Keys to the Game

We're about 7 hours away from kickoff here in New Orleans so it seems that now would be an appropriate time to list my 'Keys to the Game' for Utah. What makes me qualified to do this? Almost nothing, but hey, this is my blog and I think after the game it will be evident about how right I am.

First and foremost, we MUST prevent our offensive and defensive lines from being totally exhausted by the 3rd quarter. There has been a lot of talk about the size of the 'bama line in comparison to ours. Well, true it's nice for us that the Outland Trophy winner Andre Smith is suspended. However, on average the Alabama linemen outweigh ours by 50 lbs, on AVERAGE! Also, there is Terrence Cody, the man they call Mount Cody, partly because it's a place and partly because he is huge. He anchors their defensive line at 365lbs, yes that's right, a defensive lineman who weighs 365lbs. Our center weighs 305lbs and he's supposed to block a mountain all on his own? It's going to be tough. Oh, and did I mention they sometimes like to bring in Mount Cody as a blocking fullback just for kicks? A 365lb blocking fullback!

The second key is to make sure Brian Johnson gets into a passing rythm right from the get-go. Our first series should be nothing but passes, mostly short slants and into the middle stuff. Our offensive line is not going to be able to give him much time so he's got to be able to step up and make quick accurate passes. Ludwig has got to call plays at the beginning of the game which will build his confidence and put him in a good rythym.

The third key is for us not to force the run up the middle. Our linemen are going to get tired trying to block the mountain and all his buddies and if we continue to run right at them we're not going to last the whole game. I understand that we've got to get something going on the ground just to keep their defense honest and keep our pass options open, however the direct snap to the RB or the I-formation run straight up the middle is not the right way to do this. We've got use end-arounds, options, and whatever creative trick-plays Ludwig has up his sleeve to take advantage of the speed of some of our skill players against their sheer girth.

The fourth key....our secondary will have to play better than they have all year. Pass-rushing is going to be very difficult this game so our secondary has got to help pressure their QB by taking away his receivers and making sure no one is open.

The fifth and final key will be getting in Louie Sakoda's range. If we can consistently get into 40 yard field goal range we absolutely have a chance to hang around. Our offense has got to be able to do this.

Here's hoping we can pull off the upset against the rolling Crimson Tide....GO UTES!