Seeing the unis in Twitter shows all black. Did I miss something ? Or just piss poor marketing to fire us up? Or not….

Alright, here's an early line check. Pac-12 first:

Cal +13.5 @ #16 Utah. Utah opens a 2-TD favorite over Cal, with the total at 45, so the expected score is roughly 29-15. Cal has improved, with blowout wins over N. Texas and Idaho and a close win against ASU, but the rest of their schedule is ranked opponents until Stanford, so they'll need a couple of upsets to get to a bowl.
Stanford +12 @ CU. Total is 59, so expected score is 36-24. Stanford is 1-4 with only one unranked remaining opponent (Cal), so they're not going bowling without upsetting CU (plus a bunch of other teams). It's only Taylor's first year, but it's not going well.
#8 Oregon +2.5 @ #7 UW. This is telling you that Vegas thinks these teams are roughly equal, so UW gets 3 points at home. Total is 67, so Vegas is expecting points, with an anticipated final of 35-32. I'd be tempted by the under, despite two great QBs, because Oregon is #6 in total D and #5 in passing D. UW is slinging it, but I think Oregon will be able to slow them down.
Arizona +8 @ #19 WSU. Total is 60.5, so expected final is 34-26. Arizona is finally looking like a dangerous team, they absolutely can play with WSU. They are 3-3 right now with WSU, OSU, UCLA, CU, Utah, and ASU left, so they have a shot at a bowl but need an upset.
#10 USC +2.5 @ #21 Notre Dame. Total of 60.5, so expected final is 31-29. ND is not as good as expected, but they can play a little defense. USC is also not as good as they're ranking, but I'd take them as a road dog here, I don't think ND will be able to slow them down enough.
#18 UCLA +4 @ #15 ORST. Total is 53.5, so expected final is 29-25. I'd take the under, but that's pretty low.
ASU. Bye

Rest of the top 15:

#1 UGA -31.5 @ Vandy. Total of 56.5, so expected score of 44-12.
Indiana +33.5 @ #2 Michigan. Total of 47.5, so expected score of 41-7.
#3 OSU -19.5 @ Purdue. Total of 50, so expected score of 35-15.
Syracuse +17.5 @ #4 FSU. Total of 56, so expected score of 37-19.
UMass +43 @ #6 PSU. Total of 56.5, so expected score of 50-7.
Arkansas +19.5 @ #11 Bama. Total of 46.5, so expected score of 33-13.
Miami +3.5 @ #12 UNC. Total of 57.5, so expected score of 30-27.
#14 Louisville -7.5 @ Pitt. Total of 46, so expected score of 27-20.

Not a lot of room to move, outside of ND/USC (if USC loses), UW/Oregon (who probably won't fall too far), and maybe Miami or Pitt can upset UNC or Louisville. Still, lots of garbage this week in the top 15.

Future Big 12:

ISU +5 @ Cincy. Total of 45.5, so expected final of 25-22.
Kansas -3.5 @ OKST. Total of 57, so expected final of 30-27. Kansas is okay, but I'm surprised they're favored at OKST. OKST is struggling, but they're probably better than this.
KSU +1 @ TTech. Total of 56, so expected final of 29-28. TTech has looked pretty bad, so I'm actually surprised they're favored over KSU.
BYU +5 @ TCU. Total of 53, so expected final of 29-24.
WVU -2.5 @ Houston. Total of 51.5, so expected final of 27-25.

Vegas is expecting a bunch of great games in the Big 12 this week, with nobody favored by more than a TD.

Injury happened yesterday in practice according to Whittingham.

Here’s Dustin PFF article on who Cal has lost and who they’re returning:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/inside-the-numbers-cal-bears

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Taylor Randall as the force behind the outlandish $50 million per school counteroffer to ESPN. This according to Wilmer in his latest column.

It’s incredible. Anybody could put that kind of a number on the table, thinking that it was a legitimate offer. If true, Randall should be prevented from having any input into any negotiations in the future.

Here’s the notes from their interviews:

Craig Smith—
Smith is excited but he feels like everyone in the conference is excited. He feels like it’ll be a very strong year for the league.

The Runnin’ Utes are a lot bigger, deeper and more athletic. He likes their camaraderie. He also likes the three-point shooting. He feels like they have the experience this year that’s the type that truly matters.

Smith says Carlson really owns the gym. He used to be a quieter guy and now he’s really stepped up with his leadership.

Smith was asked about the lady Utes and their success and how it’s reminded everybody that Utah is a basketball town. Smith said that the rich tradition of the men’s program is not lost on him and he talked about attending Utah’s 1998 final four. He said they’ve made progress the first two years but they need to make more now to continue to get back to where it needs to be.

Smith claims that all of the new guys are a little bit better than the staff had even thought.

Specifically asked about him, Smith says he’s excited about Lawson Lovering’s trajectory.

Last year Utah’s 1s could play with anybody’s 1s, but their 2s really struggled with everybody else’s lineups. Losing Gabe Madsen to his injury last season is what really hurt the team.

Ben Carlson may have had the best summer of anybody in the Utah program. (My take: That’s the Burgess Effect)

Smith made mention that Worster’s team in practices is usually the one that finds a way to win.


Branden Carlson and Rollie Worster—

They’re joking with Carlsen that he set the record for most media days in a player's career.

Worster says the biggest thing this year is to put everything all together — aside from the injuries that they experienced last year.

They asked Carlsen about his tweet about his car not working… (My take: I’m sure it was meant to be funny, but at the same time, too — the last I heard unless it changed — Carlsen is doing pretty well for himself NIL wise after they made it sweet for him to come back for this year. The reason I even mention this is, he could have just said something behind the scenes)

Both players acknowledge that the lineup with Branden Carlson, and Lawson Lovering is a big advantage for Utah.

Carlson is looking forward to all the competition with the talented bugs in the conference. He said that’s another reason he came back is to improve his game against talent like that.

Well, I love you all, but I’m not going to lie, I had to pull myself away a bunch during the BYE. Truthfully it was needed for my mental sanity. These last two weeks or so have been extreme patience testing with fans questioning or being verbally combative on here and on social media. Hell, I’ve even had plenty of people I know text me, ask and still question me. I get everyone’s frustrations on timelines and injuries. I’m also very transparent that these are day to day things that can easily change. Additionally, I know AcrossTheGreen has gone “mute” happy with how he’s been treated, so if he doesn’t respond to some… well, at least you can still see the inside stuff he can give… Unfortunately, I’m sure others are doing the same after these last two weeks.

Now that that’s off my chest, I can put myself in everyone’s shoes and see the frustrations. Again, I get it.

So… let’s say Cam is back this week (please no bitching at me that he won’t be)… What are you looking forward to? Where do you expect the team to improve out of the BYE?

Matt breaks down Cal in this week's matchup:

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I’m telling you…. Utah has not had a quarterback recruit like Isaac Wilson in my memory. Stress recruit. No idea how he will develop. But the kid can make ALL THE THROWS with ease. An absolute CANON of an arm…. Routine 40+ yarders on a rope and perfectly placed. Runs as good as if not better than Rising.

He is every bit the player Jaxson Dart and Devin Brown is. He will barely be shaving come spring so I’m not deluding myself. There will be growing pains but…..

Y’all shouldn’t worry about the QB room next year as much as you should look to get a legit running back to take the pressure off bit. That should be your concern.

Are there any freshman or redshirt freshman that could be pressed into playing?

Here’s some of the quotes from today:


Opening Statement…
"Coming up on the halfway point of the season. Cal and us are both coming off of loses, ironically both to Oregon State. Cal is much improved on offense this year, averaging over 400 yards and 30 points a game – they are very balanced. They are 3-3, and we have them at home. We love playing in front of our crowd here at Rice-Eccles Stadium. It is also a 1 p.m. kick, which is also a positive. We have the one loss in conference play, which is disappointing for us obviously, but I'll be shocked if anyone gets through this league undefeated."

On if there is anything from the tape for Cal against Oregon State that they can take into the game this week…
"Well they went with a different quarterback, they went with No. 15. We were expecting to see the other guy when we watched the game. They are an RPO team. They have good running backs, I am impressed with No. 1 and No. 22 in particular. They have a receiver that has 30+ catches. It was an offensive shootout in their game against Oregon State, which was dramatically different than what we experienced at Oregon State."

On if there are opportunities for improvement on defense…
"There are always opportunities to improve. We aren't getting quite as many takeaways as we have in the past, but we aren't bad, just not as many as we are accustomed to. We can always get more pressure on the quarterback. Our run defense has been stout and our third down defense has been outstanding. That has been a critical stat that a lot of people look past because if you get a stop on third down it is basically a mini-turnover because you are getting the ball back. We lump third and fourth down defense into conversion downs, and we are playing really well there. So, there is room for improvement, but they have done a lot of good things."

On what he has taken pride in with the team halfway through the season…
"How they have handled adversity. I think they've done a nice job handling adversity because we have had some tough spots through the season and they have had a great attitude and mentality toward that. They have stuck together through that. We have played better on defense than we have on offense, but there has been absolutely no finger pointing. They have done a nice job of staying unified."

On the strength of Cal's defense…
"To pick one, they are playing mostly even up front. They have some good edge guys and a couple of good linebackers. Their boundary corner is a good player. Not a lot of pressure, but they just play very sound, solid football. Coach Wilcox is a very good defensive coach, that is his forte and you know you are always going to get sound schemes and fundamentals and technique out of teams that he coaches."

On playing against teams that have had to play multiple quarterbacks…
"It is much harder to maintain quality backups because of the portals, because quarterbacks don't want to sit. If they feel like they should be playing, they aren't going to sit if they are going to be a No. 2 or a No. 3. It has become a very fluid position with a lot of transition. That room has had more change year to year than any other position in the building because of the nature of how that works. This day in age if you have a solid No. 2, you are in good shape."

On Jonah Elliss…
"He is the No. 1 sack guy in the country. He has had a tremendous year and is a tremendous football player."

Can somebody provide the name of the recruit that the athletic writer is talking about in the tribute today. I’m maxed out on how many newspapers I can subscribe to. Right now I’m up till 11. Thanks.

Athletic article by Chris Kamarani published a couple hours ago. Outstanding overview of the extent of Cam’s knee injury, the required recovery and necessary milestones. Chris interviews Rising’s surgeon.

You’ll undoubtedly run into a paywall. Sorry about that.

Matt reviews how the upcoming class commits did this past weekend:

We have ballers on defense - Vaki, Barton, Ellis, Tanuvasa, Bishop, Reid etc.

That said our corners are average. Room to improve at that position.

The offense on the other hand…

1. OL is solid but nothing more than that.
2. The WR group is still underperforming. Too many drops, no real YAC threats, Pittman has been MIA.
3. Jaylon Glover ain’t it at RB. Doesn’t make guys miss or break tackles and lacks speed to get to the edge. We need a healthy JJ stat.
4. The QB position is a hot mess. Huge opportunity for someone to step forward while Cam recovers and it hasn’t happened. Not much to point to at this point to expect much different.
5. All of the playmakers are shelved, Cam, Kuithe, JJ, Micah, Pittman. Doubtful the offense will just flip a switch.

Ok, I’m not diving into the Cam saga….there’s enough threads already on that. But what about the #2 QB and depth at this position?

My friend told me weeks ago “it is hard for every team to recruit a solid #2”. I figured with Cam pretty much engrained that he might be right. Getting a transfer would be hard, especially if they’re hearing Cam will be back.

But then I just watched Arizona take USC to a third overtime where he throws for 300 yards and 5 TD’s. I watched as the ASU QB throws for over 300 yards and a TD. So….how is it they can get an offense and a QB who can still throw the ball but Utah looks absolutely inept in the “throw game” with anyone but Cam? The QB and throw game are a HUGE liability.

So the question that remains to be answered….how come Utah and it’s coaches don’t have a capable QB other than Cam on the roster and why is our offensive scheme so bad that we can’t compete on offense unless Cam is there? It’s a pretty glaring weakness as you watch college football around the country…

…. Next year at quarterback between he and Rose. Kid has been playing like this all year. Elite skills. I do believe, as some have suggested, that many high school kids look good against weak competition. Not here. It’s the way he plays…. He doesn’t simply stand in the pocket and put up gaudy numbers against poor competition. Here is one example of why he is the real deal.

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I think everyone will go nuts over what they’re announcing:

https://x.com/utahcrimson/status/1709279862618550587?s=46&t=rCeydSjlZpEXuJwsvf6X2A

Damm the Cats had them!!!

I’m being candid here, I get that everyone is frustrated over the timelines that have been given, but this tells everyone that his injury recovery can be unpredictable. I really hope this quiets everyone questioning Cam’s effort —and honestly I’m floored and a bit annoyed over the last couple weeks that I even need to say that with some of the ridiculous rumors out there. If you listen to his voice on this, what fans have said about him has clearly affected him.

Everyone just needs to support their guy who has sacrificed his body and brought the Utah program to absolutely unheard of heights.

I hope this ends all arguments.

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