So our BYU friends like to say

[ProudUte]

That all Ute fans say that had Cam Rising played on September 11th, Utah would have not only won but killed BYU.  I don’t hear that in my circle of Utah fans nor have I seen it posted on this board.  I only hear BYU fans say that.  I think it is apocryphal and that BYU fans keep saying it to get under our skin.  I even heard ARod say it on the radio in an interview with Bill Riley in November.

As for me, I agree will Bill Riley that our offensive line played poorly that night, and Rising would not have made a big difference.  I think Rising has developed into a very good QB for us, but I doubt he would have made a big difference on that night.  I have not seen nor heard Utah fans putting Rising on the pedestal BYU fans claim we have.  BYU outcoached and outplayed us that night.  We knew we would lose to the Cougars eventually.  Rising didn’t play, so it does not matter and I think any speculation about a different outcome is moot.  We got beat …

[jamarcus24]

It took our O-line a month to come together.  Once that happened the offense finally started clicking and finding balance.  Our D-line got absolutely mauled that night.  They ran all over us.

[ProudUte]

Yes, our young D-line was not ready.  They came on later in the season except against OSU in the Rose Bowl.  They were also terrible against Oregon State.

 

[PhiladelphiaUte]

Utah played worse against SDSU than we did at ybU.  By the time Brewer got the hook midway thru the 3rd-Qtr, he’d completed only 14 of 26 passes, for 104-yds, 1-INT (0-TDs) and 19 negative yds Rushing.  Juxtapose that performance with his game in Provostan, and it looks fairly identical (15-26-1, 147-yds passing, 20-yds rushing).  Utah was also down 14-pts at this point vs. SDSU, and 16-pts vs. ybU-p.

Bottom line:  We got the same performance out of Brewer vs. SDSU as we did vs. ybU-p.  Yet once Rising took the field, the difference was night and day.  In a losing effort, Rising still outscored the Aztecs 14-0 from the time he’d taken the field, to the end of regulation.  Nobody is arguing that a Rising-led Utah squad couldn’t have beaten the Aztecs had he’d started that game, so it stands to reason that had Rising started vs. ybU-p, we would have won that game.

And for the record, it isn’t just “Utah fans” who are saying this.  I’ve read multiple articles on ESPN alluding to it as well.

Rising would have altered the outcome in either game, had he started the 1st Qtr.

[Uphoric]

Here’s the deal with Rising.  He would have made a huge difference had he played in the BYU game. I can say we would have won but I can say with some authority it would have been different.  It is not about his skillset as a QB, it’s is leadership, he has the “it” factor.  When you find a player with “it” you win!  Look at the San Diego St. game and the rest of the season for reference.  

My personal opinion is the coaches knew from the begining he was “it”. I think they were trying to protect Cam’s shoulder.  Rotator cuff surgery is very tough at best and I am surprised he could even throw by the time fall camp opened.  If you look at his throw motion compared to the beginning of the season you can see a difference. His surgery was practically a shoulder rebuild. The coaches had no choice but to protect him as long a possible.  It so happened Brewer couldn’t do the job and the team had NO confidence in him.  The demeanor of the entire team changed when Cam was inserted in the SDSU game.  Can’t wait to see him play this year with a stronger shoulder and without reservations.

[Ute2]

This!👆

the proof is in the pudding.  Rising came in and changed everything vs. SDSU.
our oline needed a qb with some feet on him.  And Brewer wasn’t that.  Fit is a thing…

  No cam and play calling that was plain Jane on both sides of the ball.

Sure our dline got whooped straight up in their base set.  But could we have flipped the script with some creativity that night?  Any creativity?

…..

didn’t want to say nothing but… since we’re on the topic 🤷‍♂️😄

i wont go out of my way to argue that to my cougar friends… but no sense in not spitting some truth amongst fellow Utes!

[ProudUte]

[Central Coast Ute]

I agree. When Cam came in during SDSU, it was like a completely different O line. Would that have happened during the tds game? Probably, but we don’t know that.

[BD]

I agree completely. Rising probably would not have made too much of a difference. Yes, he could run/scramble better than Brewer. But it was BYU’s night – they came to win, caught Utah not at their best (in fact, about as bad as they could be, following the nightmare of 2020). In a way, it was a “perfect storm” – which is what is needed to beat Utah.

I’m not sure where the narrative comes from that Ute fans claim Rising would have won it – probably a comment or two on the Deseret News boards, KSL boards, a random comment on Twitter or whatever – certainly nothing big. But it certainly isn’t the overall dominant theme that Utah fans believe. Not at all.

But it doesn’t take much for BYU fans to consistenly bring it up. And they’ll continue to do so, and expand the absurdity, bringing it up again and again – probably for years. as They are like the irritating geek kid in elementary school that won’t stop bugging you, won’t stop pestering you, that is either really messed up, or at best, is just attention-starved and can’t stop the pestering. I ignore them as best as I can, but there are too many around that I work with or know.

[NarfUte]

I think the way the 2020 season played out was the biggest factor in our line troubles. We got 5 games and spotty practices and they played damn near a whole season.

 

Also agree, Rising doesn’t win us that game without a much better performance up front.

[ProudUte]

I agree.  Our line was very young and inexperienced in 2020.  They needed spring ball and a complete season.  They didn’t get it and it was obvious they were not ready to play D1 football early in the season.

[ProudUte]

I think it is true that Rising was still rehabbing his shoulder and was not yet at full strength.  IMO, this is another reason why Rising playing would not have led to a win.

The good news is that Cam Rising is getting stronger and he is indeed a great leader.  I look forward to Rising and our offense having a great season.

The main reason for my initial post – is that I hate it when fans try to make excuses for a loss.  BYU came to play that night and punched us in the nose.  They deserved the win on that night, and we moved on to have an amazing season.

 

[AlohaUte]

I have a lot of Ute friends and BYU friends. Not a single Ute fan I’ve heard say that we would have won with Rising in September (though most of us agree we would have beat SDSU). I find that most on Cougarboard latch onto one tweet some fan said and use that as “all Ute fans”…

[UTE98]

This Utah fan doesn’t care about revisiting what ifs. The season was absolutely incredible. (more)

I’ve told my BYU friends my favorite four football experiences are:

1. The Rose Bowl – Utah lost 

2. The Notre Dame game – Utah lost

3. Army game at West Point – Army won

4. The 2008 Michigan game – Utah won

Do I like to win, yes absolutely, but I wouldn’t trade any of those top 4 for a win against BYU. They just don’t register on the scale for my anymore.

[Waybackutefan]

Keep in mind if this were Boogerboard the order of relevancy of posts would be:

1. Disneyland

2. Star Wars

3. Pooping

4. Ute fans

5. Utah Utes

6. Cam Rising

7. Anything BYU

[pedro]

Agreed.  Furthermore our Dline did not play with any heart that game.  Aside from Lloyd, niether did our LB’s.  Our D was really flat.

[utefansince79]

Pretty much every Utah fan I know fully give BYU credit for a well deserved victory last September.

Sure there may be a few that don’t, but certainly not the majority of Ute fans.

 

 

 

[pedro]

I’m not taking anything away from BYU, but anyone watching the Utes play at the end of the year and compare it to the first four games will see a lot  more heart and effort then we saw initially.  

[Central Coast Ute]

I’ve only seen one person on Utehub make the claim the Utes would have won. I don’t remember them saying they would have killed the coogs, but they would have won. Most of us pushed back saying since it didn’t happen, you can’t make that claim. Zoobs will be zoobs, even if they are Arod.

[ironman1315]

I’m reasonably confident in saying rising would have won us that game with his legs. BYU had p**s poor running lame discipline. 

[Central Coast Ute]

The fact Utah scored 17 points with as bad as their offense was at that point, isn’t a good sign for BYU.

[prestitute]

We had plenty of chances to win the BYU game, but frankly, we didn’t make it happen. Bad fumble and poor containment cost us that game. I don’t know if Rising by himself would have been enough to win that game, and I don’t think it is worth worrying about too much. 

Now, the SDSU game, I think it is pretty clear that if Rising had been the guy from the opening whistle, we have a great chance in winning that one, and likely comfortably! 

More than anything, I am just really excited about our guys next year. I think Rising and Tavion both back is a big deal. I think our WRs will be more productive than they were last year as our TEs should get a ton of coverage. I am excited for this season!

[Dallas]

Honestly, the only time I’ve heard the argument that Cam would have changed the outcome is from zooms and the media (not ute fans) assessing our team/ranking near the end of the season.