3^rd Quarter Thoughts - Utah 34 Weber 7

 While the Utes have done better tonight against the blitz, it has still given them some problems. On instance was Brian Johnson’s interception in the 3^rd. Weber blitzed, and the pressure got to Johnson and his arm was hit on the play. And while you hate to knit-pick, Johnson’s play to this point of the season has opened that door. He is still holding the ball too long. He had Bradon Godfrey open for 3 seconds on a play to the end zone prior to throwing it. When he did finally throw it, the safety was already breaking on the play and knocked the ball down.

 Halftime Thoughts - Utah 24 Weber 7 

While there was inconsistancey thus far from the Ute offense, its good to see the improvement from the 1^st to 2^nd quarters.

                            1^st            2^nd                 Total

Rush Yards            41           28                  69

Passing Yards        85          123                208

Total Yards            126          151               277

1^st Downs              5              9                    14

On the other side of the ball, the defense has also stepped things up. Weber rushed for -11 yards in the 2^nd quarter, and only had 25 positive yards and 2 first downs. Cameron Higgins has begun to feel the pressure and it is beginning to bother him.

Brian Johnson has been efficient (16 of 18 for 175 and 2 TD’s), but more importantly he’s been accurate finding open receivers and hitting them in stride.

In the second half the Utes need to be impressive. By impressive I mean that until the time they call off the dogs and pull the starters they need to score on every drive and shut down the Wildcats.

Why?

Upsets! So far today there have been 5 top 25 teams fall (6 if you count USC on Thursday). Three of those are ahead of the Utes in the polls, with at least one (Georgia) and maybe two (Penn State) still either tied or trailing in their games. An impressive finish put them in a situation to move up the polls and possibly into the top 15. 

 8:03 2^nd Quarter - Utah 17 Weber 7

Inconsistency. The Utes put together a nice 8 play drive. The drive had a bit of everything. Run and pass and showed that they should dominate, but. After the defense finally got pressure on Higgins, sacking him on back to back plays, the Utes get the ball on the Weber 23 and go nowhere settling for a Louie Sakoda field goal.

If it doesn’t already, the inconsistency should drive Ute fans crazy.

 First Quarter Thoughts - Utah 7 Weber 7

 As expected the Utes come out flat.

The Utes get a score set up by a trick play (Brooks throw back to Loukes. Took ball to 1 yard line). Matt Asiata scored from the 1.

But, it took a trick play for them to move the ball into scoring position. Against Weber State. Brian Johnson continues to be unimpressive. He hasn’t been sacked or turned it over, but there is not improvement from last week. He still held the ball too long on a play, and got away with it. Also, continue to watch the blitz and how the Utes handle it.

Defensively, Weber is driving the ball on the Utes. One drive stalled with a missed field goal. Another scored on a 35 yard pass, Higgins to Toone. It’s through the air that the Wildcats are having success. We’ve yet to see a lot of pressure on Higgins, and he’s been able to find open receivers down field.

While I expect things to change and the Utes to win the game, it would be nice to see a dominate performance on both sides of the ball.