It was a tale of two Ute teams last night. One Ute team was dominant offensively and strong on defense. The other Ute team was offensively stagnant and predictable, and the defense was like a big block of Swiss cheese with holes you could drive a truck through.
Just like the last time Air Force was in Rice-Eccles, they took their first possession and drove it right down the field for a TD. But the Utes came right back and answered with a TD of their own.
The period from the 2nd quarter through the 3rd quarter was stellar. The offense looked great and Johnson made some very crisp and accurate passes. The defense played the option perfectly and forced many punts and turnovers.
The bad
The fourth quarter was scary. We brought a large lead into the 4th, only to allow Air Force to score easily and nearly pull off a victory. The offense was terribly conservative, running predictable dive after dive up the middle for no gain. In short they were playing “not to lose” instead of “to win.” This team looked like the Ute team of a few years back, and not the team we’ve become accustomed to in the last couple of years.