Is Utahs defense overated?

[BoylenOver]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I cannot predict how the game will turn out, given the propensity for injuries, but if both teams play similarly in November as they do at the edge of October, Utah has several things going against it, its interior defense, its propensity for turnovers, and inconsistent offense.

BYU if it stays turnover free, is still vulnerable to Utah's speed on the outside, but overall, I see Utah as too inconsistent to win the game, though it is the game I most fear.

Utah has enough balance on offense to threaten BYU, but it goes through periods of complete offensive ineptitude. My biased guess is, BYU may be the better team, at the margins. But Whit has shown the ability to prepare his team for that game, so all bets are off.

The Utes will get Kenape Eliapo and his 290 pounds back in November, making our interior D a little bigger.

If the Utes can exploit BYU's secondary, force BYU into obvious passing downs, and win special teams, I like our chances, but the game is too far away.

[UtahDan]

If the Ute D is highly rated it is news to me.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by BoylenOver

The Utes will get Kenape Eliapo and his 290 pounds back in November, making our interior D a little bigger.

If the Utes can exploit BYU's secondary, force BYU into obvious passing downs, and win special teams, I like our chances, but the game is too far away.

Utah has a decent chance.

But to account for Unga, you will need to cheat at times, and that will open up Pitta. The receivers are all capable, block well and run good routes. I like our chances as well, because forcing us to pass is not a terrible thing.

The balance this offense has makes it a beautiful thing to watch. And the reduction in turnovers keeps it churning.

Again, Utah has the athletes to challenge BYU, and Whit knows how to defend BYU better than anybody else. This team will prove if it is special by virtue of its performances on the field. I like this team NOW better than I liked the last two years' teams. It is more consistent and better all around on offense. I'm not certain about its defense as it's a no name defense. No stars.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by UtahDan

If the Ute D is highly rated it is news to me.

I don't believe it's your best defense, certainly not as good as the ones with Weddle. But Utah never has a bad defense, not under Whit.

[UtahDan]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I don't believe it's your best defense, certainly not as good as the ones with Weddle. But Utah never has a bad defense, not under Whit.

This is precisely my sense of it.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by UtahDan

If the Ute D is highly rated it is news to me.

They're ranked in the Top Ten in total defense.

That means the D is highly rated.

Duh.

[DrumNFeather]

If we've all learned one thing the last few years, it's that performances vs. other teams on the schedule are not a predictor of what will happen in the rivalry game.

That said, I think that the D gets complacent at times depending on the opponent...I'm not just trying to explain away 359 yards to Weber, I'm just saying that thus far the defense has stepped up when it has needed to.

Overall, I think that this year's D is better than last year's D. At linebacker, we're far better. The DEs are a year older and better and the secondary is pretty good...although Brice McCain seams to have regressed a little. Obviously the DT position is one of concern, but Gary Anderson has been able to create schemes that are allowing smaller DTs like Greg Newman to thrive...and of course, getting Eliapo back will help quite a bit.

As for the ppg average, I don't know how much that really means in the overall scheme of things as long as you get a win...and brother Urban always taught us to never look down on a win.

[BYUsportsguy]

I wouldn't say Utah's defense is over rated, but OSU is going to be a good opponent to test them against. I don't think OSU is better than Utah, I pick Utah to win by 2 TDs, but if OSU can destroy a team like USC the same can happen to a team as good as Utah.

As long as Utah brings their A-game, it should be a fairly one-sided win.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Utah has a decent chance.

But to account for Unga, you will need to cheat at times, and that will open up Pitta. The receivers are all capable, block well and run good routes. I like our chances as well, because forcing us to pass is not a terrible thing.

The balance this offense has makes it a beautiful thing to watch. And the reduction in turnovers keeps it churning.

Again, Utah has the athletes to challenge BYU, and Whit knows how to defend BYU better than anybody else. This team will prove if it is special by virtue of its performances on the field. I like this team NOW better than I liked the last two years' teams. It is more consistent and better all around on offense. I'm not certain about its defense as it's a no name defense. No stars.

While I mostly agree with you on the defense, to say that Jan Jorgensen and David Nixon aren't stars is an egregiously ignorant statement.

[smokymountainrain]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I was one of the few people in America to understand that USC was overrated.

The test for Utah is whether or not they can stop OSU's running game. If they can, then we have learned something.

Even OSU's running game was pretty average before the USC game - that little running back had been averaging about 4 yards a carry.