20 year Football Expectations

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- 10/27/2017 at 10:40 PM #46150
  2
  
  Utah
  Ute Fan
  
  @utah
  
  I want to know your cyclical, 20 year expectations for Utah football. For example, in any 20 year period, what do you think would be a successful 20 year run for Utah?
  
  Here are mine:
  
  Have a season with our wins between 5 and 6 wins 5 times. (25% of the time)
  Have a season with our wins between 7 and 8 wins 7 times. (35% of the time)
  Have a season with our 9+ wins 8 times. (40% of the time)
  In the 8 9+ win seasons, I would like 4 south titles (once every five years) and in those 4 south titles, I want two PAC-12 championships and one playoff appearance.
  
  I think MOST of that is doable. The eight 9+ win seasons might be a little lofty, but Whitt has shown he can do that.
  
  Main point form all this:
  
  Even with my lofty goals, even with Whitt rebuilding a team from scratch, and even with the lack of money Utah has compared to other PAC-12 schools, Whitt is doing an AMAZING JOB, even by high expectations.
  
  The expectations I listed above, what other PAC-12 schools could hope for those?
  
  USC, UCLA, Washington, Stanford.
  
  Maybe Oregon.
  
  That’s amazing.
- 10/27/2017 at 11:26 PM #46153
  1
  
  89ute
  Ute Fan
  
  @89ute
  
  20 year expectations? Can’t do it. 20 years ago Nebraska finished undefeated and ranked #2. This was the last year of their domination. Steady decline since and look where they are now.
  
  I wonder how the Nebraska fan would have answered this question in 1997?
  
  I can’t set an expectation beyond three years, maybe 5 max.
  - 10/27/2017 at 11:39 PM #46156
    5
    
    Utah
    Ute Fan
    
    @utah
    
    This is another argument against any talk of Whitt leaving. Utah has been great under Urban (who had Whitt) and great under Whitt.
    
    All of Utah’s greatest peaks have come with Whitt on the sidelines.
    
    To have any discussion of him leaving is foolish. There is nothing that should give Utah fan any hope of ever having another coach as good as Whitt.
    - 10/28/2017 at 3:11 AM #46160
      4
      
      noneyadb
      Ute Fan
      
      @noneyadb
      
      Sloan and Whitt are irrally similar, both will have great seasons and be very difficult to replace, but both struggle with a few key details that always holds their teams back.
      
      Love Whitt, hope he sticks around for atleast 3-5 more years. Securing a consistent recruiting base and establishing a rivalry with USC are absolutely paramount to the programs future. Changing coaches based on performance from a rebuilding year is ridiculous.
      - 10/28/2017 at 9:20 AM #46175
        
        Utah
        Ute Fan
        
        @utah
        
        I agree. Here’s my angle: is the problem Whitt and Sloan’s coaching or is it just the state and players not viewing it as a prime destination?
        
        I’d argue it’s the state. Put Sloan or Whitt in LA and they’d never lose.
        
        The Jazz have arguably a top 10 player in Gobert, who requires no offense…and Hayward left to play with Isaiah Thomas. That’s an issue.
        
        10/28/2017 at 11:15 AM #46187
        1
        
        RedLine
        Ute Fan
        
        @redline
        
        I get your point but it’s apples to oranges. Vast majority of college players won’t play at the next level. Hayward leaving isn’t a good comparison in that he’s a top level professional employee making a business decision. College football is a diferent beast. The truth is coaching continuity and NFL development within a solid educational enviornment is the selling point to teenagers and their parents.
- 10/27/2017 at 11:29 PM #46154
  1
  
  UteThunder
  Ute Fan
  
  @utethunder
  
  Looking at it from a 5 year perspective . . .
  
  One 6 to 7 win season every 5 years(20%).
  
  Two 8 to 9 win seasons every 5 years(40%).
  
  Two 10+ win seasons where we win the division and/or conference at least once(40%).
  
  Using the past 3 seasons, we have the two 9 win seasons and one of the 10+ win seasons. I expected 7-5 this year and we appear to be on pace for that. Hopefully Taylor can get this offense going and we can make a real run at the conference championship game next year.
  - 10/27/2017 at 11:37 PM #46155
    1
    
    Utah
    Ute Fan
    
    @utah
    
    I like this. I think it runs with what I said. I went 20 years because I don’t think you can “expect” a PAC-12 title every 5 years.
    
    But 1 every ten should be the goal. 1 playoff every 20 should be the goal.
    - 10/27/2017 at 11:52 PM #46157
      1
      
      UteThunder
      Ute Fan
      
      @utethunder
      
      If we win the conference twice in 20 years, chances are we are going to the playoff twice as well. That is, unless we are only able to win it when the conference is having a down year.
  - 10/28/2017 at 9:28 AM #46177
    
    Utahute72
    Ute Fan
    
    @utahute72
    
    The problem is this league is so close that just a few missteps and you can find yourself with a losing record. I don’t think ANY team has avoided that in this conference just in the short time we’ve been in it. A few injuries, players that don’t pan our or players leaving early can cause a down year that will severely impact your record. I think it’s somewhat optimistic to expect to have a winning record each year, and if we do that I would say we are fine.
- 10/28/2017 at 12:50 AM #46158
  1
  
  EagleMountainUte
  Ute Fan
  
  @battlegroundute
  
  I wasn’t proposing fire Whitt in my previous comments about Whitt Vs McBride. Is it pretty much a given that Whitt can’t recruit, coach or do anything to improve his offense?
  
  Just saying does it feel similar to McBride in the sense of unfulfilled hype with some good talent? I think Whitt has some talent on the offensive side of the ball. Clearly Utah does well at identifying/developing olinemen and Running backs. They develop great guys who have success at the next level. So why not focus on that? Why do they keep trying to do this spread s**t? Focus on what you are good at is all I am saying.
  
  Four more years of mediocre to bad offense is all we have to look forward to.
  - 10/28/2017 at 1:18 AM #46159
    4
    
    Utah
    Ute Fan
    
    @utah
    
    Here is where I disagree. Look at the young, offensive talent we have now:
    
    Boyd (4 star), Dixon (3 star), Hampton (4 star), Nacua (UR, but he was not ranked due to grade issues. Many recruiting guys said he was the best WR in the state that year, better than Fehoko, who was a 4 star), Simpkins (3 star), Thompson (4 star), Wilson (3 star), Covey (who cares, he is awesome), Moss (3 star), DHC (3 star), Green (4 star), Huntley (3 star). And that doesn’t include Tuttle and the other commits we have so far this year.
    
    I don’t think Whitt has hit his ceiling at all. What I do think is this (and I’ve been a broken record on this):
    
    You are Whitt. You go from the MWC to the PAC-12. You know you are severly lacking talent and depth everywhere. What do you do? Spread your talent out? Push it all to the offense?
    
    Hell no. You got here on defense. Go with what you do well. Push all your talent to the defensive side and win games. Which is exactly what Whitt did.
    
    Once Whitt fully stocked his defense, which was with the 2016 class, you move onto the offense, and we saw that with our 2016 class (Wilson, Simpkins, Huntley, Moss, DHC, etc) and you saw it even more with the 2017 class (Boyd:4 star, Hampton:4 star, Thompson:4 star, Green:4 star) and even more with the 2018 class with Tuttle:4 star, Mataele:4 star).
    
    The offense has suffered, but that was by design (kind of). Whitt built what he knew, and that was defense. Once he built his defense up, he has been able to switch more focus to the offense.
    
    To give up on him now, with all the talent that are sophomores and freshmen…it’s too soon. He FINALLY has talent.
    
    2018 will be the first year he has PAC-12 talent in every position, from upper classman to freshman.
    
    You give Whitt this year, next year, and the year after (when Huntley is a SR, Tuttle is a RS Fresh, the 4 star fresh/soph WR/RB are upperclassmen) before you think of moving on from him.
    
    This is big boy football. Down years happen. In one of our worst years, we most likely still go bowling. Most P5 schools can’t say that.
    
    Whitt is a great FB coach. To move on from him would be foolish. Don’t be foolish. Don’t push him out the door, to a school with real ability to recruit, and watch him blow up while we suffer in the bottom of the PAC-12 with some “up and comer” piece of crap.
    
    Continuity is vastly underrated.
    - 10/28/2017 at 8:58 AM #46168
      1
      
      EagleMountainUte
      Ute Fan
      
      @battlegroundute
      
      You believe these guys will push Utah’s offense to Average in the PAC? Which is what we need right? Only need to be average, Carrington is a once in a lifetime receiver and it hasn’t improved the weakest part of Utah’s offense. Ppg and Redzone efficiency?
      
      I do believe 2018 is Utah’s best chance since 2011 to win the south. The talent he has stocked will get one year older. Again I also advocate no way Utah improves moving on from Whitt. I just don’t see them improving offensively even to average. Defensively they may be elite next season. I think we have seen what we have seen from Whittingam he simply can’t improve his offense.
      - 10/28/2017 at 9:28 AM #46176
        
        Utah
        Ute Fan
        
        @utah
        
        Yeah, I do think they can be average. Look st what we will have next year:
        
        Huntley – JR, second season starting
        
        Moss/Shyne/DHC/Green – all with two Plus years, except Green, but he is a 4 Star kid.
        
        Covey/Singleton/Wilson/Nacua – all with experience. Thompson/Hamilton/Boyd – all 4 Star freshmen/sophomores.
        
        We have NEVER had that type of talent at Utah at WR.
        
        Barton – SR
        
        Paulo – second year starting
        
        Uhatafe – second year
        
        Agasiva – second year
        
        Thats 4 returning OL.
        
        Our offense should be sixth at worst next year.
      - 10/28/2017 at 9:28 AM #46178
        
        Utah
        Ute Fan
        
        @utah
        
        I still think if Huntley had not gotten hurt, we’d be undefeated. I think a lot of the chatter this week will die down after we see Huntley play today.
      - 10/28/2017 at 9:54 AM #46182
        1
        
        gothamute
        Ute Fan
        
        @gothamute
        
        I have to wonder how differently everybody would be feeling / these conversations would be going had we converted that two-point conversion against USC… at 5-2 it feels like you’re still in the hunt for the South while at 4-3 it’s pretty clear it’s out of reach… or for that matter if we had recovered the onside kick against Stanford and Gay sent us to OT and somehow pulled it out… or both! Point is: 4-3 sucks, but with a bounce or two the other way we really could be 6-1. The truth is that during the last 2-3 years we got some of those bounces, because we could easily have lost a game or two more than we did each of those years. I am guessing that a lot of the current mood has to do with just how atrocious the performance was against ASU… it’s been a while (two years ago against USC at the Colliseum) since we’ve gotten dominated both ways like that, but I for one will reserve judgment on this season / team until I see how we bounce back today and perform the rest of the way… I hate to already be playing for next year at this point, but I have to believe that the bumps in the road experienced this year will serve as hard-won experience the team can fall back on next year… which could be a pretty special year. Go Utes!
        
        10/28/2017 at 10:33 AM #46184
        
        Utah
        Ute Fan
        
        @utah
        
        I agree. Also, we bought the advice of too many lazy journalists.
        
        I think we look back at USC, Stanford and ASU and they are all 9+ win teams.
        
        I said all summer that I thought Manny Wilkins was the third best QB in the PAC-12 and ASU could be really good if they found a defense.
        
        There is a chance we have played three of our top 4 opponents already.
        
        10/28/2017 at 12:11 PM #46189
        
        EagleMountainUte
        Ute Fan
        
        @battlegroundute
        
        This is why I hate ifs. Makes it way more upsetting.
        
        If the refs called that USC wideout down on the 4th and 9 conversion. Something as obvious as that. Makes me so mad to keep going on what if what if.
        
        For me the fact remains Whitt can’t get his s**t together when it comes to the offense. More talent doesn’t make me change that fact.
        
        10/28/2017 at 12:15 PM #46191
        
        Utah
        Ute Fan
        
        @utah
        
        More talent absolutely changes that fact.
        
        10/28/2017 at 12:22 PM #46193
        
        EagleMountainUte
        Ute Fan
        
        @battlegroundute
        
        Comes down to coaching and against ASU I put that on coaching.