Well some good news Oregon blew a 19 point lead on the road

[Anonymous]

http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/ucla-knocks-off-oregon-in-comeback-fashion-and-the-pac-12-is-looking-more-dangerous-than-ever/?linkId=34346462

 

Gotta say I hate Oregon and prefer somone else winning the PAC. 

[Utah]

This brings me back to our conversation earlier. I’m starting to wonder if some of our concerns about football and basketball are just there because we are in a very, very, very good conference. 

And we are Utah. We will most likely never be at UCLA or Arizona’s level in basketball (and with Nike and Oregon, maybe their level as well). We will most likely never be at UCLA or USC or Stanford’s level in football. 

Are our shortcomings just our new reality? In 10 years, will we not even be complaining about some of our issues once reality sets in? 

I wonder. 

It’s a tough place to do business, that is for sure. And, we definitely have areas to improve in. Saturday’s game will be telling. If we play like we did last night, we might lose and lose big. 

[UtahUteGuy]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think the reality (and this has always been the reality) is that we are small fry in this conference.  We really don’t have any business competing with the big boys in football (and basketball, perhaps).  The fact that we do compete, given the relative size of our athletics budget, and the obvious limitations of our recruiting base, is quite extraordinary.  Chris Hill has done a fantastic job navigating these new, rough waters, and our coaches in nearly every sport (not just football and men’s basketball) have done a great job handling the PAC-12 transition.

I’m just grateful that we have competed well since we’ve joined the conference, and I do think we have improved our lot, mostly based on great management from Chris Hill and the coaches.  Also, I do think we have a shot at a conference championship in the two big sports, but for that to happen, everything has to be aligned perfectly.  As Andy Dufresne once wrote: “Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”  

 

[Utah]

I think you’ve nailed in on the head. The unfortunate part of joining the PAC-12, is that we went from a top 3 G5 program, with more money, resources, etc to a bottom 25% P5 program. 

We are so far behind in resources, it’s shocking. 

Yet, we are competing. Enjoy it Ute fans. There will come a day when spend a decent portion of a decade in the cellar. That will suck and we will long for these days. 

[Utah]

Hows that response for the resident Utah homer? lol. smh. 

[UtahUteGuy]

I would suggest that there is no “unfortunate” part of joining the PAC.  I’d much rather be an overachieving PAC team than a top tier “mid-major”, any day of the week.  I don’t lament at all the fact that we’re small fry, I just accept it as reality.

[utefansince79]

I remember a couple of years ago in September the MWC had a weekend the football teams went 0-10 against non-league opponents. (2 MWC teams played each other so the record that weekend was actually 1-11)

And a few years ago, we played CSU who was one of their better teams that season in a bowl game and pretty much crushed them.

I’m very grateful we have left that conference behind us.

 

 

[Utah]

Unfortunate wasn’t the right word or what I wanted to convey. I agree with you and 79.

[pedro]

Agree.  However it’s a great place to be!  Can’t become a diamond without living in the rough for a while!

[Puget Ute]

Our budget is roughly the same size as Vanderbilt’s.

Then again, it is also roughly the same size as Clemson’s, so…

(I think we are right smack in the middle between those two)