The Official 2013 In-State Football Prediction Thread
- Thread starter 7StraightIsGreat
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green
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I don't. Keaton is good, no doubt about it, but I see him ending the year battling Hill for 2nd/3rd in the state. Everyone loves to forget that Wilson was an Elite 11 QB, is coming into his second season as the starter, has an OL, better RB group, better WR's and some have said the best TE's in the PAC-12...plus Dennis Erickson. Keaton's specialty is his legs, and as terrible as Utah's run defense was last year, in the second half Utah held him to 23 yards rushing on 7 carries. Everyone really tends to forget how DREADFUL USU's schedule was. It was pathetic.
I'd put the NFL prospects as follows:
#1 - Trevor Reilly. NFL.com already has him listed as a better prospect and going higher in the draft.
#2/3 - Tenny Palepoi/Van Noy - I put this as a toss up. All Utah does is churn out NFL DT's. I think Van Noy will slip due to not having the hogs in front of him eating up blocks. He will struggle initially and it will hurt his draft stock.
I think the rest will go undrafted (Hoffman, Blechen, etc). Keaton will stay for his senior season because USU is going to fall hard this year.
I hope you're wrong, but you might not be. Utah has a lot of talent at CB, just no experience. They could be solid...or terrible.
I think they will really shine this year. Returning QB, better OL, better RB's, potentially amazing TE's, very good OC.
BYU will live and die by their OL and Hill's accuracy. If either of these falter...ouch. If they both shine, then BYU could be very good. Their QB is a big question mark, Williams looks to be a very good RB, but their backups have never really played, OL could be awful (like Utah last year bad), and you think their TE's are pretty good? Everything I've heard/read mentions how BYU is going with more WR sets. BYU of old doesn't do that with good TE's.
Isn't BYU bring three new starters to the DL? Also, I know a lot of BYU fans are saying Kaufusi will be amazing...and he very well could be, but he won't fill the void left by Ziggy. Let's say that Kaufusi is 80% the player Ziggy was. BYU gave their opponents 62 plays per game last year. That means that Ziggy was better on 12 plays per game. How different does the GT game go, if Ziggy doesn't run down the option 3-4 times? I think BYU still wins, but not as large as they did. Ziggy will be missed. Then throw in all new starters...like I said, I think Van Noy gets hurt by this the most. I think BYU ends the season strong, but if you lose a couple to start, then it doesn't really matter.
Aren't three of your LB'ers new starters?
green
Well-Known Member
I think USU falls hard this year. Two big reasons:
1 - The WAC only had 7 teams last year. This means that there were only 6 conference games. Which means that SJSU, Texas State, La Tech, and USU had six "win" games they could schedule...and most did (props to USU for playing BYU, Utah and Wisconsin). USU played three real teams last year in Utah, BYU, and Wisconsin. USU went 1-2, including a miracle win where Utah didn't have a QB, lost their DE, their starting S didn't play, and multiple horrible calls from the refs. i.e., if that play with Murphy is ran 10 times, Utah wins that game 9.9 times out of 10. USU is VASTLY over-rated. Big time. They won't be able to pad their record with 5 lower division teams this year.
2 - Keaton isn't a great passer and his WR's/TE's are subpar. Teams will put 10 guys in the box and dare Keaton to beat them with his arm. And he will fail. Again, look at last year. In the second half against Utah, Keaton had 7 rushes for 18 yards, he went 11/16 with 115 yards and 1 TD (not bad). The problem is, they only scored 1 TD, and this is their drives:
15:00 3 01:57 USU 7 4 46 Fumble
11:34 3 02:19 USU 25 5 19 Punt
07:45 3 00:40 USU 38 2 3 Fumble
04:22 3 01:59 USU 35 3 6 Punt
14:45 4 01:08 USU 37 3 7 Punt
11:29 4 01:03 USU 32 5 11 Punt
09:54 4 00:44 USU 34 3 66 Passing Touchdown
07:12 4 01:53 USU 19 3 7 Punt
03:19 4 02:31 USU 16 5 9 Punt
00:00 4 00:00 USU 35 0 0 End of Half
Not good at all. It was worse vs BYU and Wisconsin. Just when teams figured out Keaton, their season turned over to patsies. I don't see them being able to take advantage of the MWC teams like they did the WAC teams.
1 - The WAC only had 7 teams last year. This means that there were only 6 conference games. Which means that SJSU, Texas State, La Tech, and USU had six "win" games they could schedule...and most did (props to USU for playing BYU, Utah and Wisconsin). USU played three real teams last year in Utah, BYU, and Wisconsin. USU went 1-2, including a miracle win where Utah didn't have a QB, lost their DE, their starting S didn't play, and multiple horrible calls from the refs. i.e., if that play with Murphy is ran 10 times, Utah wins that game 9.9 times out of 10. USU is VASTLY over-rated. Big time. They won't be able to pad their record with 5 lower division teams this year.
2 - Keaton isn't a great passer and his WR's/TE's are subpar. Teams will put 10 guys in the box and dare Keaton to beat them with his arm. And he will fail. Again, look at last year. In the second half against Utah, Keaton had 7 rushes for 18 yards, he went 11/16 with 115 yards and 1 TD (not bad). The problem is, they only scored 1 TD, and this is their drives:
15:00 3 01:57 USU 7 4 46 Fumble
11:34 3 02:19 USU 25 5 19 Punt
07:45 3 00:40 USU 38 2 3 Fumble
04:22 3 01:59 USU 35 3 6 Punt
14:45 4 01:08 USU 37 3 7 Punt
11:29 4 01:03 USU 32 5 11 Punt
09:54 4 00:44 USU 34 3 66 Passing Touchdown
07:12 4 01:53 USU 19 3 7 Punt
03:19 4 02:31 USU 16 5 9 Punt
00:00 4 00:00 USU 35 0 0 End of Half
Not good at all. It was worse vs BYU and Wisconsin. Just when teams figured out Keaton, their season turned over to patsies. I don't see them being able to take advantage of the MWC teams like they did the WAC teams.
fishonjazz
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Kafusi has a faster 40 time, did more reps of the 225 pound bench test, and is bigger than ziggy.... plus has more experience than ziggy since he has been playing football all his life.
So kafusi is bigger, faster, and stronger than ziggy..... doesnt mean he will be better though, we will have to wait and see.
Manumaleuna (?) Is a returning starter in the defensive line.
Van noy and hadley are both returning starters at LB.... and unga played a lot.
Wilson may have been in the elite 11 thing but heaps was the mvp and didn't look too good as a soph. (Still think wilson will be good but just cause he was in the elite 11 camp doesn't mean he will be)
I think that your crazy to think riley is thought of on the same level as van noy.
But if course every time you talk about cougs and utes you are about the least objective person around so I understand
Edit: ziggy ran a 4.63 and kafusi ran a 4.67.
Kafusi is 2 inches taller and 12 pounds heavier than ziggy.
Kafusi did 6 more reps of the 225 lb bench (27 total)
framer
Well-Known Member
I think Utah gets rolled with a new offensive coordinator against a stout defense opening day. I'd be scared if BYU opened against Utah St. with the newness of the offense. In order to win, Utah will need to do so ugly with the Defense coming up big, like BYU did last year. Utah's D is not nearly what BYU's Defense was last year, especially opening day.
Here's the thing, if Utah loses, they could start 1-7 (win against Weber St.) They would likely be underdogs in all of those games but Weber (depending on how BYU gels.) Three of the next four they probably have more talent, but the wins are not going to be gimmies. I am also not impressed with Utah's depth on offence as they face a murderer's row of hard-hitting defenses.
I think BYU's Defense will be good enough to keep them in almost every game like last year, and a lot will depend upon Hill. Hill at least has the ability to toss the rock further than 10 yards which will mean a lot with the quality of BYU's receiving corps. The TE isn't as big as it usually is for BYU because BYU doesn't usually have that many great receivers. I might be tempted to forgo a pass catching TE for an extra blocker due to the question marks at O line for BYU. Defenses will not be able to stack the box on BYU and the running game should get moving sooner. Additionally, Anae is an elite OL coach (was just a wizard here in Tucson) so I think he will stop the bleeding there.
That said, BYU has a tough schedule, but I think they get by Utah (bye week before game, Utah has homecoming, that is usually reversed) and get 7 to 8 games, go to a bowl, and win against an also-ran PAC team.
Utah St. gets to a bowl game.
Here's the thing, if Utah loses, they could start 1-7 (win against Weber St.) They would likely be underdogs in all of those games but Weber (depending on how BYU gels.) Three of the next four they probably have more talent, but the wins are not going to be gimmies. I am also not impressed with Utah's depth on offence as they face a murderer's row of hard-hitting defenses.
I think BYU's Defense will be good enough to keep them in almost every game like last year, and a lot will depend upon Hill. Hill at least has the ability to toss the rock further than 10 yards which will mean a lot with the quality of BYU's receiving corps. The TE isn't as big as it usually is for BYU because BYU doesn't usually have that many great receivers. I might be tempted to forgo a pass catching TE for an extra blocker due to the question marks at O line for BYU. Defenses will not be able to stack the box on BYU and the running game should get moving sooner. Additionally, Anae is an elite OL coach (was just a wizard here in Tucson) so I think he will stop the bleeding there.
That said, BYU has a tough schedule, but I think they get by Utah (bye week before game, Utah has homecoming, that is usually reversed) and get 7 to 8 games, go to a bowl, and win against an also-ran PAC team.
Utah St. gets to a bowl game.
UGLI baby
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7StraightIsGreat
Well-Known Member
UGLI baby
Well-Known Member
Samezies.
Weird cuz framer is usually spot on when it comes to the Jazz. Probly a byu homer.
This post brought to you by UGLI baby
scootsy
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the entire post? that's a long time to be lol'ing. maybe the first paragraph. and well.. maybe the majority of the second paragraph. well. and that little bit at the end.. alright, i'll give it to you
7StraightIsGreat
Well-Known Member
Definately a BYU homer.
That being said, I am a Utah homer, but I do realize Utah could easily miss a bowl game for the 2nd straight year if things don't go right, but I would BET THE FARM that Utah doesn't start 1-and-7 or anything close to that. I also love how Utah State and BYU fans feel that Utah is in trouble of losing both games. I know this sounds CRAZY, but Utah is 15-and-1 in the last 16 against Utah State and has won 7 of the last 10 against BYU.
Could Utah lose both of those games? Most certainly. But with recent history considered, I would think both fan bases wouldn't be so quick to write their games against Utah off as W's.