Transcript

John: Hello, and welcome to another Home Stretch episode, a sports podcast here at The Daily Utah Chronicle. My name is John Leone. I am the sports desk editor, and I’m happy to record this episode. So today, we’re going to preview the matchup that everyone’s looking forward to. Utah is going to take the 40-minute drive south, down to Provo, and take on the undefeated BYU Cougars. So, there is an obviously bitter rivalry. For those who don’t know, Utah and BYU have a long-standing history. Obviously, geographically, the schools are close, but that’s the only closeness between these two universities. The bitterness spreads throughout every sport, but I would say football has the most animosity and angst between the two teams. Obviously, in men’s basketball, you had the infamous punch by Nick Emery to Brandon Taylor, which caused the rivalry to go on a two-year hiatus in basketball, and I believe the football hiatus was around the same time. But, like I said, the history between these teams is nasty, and these matchups are always fun, and they’re always they always seem to be close, regardless of what team is better or what team has had a better season. So expect a good one here. Firstly, I’d like to recap kind of just BYU. Go over how they’ve been this year, what to expect from them, what they’re all about, sort of deal. So, BYU, obviously, their head coach is Kalani Sitake, who, ironically enough, used to be a coach under Kyle Whittingham here at the U and one common theme that you’ll notice throughout this episode is the amount of turnover between these two universities. You know, there are Utah players who have transferred down to BYU and coaches, and there are BYU players and coaches that have who have made the trip up north to the U. So, while these schools have a lot of differences, they have a lot of players who have really been through it on both sides. So we’ll get into that, but first up, Kalani Sitake is a former Utah coach who has really made himself into a big name down there with BYU. He’s done a good job, and he seems to be a really good guy. I think there’s no love lost between Utah and Kalani Sitake. He speaks positively about Coach Whittingham, Coach Scalley, and the whole Utah program. So he’s a great example and what a rivalry should be all about, rooting for your team and having respect for the opponent. But anyway, Sitake has built himself a solid coaching staff. His offensive coordinator, Aaron Roderick is his name, has done a phenomenal job with the circumstances that BYU has kind of encountered this year. I’ll get into that a little bit. And their defensive coordinator, Jay Hill, has also done a great job. BYU’s defense is ranked towards the top of the Big 12 in almost every category that, you know, really is important for a good defense. And that’s kind of what’s carried the Cougars so far to this six and 0 start and number 15 ranking. So BYU, they are six and 0. They are ranked 15th, but their strength of schedule is questionable at best, I would say. They haven’t played anyone near the caliber of what we think Utah is right now, and we’re pretty sure that Utah is a really good team. Anyways, going through their schedule, they opened up the year hosting Portland State, which, you know, Portland State’s pretty bad FCS team. They won 69 to zero. Not that that says a lot, but then they hosted Stanford in week two. Stanford, old PAC-12 opponent. They are now in the ACC, and they’re struggling. I think they’ll turn their program around in the future. They had some news that they have a big NIL donor coming in to hopefully turn things around for Stanford athletics, as they’ve kind of nose dived. But yeah, Stanford is struggling. So another, another team that isn’t exactly a resume builder for BYU. They won that game, 27 to three over the Cardinals. They then went and played their first road game, coming off a buy against East Carolina. Now, East Carolina is not bad. They are three and three. They lost to North Carolina State and Tulane. They did get a good win at Coastal Carolina, but BYU picked up the win there, 34 to 13. It was looking like a good game, and then East Carolina threw a couple of costly interceptions that kind of let BYU run away with it. So they started the year off three and 0 in the non-conference. And then they opened up Big 12 play, going on the road to Colorado. Now, Colorado is an interesting story. Obviously, Deion Sanders is still the coach, but his son Shedeur was the quarterback last year. Obviously, he got drafted to the NFL by the Cleveland Browns and was a great quarterback for them. But the bigger story is Travis Hunter, who played both ways for the Buffaloes last season. He played wide receiver and corner, went second overall in the draft, and was honestly a huge piece of what Colorado was building in the last couple of seasons. So losing those guys was a big loss for Colorado, and they’re feeling it right now. The buffaloes are three and four so far this season. They lost to Georgia Tech in week one, and just haven’t really looked the same since. Georgia Tech’s a great team, and Colorado was hanging right there with them, but Hanes King, Georgia Tech’s quarterback, made a run towards the end of the game that put him over the edge. And I think for any program, it’s hard to bounce back, especially after losing a heartbreaking game like that in week one. So, starting off their Big 12 conference, they played host to BYU, and they started off hot. Colorado actually jumped out to a 14-zero lead in the first quarter. And you know, they put BYU on upset watch for a minute there, but in classic BYU fashion, they bounced back and took over right at the end to get over the edge. So Colorado is not a good team. They sort of had BYU number for a minute there, and BYU just barely squeaked out with the win. So another win for BYU. They started four and 0, but none of those first four wins were terribly impressive, if you will. BYU then went on to beat West Virginia. The only common opponent between Utah and BYU so far is West Virginia. BYU beat them 38 to 24 in Provo. Utah went on the road to Morgantown, West Virginia, and won 48-14, so I mean, going by margin of victory, that’s about the only thing we can do as of now to compare the two. Utah played West Virginia much better than BYU did. But again, West Virginia is not a great program. BYU started five and 0 there, and then last week, they traveled to Arizona. Arizona is certainly the hardest opponent BYU has faced this season. They are forward two on the year now; they lost to Iowa State and obviously, they just lost to BYU in what was a double overtime thriller. Arizona really had BYU on the ropes. They were up 10 points in the fourth quarter and just kind of choked it away. BYU kind of clutched up in the end and forced overtime. And, you know, in classic BYU fashion, again, they pulled out the victory just barely. They didn’t make it easy, but that’s the road BYU took to become six and zero. And you know, their season line, I believe, was seven or seven and a half wins. So you’ll see why in a minute, their schedule down the road is infinitely harder than their first six games. So from here on out, BYU plays host to Utah. They then travel to Iowa State, who was in the Big 12 championship game last year. They then travel to Texas Tech. We all have seen what Texas Tech is all about. They then play TCU, another solid program at Cincinnati, who is ranked, and then they finish off the year with the easiest game remaining on their schedule in UCF. So BYU is getting ready to embark on a difficult journey, and we’ll see how they can handle it. Specifically, getting into the personnel, though, I’d like to highlight just kind of who BYU has and where we expect them to be on the field against Utah. So, BYU is starting a true freshman quarterback. His name is Bear Bachmeier. He wears number 47. He may be the first quarterback to ever wear the number, but you’ve got to respect it, honestly. It’s unique, and he knows what he wants. So credit to him. You’ll see, he’s a big kid, and he’s a gamer. He’s a really good runner. I got to talk to the BYU sports editor earlier today, and he gave me some advice, or not some advice, some input on what to expect out of Bear Bachmeier and just the overall roster for BYU. His name is Sam Foster. He does great work down at BYU. So thank you again, Sam, if you’re tuning in for the phone call. Anyway, Bear Bachmeier, like I said, is a great runner. This year alone, he’s run the ball 71 times for 295 yards and seven touchdowns. Rushing stats for quarterbacks in college aren’t easy to come by. Obviously, with sacks counting as negative rushing yards, that can be a big hit to a lot of quarterbacks’ yardage lines. So for him to still be above the you know, 250, 275 mark is quite impressive in six games. For reference, Devin Dampier, Utah’s quarterback, has rushed 65 times, so almost around the same amount as Bachmeier for 378 yards and five touchdowns. So Dampier has less touchdowns, but significantly more yards, which I think resembles their play styles well. Dampier is more of a shifty and quick runner from the backfield, whereas Bachmeier is more of a tuck the ball and run you over up the middle sort of player. So the BYU offense is powered by Bachmeier, his legs, and then they’re running back. LJ, Martin. Martin is one of BYU’s best players. I personally think he’s their best offensive player. This year, he already has 652 yards and four touchdowns. I saw a stat that he’s top five in the nation in yards after contact when running the ball. He has upwards of 400 yards. So he’s not an easy guy to bring down, and for a Utah team that’s struggled to make tackles this year, I think that’s definitely a part of the game to look out for. Martin and Bachmeier can both certainly fight through contact and break tackles, and it’s going to be up to Utah’s linebackers and safeties to bring those guys down when they inevitably break through that front line for the Utes. BYU’s talent doesn’t just end in the backfield. They have two receivers that are noteworthy. Chase Roberts, who is averaging almost 20 yards of reception this season, is far and away their best receiver. He’s just an all-around prospect who has gotten some NFL attention. He has 22 receptions on the year for 420 yards and three touchdowns. He scored an 85-yard touchdown earlier this year and has a couple of other 40-plus-yard receptions. So he’s a deep threat, and so is their other wide receiver, Parker Kingston. Kingston wears number 11. He has 23 receptions for 333 yards and two touchdowns. And another thing to look out for is Kingston has thrown the ball three times this season, and he’s not a quarterback that is just, you know, solely off of trick plays. So BYU tends to pull out a lot of trick plays under their offensive coordinator, Aaron Roderick, who I mentioned earlier. But that’s something that in the past, they have liked to do against Utah, especially in this rivalry game, is, you know, bring unique looks that’ll throw off Utah’s defense, because in the past, Utah’s defense has been so hard to get by that, you know, you have got to get creative in order to throw them off guard. So I wouldn’t be shocked if Parker Kingston got his fourth passing attempt on a, you know, a double pass, or something like that in this game. Defensively, I think, is where BYU has the most questions. Their offense has certainly been shaky this year, and their defense has been their strong suit, but their defense is led by, you know, their linebackers, who are both listed as questionable for this upcoming matchup. Those guys are Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker. So Kelly, I think, is the best player on BYU’s roster. He is just an animal. He’s an athletic freak who, you know, does it all. He can cover the pass, he can stuff up the run, and he can, you know, make a quarterback uncomfortable once they’re out of the pocket. He can rush the passer. And, you know, he’s really one of those guys that will certainly get a chance at the next level as long as his health permits, and that’s the question for him right now. He suffered a shoulder injury a couple of games ago, and he was listed as questionable last week against Arizona, and didn’t make the start. He didn’t play, which, who knows, if that was, you know, just to throw Utah off by saying, “Oh yeah, he might play against Arizona, so he’ll definitely play after another week of rest.” But you know, you never know those injury reports nowadays, and from what I’ve heard, Kelly is practicing, and he’s looked a lot healthier, but like I said, those shoulder injuries are tough, especially as a linebacker, who’s, you know, getting in there and getting physical every play. It could be something to watch for as he’s, you know, getting banged around by those running backs and offensive linemen throughout the night, in his place, if he were to be out. Obviously, they have Isaiah Glasker, who’s another tremendous linebacker, but I would expect to see a lot of Raider Damuni, I believe the brother of Levani Damuni, Ute linebacker, so another, you know, connection there. But BYU’s defensive line has been questionable for the coaching staff. When talking earlier in the interview, I learned that, you know, BYU secondary has held up well. Their cornerbacks are feeling confident about the matchup against Utah, but I think the defensive line is kind of where Utah needs to attack against this BYU team. So their pass rush has been just flat out bad. They haven’t reached the quarterback on many occasions at all. I think they’re leading their leaders in sacks are the linebackers, Jack Kelly and Glaker, which isn’t a recipe for success. As a defensive unit, you need to be able to get pressure with those front four guys. One of the guys to look out for on BYU’s D line is Keanu Tanuvasa. The name might sound familiar to a lot of Ute fans. He was on the team last year and transferred down to BYU. The move caused a lot of contention on social media and other things like that. He was one of the rumored players with tampering him, along with Smith Snowden, you know, that were being offered money to. Transfer from Utah to BYU, and Tanuvasa has not lived up to the expectations this season. He has been a big letdown for BYU, but like I said, this game is going to be personal for him. I’m sure he’s seen all of the hate that he’s gotten from that move, and he’s going to want to make an impact on this game. So I’d say the major thing to look for while Utah’s on offense is BYU’s ability to stop the run game. Whether that’s, you know, inside runs, outside runs, QB keepers from Dampier in the option game and sweep game, I think Utah is definitely going to try to establish the run game and control the tempo of the game. I think after that Texas Tech game, Whittingham showed his frustration in not being able to establish an interior run game early. And that’s one spot that Utah is really focused on in the two games after that. It’s one spot that BYU has struggled with mightily defensively, which is the interior run game. So I really do think Wayshawn Parker, NaQuari Rogers, even Daniel Bray will get some of those carries up the middle and, you know, really, just try to milk the clock and completely take advantage of the game. Now, for Utah, I think the defense is looking good. I think the defense has started to, you know, really dominate at the right time. And I think that you see the cornerbacks, Elijah Davis, Blake Cotton and Smith Snowden step up in a big way last week against Arizona State. You know, ASU has one of the top receivers in the country. His name is Jordan Tyson, and Tyson had scored a receiving touchdown, at least one, he had two in a couple of the games, but at least one receiving touchdown in every game for Arizona State this season, and was held to just 40 yards and zero touchdowns by Smith Snowden, who was shadowing Tyson the majority of the game. So one thing I expect from Utah’s defense is that I think Smith Snowden will be shadowing Chase Roberts, BYU, stud receiver and I think Elijah Davis will be tasked with guarding Parker Kingston. So that’ll be something to look out for if Utah is able to stop the run. I think making the true freshman and Bachmeier make some decisions and make him throw is where Utah will have the advantage. Bachmeier has been a smart quarterback so far and has taken care of the ball decently well. He has a couple of fumbles and interceptions, but overall, all things considered, he’s done well for a true freshman, and I think if Utah is able to make him uncomfortable and maybe rattle him a little bit early, then you know things will go well, get them out of the run game and force Bachmeier to do the dirty work for BYU’s offense. Overall, the way I see this game going is, like I said, Utah is going to pound the rock. They had 12 passing attempts last game, and I would be surprised if it was more than 20 in this game. Dampier is looking as healthy as he has all year, and I think his ability to run the ball will keep BYU on their toes. Jack Kelly will be the main guy to watch for in the quarterback run game. I think he will be the quarterback spy a lot of the time, and kind of shadow Dampier’s every move, try to limit his mobility in the pocket. Now, that’s much easier said than done against a guy like like Dampier, who rushed for over 1000 yards last season and is already up to 378 this year. But that’s one thing I would look for. And if Utah’s offensive line is able to push around that BYU defensive line, then they can totally take control of the game from the start and just kind of put BYU out of it early. So my prediction is that that will happen. I think Bachmeier, if he is put into a deficit and in a situation where he has to throw the ball, it’s gonna get ugly. He hasn’t really been tested or tried much at all by the defenses that he’s played so far, and even then, he’s looked a little bit shaky throwing the ball. So I think Utah will be able to control the game, control the clock, go up early, force BYU into passing situations, and, you know, make good things happen on the defensive side of the ball with forced turnovers and things like that. So I do think BYU will try to pull out all the stops. Like I said, I would expect a Kingston passing attempt. I would expect some sort of fake punt, fake field goal, you know, anything to give that home crowd a spark and get him into it. But I think Kyle Whittingham and Morgan Scally, the defensive coordinator and Jason Beck, the offensive coordinator, will have their group ready. I think there’s some bitterness about that last year’s loss at home to BYU, and I think it’s a way that you talk and kind of go in there and prove themselves as a true contender that didn’t have their season end after that Texas Tech loss. So my score prediction, I’m going to go 20. No, I’m going to say 30 to 14. I think Utah will have a defensive score, whether that’s a safety or interception or fumble recovery for a touchdown, and I think BYU is going to hold up on defense for for a good chunk of the game, and then maybe get a little tired, and Utah will be able to just kind of run out, run out the clock and run away with it. So I hope I’m right, as the Utes need this win desperately; it would help their Big 12 odds tremendously for the remainder of the year. I think this is Utah’s probably hardest game for the rest of the schedule, so it’s going to be a good one. Definitely tune into the Holy War if you can. The game will be on Fox, and the big noon kickoff is going to Provo in the morning, so that’ll be a fun environment in Provo, and I anticipate seeing a lot of red down there in the stands. So, as always, go Utes, and thank you for listening to the Home Stretch podcast presented by the Daily Utah Chronicle. I’m John Leone. I will be back next week for another game preview and a game recap. Thank you again for listening. Have a good one.

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