Utah- ISU: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Who was good, who was bad, and what was ugly in the big Utah win in Iowa...

The Good

Special Teams
4 kickoff returns for 168 yards and a touchdown by Reggie Dunn and Shaky Smithson for an average of 42 yards. 5 more punt returns by Shaky for 145 yards including a 78 yarder that fell a yard short of a touchdown. Shaky is the most entertaining returner in the country. Joe Phillips hit 4 more field goals and is still perfect on the year. The special teams by Utah are the best in the country. That’s not even debatable.

Jordan Wynn
23 of 31 for 325 yards and he was even better than that in making all of the right throws. During one stretch in the second quarter, Wynn looked as good as any signal-caller in college football. Is this the game where he turns the corner and goes from a good quarterback to an elite quarterback?

The Offensive Line
No sacks allowed again and paved the way for over 200 yards rushing. Caleb Schlauderaff is one of the best run blockers in the country.

The secondary
Brand Burton and Justin Taplin-Ross finally made their first picks of the season (and both almost returned them for touchdowns). Austen Arnaud couldn’t find an open receiver. My favorite stat of the game: Brandon Burton had zero tackles. Teams refuse to throw his way. If he’s not an All American, then people aren’t paying attention.

Third Down Defense
Iowa State was 0-11 on third down opportunities. Let that sink in for a minute. Not once did they convert a third down the entire game. Unbelievable. This is the ultimate bend, but don’t break, defense.

The Bad

The defensive ends
Where are the sacks? Get me some sacks. The lack of sacks by the defensive ends is going to hurt them in a game when the blitz isn’t working.

The Ugly

Fumbles
Another running back coughed up another fumble, as Eddie Wide dropped one inside the Utah ten leading to a Iowa State touchdown. Do that against TCU, and the Utes won’t win.