Episode 39 – The Triumphant Return of Football

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America’s true national pastime is back, and if I might speak for sports fans around the country, it’s about time. With college football kicking off last week and the National Football League about to start regular season play, it feels a bit like the cool end of a long, hot summer.

The teams followed by the Utah SportsCast played this last week, with Utah kicking off their season at Oregon State. This game was most noteworthy – from a Utah fan’s point of view – because of the significant injuries to Utah players. Starting quarterback Brian Johnson went down with a separated shoulder, which is expected to keep him off the playing field for 3-5 weeks. He did manage to play almost two whole quarters of football before returning to the injured list, so that was a nice treat for fans. With any luck, he may be able to start in a few games this year.

Also bitten by the injury bug was Matt Asiata, who was Utah’s big pickup among Juco transfers. He was going to be the featured running back this season, before a routine tackle broke both bones in his lower leg. It was one of those potential career-ending injuries, but fortunately, he is expected to recover. It won’t happen anytime soon, of course; but at some point, in the distant future, Asiata may play again.

With two star players out, and the Utah offense terrorized by a big, fast, talented Oregon State defense, they were lucky to escape with only a 24-7 beating. Brent Casteel scored their only touchdown, hauling in one of Johnson’s early passes. He was also about the only player in red who seemed to be able to match speed with Oregon State.

Two days later, the story was completely different for BYU. Not only did they manage an injury-free game, but they discovered another potential star running back, their brand new quarterback looked good, and their defense was smothering (to say the least). The visiting Arizona team managed a touchdown in the final quarter to avoid the shutout, but still went home on the wrong end of a 20-7 loss.

Cougar fans may have a lot to be excited about this year, as they seemed to have room for improvement, in spite of playing a solid game. If they can play a respectable game against a ranked UCLA team this week, it may be the start of another great season.

So to recap, injuries and lack of depth cripple Utah and they lose a winnable game. Yet another stud running back and an awesome defense drive BYU to an impressive win. If you switched jerseys on the teams you might wonder if it’s 1994 all over again.

There is much more to enjoy (we hope) in the podcast, so please listen! We welcome any and all feedback to [email protected]

Our Top 3 in Utah for this week:

3. Brent Casteel

2. Nick Rimando

1. Harvey Unga

Thanks again to our sponsor, ZAGG Inc., for their support!