Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen- it's a beautiful day for football and a beautiful day for a game thread.

Article is late because of a server error, so we apologize about that.

https://utah.rivals.com/news/keys-and-battles-utah-vs-oregon

My sons, Little League football game time was announced as 2 PM. I am one of the coaches and it is the championship game. I don’t see a way around it so I have to sell my tickets. I have 6 total tickets to N19 Row 14, then 4 tickets are in section N19 Row 51. If you are interested, send me a message.

Kuithe's full description of his knee injury:

"I tore my ACL and meniscus last year and what happened when I tore it, my meniscus, it tore and then flipped into the joint, I forgot what it’s called, bucket handle or something, but flipped into the joint so I couldn’t straighten it or bend it all the way before surgery so I couldn’t put weight on it, which I couldn’t get any muscle back, so I was just losing muscle the whole time because I couldn’t really do a whole lot. And when I got surgery I was having a lot of pain and as far as motion goes and everything, I was having a hard time with that because of the pain. And also just it wasn’t moving very well. It was locked up for so long for a couple weeks. And at that point I got told that I probably need to get a scope because of scar tissue, but I kind of went the route of just breaking it up on my own, which, pretty painful, just more of just like you got to bend to the point where it hurts a lot, but obviously you’re not going to tear anything, it’s just you’re breaking through scar tissue.

I got to the point where I ended up developing a cyclops lesion on my ACL, which it’s not a common thing, but it’s also not anything crazy, it’s just a built up a scar tissue on my ACL and I had scar tissue around my knee, which Dr. ElAttrache kind of said, ‘I don’t know how you’ve been practicing, but we’re going to need to get surgery on it,’ remove the cyclops lesion because I couldn’t get full extension, which in turn my quad wasn’t activating, I couldn’t get the full strength back. It’s kind of a risk for hyperextension, all those different things. So I ended up getting the surgery … and then after that it’s been literally night and day difference as far as how my knee feels.

But I’m just kind of trying to get back to strength and everything and it’s progressing but not as fast obviously as I wish it would have been because if I was fully healthy and I got this procedure done, I could be playing, but I was still trying to get stronger and come back before I got the surgery. So I’m just not able to play.

But knowing that I can be fully healthy now just kind of makes me feel way better. It is just very frustrating. I can’t play this season and as far as after this, it’s kind of up in the air and what I’m going to be doing, but I’m just happy that I got this done, I needed to get it done. I wish I could have gotten it sooner, but I mean it is what it is. So I’m just on the road to recovery, but I’m finally feeling good. It’s just trying to get everything back to where I need it to be."

Gave me chills

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I know we are all in football mode right now, but I am wondering if there has been any feedback on the secret scrimmage vs. Nebraska? Also, any word or info on Deivon Smith?

Do we have anyone coming for official visits over the next couple weeks?

Dustin's weekly deep dive into the PFF grades with the Ducks:

Utah will have a few big 4-star recruits in this weekend and visits should begin to pick up with the HS playoffs hitting…

Jericho Johnson, DT
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Roger Saleapaga, TE
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Xavier Jordan, WR (USC commit) Login to view embedded media

Some Utah mentions in this:

https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-recruiting-buzz-ten-visits-to-watch-this-weekend

With his first NFL TD.

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Halie looks back to the USC game and previews the Ducks:

U$C

I know Utah wasn’t in his final schools but this just seems like an interesting choice of schools for him.

Doesn’t seem like a player SC would target. They usually go after bigger fish (4 or 5 star type) and he has major BYU connections

I know this is a huge blow to Pope.

Matt breaks down the Ducks in an ESPN College Game Day visit to Salt Lake City:

Alright, let's see what Vegas thinks. First, Utah:

#8 Oregon -6.5 @ #13 Utah. Total right now is about 48, so expected final is 27-21 Oregon. Weather may affect this line, we'll see how the forecast looks on Friday.

The rest of the Pac-12:

#5 Washington -26.5 @ Stanford. Total right now is 60, so expected final is roughly 43-17. UW can probably set the score and they'll be mad after struggling with ASU last week.
#11 OR ST -3.5 @ Arizona. Arizona destroyed WSU last week and almost beat USC before that. If the Beavers don't take them seriously, they could absolutely lose this game. Total is 56.5, so expected final is 30-27. Both teams play good defense, so I think I'd take the under.
Colorado +17 @ #23 UCLA. That's a big line. UCLA plays good defense, but I'm not sure their offense is fixed, although they've looked better. Total is 63.5, so expected final is 40-23. That's a lot of points. Again, I'd probably take the under and CU to cover, but UCLA to win.
#24 USC -11 @ Cal. Total is 67, so expected final is 39-28. This is a good one to take the over, because both teams play offense and neither play any defense.
WSU -6 @ ASU. Total is 51, so expected final is 28-22. WSU isn't as bad as they looked last week, ASU is better than expected, but this line feels about right.

That's a LOT of road favorites in the Pac-12. Only UCLA is favored at home. At least one of those home teams is getting the outright win, and maybe more. Arizona, Utah, and ASU all have very good shots, and USC doesn't have a HC right now, so that's an upset Cal can get if they play a great game.

Now let's look at the rest of the top 15:

#1 UGA -14.5 @ Florida. Florida is right outside the top 25 right now and is playing well, but beating UGA is a tough task. Total is 47, so expected final is 31-17.
#3 OSU -14.5 @ Wisconsin. Another road favorite. Total is 45, so expected final is 30-15.
#4 FSU -20.5 @ Wake Forest. ANOTHER road favorite. Total is 51, so expected final is 36-15.
#6 OU -10 @ Kansas. ANOTHER ROAD FAVORITE. Total is 65, so expected final is 37-27
BYU +17.5 @ #7 Texas. Finally, a home favorite. Total is 50, so expected final is 34-16. I would say take Texas and the over, but their starting QB is injured and I don't know anything about their backup.
Indiana +32 @ #10 PSU. Another home favorite. Total is 46, so expected final is 39-7.
Vandy +24.5 @ #12 Ole Miss. Total is 63.5, so expected final is 44-20.
Pitt +20.5 @ #14 Notre Dame. Total is 44.5, so expected final is 32-12.

There are definitely going to be some upsets this week. That's so many road favorites.

Finally, let's look at our future conference mates:

Cincy +7.5 @ OKST. Total is 52.5, so expected final is 30-23.
Houston +17.5 @ KSU. Total is 58.5, so expected final is 38-20.
WVU +7 @ UCF. Total is 58, so expected final is 33-25.
ISU -2.5 @ Baylor. Total is 47.5, so expected final is 25-23

The Big 12 doesn't look primed for upsets like the Pac-12 this week, with mostly home favorites except the ISU/Baylor game, which is almost a pick-em.

Spring QB Room

With Bryson Barnes now the starter for the remainder part of the season (barring injury), the QB Room next year becomes a little bit clear.


Bryson Barnes
Brandon Rose

? Nate Johnson? Changes position or trans to a smaller school to play QB.

Mac Howard sees the writing is on the wall, and he’s a likely transfer. With Wilson coming into the picture in the fall, he very likely would slide further down the depth chart.

Cam Rising if he gets a medical redshirt and wants to come back he likely wouldn’t see a lot of action in the spring.


Fall QB Room

Bryson Barnes
Brandon Rose
Issac Wilson

Cam Rising status could change the above order with everyone sliding down one slot. Without Cam the backup spot between Rose and Wilson become important part of fall practice heading into the Big 12

Bryson Barnes - the rest of the season will go long way to helping to set the ceiling and the floor for the rest of his Ute career. I personally was surprised by his play in the USC game. How about you? take away the one really bad pick six and he played a stellar game against a fast but average defense. Still he showed something last Saturday.

Am I missing something about the QB Room next year?

The hits keep coming, but the wins do too. WOW.

With all of the injuries this year I would like a break down of the SPECIFIC injuries and then see if it is an equipment issue..... Is Under Armor's having a shoe issue? I have never known there to be so many lower leg injuries... Now with Barton out there has to be questions asked and studied. Just bizarre.

Well deserved by all of them

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I was in SoCal visiting family and 4 of us went to the game. We bought tickets same day on the 30 yard line up high for $28. We had a GREAT time.

The place was about 60% full and it seemed like everyone stayed until the end. I haven't seen a crowd in California do that.

They did several things to hype the crowd. A hype guy appeared on the big screen many times and told the fans how to cheer. The halftime show featured electric guitars that were louder than the 500 member band. I liked that. They had big screen games and comedy bits involving players at every timeout it seemed. Utah could learn a few things from USC on how to entertain a crowd. Good times.

Jim Harbaugh Announces Resignation As Michigan Head Coach​