Las Vegas Bowl – The silence is deafening

[Tony (admin)]

I think the silence and lack of discussion in the week leading up to the Las Vegas Bowl tells quite a story, not just here but on “other” Ute fan sites too. Not many people have much to say about this game.

[Anonymous]

Utefans.net is a constant obsession with BYU. You must have the “Rivalry” category turned off on UF.N if you’re not seeing anything about the game. I’m embarrassed to be a Ute fan right now. We’re still G5, it’s evident with our fans’ constant obsession with BYU.

[FormerUteSax]

I feel really bad for the media… they keep telling us about how excited we should be for this game, but other than the fact that we get to see our Utes one more time this year I don’t think many of us are buying it

[UTE98]

I watch less and less of BYU games each year. This year I’ve not watched as much combined as I’ll watch of a BYU game this Saturday. That should tell you all you need to know. AND I actually know Tanner Mangum’s parents. Their great people but times have changed. I used to watch all the MWC games and the PAC12 games. Now I watch the PAC12 games and will flip over to G5 games during commercials.

For some reason I can’t get excited about watching G5 teams. I think I’ve almost completed my transition to P5. Something we used to deride all the time. But I get it now, I really get it.

I’m hoping this “Holy War” eventually becomes the equivalent of Tulane-LSU, I think we’re headed in the right direction and gaining speed. The LV Bowl will hopefully be a downhill slope or at worst a speed bump on the journey to the game being obsolete.

[Anonymous]

So you agree with me. https://www.utehub.com/forums/topic/what-does-a-4-star-recruit-for-ca-tx-or-fl-think-about-this-stupid-holy-war/

[Summit Ute]

I’m headed down to Vegas to watch the game, but my group is more interested in hiking in Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire probably more. Not to mention stuffing some high quality food down our gullets.

[Anonymous]

I wanted to go. Had access to the best tickets through my brother ($250 on the 50 with pregame buffet, no-host bar, true seats with backs, not the benches), but he could not go as it was his wife’s B’day and he’s taking her out to dinner. So I will head down to his house to watch the basketball and football games on his 80″ TV (mine’s only 60″). And yes, I was one of those who walked up and bought scalped tix for $20 on the 30 for the 2010 game against BSU. There’s a reason why the PAC 12 negotiated the lowest ticket allotment possible, no one liked going to this game.

I think Utah wins a low scoring game. Defense and special teams will be strong as usual. BYU will have no run game and will be forced to pass. Utah’s DL will get to Tanner Mongo and force some TOs. Issue will be Utah’s one-dimensional offense. Williams should have a big game against BYU. As always, Wilson is the wild card. He should be able to run, but the passing game has remained a mystery throughout his career.

[BountifulUte]

Perhaps it’s just me – but all the BYU fans in my neighborhood seem far more excited about this football game than myself and the other Ute fans that also live around me.  When I run into them outside or at church, they are always wanting to engage me and get my thoughts and feelings about the game.  I have had a difficult time really engaging them and having any sort of good discussion.  As BYU fans, this game means a lot more to them than to me.  It is also obvious to me they are excited that we have some injuries and it’s almost like they smell blood which is sort of funny.  They seem to know that if we were at full health they wouldn’t have a shot.

My thoughts on the game?  Call me naive but I really feel a lot like this game that I did about the Colorado State game last year.  Our recruiting, speed and depth have improved year over year and I am thinking our athleticism and speed will shot itself.  Joe Williams, our back up running back will run circles around anyone on the Y’s D.  We really should win this game.  My only concern is how much more the Y players (and fans as I’ve mentioned) seem to be up for this game.

Looking forward to watching the game and hope we win.

[rbmw263]

Ill put the O/U on targeting calls and punches at 1.5. Taking the over.

[MBAute89]

You guys are crazy, IMO. I’m as diehard a fan you’ll come across, but I also realize that a rivalry adds so much to the experience of supporting a team. The comments represented on this board display an arrogant “holier than thou” attitude towards BYU, which I find quite ironic. If this rivalry “ends” like you all seem to want, I can guaran-flippin-tee you it will be for the worse for the program, fans, and national relevance of the football program (and frankly, BYU).

No matter how hard the Pac-12 shoves it down our throats, Colorado will never be our rival like BYU. The tradition isn’t there. The history isn’t there. Someone please give me an example of a rivalry ending being good for a program? Anyone? Has that ever happened? Are fans in Texas really happier with the A&M/Longhorn rivalry effectively dead? Has that been better for the Longhorns? The Aggies?

Seriously, this just drives me nuts.

[UTE98]

@jtbuckner USU and Utah have played more games. Wyoming, Colorado State are not far behind TDS in number of games played. Neither is Colorado, within 20-25 or so, and that is with a near 60 year hiatus.

Rivalry game going away? LSU-Tulane, West Virginia-Marshall, Army-Notre Dame. As time passes if BYU doesn’t get in a P5 that is where this rivalry is heading.

BSU used to have good rivalries with ISU and Idaho, nobody at BSU wants to play either of those teams, same as many Utah fans don’t want to play BYU. Don’t ask for facts and examples unless you’re going to consider them. Hopefully I gave you enough for your mind to crunch on.

[MBAute89]

@ute98 I think I can concede that conference affiliation can kill a rivalry, and certainly in some instances (i.e. when the programs are so far apart in terms of talent and level of competition that it makes no sense to play each other) it could make sense. But, that is not the case with the BYU/Utah Rivalry, no matter how bad we Utah fans want to believe it. Advanced stats is predicting this game to be a pretty even match up. Utah is ranked #20 in the AP poll while BYU is effectively ranked #28. BYU had a higher recruiting class than our “rival” Colorado in 2015 and so far for 2016 as well. All of the examples you provided me were instances in which the programs were so far apart in terms of talent and level of competition that it just didn’t make sense to continue the rivalry. Being as objective as i can be, it seems to me that the perception of the national media is that Utah and BYU are still pretty close, with a slight edge to Utah. So, if I’m following your logic, the rivalry should be dead because Utah is just so much better than BYU, right? Well, I don’t think the facts bear that out. Therefore, why kill the rivalry?

Additionally, you didn’t really answer all of my questions. Has ending the Texas/Texas A&M rivalry been better for their programs? For the fans? In my mind that’s a much stronger comparison than Boise St. and Idaho St.

ALSO, WHY HAVE ALL UTAH FANS ADOPTED ALBAMA’S “HOLIER THAN THOU” attitude towards this bowl game? If we want a better bowl game, we need to recruit better, have better wins, and earn a reputation as a team worth going to a bigger bowl game. Complaining, moaning and groaning just sounds petty and childish.

[UTE98]

@jtbuckner I’m not saying the rivalry has reached that point. What I’m saying is over time that’s the trend I see. Army-ND used to be a huge rivalry, as did Tulane-LSU, but over time it just become very one sided. If you look at this rivalry outside the LaVell years it hasn’t really been that big of a deal. I think the MAC and Edwards years are fading fast. In 10 years I think this rivalry will be the same as BSU-Idaho and BSU-ISU. Yes, I think BYU is trending downward, this year their record appeared good, but the opponents weren’t quality. Falsely propping up their record. If anybody thinks that first 11 minutes didn’t show exactly where this rivalry is heading they need to watch it again.

[Anonymous]

You are a Utah fan that has experienced the Rivalry since the Lavell years. It is a part of Utah’s history but not the entire history.

Many many “rivalries” have died and many have started again. BYU is dying a slow death. They are also killing themselves.

[Tony (admin)]

WHY HAVE ALL UTAH FANS ADOPTED ALBAMA’S “HOLIER THAN THOU” attitude towards this bowl game?

Because our 3rd best record in the Pac-12 deserved better than the 6th best bowl for the Pac-12.

[MBAute89]

@admin I couldn’t disagree more. Look at what transpired on Saturday. 197 yards of offense. None of the higher bowls wanted that. We deserved to fall to the Las Vegas bowl in my opinion. I don’t blame the Sun, Foster Farms, or Holiday Bowl one bit. The rules allow for this to happen. We can either change the rules (not likely) and force the bowls to pick teams based on record alone, or we can learn to work within the confines of the rules given to us. Truth be told we should be lucky we played BYU. Based on our offensive struggles I doubt we win any of the other potential matchups.

[Tony (admin)]

So bowl picks are based on entertainment value and not record.