Utes embarrassed again

The #15 Utah Utes (8-2, 5-1 MWC) were completely embarrassed today by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-5) by a score of 28-3 in South Bend, Indiana. The Utes led 3-0 early, but then had a punt blocked deep in their own territory and returned for a touchdown and the Irish never looked back, taking a 14-3 lead into halftime. Shaky Smithson fumbled the opening kick off of the second half and the Irish quickly converted that into another score and later tacked on another touchdown.

Jordan Wynn was 24-39 passing with no touchdowns and an interception. He looked terrible for the second consecutive week, often missing open receivers and making poor decisions. He should have had at least one more interception. I can't fathom why Coach Whittingham again left Wynn in despite so many struggles. Wynn looked to me like a guy who had lost his confidence. Terrance Cain got in for two plays while Wynn got a bit banged up, but was promptly re-inserted into the game. I think you seriously have to consider starting Cain next week and if Wynn does start, he has to have a short leash.

I don't know what is wrong with the Utes. They just looked completely inept on offense and didn't seem to be able to do much for a while after Notre Dame took the lead on the blocked punt. The Utes had a couple of drives end with failures to convert on fourth downs in the red zone late in the game. I guess it's good that they moved the ball, but the failure to score is disconcerting. I didn't think the defense looked too bad, in reality they only deserved to have 14 points pinned on them. It was just a bad way to look on national television.

Utah plays at San Diego State (7-3, 4-2 MWC) next Saturday night at 8 p.m. MT. The Aztecs lost on the road today to #3 TCU (11-0, 7-0 MWC) by a score of 40-35. That'ws the closest game TCU has played all year. That doesn't bode well for next week and I think I'll have to pick SDSU to win that one.

In basketball, the Utah Runnin' Utes (1-0) opened their season last night with a 72-48 win over Grand Canyon (0-1), a Division II school. It's tough to gauge how much the win really means since it was against a Division II school, but I did enjoy getting to see the new faces of the Runnin' Utes. Will Clyburn in particular looked good and looks to have a good shot, going 2-4 on 3 pointers and scoring 14 points to lead all scorers. The Utes defense looked good as well in the win. I think we'll know more after Wednesday when the Utes take on Montana (0-1) at home at 7 p.m. MT. The Grizzlies are a Division I school that made the NCAA Tournament last season by winning the NCAA Tournament so they should provide a bit more competition.