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News Article: Utes not worried after studying film of 'Bama

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Tokolosh said:
One of the best B-ball games I've attended was #1 Alabama playing Utah in the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake. Incredible game from start to finish, Totally electric atmosphere. I'm low on the totem pole in my family so some of my brothers got to use the good season tickets and my brother-in-law and I were relegated to the nosebleeds with the visiting 'Bama fans. Good conversation all game, fun to watch the game with the opponents fans... but I am glad we (being Utah) pulled it out in the end. If I recall correctly it was a two point or one point win.

Good memories. Anyway, back to football.
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I would have said without question that Utah is better than Bama in Basketball. However, after the way we played Mercer close and held on to beat Alabama A&M I might have to rethink that.

O.K....you're right......back to football, before I get on a roll here....lol
 
I'm seriously not too concerned.
Honestly, being a spread team with a good QB and speed is basically what UF was. EXCEPT, replace good QB with amazing QB. Tebow is one of the best quarterbacks to play the college game, and is one of the most talented to come around in a long while. He was surrounded by a team with incredible talent and speed.

I'm not saying Utah isn't a good team, and I don't think we will demolish them. But they have nowhere near the sort of talen UF possesses as far as overall talent and speed, and they don't have a QB that can come close to Tebow's talent and ability to change the game. Without him, UF would not have won that game.

You can talk numbers all you want but I believe UF's defense is better than Utah's from what I have seen.

I'm don't believe im being overconfident or giving Utah no respect, but that are a far worse team than Florida. And I believe if we can hang in there with UF until the 4th quarter when we had opportunities to win, we can definitely beat Utah. We are also a far better team than Utah IMHO-sorry Ute fans on the board.

Sure, you can have the whole damn Great Wall of China on your shoulder for all I care. But this is BAMA football. We are one of the most disciplined, hard-hitting, relentless, and well coached teams in the NCAA. We will also have a chip on our shoulder. In case you have forgotten, we just missed out on the closest shot we have had to the NC in 16 years. Not to mention we have been riduculed, prosecuted, and disrespected by the media and NCAA for years, including this one. Ute fans, don't think you are the only ones playing with a grudge and something to prove.

I admire your fans and teams confidence and determination, and am not underestimating you. I will guarentee that Coach Nick Saban will not either. He will have the boys ready, and I am confident that the Tide will show up, and be rolling all over the Ute's spirits come the fourth quarter when you are down and faced with stopping the best backfield in the nation from winding down the clock. Goodluck.

That being said, I hope the Utes come to play, and may the best TEAM win.
 
After visiting the Utah Football site and studying their numbers a bit I come away with one thing and again this isn't meant as smack talk. However, Utah has played, Michigan, UNLV, Utah State, Air Force, Weber State, Oregon State, Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico, TCU, San Diego State and BYU. They were out gained in yardage by Oregon State, Wyoming and TCU. Against the best "D" they've played all year (TCU) they scored 13 points, only gained 275 total yards while giving up 416 total yards. They only scored 1 touchdown in that game. Also, TCU had one of those field goal days like Bama had against Arkansas. In the 4th quarter they missed two fields goals...one from the Utah 9 yard line and one from the Utah 18 yard line. Again, they won the game and good for them but TCU is the only "real" defense they played all year (outside of Wyoming who kicked their butts statistically too) but won the game.

Statistically speaking Bama won every game with the exception of Florida and those stats were almost DEAD EVEN. And I know that stats don't tell the entire story of a football team or game, but when you look at them they also don't lie.
 
I wish they hadn't said all that, but I don't imagine it will make Bama any more motivated to win the game. It seems like pretty weak bulletin board material, but there's no point in providing any.
 
Alanbama27 said:
. . . we HAVE played high powered offenses ALL year and have stuffed them.
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I agree with everything else you said, but this is probably over-stating our case a bit. Can't say we've played high powered offenses ALL year, we did play UT, AU and MSU after all. :biggrin:

I can't speculate on the Mountain West, I don't know enough, but the SEC typically has few high powered offenses in the sense of the Big XII this year. Georgia and Florida were the only true high powered offenses we faced. Clemson had potential at the skill positions, but didn't have an OL, so they never really got off the ground this year. As I pointed out, UT, AU and MSU were positively anemic on offense. I think Arkansas improved throughout the year, but weren't very good when we faced them. LSU had a chance but poor QB play doomed them. I think the rest were middle of the pack offenses.

Our offense has gone against tougher defenses. Although, I am intrigued by the argument that SEC defenses are over-rated due to poor offenses and Big XII defenses are unfairly maligned due to the high scoring offenses. I wish there were more SEC/Big XII match-ups to shed some light on this debate.
 
hayes6 said:
I wish they hadn't said all that, but I don't imagine it will make Bama any more motivated to win the game. It seems like pretty weak bulletin board material, but there's no point in providing any.
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Hayes, I think if your offended by anything posted in this thread or board you should realize you are on a Alabama board, and reactions or opinions may not be geared towards being pleasant to any opposing teams fans that may be around to hear.

After all, you on are a discussion board. It is meant for opinions, and the statement of facts. Whether or not they support the team you happen to root for. I don't see anything that should not have been said.

I don't think what I or other people have posted was meant to motivate the team. I doubt most of them read any of this, so I don't think that was the intention behind the posts. Perhaps you will find less "weak bulletin board material" on a Utah fan website.
 
Joe89e said:
Hayes, I think if your offended by anything posted in this thread or board you should realize you are on a Alabama board, and reactions or opinions may not be geared towards being pleasant to any opposing teams fans that may be around to hear.

After all, you on are a discussion board. It is meant for opinions, and the statement of facts. Whether or not they support the team you happen to root for. I don't see anything that should not have been said.

I don't think what I or other people have posted was meant to motivate the team. I doubt most of them read any of this, so I don't think that was the intention behind the posts. Perhaps you will find less "weak bulletin board material" on a Utah fan website.
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He was talking about what the Utah players were quoted as saying in the article.


And I'm still waiting for a Ute, specifically Tokolosh, to respond to my post.
 
CapitalTider said:
I agree with everything else you said, but this is probably over-stating our case a bit. Can't say we've played high powered offenses ALL year, we did play UT, AU and MSU after all. :biggrin:

I can't speculate on the Mountain West, I don't know enough, but the SEC typically has few high powered offenses in the sense of the Big XII this year. Georgia and Florida were the only true high powered offenses we faced. Clemson had potential at the skill positions, but didn't have an OL, so they never really got off the ground this year. As I pointed out, UT, AU and MSU were positively anemic on offense. I think Arkansas improved throughout the year, but weren't very good when we faced them. LSU had a chance but poor QB play doomed them. I think the rest were middle of the pack offenses.

Our offense has gone against tougher defenses. Although, I am intrigued by the argument that SEC defenses are over-rated due to poor offenses and Big XII defenses are unfairly maligned due to the high scoring offenses. I wish there were more SEC/Big XII match-ups to shed some light on this debate.
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I think you are mistaking High Powered to mean SPREAD or Flashy. High Powered are offenses that can beat you either on the ground or through the air and do so while kicking your brains in! While Auburn's offense stunk this year, I believe even their OL is still as good as Utah and their "D" is better. The same could be said of UT IMHO. No they didn't gel this year but their players are every bit as good as most SEC players. Aub's receivers and QB's suck, but otherwise their talent is totally SEC caliber. I guess what I'm saying is that if MOST of the Mountain West Athlete's were so good, they'd likely be playing for Pac 10 or even Big XII teams. Of course, Utah is a bit different in that many of their students are Mormon and they only have two (football) schools to choose from...Utah or BYU.
 
Alanbama27 said:
I think you are mistaking High Powered to mean SPREAD or Flashy. High Powered are offenses that can beat you either on the ground or through the air and do so while kicking your brains in!
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We are using two different definitions of "high powered." I don't necessarily mean spread teams, but teams that score a lot of points, post high yardage totals and are ranked highly in the NCAA offensive categories.

I was trying to avoid the whole quality of player, quality of conference argument, since that is so subjective. Those have to be answered on the field; which is why I would like to see more SEC-Big XII match-ups to really gauge how they stack up against each other.
 
uafan4life said:
How do you figure that?

Utah's Scoring Offense is ranked 15th scoring 37.42 points per game.
Bama's Scoring Offense is ranked 30th scoring 31.15 points per game.
Not a huge difference there.

Utah's offense has done this against 11 FBS teams giving up an average of 30.8 points per game. Utah is scoring 6.6 points per game more than their opponents average giving up.
Bama's offense has done this against 12 FBS teams giving up an average of 22.45 points per game. Bama is scoring 8.7 points per game more than their opponents average giving up.

Utah is giving up an average of 17.3 points per game.
Bama is giving up an average of 13 points per game.

Schemes and such aside, these statistics would point to a final score of:
Bama 26 Utah 20

Beyond that, Utah has faced 5 scoring defenses ranked in the top 50, and 1 ranked in the top 15. Bama has faced 6 top 50 scoring defenses, with 5 of them being in the top 15.

Against scoring defenses ranked in the Top 50, Utah is averaging 28 points. Against TCU, the only top 15 scoring defense they faced, they scored 13 points.
Against top 50 scoring defenses, Bama is averaging 27 points. Against the 5 scoring defenses in the top15, Bama is averaging 29 points per game.

Utah is going against their second great defense. A defense that is equal to, if not greater, than the best defense they've faced.

Bama is going against their sixth good to great defense. A defense that ranks in the middle of the pack in the good defenses they've faced.

Against good to great defenses, Bama is scoring just as much, if not more, than Utah.
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I'm not the formidable Tokolosh, but I think you're taking the statistical analysis a bit too far. There are so many variables that I don't think those comparative stats mean a lot at this point. We've both played good teams and bad teams. We've both played better one week than another. Bama is bigger than Utah, plays in a tougher conference and gets better recruits. Utah has a more diverse offense and has won some hard-fought, close games against good opponents. They both have a lot of time to prepare for the game, which means there may be some new wrinkles brought in.
 
uafan4life said:
And I'm still waiting for a Ute, specifically Tokolosh, to respond to my post.
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Sorry to leave you hanging. It's tough work to keep up with all the message boards and hold down a full-time job. Client work just keeps on coming. ;)

I'll admit that the numbers aren't in our favor. But as pointed out by others, numbers don't tell the whole story though they are usually good indicators and there is a reason Utah is sitting as a 10.5 point dog.

Utah has gone into games against BCS foes over the years hearing the same things, having the same statistical comparisons tossed out and essentially being told they don't belong on the same field. More often than not Utah has proven to not only belong but comes out ahead.

I am really hoping that this is another game that comes out in the "more often than not" category. Will I be surprised if 'Bama beats us soundly? No. Will I be surprised if Utah wins in a close one? No.

Luckily this is why the game is played. We'll know whether you are right with the numbers by the end of January 2nd. That is a much better outcome than the constant wondering that 2004 gaves us. That was a much better Utah team and it didn't get the opportunity that this Utah team is getting.

Alanbama27 said:
Also, TCU had one of those field goal days like Bama had against Arkansas. In the 4th quarter they missed two fields goals...one from the Utah 9 yard line and one from the Utah 18 yard line..
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In the spirit of numbers not telling the whole story... TCU gaves us a gift with those missed fieldgoals. However, we do have a tall guy in the middle who had been blocking fieldgoals like crazy. He was right there in the middle and any kicker who had watch our special teams film was aware of him and would have tried to kick around him if possible.

Also, credit Brian Johnson for the delivery in crunchtime. In the two minute drill he couldn't be stopped by TCU's defense. It is an example of our two sided offense this year. We stalled at times but we have seen entire games where our offense was on fire. The stalling and the effiency didn't seem to depend on the defense we were up against either. I wish we had a reason for it so we could know how to be sure our best was showing up in New Orleans. :(
 
Tokolosh said:
Can a sportswriter be the one to provide bulletin material? Those quotes are the writer and not the team. The teams quotes seem to give 'bama respect but also show they are confident in their own abilities to play with Alabama.

I would not want my team to get in front of the mic and say "Boy, we're really in for it here. These guys are going to walk all over us."

FWIW, Saban has been providing some material for the Utes. I'm sure in practice he is making the team work their tails off and get up for this game but he's made some snide comments about the non-BCS teams.
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Tokolosh,
Saban's comments had little if anything to do with Utah. As usual, sports reporters who are too lazy to find facts took a comment that Coach Saban made and turned it into a slight on Utah. Coach Saban was asked about Alabama's loss immediately after the UF game and he basically said that he was proud of his team as they were the only BCS conference team to finish the regular season undefeated. No slight to Utah what so ever but a true statement showing pride in his team and their accomplishments. Again, this was immediately after the Florida game and we did not even know who Alabama's opponent would be. Now, some hack reporter in SLC hears that statement and decides to report it as a slam against Utah. Maybe a little, I mean just a little fact finding should be in order before that j. a. decides to run with a non-story.
 
I like these Utes. They've got spunk and they understand that the game is played on the field.

As a Bama fan over the last 10 years, I'm also accustomed to hearing that we don't belong on the field. I think that anytime between 1997 and 2008 (maybe excepting 2002) when we played Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and even Auburn, we were told that we were "has-beens" and that we didn't have the athletes to compete. The press usually derided us over our anemic offense and our "unrealistic expectations" for thinking that we could ever compete with the new elite of the SEC. However, we won a lot of games on the field that we lost on paper: 1999 Florida (regular season and SECCG), 2001 Auburn, 2005 Florida, 2005 Tennessee, 2007 Tennessee, 2008 Clemson, 2008 Georgia. We also played close games against teams that should have buried us on paper: 2002 Oklahoma, 2003 Tennessee, 2004 Auburn, 2006 Florida, 2007 LSU.

I haven't visited the Ute sites to see how much vitriol is being spewed against us over there, but I like the attitude of the ones that have ventured over here. After January 2nd and a good clean game, I might find myself cheering for them next year.
 
IH8Orange said:
I like these Utes. They've got spunk and they understand that the game is played on the field.
.
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I agree. I enjoy reading the Utah perspective. Wish a few more of 'em would venture over here. Only ones with class though, like the ones posting over here now.

Maybe this was answered before... but what's a Tokolosh?
 
With all due respect to the Ute's fans on this site, and to the football program, I am simply not concern about them as a football program. I fully expect Alabama to come out an whup Utah on Jan 2, win the game by 20, finish the season strong. I'm not saying Utah should not have confidence in themselves and the fans for the team, but there is a BIG difference between Utah and Alabama, just like there was a big difference between Hawai'i and GA last yr. This game, IMO, will not be close, regardless of the score.
 
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