I haven’t been able to rewatch the game yet. For some reason the game didn’t record, so I’m snagging an Xfinity log-in to rewatch today.
If you were screaming at your TV most of the game for Whittingham to keep Johnson in, you were probably in the 99th percentile of Utah fans. I think Barnes can be a good QB, but he absolutely overthinks and questions himself during games. I’ve said since last year that he overlooks wide open guys for difficult passes, instead. That’s continued and that’s why the offense stalled under him for almost all possessions other than the 80 yard TD.
It’s the opposite for Johnson. He’s not the best practice player. He’s young so he can be inconsistent in practice, but yesterday was proof that when even when he’s given a larger role, he has the “it” factor when the lights are brightest. He also has the Rising style swagger that is contagious that the entire team and the fans feed off of.
There’s zero question though, they need Rising back.
Ja’Quinden and Glover were phenomenal yesterday. As much as I enjoyed watching Ja’Quiden run yesterday, the Weber State game is needed, so he can get some run time and then rest to get healthy. Glover grew up on the field yesterday and suddenly looks like a weapon. Now if one of them can show the versatility in receiving that made Bernard so vital to Utah’s attack.
Mikey Matthews might start turning into WR1 faster than anyone might have expected. It’s been inevitable, and yesterday he came through in the 4th when he was trusted and given space to operate.
I wanted to give the OL the benefit of the doubt, but the unnecessary holding penalties continued when Johnson was in, proving that it wasn’t just because Barnes was making their life difficult by holding the ball too long.
Defensively, Cole Bishop was the rock solid dude everyone has come to expect from him. He did have one deep ball that he went to help on that he could have played differently, but no one will complain about his overall game. He had timely stops and that INT was a season saver. This is his defense and he’s quickly becoming an all-time Ute.
The DL needs to be better, they really struggled with stopping the run most of the game. Zero sacks was also surprising.
Lander Barton is special gift. Enjoy him. He made Bishop’s INT possible. Plus the overturned call on his forced fumble was complete bull$#!+. The receiver took multiple steps and made a football move… before absolutely getting hammered.
DBs were hit and miss yesterday, giving up some big plays. That final play could have gone either way. After first I thought it was PI, but then the close-up angle told me otherwise. The smartest thing Battle did was keep his eyes up for the ball.
Cam is almost back—sometime in the next two weeks—the Utes will be undefeated by the time he steps on the field. I know it’s been a bit stressful, the best case scenario is happening, while everyone is getting healthy.
If you were screaming at your TV most of the game for Whittingham to keep Johnson in, you were probably in the 99th percentile of Utah fans. I think Barnes can be a good QB, but he absolutely overthinks and questions himself during games. I’ve said since last year that he overlooks wide open guys for difficult passes, instead. That’s continued and that’s why the offense stalled under him for almost all possessions other than the 80 yard TD.
It’s the opposite for Johnson. He’s not the best practice player. He’s young so he can be inconsistent in practice, but yesterday was proof that when even when he’s given a larger role, he has the “it” factor when the lights are brightest. He also has the Rising style swagger that is contagious that the entire team and the fans feed off of.
There’s zero question though, they need Rising back.
Ja’Quinden and Glover were phenomenal yesterday. As much as I enjoyed watching Ja’Quiden run yesterday, the Weber State game is needed, so he can get some run time and then rest to get healthy. Glover grew up on the field yesterday and suddenly looks like a weapon. Now if one of them can show the versatility in receiving that made Bernard so vital to Utah’s attack.
Mikey Matthews might start turning into WR1 faster than anyone might have expected. It’s been inevitable, and yesterday he came through in the 4th when he was trusted and given space to operate.
I wanted to give the OL the benefit of the doubt, but the unnecessary holding penalties continued when Johnson was in, proving that it wasn’t just because Barnes was making their life difficult by holding the ball too long.
Defensively, Cole Bishop was the rock solid dude everyone has come to expect from him. He did have one deep ball that he went to help on that he could have played differently, but no one will complain about his overall game. He had timely stops and that INT was a season saver. This is his defense and he’s quickly becoming an all-time Ute.
The DL needs to be better, they really struggled with stopping the run most of the game. Zero sacks was also surprising.
Lander Barton is special gift. Enjoy him. He made Bishop’s INT possible. Plus the overturned call on his forced fumble was complete bull$#!+. The receiver took multiple steps and made a football move… before absolutely getting hammered.
DBs were hit and miss yesterday, giving up some big plays. That final play could have gone either way. After first I thought it was PI, but then the close-up angle told me otherwise. The smartest thing Battle did was keep his eyes up for the ball.
Cam is almost back—sometime in the next two weeks—the Utes will be undefeated by the time he steps on the field. I know it’s been a bit stressful, the best case scenario is happening, while everyone is getting healthy.
