2008 National Champ

by all accounts, Kuithe had a good spring and was able to handle everything the staff allowed him to do. I don’t think we know anything more than that at this point.

Unless something happened behind the scenes that only insider’s know, there really hasn’t been anything to indicate he won’t be back. Even trying to conflate his twin’s injury…[Read more]

It’s a pretty big jump from saying something stupid while trying to defend your player and violating Title IX.

If we’re being honest, pretty much anyone who has had a drink with a meal and then driven has pushed the envelope for a 0.8 BAC. I’m not defending the coach or the player who decided to drive over ~ 30mph over the speed limit while…[Read more]

Iowa State is very similar to Utah in approach. K State and Ok State are also capable of playing great D depending on the year. Aranda at Baylor is a former D Coordinator and he’s taking a bigger role on that side of the ball to try to save his job.

I’m pretty sure Bartle (and others) has articles pre-written on all potential commits. That way he can just upload to be first.

It’d be relatively simple to just have two versions where only the first paragraph or sentence is different based on whether the kid committed to Utah or not. Perhaps he just uploaded the wrong version initially

yes, they’d both entered the portal before the WSU game which explains those zero’s.

it takes a couple of days for names to be officially in the portal so they (brumfield and wilmore) either decided before the Colorado game that they were done or did so because they didn’t get any touches that game. I remember at the time thinking it was weird…[Read more]

Jordan was RB3 to start 2020. He took over during the UW game (game 2).

There’s an argument to be made that with a “normal” fall camp, Jordan would have started the season as RB1 but it would be speculation. Brumfield started the first 2 games with Wilmore backing him up.

Utah 2020 Stats

the 2022 usage was the only year that was puzzling since Thomas was ineffective or in trouble after the Florida game but Bernard was only used in passing situations. There was talk that Bernard was dinged up but I don’t think we ever got a definitive answer.

2021 he had the great game against the parochial school, was ineffective in the loss to…[Read more]

can’t stay healthy

2018 – DNP (redshirt)
2019 – DNP due to transfer rules. NCAA reversed the rule so does not count against his clock
2020 – Free covid year
2021 – Redshirt Freshman
2022 – Redshirt Sophomore
2023 – DNP as a Redshirt Junior
2024 – Redshirt Senior

He could apply for a medical to replace the lost 2023 season but I believe he has to exhaust his…[Read more]

1960 is the most controversial. I think 6 different schools claim it.

As for 2008.,,

5 of the 7 have a national championship in the CFP era. All 7 made the 4 team playoff.

It’s kind of a Sesame Street chart. One of these things, is not like the others.,,

Not any better. In truth, all of the options feel like I went to Subway for a footlong and they filled it with veggies and forgot the meat.

maybe it’s just me but joining the ACC leftovers doesn’t feel any more attractive than current. Longer travel, no TV deal in place, not really desirable opponents.

Boston College, Duke, Syracuse, Louisville, Wake Forest, SMU, Cal, Stanford et al aren’t going to put together a better deal than what Utah currently has.

what is the one thing that the top 7 teams on that list have that #8 doesn’t?

Welcome to my world. Playing Washington 6 out of every 8 years has ruined my attachment to that program. Not sure I’ll ever get it back which sucks since I had a Husky football in my crib. At least the grandparents moved on to the happy hunting grounds before they had to watch me root against their team.

I’d call it unsettled instead of a weakness. There’s talent in the room but we don’t know whether anyone will demand the majority of touches like Moss, Booker and JW4 or if it will be a collection of parts like 2021.

Utah, running Ludwig’s offense, will get yards on the ground. It’s just whether or not the run game can be dominant enough to…[Read more]

edited above…

No one disputes that the majority of those games were close. The thread is about whether your fanbase is capable of being gracious in defeat. In my experience, which started with the ’88 game, they are not. As a group they are bad losers and even worse winners and every year they weren’t on the schedule was a joy to behold.

The whole 10 game streak was amazing for the number of ways the scoreboard didn’t matter due to the parochial school superiority in a specific statistic.

or the Las Vegas Bowl where the parochial school clearly had the better team because they scored more points the last 3 quarters. That one made it on every Utah article at DN for at least two years.

The parochial school fanbase has absolutely mastered the ability to completely discount their opponents’ effort in any contest

it’s a means to an end. You can’t change the fact that Utah didn’t get into the Big 2 this round so how do you set yourself up for the next one? By consistently outperforming your peers in the current landscape