff!!!
Did you even watch the Oregon State vs USC game Utah fan? (I don't think so!)
Oregon State's offensive and defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game. USC was 2 of 12 on 3rd down conversions, I don't think you can call that a fluke.
Mike Riley is a Top 10 coach in the nation and will be well prepared for the Utah offense and defense.
OSBeavers
UTAH: 45
Oregon State: 24
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Colley #3
Massey #4
Sagarin #2
I always liked that Sagarin ranking!
Boise State also made 2 of the lists (Massey #5 and Sagarin#3)