An Open Letter to the Muss

Hello Muss,

I like you. We've been through a lot together.  There have been good times, there have been bad times, but mostly the times were good.  I like to think that I know how things work around here.  I've been around the block before and I just had a birthday last month.

You see, I've been in the MUSS since the 2004 season.  I skipped the first year of the MUSS, because I was easily able to sit on the 15th row of every game without having to pay the extra $25 for the special t-shirt, that would prove I was there, that I heard of you first. I've been in the MUSS every season since.  I reveled through the undefeated Fiesta Bowl season and the magical (and also undefeated) Sugar Bowl Season.  I watched you win a record number of consecutive bowl games and I was with you when we welcomed the PAC-12 into town.

So, this is my 9th year in the MUSS (Is there some sort of award for this?) and I'm feeling the pressure to set ya'll straight.  Back when we were in the lowly Mountain West Conference, when you were lucky to find our games on TV, the Utes were the up-and-coming original BCS Busters.  It was hard work moving from the mediocrity of the '80s (where they averaged 5.4 wins/year) to the enlightenment of the 90's (where they averaged 7.2 wins/year) to the awesomeness of the 00's (pronounced aughts, where they averaged 8.6 wins/year).  Now, the Utes have arrived.  They are in one of the top three conferences in the country and they have proven that they can play with the big boys.

While the MUSS is undoubtedly one of the best student sections in the country, they have a potentially fatal flaw that must be corrected before the pain and suffering becomes overwhelming. And we die. I've been critical of your habits in rushing the field in the past (see this post from the Oregon State game in 2008, I think that season we (the MUSS) took the blessed opportunity to rush the field 3 times! Granted, we had a good team.  Remember how they smashed Alabama in the mouth in the Sugar Bowl?). You see, after that post I felt bad for being so critical of the MUSS rushing the field so I softened my stance. But that was before we were officially a part of the big boys.

Now we need to set a few ground rules.  Rushing the field is ok (as long as security isn't trying to taze you or the chain-link fence that you are holding onto), but we need to save rushing the field for those special occasions.  I was embarrassed that the MUSS gave TDS (can you believe that my initials are the same as Team Down South?), the respect that is implied when we rush the field.  Yes, they were ranked (how that mistake happened is a topic for another post), and yes the ending was absolutely thrilling (made more so by the asinine mistakes made by the MUSS), but the only thing riding on this game was in-state respect.

I propose new rules, regulations and requirements regarding the rushing of the field (at least one of these must apply):

1. The team you beat must be in the top 5.

2.  The win must clinch a conference championship.

3.  The win must clinch a berth in a BCS bowl or equal.

4.  Any home win over our true rival, the mighty Colorado Buffaloes, is excluded from these requirements. 

Ute fans, let us not forget that we play with the big boys now.  Go Utes!

TCU 47, Utah 7

TCU 47, Utah 7

The Horned Frogs knew the Utes better than the Utes knew themselves. They enacted a gameplan that exposed the Utes weaknesses in every area. The Utes were outcoached and outplayed from the first minute to the last. Coach Whittingham has typically been a solid coach in big games (he is 5-0 in bowl games after all), but he team looked unprepared and shocked from the very outset.

Even though the Utes were utterly destroyed in this game, Saturday was a fun day. I arrived up on campus just before 8:00 AM to watch College Gameday with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and Desmond Howard. One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is to watch the show which culminates with the announcers picking who they think will win the game, with Corso wearing the mascot's headgear as an indication of who he thinks will win. Throughout the show, they were very civil to the Utes but Howard and Corso wisely picked the Horned Frogs to win the game. Just before Corso donned the Horned Frog headgear, he turned around to the large crowd and stated "You know, this place (Salt Lake City) is almost as nice as Provo!". Ouch. That's some major smack to a Ute fan...

After Gameday we had a couple of hours to kill before we went to the Ute Walk, which is where the fans can high-five and cheer on the team as they walk from the team buses to the stadium. Just like as at Gameday, there were thousands of fans lined up to cheer the team on. It was great, but just one more way in which the team was pressured.

We arrived to the stadium 60 minutes before kickoff and 30 minutes or so before kickoff the stadium was full, 15 minutes before kickoff the stadium was packed. Never before has a home game at Rice-Eccles Stadium filled up so early with a tension-laced crowd. The atmosphere throughout the day was simply amazing. And then the kickoff happened.

It became apparent pretty quickly that the Utes were once again unprepared for the Horned Frogs speed and gameplan. Without getting into the details, it seemed as though the Horned Frogs knew the Utes better than they knew themselves. The Utes gameplan was to try and get TCU's QB Andy Dalton rattled, but the TCU defense was able to quickly rattle the Utes' QB Jordan Wynn and the Utes became just another team for the Horned Frogs to easily steam roll.

Obviously, the Utes were overrated. They have since dropped to 14th in the BCS standings, which I believe is a fairly accurate ranking of the skills of this team. Boise St. TCU and Oregon just seem to be in a class of their own. Possibly Auburn can be included in that group as well. I'm pulling for the Horned Frogs to have a chance to play in the National Championship game - even though Boise St. killed the Horned Frogs in their BCS game last year. It would be an awesome championship game if the #1 offense (Oregon) met the #1 defense (TCU).

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I think Utah somewhat suffered from all of the hype that surrounded the game. The blackout, the butt-ugly wounded warrior cam jerseys, College Gameday, 2nd largest crowd in RES history, etc. That being said, I think that Utah could have played their best game of the year and still lost by 3 touchdowns. The Utes are just not on the same level as TCU. /EDIT

I believe that the Utes will be able to regroup and head into South Bend next week ready to take on the mighty Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Whittingham was outcoached this last Saturday, but I believe that he is still a good enough coach to get his team back into shape by this next weekend. Sometimes, it's good to be humbled.

Go Utes!

Utah 56, San Jose State 3

The Utes are now 4-0 on the season and have moved up to #12 in the USA Today poll and remained at #13 in the AP poll. As they game wasn't televised, there was a lot that you missed if you weren't up at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the beautiful Saturday evening in late September.

Offense:
All 8 touchdowns for the Utes were scored by different players. They had at least one touchdown run in each quarter (Reggie Dunn, Eddie Wide, Matt Asiata, Tauni Vakapuna and Beau Burton). In addition, starting quarterback Jordan Wynn threw two touchdown passes (Shawn Asiata and Dallin Rogers) in the second quarter. All three Utah quarterbacks saw some playing time and the Utes finished the game with 9 players having gained yardage carrying the ball. The offense had little resistance from the Spartans defense as they moved the ball for 427 yards in the game (playing a fairly conservative gameplan, as they only threw the ball 24 times).
Grade - A+

Defense:
The Utes' defense played equally as well as the Utes' offense. The Spartans ran the ball 32 times for less than 100 yards. They passed the ball 13 times, once again finishing with well-under 100 yards. The secondary did a nice job of keeping the plays in front of them as San Jose State only attempted 1 deep pass downfield.
Grade - A+

Special Teams:
The only blemish on the Utes in the game was a 60+ yard kickoff return given up to the Spartans which led to their lone field goal. When you're kicking off 9 times during a game, the other team is bound to get at least one decent return, right? Special teams made up for any blemishes by blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown and then blocking the Spartans' next punt attempt as well.
Grade - A

The Utes finished the game without any turnovers (for the first time this season) and had their lone penalty on a false start with about 5:00 to go in the ballgame (they did have two previous penalties declined by San Jose State, 1 off-sides and 1 delay of game, but neither of those show up on the statlines). The fans at the stadium stayed to watch the blowout game longer than I expected that they would. It's a lot of fun to watch your team play clean, crisp football under the lights.
Overall - A+

Looking ahead the Utes continue to have an easy road. They have a bye week this week and will return from the bye week against Iowa State before returning to conference play against Wyoming and Colorado State. We probably won't know if the Utes are any good until they finally play Air Force in the end of October, although they are in the top ten in the nation in scoring offense and scoring defense.

Go Utes!

Utah Utes:

• 5-1 all time against TCU, with the only loss coming in overtime
• 7-0 all time in games where both they and their opponent are ranked in the AP top 25
• Win the big games: 13-10 last year against TCU and 34-17 against Alabama last year. Beat Louisville this year.
• 2 Undefeated seasons in the last 6 years.
• Won 29 of the last 31 games
• 16-20 point underdogs in this game
  
• Have more than 600 wins in their football history, with an overall winning percentage of .586 (placing them 36th all time)
• Only school in the BCS era to have two undefeated seasons
• One of 5 schools to have two BCS game wins in the last 5 years
• One of seven school to have two top 5 finishes in the last 5 years
  
• Their "Superfan of the game" a few weeks ago:

Pros of the Utes winning:

• Opens up a three-way race for the conference title between Utah, TCU and BYU, with Utah in the driver's seat.
• Probably allows Utah to move up into the top 12 of the BCS standings, making them eligible for an at-large bid to the BCS (although we know that won't happen)
• The Utes continue their winning tradition and domination of the conference
• Keeps Texas as one of the most fertile recruiting areas for the Utes

Pros of the Utes losing:

• Virtually guarantees TCU a spot in a BCS game.
• The Mountain West Conference gets a $13 million payout, with each team in the conference getting around $1.3-1.5 million.
• The Mountain West proves that one of its teams belongs in the top 5 and that the conference should have an automatic bid every season.
• Keeps TCU ranked ahead of all other hopeful BCS Busters
• Keeps TCU in the national championship picture if the right teams lose.

Some of the better (i.e. more interesting) signs from College Game Day on the Quad in front of Amon G. Carter Stadium:

• Utah Utes - Mormon Fruits
• What's the difference between the Utes and Cheerios? Cheerios belong in a bowl
• Lee Corso sits down to pee
• We pity Salt Lake City
• Toadally going to Crush the Utes
• Fear the Murtleneck
• Top Coached University
• Jerry Hughes is my facebook friend
• Hughes your Daddy
• Utalk the talk we Walk the Walk
  

Hoping for the best, expecting the worst. I hope Desmond, Kirk and Corso are wrong, Go Utes!

Now, if only I could get CBS College Sports in HD on Comcast...

Flag Friday - Utah Utes

Yeah, the Utes basketball team had a few pretty good seasons in the 1990's. In the 1998 Final Four, they were up by double digits on Kentucky at halftime (having beaten North Carolina the round before). Unfortunately, the Utes couldn't hold off the Wildcats and had to settle for 2nd place. Maybe this year they can redeem themselves...

Oregon 31, Utah 24

All good things must come to an end sometime, right? It's been so long since Utah lost that I almost forgot what it felt like when your team loses. The one benefit with this loss, is that I almost expected it to happen. Utah has yet to prove this year that they are capable of beating any team that will finish over .500. They show glimmers of greatness, but way too many mistakes and freshman miscues (even though they have very few freshmen seeing playing time). The good news is that the team appears to improve every week and after this week's game against Louisville, the Utes have lucked into a much-needed early bye week.

Everybody expected Oregon to be a better team that the one that showed up to play against Boise St. After working through their self-imposed difficulties, they are turning out to be a pretty good team. A real test will be whether or not they can compete with Cal this week.

I think that the Utes will be able to bounce back against Louisville. They will be happy to be home, but they will still make mistakes that will allow Louisville to keep the game closer than it should be. My prediction is Utah in a close one.

Utah 24, San Jose State 14

Yikes. I almost forgot all about posting about this game. In a way, I think that it is good that I waited to put my analysis down because my opinion of the game has changed quite a bit since last weekend. Watching the game was depressing because the Utes offense, kicking game and pass coverage were all sputtering. It turns out, that the Utes had plenty of offense, they just couldn't get anything done. They turned the ball over twice, turned the ball over on downs at the goal line and missed 3 field goals. What I didn't realize during the game is that they moved the ball up and down the field fairly well, but were unable to turn those yards into anything.

Utah's defense had its bright spots. They only gave up 22 yards rushing on about 23 attempts. The weakness was in their pass coverage. I didn't realize just how good Brice McCain and Sean Smith were (Utah's cornerbacks from last year). They play in a position where you only notice them when they do something wrong. Last year few teams even challenged the corners because the Utes defense was so solid.

San Jose State impressed me (much like USU did last week). I didn't think they would after their first week shallacking by USC, but they seemed to improve from quarter to quarter and were able to keep up with Utah for most of the game.

Can Utah keep up with Oregon? I think that they can - but I'm not sure that they will. Autzen Stadium is a notoriously difficult place to play and the Ducks have a chip on their shoulder after being embarrassed by Boise State. If Utah wants to have any respect this year, it's a game that they've got to win. In order to do that, they'll have to bring a better team than either of the first two weeks.

Utah 35, Utah State 17

In the Utes first game of the 2009 football season they took on the Aggies of Utah State. While the Utes didn't deliver the solid pounding of previous years they had control of the game and allowed many of their young players to gain critical game experience. The game actually turned out much like I expected it to. I had a feeling that the Aggies would be better than in years past and that Coach Anderson would use some wrinkles to try and throw the Utes off. While I had heard about their young speed and talent, I was surprised and impressed to see it in person. The Aggies will win some games this year and have the potential to be a pretty good team next year.

Both teams made a few first-game/young team mistakes. Impressively, the Aggies forced Utah into three turnovers and had a couple decent drives as well. They came out of the gates swinging and had the Utes on their heels. The brightest spots for the Utes were the offensive trio of David Reed (WR), Terrance Cain (QB) and Matt Asiata (RB). Together they accounted for more than 600 yards of total offense (obviously the WR and QB stats overlap).

This week the Utes travel to San Jose to meet the Spartans in another game that they should win without too much trouble. The following week they travel to Eugene, Oregon to take on the Ducks in a game that lost a lot of its luster after Boise State delivered a smackdown on Oregon. With Boise State beating Oregon so easily, I see that game as a must-win for the Utes to remain respected nationally. The Ducks are not the team we thought they were.

From here on out, go Aggies!

Ute Football

I'm sitting here on TRAX riding to the first game of the year and I couldn't be more excited. Â Since probably a week after the Sugar Bowl, I have been looking forward to this game.

My thoughts on tonight's game:
Obviously Utah should have no problem with Utah State. The Aggies have some great young talent and (I think) the right coach for the job. These next few weeks are critical for them. I won't be surprised if Utah struggles to put them away as easily as everybody expects. Utah by 21.

My thoughts on the season:
Beast case scenario is that Utah wins every game and goes undefeated and to the BCS yet again. That would be nice.

Worst case scenario is that Utah loses every game or to Utah State, San Jose State or New Mexico.

My prediction is that they will win most games and lose maybe 3 games (to Oregon, TCU, and one other game - that they probably shouldn't have lost - not BYU).

It's going to be a good year in the MUSS! Row 6, 25 yard line!


-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Utes Parade

Utah paraded down State Street today and was met by huge crowds. I was very surprised by how many people turned out to greet them. At the rally Mayor Becker, President Young, Congressman Matheson, Coach Whittingham, Brian Johnson and Louie Sakoda all spoke. Governor Huntsman concluded and even called Florida out. He told the crowd that he was going to call Florida's governor and tell them that Utah will meet them anytime, in any stadium in America to determine which team is really #1.

A fitting celebration to an incredible season. Go Utes!

Faces of Defeat

Just how bad was Alabama's loss?

Utah 31, Alabama 17

2009 Sugar Bowl Champions! And in incredible fashion!

There are few times in my life when I am glad that I am wrong. Last night was one of those times. I had to watch the game again today to be sure that everything happened the way that it seemed to happen yesterday.

It did.

Utah did in fact come out swinging in incredible fashion yesterday. Their first three drives rival some of their best drives of the season. Alabama's vaunted defense looked as porous as a sponge and Brian Johnson and Utah's receiving corp were as crisp as well-cooked bacon [end of bad similes].

I'm not sure whether or not Utah's offense or defense was more impressive. The same Alabama team that only gave up 1.1 sacks per game gave up 8 yesterday (as well as numerous tackles for loss). Alabama's rushing offense averaged almost 200 yards a game during the season but was only able to get 33 yards on 31 carries. Stevenson Sylvester had the game of a lifetime and the rest of Utah's defensive players were mistake-free as well.

On Alabama's biggest news website (al.com) more than 50% of voters think that Utah should be the #1 ranked team in the nation when the final polls come out. This may have something to do with the fact that Utah dominated Alabama (the game was not as close as the score suggests) while Florida struggled against them. Another 25% think that Utah should be ranked #2 (behind the winner of the Florida/Oklahoma game). They are the only undefeated team left and just beat the team that was the ranked #1 for almost 40% of the season. I think that they should be national champions as well. Realistically, they will get a handful of first place votes and hopefully end up in the top three, but this has certainly thrown a wrench into how the BCS works. Orrin Hatch has promised (once again) to have Senate inquiries into whether or not the BCS is fair - hmm, that's a tough one.

Great win Utes!

Game Day

It's a good day to be a Utah fan. The Utes will finally meet Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Do they deserve it? I'm not so sure. But they have completed the challenges placed in front of them and are now the only undefeated FBS team left. They also hold the nation's longest bowl-game winning streak.

I don't think that Alabama will blow the Utes out (and I'm pretty sure that Utah won't blow Alabama out either). I think that Utah will surprise a lot of people and be a better team than they expected. They have shown poise and the ability to execute under pressure all season and that is something that is going to work in their benefit. Utah will surprise Alabama with their speed but the Utes will have no good answer to Alabama's size.

My hope is that Utah is able to come away with a statement win and show the nation (and the 90% majority that have picked Alabama to win this game) that the Mountain West Conference plays some good, tough football. My prediction is that Alabama beats Utah by less than 7 points. If Utah is playing crisp and Johnson and his receivers are all on the same page then Alabama should watch out but, all good things must come to an end sometime...

In reality, this is a win-win situation for Utah. They aren't expected to compete with the Crimson Tide and if they do it only helps to make them look good. If they lose, they still get a truckload of money and everything simply played out the way the experts thought it would.

I hope I'm wrong.

Bowl Season

Have I mentioned that it's a good year to be a Ute fan lately? Nope. Apparently I haven't mentioned anything lately... Sometimes I decide to not be a blogger anymore, but don't worry, I'll always come back.

Anyways, back onto topic. I love bowl season. I look forward to catching a few minutes of every game that I can. There are always a few that are can't miss games. This year the games to watch are the following:

1. Allstate Sugar Bowl - Utah vs. Alabama, January 2, 2009

I won't go so far as to say that I think Utah will win this game, but I don't think they'll get blown out. I think that there is a good chance that Alabama overlooks the Utes and the Utes are able to surprise them in the first half. By the second half, it will be anyone's game.

2. San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - Boise State vs. TCU, December 23

This game is being billed as one of the best matchups of the bowl season. Two stingy defenses meetup in the clash of the Mountain West and the WAC. If I were a San Diego State fan wanting to see a good football game (a rarity in San Diego) I would already have my tickets. I'll be pulling for the Horned Frogs in this one.

3. FedEX BCS National Championship Game - Florida vs. Oklahoma, January 8, 2009

I was disappointed to see that Oklahoma's star runningback is hurt. Regardless, I still think that this will be a better title game than any in the last few years involving Ohio State.

4. Rose Bowl Presented by Citi - USC vs. Penn State, January 1, 2009

This should be (and probably will be) an easy win for USC. On the odd chance that this game is competitive, it could be a good one to watch.

5. Las Vegas Bowl (two relative unknowns), December 20, 2008

I was surprised to see that BYU isn't favored in this game. While they struggled against every good team they faced (including a strong Washington team that almost won a game) I expect them to beat Arizona easily. The odds makers obviously see something in Arizona that I don't. I expect the Mountain West to continue this year's domination of the PAC-10 in this game.

As an added bonus (because I like you) I'm linking to a bowl schedule similar to the one that I posted at the beginning of the football season. I've got mine all printed out in color 11x17 and hanging on the wall of my office and at home. You can thank me by making a donation to the Crimson Club. Download the schedule here (or click on the picture below to make it bigger).