A few thoughts on Utah's win
My daughter has been begging me to take her to a college football game, so we headed up to Rice-Eccles Stadium tonight, bought a couple of tickets from a scalper and sat 33 rows up on the west side, right at the north goal line.
It was an incredible game, regardless of who won.
Yeah, this blog is about BYU sports, but I imagine there were more than a few BYU fans tuned in to this one, so here are a few thoughts:
* My lasting impression was that the Utes caught a huge break with that call in the end zone on their first two-point conversion try. I was more than 100 yards away, obviously, but the ball appeared uncatchable and was several feet behind the receiver. If they showed a replay of the play on the big screen high above the south end zone, I didn't see it.
The officials closest to the play didn't throw their flags. The one I saw came in from the east side, and came in late. It may have been the right call because the defender might have been face-guarding. Like coaches always say, I will have to look at the game film -- or a replay -- to say for sure.
Funny, but on our 25-minute drive home, the local radio guys (AM 700) didn't mention the call once. I'll bet the people on Oregon State's radio network brought it up. They are probably still talking about it.
* My other thought was that Oregon State's coaching staff flat-out blew the game. First, they started going for two-point conversions way too early. If they had kicked PATs after the first miss, they would have been up 30-21 after scoring that last TD, and the game likely would have been out of reach for the Utes.
On one particular two-point try, right in front of where we were sitting, the Beavers got a second chance because of a face-mask penalty on the Utes, then tried a run up the middle with their flashy but diminutive running back, Jacquizz Rodgers. The Utes snuffed it easily.
The OSU staff's other glaring error was the way they handled the possession after the Utes tied it 28-28. Not sure if it was mentioned on TV or radio, but the wind was blowing pretty good in the fourth quarter, right into the Beavers' faces.
With about 1:30 on the clock, the Beavers should have played for overtime. Their chances of driving 40-50 yards and making a field goal into that stiff wind were not good, yet they tried to do just that, with passes and the like, and ended up leaving way too much time on the clock for the Utes.
Once Utah took over at midfield with the wind at its back, around a minute remaining and two timeouts left, and an All-American kicker on its sideline (Louie Sakoda) everyone in the place had a pretty good idea how it was going to end. And it did.
Along with the Utes, the Mountain West Conference was the big winner, now having gone 6-1 against the Pac-10 with no more head-to-head matchups between the conferences until the bowl games.
It was an incredible game, regardless of who won.
Yeah, this blog is about BYU sports, but I imagine there were more than a few BYU fans tuned in to this one, so here are a few thoughts:
* My lasting impression was that the Utes caught a huge break with that call in the end zone on their first two-point conversion try. I was more than 100 yards away, obviously, but the ball appeared uncatchable and was several feet behind the receiver. If they showed a replay of the play on the big screen high above the south end zone, I didn't see it.
The officials closest to the play didn't throw their flags. The one I saw came in from the east side, and came in late. It may have been the right call because the defender might have been face-guarding. Like coaches always say, I will have to look at the game film -- or a replay -- to say for sure.
Funny, but on our 25-minute drive home, the local radio guys (AM 700) didn't mention the call once. I'll bet the people on Oregon State's radio network brought it up. They are probably still talking about it.
* My other thought was that Oregon State's coaching staff flat-out blew the game. First, they started going for two-point conversions way too early. If they had kicked PATs after the first miss, they would have been up 30-21 after scoring that last TD, and the game likely would have been out of reach for the Utes.
On one particular two-point try, right in front of where we were sitting, the Beavers got a second chance because of a face-mask penalty on the Utes, then tried a run up the middle with their flashy but diminutive running back, Jacquizz Rodgers. The Utes snuffed it easily.
The OSU staff's other glaring error was the way they handled the possession after the Utes tied it 28-28. Not sure if it was mentioned on TV or radio, but the wind was blowing pretty good in the fourth quarter, right into the Beavers' faces.
With about 1:30 on the clock, the Beavers should have played for overtime. Their chances of driving 40-50 yards and making a field goal into that stiff wind were not good, yet they tried to do just that, with passes and the like, and ended up leaving way too much time on the clock for the Utes.
Once Utah took over at midfield with the wind at its back, around a minute remaining and two timeouts left, and an All-American kicker on its sideline (Louie Sakoda) everyone in the place had a pretty good idea how it was going to end. And it did.
Along with the Utes, the Mountain West Conference was the big winner, now having gone 6-1 against the Pac-10 with no more head-to-head matchups between the conferences until the bowl games.
12:09 AM
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2 Comments:
Jay, why you want to rain on the parade? Is your blood starting to turn blue? Actually, the Utes were lucky in many ways last night. But OSU had their share of lucky breaks, too. Most close games come down to things like calls, small coaching decisions, bounces, skill, and poise. This one certainly was no exception, but it was exceptionally exciting.
Your words:
* My lasting impression was that the Utes caught a huge break with that call in the end zone on their first two-point conversion try. I was more than 100 yards away, obviously, but the ball appeared uncatchable and was several feet behind the receiver.
This is exactly what happened, but you left out a few details.
The receiver went out of bounds on the play, so he was ineligible.
The flag comes in half an hour after the play was over.
Plus the official who threw the flag was not in the best position to make the call.
If I did not know better, those were PAC 10 officials out there. Those officials owe OSU an apology for that poor call.
Your words:
It may have been the right call because the defender might have been face-guarding.
Sorry but face-guarding is allowed in college football.
The Utah students were embarassing last night, running on the field. Utah was higher-ranked, and was favored to win.
Whatever happens this season, I guarantee that Utah will not be in a BCS bowl. The fans failed to support the team against Pitt a few years ago, and the BCS does not forget things like that.
That game was like watching WWE with a pre-determined outcome.
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