In my mind this L compares to the Florida and Oregon games.

[EagleMountainUte]

Felt like a sure win to me. All this momentum. An incredible signing day that felt great. Lot of national attention. Then to not capitalize on it all is a real let down. I am no where smart enough or experience enough to diagnose the problem. I can only compare it to lifting it’s like Utah can’t get that PB up. All that training and then failure is hard hitting sometimes.
I didn’t listen to any postgame. What’s the word on this fantasy for next year? Rising and Kuithe to me seem to have obvious decisions to make money as NIL vs struggle to make the NFL.
2022 was an amazing run still. I still have some Rose Bowl gear despite two L’s hanging on them Roses. Mostly workout gear from now on. 😜

[UteFanatic]

The predominant thoughts seem to be that Rising and Kuithe will return. Their injuries have basically forced them to because they will not be fully recovered by draft day.

I actually felt the opposite going into this game. I had very little confidence. We had no offensive firepower left. Rising struggles when he doesn’t have his all-world TEs to throw to. His scrambling kept us in the game, but it wasn’t sustainable because his knee has been an issue all season.

Cpuple that with CPIII being out and Pedo State being the best defense on our schedule, and this result was not surprising.

Still had a good season. Two conference championships in a row is great. Best recruiting class ever. Utah hasn’t reached it’s ceiling yet.

[Yergensen]

It wasn’t clear to me what Ludwig’s game plan was. Given the circumstances and the playmakers we had left, I would have expected us to go more run heavy and use RPO more than we did. Certainly expected this after Cam went out. Instead we tried to force feed the WR and Yassmin, threw in a momentum killing trick play all while the run game and jet action was effective averaging 5-6 yards per play. I can’t figure Ludwig out, he’s wildly random at times and others very predictable.

[EagleMountainUte]

Running up the gut against PSU seemed idiotic. Especially how much quicker Utah seemed sideline to sideline in the first half.

[Yergensen]

We got chunk yards on the edges right up until Rising went out. Between the tackles wasn’t a lost cause, had to hit them there selectively but not very productive. Thought both RPO, jet action and even the pitch option was working well. We just didn’t do it enough. JJ and Bernard needed 2x the touches they got last night with JD mixed in more. With Cam it was working, with Johnson would have worked as well maybe even been more dynamic given his speed.

[chinngiskhaan]

Not sure why this felt like a sure win to anyone. They lost to OSU and Michigan. We lost to a garbage Florida team, a mediocre Oregon team, and a mediocre/decent UCLA. PSU is a better football team with better players.

Every single one of our best players was out other than Rising, and it didn’t take long for him to get hurt as well.

If I knew at the beginning of the year that we would be in the Rose Bowl with no TT, no Kuithe, no Kincaid, no Phillips, and Rising gets hurt in the third quarter I would have bet everything I owned on Utah losing that game. Even without knowing Rising would get hurt I would have bet against the Utes. Seeing us beat a flawed USC team with those same players missing gave us a false sense of confidence.

[The Miami Ute]

I just read that Rising made well over $500K this past year due to NIL and was ranked #85 in the nation in gross income. Not bad, but well below Caleb Williams’ $2.1M. From a financial viewpoint, it’s a no-brainer for Rising to come back. He’d probably be able to increase his NIL earnings versus the very unlikely proposition of making it into an NFL squad.

The real question is whether Utah would be better with him coming back. Most analysts seem to think so and so do KW and Ludwig. My concern would be how the QB room would take a surprise return by Rising. Would Nate and Rose rush to the portal in the quest for more playing time or would they be willing to wait another year? Next year would also be Rising’s sixth year in college and he’d be 24 well before the season started. He might start feeling aged out by the college experience.

[Utah]

IF Johnson wasn’t ready to play vs Penn St, you need Rising back desperately. With Rising, you have a shot at the playoffs. Without rising you are going with Barnes or a transfer QB and that is so risky. And if Barnes wins the job, I’m not sure you are bowling next year.

Utah’s starting QB next fall will be Rising or a transfer with a tiny, tiny chance of Johnson/Barnes and that would be a disaster.

[EagleMountainUte]

Do you think utilizing NJ in the packages they did as more of a developmental thing or like throw a bone in his way?
I find it really odd is all.
I personally think moving on from Rising frees up NIL money that could be spent elsewhere if possible. QB is a dynamic position which Utah doesn’t utilize like other teams typically do.
Not comparing Rising to Williams in skill set at all or coveting that type of generational talent. Rising is warrior for sure and it fits the Utah identity.