[pedro]

Honestly, it’s the whole big12 thing. Not just the conference, though it is harder to get excited about Baylor when we were used to SC.

But it was the way it all went down as well…. The botched TV deals, SC and UCLA leaving, weeks of uncertainty, then ending up where we did.

Top that off with injuries, injury updates, or lack thereof, it just kind of blew.

[BeachUte]

I think that’s an excuse. It’s simple: Utah was not fun to watch last year. Fans disengage when the team is bad – and boring in the process. It was very frustrating watching the Utes last season. Take the Arizona game. That crowd was jacked at the start but the energy evaporated pretty quickly when Utah had drive after drive stall with no points. I get that fits into your point about injury but it’s not just that, it was the inability to do anything. And frankly, I don’t think that would have been any better of an atmosphere if that game was played in 2023 (especially since it came against a Pac-12 foe).

I’ll also point out the energy vanishing vs TCU too for the same reason. The Frogs were a former MWC rival and I know a lot of fans who were really excited to see Utah play em again just for the Utes to face-plant.

We’ll see how the energy is this season but I think a lot will depend on how good they are.

Like, I remember there being zero energy vs Oregon in 2023 and that was a direct result of Utah getting blown off the field early. Bad play can be energy zappers.

[Holladay Ute]

I don’t view this as a negative. Worked well for Vaki. Snowden is a great player, put him on the field as much as he can handle without getting injured or burned out.

[Holladay Ute]

I don’t view this as a negative. Worked well for Vaki. Snowden is a great player, put him on the field as much as he can handle without getting injured or burned out.

[Chasqui]

Yeah, the pumping in noise allegation is bogus. I’ve been to plenty of games at LES, they do the same thing as us. Fans going wild and the speakers playing some song leading up to the snap. As soon as the players are set, the noise stops and it’s pure crowd. Plus, it’s not every single snaps. It’s really only 3rd down jumps.

This is the video that the zoobs have been passing around complaining about the noise. They aren’t very introspective to see that it happens in every stadium including their own. RES noise is real.
RES Artificial Noise

[Chasqui]

I think he needs to sing more

[Chasqui]

Don’t forget how electric those offenses were with both of them in there. When cam went down against Baylor, the oxygen literally left RES. Sure, for some it was because they were exhausted that he was hurt again but I think for the majority, it was because we knew we lost someone special. I wish they would have gone to the NFL but only because I know that because they stayed and got hurt, their chances are now gone. Maybe if they leave, they are still playing. As far as the backups go Barnes was literally the perfect backup. I think we win 9 games last year if we could have kept him. He wasn’t a star and he definitely wasn’t a starter at our level, but he was MUCH better than a true freshman. No knock on Wilson.

[Chasqui]

I think it’s great. They talked about how Snowden may play offense but he is very likely to return kicks and punts. I love that! It’s been a revolving door at that position since Covey left. I can see Barton playing in goal line situations. I don’t think it says anything about the offense not having weapons there, I think it just throws in a bit of flair that could potentially confuse a defense in a big play situation.

[HATUman]

This was said before fall camp. Hold your horses, take a breath, and maybe a little versed.

[HATUman]

There’s actually more to the story than just Rising and Kuithe being injured. The situation in the locker room was more complicated — and some of it stemmed from the NIL dynamics.

In an era where Utah isn’t known for being a big spender in NIL, a large chunk of the available money was going to two guys who weren’t even playing. That alone created tension.

But what really upset a lot of players was that Rising and Kuithe — despite being team leaders — weren’t very involved outside of mandatory activities. They’d show up to practice, but didn’t engage much with the rest of the team off the field. They mostly kept to themselves.

When two high-profile leaders are collecting the most NIL, not contributing on the field, and aren’t building chemistry off of it, that’s a recipe for division. From what I’ve heard, it caused real frustration in the locker room, and it helps explain the lack of cohesion those two years.

[Author]

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