Here's why athletic directors are frowning this morning...
We've been saying it for years: snowballs are just a gateway weapon to screwdrivers and knives: Two Utah football players and a recruit they were hosting at a university-sanctioned party are recovering after being attacked by knife- and screwdriver-wielding assailants on Friday. The escalating factor in the scuffle? A snowball.
Freshman defensive end Paul Kruger (same name as his father), junior defensive lineman Greg Newman and Kruger's younger brother David, a recruit who plans to sign with the Utes next month, told the men to "shut up" and "get out of here." Kruger's father said Newman threw a snowball at the car during the exchange and the occupants then got out of the vehicle.
As mentioned in the article, the Deseret News obtained all the information about the attack from the father of one of the victims. That's not so great if you're looking for unbiased information (Paul, he explained, then ran over to the men and said, "Look this is not worth getting into a scuffle over."), but awesome for things you'll never hear east of the Continental Divide (Kruger's father said Meredith (he couldn't recall her last name) saved his son's "bacon" by immediately calling 911 for an ambulance when his blood pressure began to drop).
For 3 1/2 quarters BYU-Utah was the kind of game that deserved to be seen by nobody on the VS. network. Four field goals and nothing that would do much beyond induce sleep. Utah was down 9-3 and barely had over 150 yards of total offense. BYU just couldn't convert.
The Utes then had a 7+ minute drive that culminated in a 10-9 Utah lead with 1:34 left. A drive that BYU appeared to have stopped several times, but could not. Utah went 5 for 5 on 3d down conversions in the drive.
BYU got the ball and started at the 20. The Utes defense came out fired up and not only had the Cougars stopped, they had them at 4th and 18. Everything was there for the big Utah upset to claim the Mountain West on BYU's own field. Payback for BYU's last minute win in Salt Lake City last year.
The scene: Wyoming coach Joe Glenn has guaranteed victory over Utah, but things aren't going so well. Wyoming trails 43-0 midway through the third quarter. Utah, apparently incensed by the guarantee, attempts an onside kick and recovers. Glenn's reaction:
Hey-o! Not polite, but understandable. In the aftermath Glenn is questioned by a ravenous horde of reporters and claims that he never did such a thing:
"Honest to God, I can't even respond to it," Glenn said. "Maybe, I don't know.
"I don't remember that. Honestly I don't. It's what it was."
The Mountain West, unconvinced that the CSTV image above is a phantom, plans a "public reprimand."
No other way to describe what UCLA did in the second half of their game at Utah. The game was 14-6 Utah at halftime. Not great for a top-15 team, but not an insurmountable obstacle to overcome in the second half. Then UCLA went out and turned the ball over 4 times. Not to mention turning the ball over twice on downs.
Utah capitalized and made what had been a tense tight first half into a rout. UCLA was shut out 30-0 in the second half to fall 44-6.
UCLA also showed a lack of discipline with numerous false start penalties. Overall, UCLA flopped in their first road game. They moved the ball, but just made key mistakes to give away opportunities. On the defensive side, they were a step slow, and quickly got gassed in the second half.
Utah appeared to regroup after a disappointing and injury-plagued start. They showed determination and fight in a big game. UCLA, by contrast, rolled over.
While the Oregon State QB situation might be closer to a resolution, one thing was clear for last night's opener - Yvenson Bernard is going to have a huge role in 2007. Bernard sliced and diced the Utah defense for 165 yards as the Beavers pulled away from the Utes in the second half, breaking open a 7-7 tie at halftime for a 24-7 win. Bernard had a couple of TD runs on a night when the new QB's showed some nerves and inexperience.
Some quick thoughts from last night:
1)The defense played fast and aggressive. Anytime you hold an experienced offense to 196 total yards, and just 18 net rushing yards? That's doing the job, and then some. Aside from the 37-yard TD pass in the 2nd quarter, the Beaver D controlled the game. The defensive line had constant pressure on Utah QB's, and the linebackers were definitely up to the task in containing the scrambling Brian Johnson. There were several plays he just couldn't escape, where against an average defense he might have done a lot more damage on the ground. The Beavers did catch a break when Johnson went out with a shoulder injury in the 2nd quarter and Utah had to go to the backup QB, Tommy Grady, a 6-7 pocket passer who didn't have much mobility. Still, even with Johnson it might not have mattered, as the defense was outstanding on this night.
2) Bernard is going to have to "carry the mail" this year. At least last night, it sure looks like he'll be the guy to do it. He got off to a somewhat slow start, in fact the entire offense was slumbering early, but once things got in a rhythm, he was fantastic. The offensive line shook off the rust early and started to blow Utah off the ball later in the game, sort of how we thought it would be in yesterday's preview, but you could see that once they got in sync, Utah just couldn't stop the ground game. Overall OSU rushed for 241 yards, which is a dominating number. There was also a nice surprise in WR James Rodgers, a 5-6 true frosh from Richmond, Texas, who had 62 yards rushing on end-around handoffs where he would line up at WR and come back across, almost like a reverse. Rodgers is one of the fastest recruits to ever come to Oregon State and looks like he might be a nice addition to the offense.
Ready or not, here comes 2007 for Oregon State. The Sammy Stroughter soap opera, or other key players leaving the program for various reasons, plus the QB derby that never resolved itself, all of that can now be looked at via the rear-view mirror. For it's time for Utah, and while it might not have looked too difficult when the schedule was first put together, the more you look at this game, the more you see reasons for the Beavers to be worried once things kick off tonight.
Top Three Questions for Tonight
1) How will OSU's defense handle Utah?
First and foremost, dual-threat extraordinaire Brian Johnson is back at QB and when healthy, has shown he can be a headache for any defense in the country. Johnson actually red-shirted last year, coming off a knee injury in 2005, but when he was playing he was pretty special - 2,892 passing yards, 18 TD passes to only seven INT's, plus an impressive 690 rushing yards. All good for second-team Mountain West Conference honors.
The even more interesting aspect of Utah's offense is what they are returning from last year's 8-5 team. If you include Johnson, that makes 10 out of 11 who are considered returning starters, the only loss the starting left tackle from last year, Tavo Tupola. Their top seven receivers from last year are all back for 2007, led by speedy senior Derrek Richards, who had a team-high 60 catches; Brent Casteel, a junior who had a team-high 10 TD receptions; and Brian Hernandez, a senior who was #2 on the team last year with 49 catches. The team doesn't list a starter at running back this week, instead listing three players in Darryl Poston, Ray Stowers and JC transfer Matt Asiata. Poston led the team with 553 yards and 5 TD's on the ground last year. Quite frankly, Utah is loaded offensively with speed, athleticism, and experience.
With the Big Ten fledgling network still involved in a public spat with Comcast, comparisons to the Mountain West's less than spectacular first year with "The mtn." sports channel are inevitable. In the first year of operation, the mtn. has made it to a whopping 1.2 million homes.
In its annual meeting Tuesday, the MWC Board of Directors voted unanimously to retain Kelly Crabb, the lawyer originally hired and retained last week by BYU and Utah, in efforts to clarify the nature of the TV contract and delineate distribution strategies of The mtn. network.
Crabb will work with Commissioner Craig Thompson and an ad hoc committee made up of three Board members - BYU President Cecil Samuelson, Texas Christian University Chancellor Victor Boschini and Colorado State University President Larry Edward Penley. The conference presidents spearheaded the TV deal that the MWC settled on a year ago with the network co-owned by Comcast Cable and CBS' College Sports Television.
However, there is widespread displeasure because of the troubles in getting The mtn., distributed.
This has fueled speculation that the Mountain West may try to find a way to get out of its deal, and pull the plug on the mtn. The mtn. has not been picked up by either satellite provider, and very few sizable cable operators in the markets (PDF) where the schools operate (Comcast in Utah and Cox in Las Vegas and San Diego are the largest carriers that have it).
It's certainly not a stretch to say that YouTube has really changed the face of the internet. I mean, can you remember back when we weren't able to, at the click of a button, immediately call up highlights from our favorite games or watch dwarves dance to Indian music?
Well, it looks like students at BYU will be going back to the dark ages of internet video, as the campus has blocked access to YouTube for all students due to the potential of being subjected to "inappropriate material". That's a tough break for BYU students, and we wish them well in these long, dark, YouTubeless years. Those of you who aren't on campus, have a look at this awesome clip of BYU's miraculous last-second victory over Utah. For you students, well, you can look at this red "X" and imagine how great it would be.
Being a number one overall draft pick isn't too bad, especially when you can use your newfound wealth to help out your alma mater. Former Utah QB Alex Smith caught the philanthropic bug recently and wrote a check to the University of Utah for a half a million dollars to build the "Alex Smith Strength and Conditioning Facility" on campus.
And if that doesn't satiate Smith's generosity, he could always mail a check to his uncle, recently-fired Michigan State coach John L. Smith.
For 3 1/2 quarters BYU-Utah was the kind of game that deserved to be seen by nobody on the VS. network. Four field goals and nothing that would do much beyond induce sleep. Utah was down 9-3 and barely had over 150 yards of total offense. BYU just couldn't convert.
No other way to describe what UCLA did in the second half of their game at Utah. The game was 14-6 Utah at halftime. Not great for a top-15 team, but not an insurmountable obstacle to overcome in the second half. Then UCLA went out and turned the ball over 4 times. Not to mention turning the ball over twice on downs. 
While the Oregon State QB situation might be closer to a resolution, one thing was clear for last night's opener - 
Ready or not, here comes 2007 for Oregon State. The 
With the Big Ten fledgling network still involved in a public spat with Comcast, comparisons to the Mountain West's less than spectacular first year with "
Being a number one overall draft pick isn't too bad, especially when you can use your newfound wealth to help out your alma mater. Former Utah QB Alex Smith caught the philanthropic bug recently and wrote a check to the University of Utah 
