Weekend Recap Week 3: BYU Encounters Disaster, Utah Starts Slow

September 19, 2022 Eric Jensen CFB, Uncategorized 0

The weekend recap for week 3 is here. In this weekend recap of week 3 we’ll take a look around the state of Utah of just what exactly happened this weekend around the state of Utah in college football. 

BYU

To say BYU’s loss to Oregon Saturday was a disappointment would be an understatement. This was a team that for two straight weeks looked like they had turned a corner and despite injuries fielded the best team the program had seen in ten years.

Then BYU lost two key defensive ends and the progress of the last two weeks crumbled. If while you are reading this you think, Eric you’re being overdramatic, one loss does not mean the end of BYU’s season.

Well unfortunately dear reader in some ways it does. Independence has doomed this franchise, and they’ve admitted that by moving to the Big-12 next year. With one loss in independence the Cougars will be doomed, likely, to an independence bowl. The used car salesman bowl in Shreveport LA. might be calling this program’s name. That is the flat-out unfortunate truth of the matter.

Part of what doomed BYU this week was a startling lack of depth. After losing your top two pass rushers the defensive line and the backups got absolutely worked by Oregon’s line. This is the next step Kalani Sitake needs to take as a head coach, recruit depth, have enough depth on your roster that when you lose a lineman or two another four-star prospect can step in and make an impact on the game.

That is not where BYU is as a program, they are razor thin in the trenches it seems and that will ultimately be the thing that makes this game so hard to swallow, the Cougars are simply not ready for power five play. Maybe that’s an overreaction but I think you can begin to worry about those depth issues at this point in the season.

The running game completely fell apart for the Cougars offensively, that ultimately limited an offense that relies heavily on RPO’s and gains off screens. The team ran for a total of 61 yards and Chris Brooks only put up 28 yards on the ground. That sort of effort from BYU’s backs just won’t cut it.

Upfront offensively the Cougars line played an impressive game, only allowing one sack and getting good push up front for the running game. This is another reason why this BYU loss hurts so much, ultimately poor effort from runningbacks and a lack of depth at pass rush positions, and poor tackling defensively, ultimately cost BYU what could be a special season.

That’s not to say the season is over but BYU’s hopes for a new years six bowl look increasingly dire. Even sweeping Notre Dame and Arkansas might not be enough. It’s an unfortunate truth but one that Cougar fans know all to well, independence comes with a massive downside.

Utah

I find it hard to write about Utah right now. It’s extremely hard to be critical of a team that has outscored opponents 108-7 over the past two weeks.

That’s an absolutely insane margin of victory, and yet at the same time it could be said the Utes have left points on the field. The team has a requisite score of 14-14 in first quarters this season.

Football is a four-quarter affair though and the Utes have dominated the other three quarters. Yet still something feels amiss.

Has Cam Rising regressed? It’s hard to say that after the second quarter he just had, however, he still isn’t playing like the potential first-round pick we saw a year ago.

Is the lack of receiving production a problem? No, it isn’t, the team can find touchdowns when they need it and have two of the best tight ends in the country that despite the gameplan always find ways to get open.

The front and back of this defense have flat out been the best in the country over the past two weeks. So why is it so hard to write about Utah? Why are Utah fans freaking out on Twitter?

My hypothesis is this: It is hard to be Alabama. It is hard to be Ohio State. At this point though, the programs are on equivalent levels. The Utah football program has the money and the infrastructure to keep up with those programs. An opposing viewpoint to mine would say they need to be held to that standard. I am still hesitant, but the time for patience seems to be passing in both fan and media coverage. Utah must start faster and play better and compete and win a Pac-12 championship if this is to be considered a top ten football program in the nation.

The expectations are here, and apparently dominating wins despite slow starts just won’t cut it anymore. Perfection is being demanded.