Kool-Aid anyone?

[MDUte]

The video analysis is a bit lengthy but tastes awfully good!

Preseason Utah 🏈 roster grades!
Full analysis and roster breakdown with @utahutesballing here 👇https://t.co/BooEvZ8M3v pic.twitter.com/Bw6pZxs5Mh
— WildUte (@TheWildUte) May 24, 2024

[ProudUte]

I like these guys, but they are definitely wearing crimson goggles. These guys say that this is the best Utah football team ever. I hope that will be true, but as of today – I don’t think so. 2004, 2008, 2019, and 2021 will be tough to beat.

I think we have the potential to be a very good team and make the CFP. However, I am not yet ready to predict that. Staying healthy will be a key. No Cam Rising and we will not win the Big 12 IMO.

Go Utes!!!

[Central Coast Ute]

Top to bottom this team is head and shoulders above 04 and 08. You can argue that Alex Smith is better than Cam Rising, and Louie Sakoda is better than Cole Becker, but that’s about it.

I will say those teams, and the 08 team specifically had better seasons than the rest, but better team? No.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Both of those teams played in the MWC. Only had a couple games they were tested. Big 12 will be a test every week. We are capable of winning every game. Playing in strange environments (raucous crowds., extreme heat and humidity to open range winds rain and maybe a tornado watch.) all even the playing field. It took us a few years to get familiar with the Pac 12 environments. So many variables to win every week. I expect us to have the same advantages at home. I’ll drink the kool aide for all home games for sure.

[Rick]

The ’08 team put a lot of players into the NFL. I look at the D-Line of ’08 and this current team has no one at the talent level of Misi or Kruger. D Backfield with Sean Smith, Rojo and McCain is better than this year’s team by far. OL with Beadles, Taylor, Hensel, and Schlauderaff was also top notch. I would also take the ’08 WRs of Brooks, Brown, Casteel, and Reed over the current WRs. I think the current team has an advantage at QB and LB and I would say RB is probably a push, although Asiata was a stud and this year’s team has talent but no one really stands out as exceptional.

I think the 2008 team was and still is the best overall Utah team. I also failed to mention Sly and Shelby who were both amazing players.

[MDUte]

The main issue with the ‘08 team is what happens if they were forced to play a P5 schedule and a number of those talented dudes went down as they most certainly would have? I don’t think that team would have all those guys playing in the Sugar Bowl when we needed them most if they played the kind of schedule we play today. I realize that team beat 3 ranked opponents during the regular season but there were a lot of “bye weeks” built into the rest of that schedule. We’ve never had the kind of depth we have now.

[D T]

The difference between now and then is depth.

We were loaded in our starting lineup in ‘08, but were very fortunate that we weren’t hit by injuries that year, because we didn’t have the sort of depth we have today.

[Uteanooga]

Truth. It is easy to look back and feel like current players are just better than those of the past but I don’d buy it. ’08 was stacked. One of the keys to ’08 and ’04 was lack of injuries. Tell me that the same dudes start every game this year and I’ll drink all of that Kool-Aid I can get. You just can’t predict that.

As for ’04, it is easy to forget how innovative the scheme was. Alex Smith running the spread offense when no one had any experience defending it? That was a huge advantage and I think Utah would have been very competitive in a playoff. Bring the ’04 team into current leagues and that advantage would be mitigated. Such are the pitfalls of historical pondering!