RedRocks

While true in general, you absolutely can have a good system that masks some of your player deficiencies. Teams like Utah, Boise State, and TCU have done it pretty consistently for a long time (but to your point, not all the time.

The opposite is also true. There are teams that consistently under-perform (at least for the past decade) relative to…[Read more]

Hopefully game one.

CFP Expansion

You had me going there for a moment; I thought there was some sort of new development in the conference carousel.

They didn’t say that 2021 and 2022 were the only special years on the list.

Nor did they say that you had to win a P5 conference title and receive a NY6 bowl bid for it to be special.

2019 could also be considered ‘special’. It was a fun team/season with a disappointing end.

Utah went 10-4 in 2021 and 2022.
Not sure why you are discounting the PAC-12 Championship and the Rose Bowl game.

Yes, winning the PAC-12 was special. If you don’t think it was, then I think your expectations of Utah Football are unrealistic.

Haha

I am trying to employ the opposite mindset: Assume we will suck, only to be pleasantly surprised.

I can’t say I am succeeding (like every other season ramp-up)…

I feel like this season is quite a bit different from any season we have yet experienced.

It seemed like the team under-performed relative to the talent the past couple of years, probably mostly because of injuries, the ridiculous QB situation, and the odd coaching decisions (maybe just lump this in with the QB situation).

The real difference…[Read more]

Did something change about ESPN+? I’m pretty sure many of Utah’s games will not be on ESPN+.
If I recall correctly, last year there were only a small number of Utah games on ESPN+.

The Utah Athletics website (Utah-Schedule) says that the UCLA game is on FOX. Did I miss something about Paramount?

I was curious about the last time Utah played Wyoming and did a web search. I ended up at https://utahutes.com/sports/football/opponent-history/university-of-wyoming/262, but it doesn’t look correct: (Guess I can’t paste in screenshots and I am too lazy to get it hosted somewhere. Just go to the link and look at the spreadsheet, if you want)

Agreed. This is the kind of game you just can’t lose if you want people to take you seriously, both as a team (Utah) and a conference (Big12). We only have so many chances to play/beat teams from the ‘Power 2’ (ugh) conferences.

After the last couple of seasons, I am trying to be mentally prepared for Utah to lose every game.
After the usual overdose of off-season kool-Aid, I am hopeful that Utah will win every game.

I know reality will be somewhere in between, but hopefully the wins (and losses) are more entertaining.

I am definitely not counting UCLA as a guaranteed…[Read more]

“Johnson”, “packages”, “hands”, “ball”

“ball in Johnson’s hands”

Hard to read all this with a straight face. Seems I am not the only immature person around here 🙂.

I wish people would stop treating political parties as if they were sports teams deserving of loyal fans.
We are not opponents and should be working towards a greater good instead of becoming extreme and divided.

I understand that our opinions on what ‘greater good’ means will differ. This is why we vote and have other forums for discussion. Vote…[Read more]

Based on the chatter I am seeing, I expect this to do….. nothing.

Notre Dame is sponsored by Under Armor and has an artificial turf field.
These two items are often blamed for Utah’s injury woes.
I don’t recall hearing the same about Notre Dame. Granted, I don’t follow them closely.

That said, ‘brand power’ and design definitely seem lacking.

As @utegator mentioned above, I too have tried to buy Utah…[Read more]

I want to downvote the first part and upvote the second part, so I guess I’ll do neither.

I would much rather be in the Pac-12; however, you are correct that it was poorly managed.
NIL contracts definitely need to happen.

I don’t mean to imply that I like the current transient nature of College Football, just that it is an acceleration of a preexisting state.

I would love for our best players to stay here as long as possible.

College football has always been a player carousel.
The carousel is simply moving a bit faster in the transfer era.

Players have always come and gone, with limited eligibility and aspirations to leave and play in the NFL.
There have been plenty of Utah players who only really had one good year; that doesn’t mean they weren’t exciting.

Sure it is…[Read more]