So now that Spring Ball…

[THEeyepatch]

Is over, what are the expectations for this upcoming season? Seems there were a lot of positive comments on here and from the coaching staff. The Utes have USC, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona @ home and ASU, Stanford, UCLA, Wazzu and Colorado on the road. I’m not including the Ooc teams because frankly, Utah should be 3-0 against it. Is this the year Utah finally wins the South and possibly the Conference? What say you Utes fans? 

[Utah]

9+ wins. 

I worry about this schedule. I worry about Arizona. I worry that Huntley won’t stay healthy. 

 

[THEeyepatch]

Utah:

Yes, he makes a lot of people nervous. Can he be coached to know when there’s nothing and throw the ball away and/or run out of bounds? When he got injured it was because he was trying to make a play when there wasn’t one. He has to play smarter this season for Utah to have a legitimate shot at winning the Conference. Being a ball hog is going to hurt this team and may create some negativity in the locker room especially among the RB corps. 10+ wins or BUST! 

[EagleMountainUte]

Leaving spring there is a lot to hope for. Fall will give us a more accurate picture once they get back a ton of guys from injury. 

Moss could be Utah’s best player next season though. 

[cjd1]

I say 10-2. Just a marked improvement in offense will make a big difference.

[Tony (admin)]

I’ve been at 9-3 and that’s where I’ms ticking.

[FtheY]

Same.

[ironman1315]

12-0

[Onlyu]

Win 2 of 3 of the home games against Wash, SC and Oregon and only lose 1 on the road (at Stanford) and you’re at 10 wins…provided we don’t screw up against one of the teams we should beat.  Tall task of course.  Lose one more somewhere along the road and we come in at 9-3.  

Not very difficult to see a path to those win totals though.  Schedule is tough but the road schedule is very reasonable…I’ll take the tough teams at home all day long.  We also typically match up with and play Stanford very well so we could surprise someone there.  All of the sudden we’re in rarefied air!!  Chip at UCLA will be interesting but we should win that game…ASU, AZ, WSU, TDS, NIll, Weber and Colorado should all be wins…Should!!  

Experienced team with what should be a raucous home crowd that builds each game and we’ve got a chance to make some serious noise.  Staying healthy at QB and LB is key.  Having WR’s step up is huge.  We’re right there…time to take that next step.  Might never be a better chance these next few years to elevate the program. We’re playing Washington for the Pac12 champ in Dec!

[Chidojuan]

This is a weird year because all of our biggest challenges are not juggernauts, they’re winnable games. How dangerous is Washington without Vita Vea and Dante Pettis? Can Mario Cristobal summon a defense? Can SC find someone whose shoulders can bear the weight of the offense? Can we maintain gap integrity against Stanford? There is so much up in the air. I’m going to drink the red Kool-Aid and get on the 11-1 bandwagon. Huntley will stay healthy and the second stringers will start the second half against TDS.

[EagleMountainUte]

That just might lead to a CFP. Would you pass me some of that “kool aid”?

[gothamute]

The two points of peak optimism: 1) the final whistle of the spring game & 2) 5 minutes before kickoff on Aug 30th

Following a year where the schedule was a real sucker punch to the gut, the more I look at it the more I think this one is about as favorably positioned as we could ever hope to have. Having Washington early is huge. Having 3 of our 4 toughest conference games at home (Washington, USC and Oregon) and only Stanford on the road is huge. Pretty much the only thing that could make it better is to move the bye week to the week before Stanford (oh and maybe have Oregon St and Cal on the schedule instead of Washington and Oregon, but that’s just getting greedy). And playing the zoobs last means one fewer game up front where injuries could happen when they matter most. If we don’t win the South this year, no excuses – it’s because somebody else was better.

I think 10-2 is a realistic possibility (most likely losses obviously UW & Stanford), but if we get the W in week 3 then hook me up to a kool-aid IV… if we have 3+ losses (adding SC, Oregon or both) I don’t think we get to Levi’s Stadium, but if we win the conference championship at 11-2 the CFP is likely still on the table… (ok now I’m starting to sound like a zoob). Arizona is the only other game that makes me nervous because I think Sumlin can coach and they have some weapons returning. So with all that said, put me down for 10-2.

Now we just need to figure out something else to do for the next 4.5 months!