On August 12, 2014, I was involved in a serious accident. I wasn't seriously injured, but I was injured and my recovery has taken longer and become more complicated than I imagined it would be. I have also been assisting in the care of my mother who recently had a serious stroke. Life has gotten in the way of this blog.
But here are my impressions on how the college football season has gone so far for our Utah teams.
BYU has been impressive on offense and defense. The last year they started this well in both scoring points and defense was 1977. However, that all ended when Gifford Nielsen suffered a season-ending injury at Oregon State. I'm not going to call BYU's season this year a special one, yet. Let's see if they are still unbeaten after the Central Florida game.
My prediction: 10-2 and not quite in a big bowl game.
Utah is better on offense this year...but defense? The defense looked better for most of the Fresno State game. But the Bulldogs did score 20 points after the game was out of reach. However, those points were scored against the scrubs. Fresno is rebuilding this year, and was probably not best test for the Utes. Idaho State's Xavier Finney ran for 133 yards. Something that should have never happened. Michigan will provide a healthy test for Utah on both sides of the ball. Win or lose, we will learn a lot about the Utes next week. If Utah played California instead of Oregon, I would be confident that they would be in a bowl game this year.
My prediction: 5-7
Utah State was embarrassed at Tennessee. There is no panic in Logan, just yet. Tennessee is not exactly what they were when Payton Manning played there. But they were good enough to win the way they did against USU. The Aggies have to improve if they are to win the Mountain Division. Right now, Boise State looks like a loss. Colorado State, who is improved, could beat them as that game is in Fort Collins. That would still put them in a bowl game, but not one they would like to go to.
My prediction: 9-4 and the Armed Forces Bowl
Weber State looks improved. They were blown out by Arizona State, which should surprise no one. They came close, for 3 quarters, to upsetting North Dakota State. They have a winnable game this week against Sacramento State. Hopefully the first win of the Jay Hill era.
My prediction: 4-8
Southern Utah looks lost so far this season. But they can get back on track when they come home to face South Dakota State. It is a must-win game for the Thunderbirds because you don't want to host Weber State looking for your first win of the season. Especially if the Wildcats have already have their first W under their belt.
My prediction: 4-8
For this week, I expect BYU will pull out a close victory against Houston. Utah State will win a nail biter against Wake Forest. Southern Utah will lose to South Dakota State. And Weber State will get a W against Sacramento State.
Power Rankings
FBS Independents
1. Notre Dame
2. BYU
3. Navy
4. Army
PAC-12
1. Oregon
2. Stanford
3. UCLA
4. USC
5. Arizona State
6. Washington
7. Arizona
8. Utah
9. Oregon State
10. California
11. Colorado
12. Washington State
Mountain West
1. San Diego State
2. Boise State
3. Utah State
4. Colorado State
5. Fresno State
6. San Jose State
7. Nevada
8. UNLV
9. Wyoming
10. Air Force
11. Hawaii
12. New Mexico
Great Big Super Huge Sky.
1. Montana
2. Eastern Washington
3. Montana State
4. Cal Poly
5. Northern Arizona
6. Portland State
7. Sacramento State
8. Southern Utah
9. UC Davis
10. Northern Colorado
11. Weber State
12. North Dakota
13. Idaho State
No comments:
Post a Comment