Some suggest that we can’t lose to BYU because

[ProudUte]

our recruiting is much better than that team from Provo.  I believe that is why Barry Switzer said Utah could not compete with Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.  Also, using that logic, we could never compete with Oregon or USC.

I am not suggesting that we will lose to that team from Provo.  I believe we will win.  However, I do not have confidence in the Utes because we have recruited better for the last decade.

Like it or not, the cougs looked pretty good last season.  I understand that we will never know how good because of the lack of consistent competition.  They lost a lot from the 2020 team.  But they have a few things going for them.  Allgeier looked good.  Again, we do not know how good, but he has some good skills IMO.  They have some very good receivers and tight ends.  Can their QB get them the ball?  I am not sure.  However, remember that at least one of them is a 4-star recruit.   

I personally think that the cougs will be a decent football team this year.   I believe they will be a good test for us, which is a good thing since it will help us prepare for the conference season.

Go Utes!!!

 

[utefansince79]

They are hungry and sick and tired of losing to Utah.   We aren’t going to never lose to them again.  Some year they’re going to get one.  Hope not this season, but it has to happen some time.

They do have a decent coach who learned a lot from being under Whitt for quite some time which is a significant asset.

 

 

 

[Charlie]

With one exception, any team in the top half of the MWC could have easily repeated what they did in 2020. The exception was they worked Boise State pretty good on the road. So I look at it as boy, they could have won the MWC last year. Other than Arizona while in a dumpster fire, could you have expected them to beat any of the Pac teams? They had a RB that could be counted on to get 100 yards against FBS and G5 teams, is there a reason to fear that? Last year may have been their decade long peak but how would we know? Remember how hard it was for Utah to win league games when they first moved into the Pac? And I think Utah was ahead of them now in 2010. For the Y they are likely forever stuck in Utah’s first Pac year in their best years. That is a threat to beat mostly lower half Pac teams that overlook them. Maybe in another 10 years, maybe after Whitt, we might get caught overlooking them. It would take several big mistakes on our part or breaks for it to happen and recently we have been giving them no more than one a game.

[ProudUte]

I understand what you are saying and as I said, we will never know how good they were.  But, the fact that they had so many players drafted by the NFL tells me that the NFL scouts thought they had some very good players.  So, we will just have to agree to disagree and that’s fine.  I would never suggest that I am right and that you are wrong.  It is simply my opinion.  I hope we win by 30.

 

[PhiladelphiaUte]

They had TWO players drafted early, and their final 3 were taken in the last 10 picks — meaning had there not been nearly 1,200 fewer athletes opting to NOT declare for the NFL, in favor of returning for another year, those 3 wouldn’t have been drafted.

Additionally, they played small-ball, and lost to a Sun Belt team, who was similarly overrated, based on doing nothing more than doing what the tdS had been doing in 2020 — beating up on bad teams, and not really being challenged.

And for the record, the tdS lost to CCU because they couldn’t move the ball on the ground.  If they couldn’t run the ball vs. CCU’s D, there’s no way they would have done so either vs. ours.

Last year’s cougar team wasn’t good.  It was fools gold.

#NotFooled

[Heike]

They lost to Coastal Carolina. Even with all that talent last year. Dwell on that for awhile.

[ironman1315]

They also almost lost to a garbage Houston team.

[SalUteopia]

I think @Proud makes some good points, but it feels like this matchup has gone beyond the football talent and coaching. We’re in their heads now. This became very apparent in 2018. Do they have what it takes to win the mental battle?

[ProudUte]

I agree that Utes are in their heads much as the Cougars were in our heads in the 70s and 80s.  It took coach Mac to change that.  He started the change and now KW hasn’t lost since 2009. At some point we will lose again, I just hope it doesn’t happen in my lifetime. 🙂 

[ironman1315]

They will not be. Their run d will be poor. Their OL last year couldn’t handle a quick DL. Now imagine a quick DL that is as strong as our crew? This game will be a classic KW boa constrictor game. Just like 2019.

[Ute Dub]

I think Utah’s o-line and d-line are better than their o-line and d-line. Unless they have an amazing QB, I think they’re go ng to have a hard time beating the Utes!