Impressions, the day after...

BYU @ Texas

Jake Heaps has now been involved in 3 close games as the Cougar quarterback.  In all three of those three games, the team has suffered from lack of execution at critical times and has failed when one score was needed to ice the game.  At Ole Miss, the defense bailed the team out with a score.  That did not happen this week.  Just one more touchdown, field goal or safety was all that was needed.  The defense has done the job, but the offense has failed.  There has been a change in the offensive staff, but the results are the same.  The problem has to be the players on the field.

In comparing Heaps to his predecessors, one thing comes to mind.  Some of his predecessors were highly touted coming out of high school, but some were not.  Jim McMahon "settled" for BYU because Notre Dame did not want him and Utah State did not have baseball.  Gifford Neilsen was so unwanted, he split his time between 2 sports.  Detmer wasn't even recruited by BYU.  The coaches tried to move Steve Young to defense.  Robbie Bosco ran the wishbone in high school.  Steve Sarkisian had to use the Junior College route.  Heaps, like Ben Olson and a couple of others that I would have to look up to find, has so far been a disappointment   One has to wonder if the hype that Heaps had in High School is part of the problem.  He certainly is not living up to the incredibly high expectations that people had for him.  Unlike his predecessors in Provo, he is not delivering wins against quality opponents.

In all fairness to Heaps, however, the play calling in the second half became far to conservative and predictable and lacked the killer instinct needed to win a big game on the road.  Now it is time for the Utes, a team that the Cougars lost to in a close game at the end of last season.  This will be the real test of whether Heaps, Mendenhall and Doman and the players on the field have learned anything.

Utah @ USC

The Utes opener in PAC 12 play finished almost as predicted.  USC's 9-point victory covered the oddsmakers spread.  Like BYU, the Ute defense did the job that they were asked to do, that is, they gave the team a chance to win.  The problem is that the offense could not deliver a victory.  The Utes could drive the ball, but twice could not convert a 4th down and had the blocked field goal at the end of the game.  In the long run, it appears that Utah's first season in the PAC 12 will turn out exactly like the experts expect.

The Utes can not afford to dwell on losses.  Next week is a trip to Provo.  BYU's defense looks good and the Ute offense will need to figure out how to find pay-dirt.  The good news for the Utes is that BYU is in the same boat.  Expect a defensive battle in Provo this week.

Weber State @ Utah State

Upset bids are often considered a fluke, especially when they occur in the first week of the season.  In week 2, USU did exactly what a decent FBS team does, and that is beat up on a team from the lower division.  Still, Weber has a lot of experience on defense and this game should have been closer.  USU looks much improved over last season, but next week we will know for certain.  After demolishing the lower division Cats, the Aggies will need to show they are consistent in what is now a trap game against Colorado State.  They will have to prove that they are not looking ahead to the big match-up in Provo.

For Weber, playing 2 FBS opponents every year may be bringing in some cash, but it is not giving them what they need, and that is confidence as they look ahead to next week's Big Sky Conference opener against Sacramento State.  Last year, a team that the Cats should have easily handled took them to 4 overtimes.  The trouble is that beginning next year, they will belong to the only FCS conference west of the Mississippi.  With high fuel costs, playing nearby higher division teams is much more economical that visiting Missouri Valley or Southland Conference stadiums.  I still question whether or not Doug Fullerton and the Big Sky Conference presidents made the right decision in creating a super conference.  Weber is going to need to learn how to win some of these games if they expect to make the playoffs every season.  They are now half-way to the 4 losses needed to eliminate them from post-season contention.  For that matter, so is the defending national champion, Eastern Washington.  Memo to Mr Bovee: now that BYU is on the schedule, let's visit someone like Missouri State next year and have a realistic chance at the post season.

Sacramento State @ Southern Utah

Looks like we all have underestimated Brad Sorensen and the Thunderbirds again this year.  Sacramento State did beat Oregon State in Corvallis last week, but they did not look that good in Cedar City this week.  The point is, however, Sacramento State is good enough to surprise an FBS team, even if now OSU looks awful.  The T-Bird offense did not rack up big numbers because they did not need to.  They had the field position advantage all night, so big offensive numbers were not needed.  That means that the defense played a whale of a game, and the special teams had a good game as well.  This was a complete victory for SUU.  The T-Birds will have to pull off another two or so unexpected wins to make the playoffs, but by the time we reach that point of the season, they may not be unexpected any longer.  Next is an early homecoming against the UTSA, playing in just their third football game ever.