In Frank Capra’s classic holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, the hero, George Bailey, gets to see how the world would be without him in it.
In the game last Monday, it seems both Utah fans and NU fans agree that a key turning point was Utah’s last possession of the first half where, after intercepting a Thorson pass in Cats’ territory, they failed to reach the end zone, settling for a field goal instead and a 17 point rather than 21 point lead.
On the Ute board, a thread discussing turning points had several posters believing that the play on first and goal from the 10, where J.R. Pace pretty clearly interfered, and possibly grabbed a face mask, without getting flagged was the moment the game was lost. The several Ute fans who cited the play felt the no call took away a touchdown.
The reason I evoked Frank Capra’s movie is that this is a play where we all got to see what the game would have been like if the call had been made. Two plays later, Newsome was flagged (on what appeared to be a make up call) for interference in the end zone, placing the ball on the 2 with a first down. This is exactly the situation Utah would have been in had the call been made on first down. Since a face mask is a half the distance penalty and the PI a spot foul, had both infractions been called, Utah would have declined the face mask call, accepted the PI, and had first and goal at the 2. It is possible that the karma would have been different if the call was made on first down, but they ended up with an identical opportunity to put the ball in the end zone and didn’t.
What is interesting about the sequence, and indicative of how the Cats’ defense was taking over the game (and in my mind, why it really was a turning point), is that because of the no call, Utah actually had more chances to score a touchdown than they would have had if the call had been made. If the call had been made, they would have had 3 plays from the 2 before settling for a FG. As it turned out, they had the same 3 tries from the 2, but they also had 2 more tries from the 10, an incomplete pass and the questionable PI call on an incomplete pass, where if the receiver had made the catch, they would have declined the penalty for a touchdown. The Cats’ defense established real dominance in that sequence, and Utah had only one more threat to score the rest of the game.
I guess if you are a Cat fan, it is a wonderful life these days.
In the game last Monday, it seems both Utah fans and NU fans agree that a key turning point was Utah’s last possession of the first half where, after intercepting a Thorson pass in Cats’ territory, they failed to reach the end zone, settling for a field goal instead and a 17 point rather than 21 point lead.
On the Ute board, a thread discussing turning points had several posters believing that the play on first and goal from the 10, where J.R. Pace pretty clearly interfered, and possibly grabbed a face mask, without getting flagged was the moment the game was lost. The several Ute fans who cited the play felt the no call took away a touchdown.
The reason I evoked Frank Capra’s movie is that this is a play where we all got to see what the game would have been like if the call had been made. Two plays later, Newsome was flagged (on what appeared to be a make up call) for interference in the end zone, placing the ball on the 2 with a first down. This is exactly the situation Utah would have been in had the call been made on first down. Since a face mask is a half the distance penalty and the PI a spot foul, had both infractions been called, Utah would have declined the face mask call, accepted the PI, and had first and goal at the 2. It is possible that the karma would have been different if the call was made on first down, but they ended up with an identical opportunity to put the ball in the end zone and didn’t.
What is interesting about the sequence, and indicative of how the Cats’ defense was taking over the game (and in my mind, why it really was a turning point), is that because of the no call, Utah actually had more chances to score a touchdown than they would have had if the call had been made. If the call had been made, they would have had 3 plays from the 2 before settling for a FG. As it turned out, they had the same 3 tries from the 2, but they also had 2 more tries from the 10, an incomplete pass and the questionable PI call on an incomplete pass, where if the receiver had made the catch, they would have declined the penalty for a touchdown. The Cats’ defense established real dominance in that sequence, and Utah had only one more threat to score the rest of the game.
I guess if you are a Cat fan, it is a wonderful life these days.
Last edited:
