I was at the game and my phone started blowing up after that. The fans in my orbit were going nuts and screenshots of that immediately began circulating.
I don’t know how many games they win this year, but the fact they came out 4-0 is testimony to Coach and his players’ commitment to get all they can. This Beaver fan tips my hat to them.
Well, eventually it was going to catch up to Utah. I hope everyone understands that, in a lot of key positions, the Utes have 3rd and 4th stringers playing. As an everyday observer of the program, to me, it's quite possible that they won't win another game this season.
Due to injuries, the Utes' offense is the worst in the PAC and certainly one of the worst in all of the P5. Personally, and I've been saying this as soon as Utah released information in July that Cam Rising suffered an ACL tear, I think that KW made a huge mistake not bringing in a proven transfer QB from the portal. Maybe he didn't want to disturb the team's chemistry or maybe he thought that Rising would be able to play most of the season, it doesn't matter, it was the wrong decision and now Utah is paying the price.
Ultimate respect for Utah. Tough gritty program. Most teams get blown out with 3rd/4th stringers in...Always welcome to come back to the PAC. Whittingham is a STUD!
I just checked and Utah's offense is ranked 122nd out of 133 FBS programs. They're only averaging 297.6 yards per game. Those are high school, a bad high school, numbers. Offensive philosophy has always been Whittingham 's bugaboo...in some ways, he's kind of this generation's Woody Hayes.
You're being far too harsh...Can't replace a two and three year starter at QB...with all the other injuries, to have those numbers and be 4-1, ranked in the Top-10 is a tribute to his coaching. When his team gets healthy, they will be back. I remember watching them at Reser when he first entered the PAC-12 Conference and how woefully under sized and out-manned they were, and yet, within 3 short years, they were a force and he's continued to be a force every year since. This may be an injury-bug year...as a coach with 30 years experience, you can't overcome the injury bug. But to be 4-1 with those numbers, I consider that a huge win for him. He knows he's under-manned, and he's playing a defensive field position game to keep the game within reach heading into winning time (4th quarter). That is his brilliance. Respectfully, you need to take another look at what they are doing through a different lens. You have to have the horses for one, and they have to be healthy for two...when those two align again, Utah will be a force in all three phases. Rock on - Go Utes!
I'm not being too harsh at all. I'm just being upfront and honest. I take it that you don't follow Utah on a day to day basis. Am I right? If you did, you'd know that Whittingham, for all of his accolades, has a number of defects with being able to develop a consistent offense being probably the most egregious. He's a tremendous defensive coach but, except for a couple of notable exceptions, his teams have always underperformed on the offensive side of the ball.
Then there's the issue with Rising...how a guy as experienced as Whittingham failed to see that a player in the most important position in the game and just coming back from a catastrophic injury maybe wouldn't be able to play a significant portion of the schedule is beyond me. He could have easily gone into the portal and gotten an experienced QB transfer as insurance but failed to do so. So now we're stuck with an injured walk-on and a scatback masquerading as a signal caller for possibly the remainder of the season. Do you think there's one DC in the entire PAC at this moment that's losing sleep at facing Utah's offense? I highly doubt it.
Lastly, did you know that quite a few of the current injured players on Utah's team were hurt during the spring and summer pre-season camps? Yeah, evidently Kyle felt that the Utes came into the 2022 season soft and didn't want that to happen again. So he had them hitting early and often in pads during the camps, leading to a number of injuries to key players.
Oh well, it is what it is...I'm going to a bunch of games starting with Cal but keeping my expectations low. Maybe they'll win enough games to qualify for a bowl but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
I really don't think any team will face Utah this year at full strength. The Utes have been playing essentially with both hands tied behind their back since the season started. It's really a minor miracle that they started 4-0 but all the signs of impending doom were there.
They're playing their 3rd/4th string QBs. They're playing their 3rd/4th string RBs. They're missing their 1st string TE. They're missing a starting WR. They're missing their starting center. It's not even a competent FCS offense. And there's the distinct possibility that's all they have for the rest of the season. I'm a Utah fan and I sincerely believe that they might not win another game. Not because it's a bad program with bad players but because of an unprecedented epidemic of injuries to key players and bad management decisions on the part of the coaching staff.
Yeah, I’m not used to seeing an Utah team play this way, being a bit of a shell of past recent seasons. Your point about not bringing in QB in portal given Cam injury a key one. I hope Rising is back under center when Ute’s visit Seattle. Keep the faith, still only 1 loss
I'm not holding my breath on Rising (or Kuithe) playing this season. It's becoming pretty obvious that they both came back because they were injured and because it was a sound business decision (they both make well above $500K in NIL) given their particular situations. Any minor setback with either of their rehabs and you can scratch them for the season.
Maybe you should apply for his job...you seem to have all the answers. They are 4-1, their not shitty by any stretch of the imagination, and yes, I not only watch Utah, I've studied them. They went toe to toe with Ohio State in one of the most wide open Rose Bowls I can remember just a short time ago. When you do not have 5-star talent across the board, you have to play a much more tactical game, playing field position and possession for possession, relying on defense and special teams. I have great respect for his situation, we face these all the time at the HS level. We just won a game we shouldn't have (over a more talented undefeated opponent) this last Friday playing the tactical game plan (14-8) with a sophomore QB, who is reckless and inconsistent, yet comes up with lightning bolts at key times. We lost our starting QB on the 3rd play of the game in the first game of the season so not only know his situation, I'm living it.
Photos missed the funniest part of the game. Coach Smith signaling the offense to milk it.
I was at the game and my phone started blowing up after that. The fans in my orbit were going nuts and screenshots of that immediately began circulating.
I saw that and had to rewind to figure out what he was doing. Lol !
That was hilarious, we’re going to see that replayed on College Game Day! 😂
I don’t know how many games they win this year, but the fact they came out 4-0 is testimony to Coach and his players’ commitment to get all they can. This Beaver fan tips my hat to them.
great photos! my top ones were:
1. The 3 players praying together captured the emotional moment and brought tears to my eyes. Truly!
2. The lead photo of Silas Bolden leaving a Utah defender left in dust! Again you were in the right spot!!
Well, eventually it was going to catch up to Utah. I hope everyone understands that, in a lot of key positions, the Utes have 3rd and 4th stringers playing. As an everyday observer of the program, to me, it's quite possible that they won't win another game this season.
Due to injuries, the Utes' offense is the worst in the PAC and certainly one of the worst in all of the P5. Personally, and I've been saying this as soon as Utah released information in July that Cam Rising suffered an ACL tear, I think that KW made a huge mistake not bringing in a proven transfer QB from the portal. Maybe he didn't want to disturb the team's chemistry or maybe he thought that Rising would be able to play most of the season, it doesn't matter, it was the wrong decision and now Utah is paying the price.
Ultimate respect for Utah. Tough gritty program. Most teams get blown out with 3rd/4th stringers in...Always welcome to come back to the PAC. Whittingham is a STUD!
I just checked and Utah's offense is ranked 122nd out of 133 FBS programs. They're only averaging 297.6 yards per game. Those are high school, a bad high school, numbers. Offensive philosophy has always been Whittingham 's bugaboo...in some ways, he's kind of this generation's Woody Hayes.
You're being far too harsh...Can't replace a two and three year starter at QB...with all the other injuries, to have those numbers and be 4-1, ranked in the Top-10 is a tribute to his coaching. When his team gets healthy, they will be back. I remember watching them at Reser when he first entered the PAC-12 Conference and how woefully under sized and out-manned they were, and yet, within 3 short years, they were a force and he's continued to be a force every year since. This may be an injury-bug year...as a coach with 30 years experience, you can't overcome the injury bug. But to be 4-1 with those numbers, I consider that a huge win for him. He knows he's under-manned, and he's playing a defensive field position game to keep the game within reach heading into winning time (4th quarter). That is his brilliance. Respectfully, you need to take another look at what they are doing through a different lens. You have to have the horses for one, and they have to be healthy for two...when those two align again, Utah will be a force in all three phases. Rock on - Go Utes!
I'm not being too harsh at all. I'm just being upfront and honest. I take it that you don't follow Utah on a day to day basis. Am I right? If you did, you'd know that Whittingham, for all of his accolades, has a number of defects with being able to develop a consistent offense being probably the most egregious. He's a tremendous defensive coach but, except for a couple of notable exceptions, his teams have always underperformed on the offensive side of the ball.
Then there's the issue with Rising...how a guy as experienced as Whittingham failed to see that a player in the most important position in the game and just coming back from a catastrophic injury maybe wouldn't be able to play a significant portion of the schedule is beyond me. He could have easily gone into the portal and gotten an experienced QB transfer as insurance but failed to do so. So now we're stuck with an injured walk-on and a scatback masquerading as a signal caller for possibly the remainder of the season. Do you think there's one DC in the entire PAC at this moment that's losing sleep at facing Utah's offense? I highly doubt it.
Lastly, did you know that quite a few of the current injured players on Utah's team were hurt during the spring and summer pre-season camps? Yeah, evidently Kyle felt that the Utes came into the 2022 season soft and didn't want that to happen again. So he had them hitting early and often in pads during the camps, leading to a number of injuries to key players.
Oh well, it is what it is...I'm going to a bunch of games starting with Cal but keeping my expectations low. Maybe they'll win enough games to qualify for a bowl but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
I'm glad the Beavers won but disappointed they didn't have a chance to face the Utes at strength.
I really don't think any team will face Utah this year at full strength. The Utes have been playing essentially with both hands tied behind their back since the season started. It's really a minor miracle that they started 4-0 but all the signs of impending doom were there.
Utah doesn’t have an offense
They're playing their 3rd/4th string QBs. They're playing their 3rd/4th string RBs. They're missing their 1st string TE. They're missing a starting WR. They're missing their starting center. It's not even a competent FCS offense. And there's the distinct possibility that's all they have for the rest of the season. I'm a Utah fan and I sincerely believe that they might not win another game. Not because it's a bad program with bad players but because of an unprecedented epidemic of injuries to key players and bad management decisions on the part of the coaching staff.
Yeah, I’m not used to seeing an Utah team play this way, being a bit of a shell of past recent seasons. Your point about not bringing in QB in portal given Cam injury a key one. I hope Rising is back under center when Ute’s visit Seattle. Keep the faith, still only 1 loss
I'm not holding my breath on Rising (or Kuithe) playing this season. It's becoming pretty obvious that they both came back because they were injured and because it was a sound business decision (they both make well above $500K in NIL) given their particular situations. Any minor setback with either of their rehabs and you can scratch them for the season.
Maybe you should apply for his job...you seem to have all the answers. They are 4-1, their not shitty by any stretch of the imagination, and yes, I not only watch Utah, I've studied them. They went toe to toe with Ohio State in one of the most wide open Rose Bowls I can remember just a short time ago. When you do not have 5-star talent across the board, you have to play a much more tactical game, playing field position and possession for possession, relying on defense and special teams. I have great respect for his situation, we face these all the time at the HS level. We just won a game we shouldn't have (over a more talented undefeated opponent) this last Friday playing the tactical game plan (14-8) with a sophomore QB, who is reckless and inconsistent, yet comes up with lightning bolts at key times. We lost our starting QB on the 3rd play of the game in the first game of the season so not only know his situation, I'm living it.
Terrific photos! Thanks! Go Beavs!
Go Beavs...Would love to see us go full on ELITE and play to this standard more often...Plenty of room to GROW - Go Beavs!
Great photos!