But the Nacuas aren’t at all a factor in that. They seem like a great family. My wife used to do some work for their mother, and she seems like a great lady. Most players on the team are still good friends with Samson. I don’t see it as a big deal that Samson wanted to gas up his RB by making comparisons to when he played with current Buffalo Bills RB Zack Moss.
It’s been a weird feeling to have BYU-P be an actual threat on the field and in recruiting for the first time in my Utah fandom life. That being said, here are a few pieces of relevant information concerning the matter:
– Utah is 9-1 since 2010 vs BYU-P
– Utah owns the overall series record (and it’s not even close) 62-35-4
– They still have four open corners in their stadium lol it’s like just four oversized intramural bleachers
– Didn’t plan to go in this direction, but when in Rome; The BY in their namesake is a very problematic figure. U of U is wise to distance itself from association with said figure.
– They brag about having cheap tuition but rarely acknowledge that it’s made possible by misleading use of donations and the presence of $100 Billion investment fund that wasn’t meant to be public knowledge (sorry to our LDS U of U friends, but that’s shady)
– BYU-Provo is still riding the bump they got from having a season in 2020 when nobody else in the western US did, but things will return to normal again.
Your last sentence is a huge one that I think gets ignored by many. Utah was basically a brand new team the beginning of this year. While you can’t replay games, this isn’t the same team we saw in weeks 1-4. The personnel is playing much differently, depth is also much different due to the amount of live reps these guys have gotten.
Let’s be honest, the PAC’s out of conference record has been nothing short of embarassing. Let’s also be honest, the season last year for the PAC did zero favors to the teams, in terms of being set up for success this year.
The fact Utah is in the drivers seat in the South is incredible, considering where the year started for them. I would expect that next year though, the majority of the PAC will be much improved over this year, due to getting to play a full season.
Until BYU-P starts reining in recruiting classes better than #70, 2020 (covid) and 2021 (covid fallout) will be anomalous blips on the radar. And the bad news for them is their recruiting won’t improve much due to the Honor Code.
Their top players are pretty good (Allgeier and Puka), and have allowed them to be competitive, but the drop off behind those guys is huge. They don’t have the depth to compete meaningfully even in the neutered Little 12.
Don’t let the Nacua situation bother you. The kids obviously wanted to break out of Provo, but ultimately got sucked back into the Utah county bubble with their family in their ear and promises of more playing time.
I think the Nacua family is a perfect blend of the athlete BYU hopes to have advantages with in recruiting: 1) LDS family background or ties. 2) Poly athlete with LDS background and current Poly HC and DC, and 3) Utah county family that equates BYU football and the LDS church as one and the same thing.
But this isn’t a microcosm of something bigger. Utah and BYU might go head to head in a few recruiting battles, but not many. Would BYU have ever been it for Tavion Thomas, Cam Rising, Brant Kuithe, Devin Lloyd, Clark Phillips, Xavier Carlton, Tyler Huntley, Zack Moss, etc.? We could look back and see Jaren Kump, Leki Fotu, some others as potential recruiting battles that might have been more up in the air if BYU was in a big conference. However, Utah will win its fair share of those battles, the biggest consideration will likely be need and playing time availability. Had BYU landed Leki Fotu, Utah would have kept Khyris Tonga. But the playing time issue played a roll there with Fotu and Penesini, two NFL guys, on the roster as starters, and therefore Tonga went where he could play right away.
Look at the differences between Nacua and Kaufusi. Nacua has said derogatory things about the Utes on multiple occasions. I don’t believe that I have heard Kaufusi attack the Cougars. Nacua was a walk-on that was given a scholarship. He was given lots of opportunities and treated well at Utah. The fact that he ended his career in Provo is not a big deal to me. The fact that he has continued to trash the school, coaches, and players is not a good look. I would not like Kaufusi attacking the BYU program either. I have learned in life that you do not burn past bridges and it has served me well.
Again, I will say Puka is a stud. I watched him in high school and hoped Utah would land him. I believe he will be playing on Sundays for a long time.
Well said. Samson said negative things about Utah even when he was at Utah. That’s not a way to endear yourself to the fanbase.
This isn’t a case of hating Samson just because he’s a traitor, he has always been very dislikable.
I was about to give you a thumbs up until you said BYU will now be a threat in recruiting. Based on what? Membership in a G6 conference? Look, the alliance didn’t invite the B12. Obviously, the SEC didn’t want them either as they took only two schools from that conference and now there’s what’s left. The remaining 8 schools are going to take a huge financial hit. Any of the schools in the B12 would leave right away if they were invited to an alliance conference or the SEC. After this round of realignment is over, there will be 4 autonomous conferences and the B12 isn’t one of them.
I was more referring to them now being a bigger threat for the top instate kids (Cody Hagen, that OL transfer from Oregon, etc)
Ok. I can see that for a couple more years, but when the NCAA constitution is re-written, byu will no longer be able to lie to the recruits and tell them that they’re joking a P5 conference.
The alliance is the aspect of the Big XII expanding that is most overlooked when people discuss that conference’s future. The formation of the alliance, coupled with the SEC stealing Texas and Oklahoma, is essentially the P5 contraction to become the P4 that folks have speculated about for years. Nobody seems to realize it yet because the Big XII will maintain P5 status for a couple of more years and everyone thought the contraction would be four 16 team super-conferences.
As it turns out, the contraction is going to end up being the demotion of an expanded but weakened Big XII. It’s possible 2-4 of their schools will be thrown a life preserver by the other P4, but it is very unlikely those newcomers will be the schools that get saved. Most likely it will be OK State, Kansas, TX Tech & either IA State or K-State, but even those schools are a longshot at this point.
This is essentially what I was trying to say. The only disagreement I have is I think Houston has a better shot at joining a P4 league than say OK St., due to being a research school and having the Houston market. I believe it was Wilner that reported the Pac 12 was considering TCU and Houston. If the B10 jumps in, my guess is they’ll want Kansas and Iowa St.
This makes sense. Is this assumed, or an actual thing? I seem to remember it coming up on some level, haven’t heard about it for some time though.
The alliance? It’s an actual thing that was a response by the Pac-12, B1G, & ACC to the SEC stealing Texas and Oklahoma.
The demotion of the Big XII from the P5 ranks? That is assumed, but it seems like a pretty safe assumption based on that league’s profile without Texas and Oklahoma. Their TV deal is guaranteed to take a hit. Bowl tie-ins will probably take a hit. Non-conference scheduling will take a hit as the alliance begins scheduling non-conference games amongst themselves. The Big XII is basically the Big East after Virginia Tech, Miami, and Boston College left.
Hey, Thunder… check your mail. I owe you a predict the score prize from earlier this season…
Ghost, that was a fantastic post. Thanks for sharing, man.
A few comments:
– I struggle to see the XII as a P5 conference without their blue-bloods. I mean, if John & Paul left the Beatles would they still be the Beatles?
– Nacua never thought much of Utah. He bashed Utah when he WAS a Ute when he told Puka he needed to go to a “major program” instead of Utah. I don’t really care though. He did some good things for us and helped us out so whatever.
– I raised an eyebrow when BYU go invited to the XII. That was a knee-jerk reaction by the XII leadership, in my opinion. I’m not sure they thought through all of the baggage that BYU brings with them. I’ll be watching to see how that all plays out. I will say this: if BYU had any chance of blending into a conference it would be the bible-belt conference that the XII is.
– I get the funniest reactions from BYU fans I run into when I’m around town wearing my Ute gear. I’ve had a few comment on how they hope I’ve recovered from the BYU loss. Like the rest of our fanbase, I was p**sed for about 2 days and then I turned my site to conference play and haven’t really thought much about it since. I mean, we’ve won 9 out of the last 10… I think I’ll survive.
– I can’t help but wonder if Kalani will listen to another job opportunity. I’ll give him credit because he surpassed my expectation. I swear that fan base would wear me the hell out. With that and the unique recruiting disadvantages they face, I’m guessing there are some awesome possibilities that will arise for him.
Great discussion, you guys.
I was out for a walk in my neighborhood the morning after the U-Y game with a Utah shirt on, some lady stopped me and commented to me that it must be a difficult shirt to wear. I just laughed because games don’t affect me like that. Its a literal game, and I am just a fan. W or L, it doesn’t make, or ruin my day. I know that sounds like malarkey to some, it is the truth though. I just enjoy watching them play, its a bonus when they play well (which has been on the plus side for some time now).
Has to be rough wearing the shirt of a team on the verge of winning the South for the third time in 4 seasons (Please don’t let this post jinx us).
I don’t think the Big XII move to expand was knee-jerk so much as it was an act of desperation. They know that without Texas and Oklahoma their conference is basically the AAC with a better TV contract (for now). Any school in that conference would jump at the opportunity to join the Pac-12, ACC, or B1G, and that includes the 4 new additions. They all know they are on a sinking ship. They just hope that nobody else notices their ship is sinking or that they can keep it afloat long enough to jump to a better ship.
There’s a reason they were all vying for BIG and PAC membership before it was announced they won’t be expanding for now. If BYU brought as much to the table as their fans say they do, they would have just invited them instead of hitting up the other P5 conferences.
If you are referring to the perpetual education fund, that’s based on the perpetual immigration fund that was established in late 1800’s where people are helped with funding for their trip to SLC. The education fund works the same way and is done to help impoverished members, mostly in impoverished countries. It was announced years ago, and has helped hundreds on pour members get a good education. They then put money into the fund. Nothing shady, or secret,here just people helping people. Besides, what should be concerning to you if you are a non-member or an ex-member.
I have been a Ute fan for almost 60 years and a member of the LDS for all my life.
Well said.
Recruiting will change ? I dont think so. BYU Will always get kids that want to do to BYU Cody Hagan. The OL from Oregon is from Orem. And wanted to play close to home and be with his family. (I understand UtAH is “close” to home but its still an hour away one way. Where as his mom/family friends are less than 10 minutes from BYU. Anyways, I dont think BYU will catch us ever. Have they closed the gap ? A little, but Utah will continue to grow and continues to get amazing recruits;
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