The Utah Utes (9-2, 6-1 MWC) defeated the San Diego State Aztecs (7-4, 4-3 MWC) in football Saturday night by a score of 38-34. The Utes badly needed this win after getting embarrassed the past two weeks with the eyes of the nation on them. Jordan Wynn played quite a bit better tonight and I'm glad for him. I'll cheer for him when he's in there even though I did think Terrance Cain should have been given more of a look the past two weeks. But anyway, Wynn and the Utes came back to get this win after trailing 20-3 early in the second quarter. Wynn threw a 47-yard touchdown pass on a hail mary to Kendrick Moeai on a tipped ball on the last play of the half to put the Utes in the locker room trailing just 27-24.
San Diego State got a lucky touchdown on a pass that was deflected, caught and run in for a score on a ridiculous play that Utah should never have allowed to happen, but Utah responded with a score. The key play was a blocked punt that Utah recovered inside the five yard line early in the fourth quarter with the Aztecs leading 34-31. Utah was able to score a touchdown on an Eddie Wide run on fourth down that gave them their first lead of the night and also ended up being the final score at 38-34. I would have just kicked the field goal there and taken the tie, but Coach Kyle Whittingham always seems to go for it in those close type of situations and it often works out as it did tonight. And I'm not going to complain about the win.
SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for over 500 yards, but also threw 3 interceptions on the night, all three in Utah territory (two in the fourth quarter) that ended scoring chances. I credit the Utes with making some adjustments for the second half after looking completely helpless against the pass in the first half. It's never good when the opposing quarterback throws for over 500 yards, but the Utes were able to get some timely interceptions and stiffen up enough on defense in the second half.
This win showed to me that Utah has not given up on their season as they showed a lot of fight when they could have just folded the tent after falling behind by 17 early. I'm glad the offense showed up tonight. This gives me encouragement heading into the big rivalry game against BYU (6-5, 5-2 MWC) next Saturday in Salt Lake City.
As for basketball, the Runnin' Utes (3-0) defeated in-state foe Weber State (1-2) in Salt Lake City by a score of 90-75. Will Clyburn once again led Utah in scoring, pouring in 27 points. There were a lot of guys who got into the scoring act today and I was really encouraged by that. The Utes were playing from ahead the entire game and started both halves on 7-0 runs that just made things that much more comfortable. It just seemed like a good overall team effort today. One thing that I didn't like was that there were so many foul calls on both sides. It just felt like someone was shooting free throws the entire game from one team or the other, just let them play basketball, a little contact is a part of the game. I don't think that Utah would have lost or anything, it's just more fun to watch basketball when the game isn't being officiated too strictly. I usually don't like to say anything about the referees, but I thought they were just very whistle happy today, which is in stark contrast to last year's Utah-Weber State game in Ogden where there wasn't a stoppage of play for at least the first 8 or 9 minutes of the game (which I don't remember having a problem with). Fortunately, most referees don't seem to have this extreme of a problem of being too strict.
A really cool thing happened to me today. Utah forward Jay Watkins made eye contact with me during warm-ups, well before the game tipped off when there weren't very many fans there and then came over and stuck his fist up to the guard rail where I gave him a fist bump. It was really cool. Jay Wat is really cool and he had a pretty good game himself, as did a lot of guys today for the Runnin' Utes who next play at in-state rival Utah State (2-1) on Wednesday night.
Showing posts with label Eddie Wide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eddie Wide. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Utes drop Pokes 30-6
The 11th-ranked Utah Utes (6-0, 3-0 MWC) football team defeated the Wyoming Cowboys 30-6 (2-5, 0-3 MWC) Saturday afternoon in Laramie. The Utes put this one away in the 2nd quarter and led 23-0 at halftime. Matt Asiata looked sharper than he has all year and he may be more fully recovering from his torn ACL he suffered last year. Eddie Wide didn't get a lot of touches early but had an effective game. Jordan Wynn was pretty good and had a nifty 45 yard touchdown pass in the first quarter on a flea flicker to a wide open Luke Matthews. I thought there was room for improvement for the Utes but the important thing is to get the 'W' and climb in the polls. The Pokes are not a very good team so a win like this was expected, the only real question was how large the margin would be. Utah faces Colorado State (2-5, 1-2 MWC) next Saturday at 4 p.m. MT at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Utes handle Rebels to open MWC play
The 20th ranked Utah Utes (2-0, 1-0 MWC) defeated the UNLV Rebels (0-2, 0-1 MWC) 38-10 on Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City. Terrance Cain started at quarterback in place of sophomore Jordan Wynn, who was nursing an injured thumb. Cain looked pretty good and seemed better than last year. He didn't make any major mistakes or turn the ball over plus he looked pretty accurate on most of his passes. I remember in the game at Oregon last year Cain went basically two quarters without completing a pass and had a substantial streak of incompletions. Such was not the case on Saturday as Cain looked better. He even threw the deep ball accurately, notably on a 55 yard touchdown pass to Shaky Smithson in the third quarter.
Speaking of Smithson, he had a huge game. Not only did he have that long TD reception but he also had a 70ish yard dazzling punt return for a score that was just awesome. He put on some great moves and looked really solid. It really was a redemption type game since he had fumbled twice the previous week against Pittsburgh.
I thought one of the key plays in the game was right before halftime with the Utes leading 10-3 and punting inside of one minute to go. UNLV fumbled on the punt return and Utah recovered around the 20 yard line. On the first play following the recovery by Eddie Wide, Cain threw a perfect touchdown pass and the Utes led 17-3 at the break. I think Utah already had some momentum heading into the locker room but that really ratcheted it up a notch.
Although the game was tied at 3 at the end of the first quarter it never really seemed like Utah was in significant danger of losing the game. Once the Utes were ahead by 14 at halftime it felt like the Rebels didn't have much of a chance. The only concerning matter was that Utah had a punt blocked for the second straight week, this one returned for UNLV's only touchdown of the day. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said it was his top priority to straighten that out and I hope it gets taken care of. If punts keep getting blocked eventually it will catch up to the Utes.
All in all I thought the Utes looked quite impressive on Saturday afternoon; it was a great way to open up their final season in the Mountain West Conference -- hopefully a conference championship year. It was a lot of fun to be there and I felt that Utah took care of business the way they should have. The Utes have moved up to 14th in both major polls this week. Hopefully Wynn isn't on the shelf for too long, but I'm confident in Cain to fill in in the interim. The Utes face their first road test this Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT against the New Mexico Lobos. I'll have a preview of that one before then; my apologies for the tardiness of this blog.
Speaking of Smithson, he had a huge game. Not only did he have that long TD reception but he also had a 70ish yard dazzling punt return for a score that was just awesome. He put on some great moves and looked really solid. It really was a redemption type game since he had fumbled twice the previous week against Pittsburgh.
I thought one of the key plays in the game was right before halftime with the Utes leading 10-3 and punting inside of one minute to go. UNLV fumbled on the punt return and Utah recovered around the 20 yard line. On the first play following the recovery by Eddie Wide, Cain threw a perfect touchdown pass and the Utes led 17-3 at the break. I think Utah already had some momentum heading into the locker room but that really ratcheted it up a notch.
Although the game was tied at 3 at the end of the first quarter it never really seemed like Utah was in significant danger of losing the game. Once the Utes were ahead by 14 at halftime it felt like the Rebels didn't have much of a chance. The only concerning matter was that Utah had a punt blocked for the second straight week, this one returned for UNLV's only touchdown of the day. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said it was his top priority to straighten that out and I hope it gets taken care of. If punts keep getting blocked eventually it will catch up to the Utes.
All in all I thought the Utes looked quite impressive on Saturday afternoon; it was a great way to open up their final season in the Mountain West Conference -- hopefully a conference championship year. It was a lot of fun to be there and I felt that Utah took care of business the way they should have. The Utes have moved up to 14th in both major polls this week. Hopefully Wynn isn't on the shelf for too long, but I'm confident in Cain to fill in in the interim. The Utes face their first road test this Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT against the New Mexico Lobos. I'll have a preview of that one before then; my apologies for the tardiness of this blog.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Utah football begins tomorrow night!
The Utah Utes open up their 2010 season at home tomorrow night against the #15 Pittsburgh Panthers. The game is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. MT and will be televised on Versus which is channel 603 on DirecTV and channel 34 on Comcast in Salt Lake City.
Pittsburgh is picked by man to win the Big East this year and should provide a stiff challenge for the Utes right out of the gate. Pitt's top player is sophomore running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Dion Lewis who rushed for 1,799 yards as a freshman last season. Lewis is definitely a game-breaker type who should make things very interesting, not to mention difficult for the Utes. However, Pittsburgh is breaking in a new quarterback this year in sophomore Tino Sunseri and though I am sure he is a talented player, I think it will take some time for him to break in with the offense, particularly on the road. Utah's defense is typically strong and I expect the same this year. Lewis will get some yards but the scoring won't be too outlandish.
On offense I think the Utes are set up quite well with returning starters at all the key positions. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn showed flashes of greatness last year and has a great arm not to mention good decision making abilities. I think Wynn will lead a potent offense this year starting tomorrow night. Notably returning at wide receiver in Jereme Brooks of whom I expect there will be some big plays this year -- he is a solid target for Wynn to throw to. And of course in the backfield there is a two-headed monster of Eddie Wide (who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season) and Matt Asiata (coming back from an injury shortened year). Asiata is more of a power back and Wide provides more speed. I am very confident in both of them. They have both shown they can be effective and have experience on their side.
I expect Pittsburgh's defense to be tough, but I think Utah will get enough points to win in a close one. Lewis will do his fair share of damage on the offensive end for the Panthers, but Utah has a stout defense themselves and a number of weapons offensively. The two teams are pretty evenly matched and in a game like that I'm going to have to go with the home team.
I will be at the game in person and providing updates on my Twitter feed for which the address is twitter.com/dpaysports. And of course I will be back on here after the game to blog with my thoughts. Go Utes!
Pittsburgh is picked by man to win the Big East this year and should provide a stiff challenge for the Utes right out of the gate. Pitt's top player is sophomore running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Dion Lewis who rushed for 1,799 yards as a freshman last season. Lewis is definitely a game-breaker type who should make things very interesting, not to mention difficult for the Utes. However, Pittsburgh is breaking in a new quarterback this year in sophomore Tino Sunseri and though I am sure he is a talented player, I think it will take some time for him to break in with the offense, particularly on the road. Utah's defense is typically strong and I expect the same this year. Lewis will get some yards but the scoring won't be too outlandish.
On offense I think the Utes are set up quite well with returning starters at all the key positions. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn showed flashes of greatness last year and has a great arm not to mention good decision making abilities. I think Wynn will lead a potent offense this year starting tomorrow night. Notably returning at wide receiver in Jereme Brooks of whom I expect there will be some big plays this year -- he is a solid target for Wynn to throw to. And of course in the backfield there is a two-headed monster of Eddie Wide (who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season) and Matt Asiata (coming back from an injury shortened year). Asiata is more of a power back and Wide provides more speed. I am very confident in both of them. They have both shown they can be effective and have experience on their side.
I expect Pittsburgh's defense to be tough, but I think Utah will get enough points to win in a close one. Lewis will do his fair share of damage on the offensive end for the Panthers, but Utah has a stout defense themselves and a number of weapons offensively. The two teams are pretty evenly matched and in a game like that I'm going to have to go with the home team.
I will be at the game in person and providing updates on my Twitter feed for which the address is twitter.com/dpaysports. And of course I will be back on here after the game to blog with my thoughts. Go Utes!
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