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Pick Six Previews: A look into Utah’s road trip to SEC country (+ game prediction)

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Pick Six Previews: A look into Utah’s road trip to SEC country (+ game prediction)


Estimated learn time: 5-6 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Contemporary off their highest preseason rating at school historical past, No. 7 Utah is dealt one of many hardest exams of the opening weekend.

In a uncommon Pac-12 vs. SEC matchup, the Utes journey right down to Florida for an evening sport in The Swamp. Though Florida is unranked, they recruit at a top-10 stage and have a roster full of NFL prospects.

Recreation Grader

(Opponent-adjusted statistical dominance by way of Choose Six Previews)

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3-year common (2019-21): Utah 68.9 (seventh) | Florida 65.2 (tenth)

2021 Season: Utah 69.5 (seventh) | Florida 53.6 (thirty first)

2022 Season: N/A

Regardless of Florida’s 6-7 file final yr, the Recreation Grader formulation nonetheless positioned them thirty first out of the 66 Energy 5 packages. It was actually a story of two seasons, as Florida took eventual SEC champion Alabama to the wire and began 4-2 with a top-20 rating, however then misplaced 5 of their remaining six FBS video games. FCS Samford dropped 52 factors on their protection and the Dan Mullen period resulted in a meltdown.

Florida with the ball

Quarterback Anthony Richardson takes over because the full-time starter after splitting reps with Emory Jones final season. Richardson is presumably the quickest quarterback in America and might rating from anyplace on the sphere.

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His dynamic scrambling means might require further assets from the Utes protection, with a spy or extra zone protection. Richardson has some room for enchancment within the cross sport after a 59% completion charge and 6-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio final season.

Florida’s offensive line posted excessive grades in each my Run Push and Cross Safety metrics in 2021. Three starters return, together with O’Cyrus Torrence, who transferred in from Louisiana-Lafayette with new head coach Billy Napier. The teaching transition and new schemes make the offensive line tougher to forecast, a minimum of straight away within the season opener.

A key positional matchup might be Florida’s large receivers towards Utah’s secondary. Within the Rose Bowl, Utah’s nook depth was skinny; and whereas Florida does not have the identical first-round firepower of Ohio State’s receiver group, they’ve loads of weapons.

The highest receiver of 2021, Jacob Copeland, transferred out of Florida to Maryland, however the Gators added Arizona State’s yardage chief in Ricky Pearsall. Justin Shorter is a stable possession receiver who completed with 5 50+ yard video games over the second half of the season, and Xzavier Henderson has a top-100 billing and brings a vertical risk.

Napier’s offense at Louisiana operated primarily out of 11 personnel, or one again and one tight finish. They had been principally out of shotgun, pistol, and had considerably much less quarterback-designed runs than Mullen’s offense. We’ll see how inflexible that’s, contemplating Richardson’s spotlight means.

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Utah with the ball

Utah’s 2021 offensive line ranked No. 1 in my Run Push metric, No. 2 in Cross Safety, and returns three starters from that group. The steady of working backs drew the uncommon four-way “OR” on the depth chart and contains a headliner in touchdown-machine Tavion Thomas and group chief Micah Bernard.

I count on Utah to have success within the run sport, as Florida’s line of defense has youth on the two spots round potential first-round choose Gervon Dexter.

Cameron Rising was the season-changer at quarterback after the group began 1-2 with out him; the group ranked No. 4 nationally in Recreation Grader with him because the starter.

After a number of down seasons, Florida’s secondary is getting stronger and is skilled. It is going to be a problem for the Utah receivers to realize separation, however the tight finish duo may very well be the game-changer. Each of Utah’s tight ends, Brant Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid, positioned on my preseason All-Pac-12 groups, with Kuithe incomes a fourth group All-America spot.

Schematically, new defensive coordinator Patrick Toney is off of the Ron Roberts teaching tree (together with Baylor’s Dave Aranda) in how they attempt to confuse quarterbacks. They disguise blitzes, usually drop an finish or edge participant again into protection, and change him with a rusher from the linebacker or security stage.

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Florida definitely has the athletes for this advanced scheme, however that is the season opener, and we’ll see how rapidly they put in all the pieces in spring ball and fall camp.

Recreation prediction

Napier’s first transfer was to rent an “military of staffers” to bolster the operations and recruiting. Their official team program photo is placing, as they take up nearly a whole stadium part. I believe it is a matter of time earlier than Napier has Florida harnessing the elite in-state highschool expertise and returning to the nationwide high 5 in recruiting. The medium- and long-term outlooks are robust.

However Utah catches them within the opening sport of the transition season, which can also be Napier’s first Energy 5 sport as a head coach. Conversely, Utah brings in all of the coach continuity, expertise, confidence and group identification. I picked Utah to not solely win the Pac-12 but in addition to make the 2022 playoff. Whereas this opener might be a troublesome check, search for Utah to depart SEC nation with an announcement victory.

No. 7 Utah (-2.5) 27 | Florida 20

P.S. I’m not shopping for “Humidity-Gate.” Nationwide pundits are utilizing the Gainesville humidity as the explanation to choose towards Utah. This jogs my memory of when the media picked Florida to beat Nebraska within the 1995 nationwide title, due solely to the sport being performed on grass and never turf. They had been lifeless unsuitable, and Nebraska rolled up the largest title sport blowout in school soccer historical past and is taken into account one of the best group ever.

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Brett Ciancia is the proprietor of Choose Six Previews, a university soccer preview journal graded because the “Most Correct Season Preview” since 2012 (by way of Stassen). Ciancia was named a Heisman Trophy voter in 2019 and was invited to the FWAA’s All-America Staff choice committee in 2020.

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Utah

Crash between semi truck, RV, and boat leaves 1 in critical condition

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Crash between semi truck, RV, and boat leaves 1 in critical condition


WASATCH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Three people were injured in a crash on US-40 on Sunday afternoon, with one person being flown to the hospital, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

Officials with UHP told ABC4.com that a semi truck with an empty tanker was traveling eastbound on US-40 when it got hit by an RV that was turning to go westbound on the same road.

UHP officials said the RV was towing a boat at the time of the crash.

The incident happened near Strawberry Reservoir in Wasatch County, and officials said both the driver of the semi truck and the driver of the RV suffered minor injuries, but neither was taken to the hospital.

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The passenger in the RV was flown to the hospital in critical condition, according to UHP.

According to the Utah Department of Transportation, the crash occurred near milepost 40, about 19 miles south of Heber City.

UDOT said the crash happened just before 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, and drivers were advised to seek alternate routes while the roads were closed. UDOT said motorists should expect major delays in the area.

The incident was expected to be cleared by 4:30 p.m., according to UDOT. However, UHP told ABC4.com that traffic in the area was alternating and that the road was not closed.

There is no further information at this time.

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Gordon Monson: Utah State AD Jerry Bovee shares his side of football firings story

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Gordon Monson: Utah State AD Jerry Bovee shares his side of football firings story


There are multiple sides to most stories and Jerry Bovee wants his side told after Utah State dismissed him as the school’s deputy athletic director.

Here is that telling.

First, the setup: USU president Elizabeth Cantwell and athletic director Diana Sabau this past week gave Bovee notice that he and Utah State football coach Blake Anderson were being fired. The reason, according to a statement from the school’s top administrators, was that there had been an unacceptable rupture in a required reporting process for sexual misconduct, including domestic violence, inside Anderson’s football program.

In Bovee’s case, USU said in a news release, there had been “violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence” and “failures of professional responsibilities.”

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Au contraire, said Bovee.

I wrote a column criticizing Anderson for his shortcomings in this regard, past and present, and congratulated Cantwell and Sabau for knocking down walls that often are put up by coaches and administrators to protect their programs and themselves.

Bovee subsequently told me he did report information he received from Anderson within 24 hours of hearing about it, as is required according to school policy, to an appropriate USU official.

“I reported it through the vice president of student affairs to the Equity Office,” he said. “That’s ingrained in our heads … we take that seriously.”

Two other individuals at the school reported alongside Bovee, he said. “All three of our names are on the report.”

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Bovee said he couldn’t speak to Anderson’s actions in this case or others.

For the university’s part, it said it would have no additional comment until further notice.

The incident at hand centered on a football player at Utah State who Bovee said was involved in an “incident” with a woman in April, 2023. Said athlete shortly thereafter transferred to another school. Because Bovee is filing a grievance against Utah State for his termination, he did not share specifics of what precisely took place, other than to say there were no charges filed in the case.

The deputy AD, who at the time of that incident and report was the school’s interim athletic director, said he is confused by the decision reached by Cantwell and Sabau to fire him on these grounds. Asked why Cantwell and Sabau would fire him if he had followed proper channels in the case, he said he could only guess. And he preferred not to. Again, Bovee wouldn’t speak to or for Anderson or the coach’s situation, but he reiterated that he reported what he knew when he knew it, promptly and properly.

“My reputation and my name, I’m going to fight for that,” he said. “… It’s hurtful that my name is associated with this. I’ve been doing [sports leadership] for 32 years, this is at the top of my list, the importance of getting [such issues] right regarding women.”

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Bovee said he’s gone to great lengths to educate personnel and players at Utah State regarding issues of sexual misconduct, how to report it, how to eradicate it, how to — due to past history — make Utah State a “safe school.”

He added that it’s not his intention to do harm to USU, the school that is his alma mater: “I have a great love for Utah State. I have confidence in the grievance process,” and that the school upon further review “will get this right.”

Bovee and his attorney issued this statement to The Salt Lake Tribune:

“Jerry Bovee, recently terminated by Utah State University, is vigorously defending his reputation as a loyal Aggies alum and stellar Associate Vice President and Deputy Athletics Director. With decades of athletic leadership under his belt, Bovee is a firm supporter and defender of Title IX civil rights law. In his tenured career, he has never incurred disciplinary action or accusations of misconduct of any kind.

“Bovee, who was blind-sighted by this decision, understands he was terminated based on an inconclusive and untimely review of an incident that took place more than a year ago in April of 2023, while he was Interim Athletic Director. Contrary to what has been represented, Bovee and two other USU employees did in fact report the incident to the USU Office of Equity. Even so, the external review did not commence until the fall of 2023. And not until July 2, 2024, some eight months later, was Bovee summarily terminated, without an opportunity to respond to the results of the review.

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“He fully intends to file a grievance pursuant to USU policy within 30 days of termination. Bovee has no ill will against USU, an institution that he loves. He trusts the University will consider in good faith all the circumstances specific to actions taken by Bovee in considering his grievance and will also refrain from further comment while his grievance is pending.”

Bovee’s side of the story includes this comment, though: “This is the most painful week I’ve had in my career. I’m hopeful I’ll get fair treatment. To say there’s been a lot of tears shed in the Bovee home this week is understating it.”



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Former Utah Gymnastics All-American loses home in Fourth of July fire

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Former Utah Gymnastics All-American loses home in Fourth of July fire


Former Red Rocks star Kari Lee and her family are grappling with the devastating loss of their family home during the fourth of July holiday. The tragic event unfolded early Thursday morning in Peoria, Arizona, when a barbeque fire spiraled out of control, ultimately destroying their suburban home.

A GoFundMe account has been established to support the Lee family as they work to rebuild their lives. Despite the severity of the fire, it is a relief that everyone managed to escape with only minor injuries being reported. However, the family faced a heartbreaking loss as they were unable to save their five dogs and lost all their belongings in the blaze.

Kari’s athletic achievements as a gymnast for the University of Utah from 2015 to 2019 are a testament to her resilience and determination. During her illustrious career, she earned the distinction of being a three-time All-American and a six-time All-Pac-12 honoree. Kari’s leadership skills were evident as she served as a co-captain in her senior year, demonstrating a high level of consistency by hitting 96% of her routines and securing 20 career victories.

Lee’s contributions were instrumental in Utah’s success, helping the team clinch two Pac-12 Titles in 2015 and 2017. Her efforts also propelled the team to a near-victory at the National Championships in 2015, where they finished as runners-up .

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The loss of their home and beloved pets is an unimaginable hardship for Kari and her family. As they navigate this difficult period, the support from the community through the GoFundMe campaign is crucial. The outpouring of generosity and compassion serves as a beacon of hope, helping them to begin the process of healing and rebuilding.



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