Great post on UteFans with geeky numbers if you are into that thing
- Thread starter RunningUtes
- Start date
Good info, but to say Utah is the "deepest, if not the best" defensive line we have played is saying a ton. Iowa has a damn good d-line. I hope this guy is wrong.
I'm going to say Iowa has the deepest and best defensive line. Nebraska still isn't far off. But hey.. What do I know. I'll take a geeks slanted view that lives in Utah.
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That's funny because I was just thinking, "We wouldn't have lost to Arizona....even if their fans did show up with white pom poms."
Now why would you want to start a pissin' match when you don't even have a dog in this fight?
The author indicates turnovers are key to the game outcome. Which is also intuitive. However, I believe ISU leads Utah in turnover margin (against better competition to boot). He states ISU must force +3 turnover to win, however, the the level should have more influence on stat calculation, I believe. So the +3 turnover is probably an underestimation... my two cents. Love the write up by the way...
Its possible, but highly unlikely. Iowa just might have the best D line in the country.
And damn this thread for making me admit that!
wink:Is Iowa's or Utah's defensive line better? Who knows. But Utah's d line is very, very deep. What has been shown over whttinghams tenure as d corrdinator or head coach is that Utah has produced 14 defensive lineman that have played in the NFL. The two defensive ends on the 2008 team were both 2nd round NFL picks (Paul Kruger and Koa Misi). Several former d tackles and ends are still playing on NFL rosters. We have seen great defensive lines since Whitt has been here, but this defensive line is 11 to 12 players deep. At tackle you will see no fewer than 5 defensive tackles rotate. The starters are Dave Kruger (Paul's brother) and Sealver Sileaga (Salinga). Sealver will be playing on Sundays. Kruger it is still a little early to tell. He is only 290 so I do not know if he will have the size to be an NFL d tackle. He is fairly athletic and is only a Sophomore so he could put on the extra weight. Two of the three backups have very bright futures and I believe have the size to be dominant tackles and could play on Sunday. Latu Heimuli and Star Letulelei are Freshman and Sophomores and could be dominant in the years to come. Aasa has been very solid in a backup role.
On the edge we have ben spoiled with Kruger and Misi, but Cox is tough as nails and Tuione has been solid. Both are very solid against the run. They have admittedly not produced the normal Utah pass rush from the ends. Two year starter Shelby has been recovering from a knee injury, but looked to be moving better last game. James Aiono wasrated as the #1 JC defensive player in the country in 2008 by rivals is a backup at end and tackle. There are two ends that will play on Saturday that are from the Misi/Kruger mold. Joe Kruger, yes another brother, is the best athlete of the Krugers and the fastest. He still looks like a Freshman when he plays, but he is very fast and can still put on some weight on his 6'7" frame. At open end is Trevor Reilly a redshirt, returned missionary, freshman that originally signed with TT. He is jet fast and has been getting more and more time every week. I believe that if Kruger does not go on a mission these two ends will dominate for the next few years and Utah may truly have not only one of the deepest, but the best d-line in the country.
What I am trying to say here is while Iowa's line may be better, Utah's line will not wear down as the game goes on, the depth is awesome.
Fun to talk football. Go utes and let's have fun game on Saturday.
On the edge we have ben spoiled with Kruger and Misi, but Cox is tough as nails and Tuione has been solid. Both are very solid against the run. They have admittedly not produced the normal Utah pass rush from the ends. Two year starter Shelby has been recovering from a knee injury, but looked to be moving better last game. James Aiono wasrated as the #1 JC defensive player in the country in 2008 by rivals is a backup at end and tackle. There are two ends that will play on Saturday that are from the Misi/Kruger mold. Joe Kruger, yes another brother, is the best athlete of the Krugers and the fastest. He still looks like a Freshman when he plays, but he is very fast and can still put on some weight on his 6'7" frame. At open end is Trevor Reilly a redshirt, returned missionary, freshman that originally signed with TT. He is jet fast and has been getting more and more time every week. I believe that if Kruger does not go on a mission these two ends will dominate for the next few years and Utah may truly have not only one of the deepest, but the best d-line in the country.
What I am trying to say here is while Iowa's line may be better, Utah's line will not wear down as the game goes on, the depth is awesome.
Fun to talk football. Go utes and let's have fun game on Saturday.
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I've never seen an upcoming opponents' fan base try to justify their existence leading up to a game like these Utah fans. This is just getting ridiculous.
Good lord...We have been subjected to BYU sucks and is going independant talk...
for th elast two months. So please cut us a little slack. We are just excited to be talking about playing a decent team in an actual football game. We don't get any of that locally. all we hear about is how BYU sucks. We just like to talk football.
for th elast two months. So please cut us a little slack. We are just excited to be talking about playing a decent team in an actual football game. We don't get any of that locally. all we hear about is how BYU sucks. We just like to talk football.