# Utah Football



## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

I just have a simple question: Why are the Ute faithful so glad that they are entering the PAC when USC will be down? Do they not want to enter a conference while the teams are at their full strength and recognized nationally? They seem so giddy about that.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

The PAC move guarantees access to the BCS for Utah if it continues its level of success. The Utes won't get leftovers, either. They'll likely be playing for all the marbles if they ever manage to go undefeated again. I think it's a great move for Utah, even if TCU and BSU are tougher than anyone they'll face in the PAC.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I can't speak for utefan. But as I see it, I'd be dang excited to be joining the Pac-10, regardless of where USC is. Utah has a stronger football program than every school in the Pac-10 right now. And that includes USC, with or without the sanctions. And if I'm Utah fan, I'm giddy about the prospect of a legitimate shot at the Rose Bowl right away. Though I'm CougarBlue to the core, I still acknowledge the Rose Bowl as the Grandaddy of them all. And after this year, Utah will have a legitimate shot at that goal every single year. And it won't take the voters smiling on them, or the cards falling just right. Do what they have shown they can do and they are in. That is much to be excited about.


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## hockey (Nov 7, 2007)

I'm not a Utah or Byu fan. Go Broncos!
But to answer your question just look at the potential home games, Cal, UCLA, Stanford, ASU, Arizona, OSU, Oregon, Washington, WSU, Colorado not to mention USC
Hell I might become a season ticket holder


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

HighNDry said:


> I just have a simple question: Why are the Ute faithful so glad that they are entering the PAC when USC will be down? Do they not want to enter a conference while the teams are at their full strength and recognized nationally? They seem so giddy about that.


Simple. We feel the same way that cougarfans feel/felt that Michigan was only 6-5 going into the 1984 Holiday bowl. It is what it is and hopefully we will make the best of it.

A couple more points;
1. I wouldn't expect that USC will fall off the face of the earth in football. They may be down for a year or two, but will be back.

2. The PAC-10 is a conference that has been noted for its parity. Even most of the incredible USC teams of the recent past lost at least once in conference. If we make it to the Rose bowl, we will have earned it. And yes, any PAC-10 winner is "recognized nationally".


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

I'd have to do some checking but if my memory is right last year or the year before all the MWC teams were beating the PAC teams either in regular season games or bowl games. I don't think the MWC was that bad of a conference except for a couple of "bad" teams. If it could have held together it could eventually been an AQ conference. Teams such as Utah, BYU, TCU, BSU would have made it a nice conference.

As a side note: I think Lavell Edwards was a little disappointed in BYU going independent. He said he always like the fact that one goal was to win a conference championship. You could still do that even if you lost a couple games to some non-league powerhouse teams. Now if the Y loses a couple games to some big names, there sesaon will seem like a failure. How will the players be able to maintain the enthusiasm?


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Couple things. Doing the math, there is no way the MWC would have "earned" an automatic bid to a BCS game. Even adding BSU, keeping Utah, TCU, BYU, and even if they added USC - there was no way the math would work. Then again, according to the criteria, the Big East, ACC and Big 10 wouldn't qualify either. It was intentionally set up to be unattainable. So even if things had stayed together, the MWC wouldn't "earn" a spot. The math doesn't work.

As for conference title - they win the MWC and players could get excited about the Vegas Bowl? The bowl deal is the one thing not talked about right now. With no talk, are the Cougs just banking on getting an at-large bid to the Irrelovent Bowl when the ACC or Pac-10 can't qualify enough teams for all their crappy bowl arrangements? Anyone know?

Second, and this is a legitimate question for Utah Ute Fan. What is the TV package the Pac-10/12 has with Fox? How many home games will be carried, and where? Local affiliate? Fox Sports Regionals? Nationally? My Dad is a Ute, and lives in Florida and is wondering if he'll be able to catch the games, and what TV package he'll need to do it. Any info would be helpful to pass along to him.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> Second, and this is a legitimate question for Utah Ute Fan. What is the TV package the Pac-10/12 has with Fox? How many home games will be carried, and where? Local affiliate? Fox Sports Regionals? Nationally? My Dad is a Ute, and lives in Florida and is wondering if he'll be able to catch the games, and what TV package he'll need to do it. Any info would be helpful to pass along to him.


Not sure what the TV deal is Gary but if he were to pick up FSN West or FSN Southwest, they will pretty much always have the Pac 10 college football games. I know they run some on Fox and quite a few of them on ABC as well. Sorry that for being a Pac10 fan I don't have more concrete info.... I suppose I could go do some web research but I prefer to reserve that for shooting down arguments about how MWC teams have owned the Pac10 over the years.  One hour... then I'm outta here to go tailgating and hang out till we march into Rice Eccles and watch the Utes vs. Pitt.

On a side note... for Cougarfan.... yes, I'm aware my Huskies play BYU Saturday.... and I'm not real enthusiastic about the outcome. Even though we've still got Locker, I'm worried and definitely not going into that game with the "Washington is gonna kill em" attitude... and that kinda is a bummer.  We'll see if the ex BYU guy can work some magic with the program.

I also think that even though USC is not qualified for any bowl games this year, they'll really give teams fits as the "spoiler" for the big name team's seasons. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Lane Kiffin has that team playing with a huge chip on their shoulder, beating the hell outta folks just to make a point that USC isn't going anywhere.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

See, I'd have to disagree with you on that last point Riley. Lane Kiffin hasn't proven he can do anything anywhere, except get a program into a ton of trouble. I think it was a bad hire for USC, already in a bad situation. That is why I'd assert that the Ute football program is probably in better shape than any Pac 10 program out there right now - including USC. Pete Carrol left for a huge reason - he destroyed things at USC and jumped before the ship totally sank. Kiffin only knows how to pour gasoline on an already burning building. I see UW as the up and coming program in the Pac 10/12. Sark has a good head on his shoulders, and will build (continue to build) the program the right way. Husky fans are great fans. When the Huskies are good, they are a bigger/better draw than the Seahawks. Not too many NFL towns have that. Huskies may not make the Rose Bowl this year, but they'll make a bowl in the first of a string of improving seasons. Inside three more seasons and Huskies will be in the Rose Bowl.


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## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

I agree with your take on Kiffin and USC, but I think Oregon is going to fill the power vacuum left by USC. Chip Kelly is a good coach and he has been building a more team-oriented culture at Oregon that will harness the full potential of the high caliber athletes Oregon routinely gets.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

A buddy of mine and I kicked this around at lunch yesterday. I'm no huge Lane Kiffin supporter... I just think that USC is going to be a lot better than folks give them credit for. True, beating the crap out of Hawaii doesn't show much, but when I watched the final two quarters last night, I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't get conservative with Hawaii and just kept stretching the field and scoring points. Good for them... I hope they carry that through the season and are just a total wrecking ball for folks BCS hopes this year to make a point that they're still the real deal, even with coach Carroll gone to Seattle. He and the boosters or whoever may have cost the program with their indescretions but the kids can still play and will still play... and play well, much to the disappointment and chagrin of opponents expecting to catch USC in a down year.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

If I understood your original question correctly, HND, it wasn't that you are wondering why Utah fans are excited to join the Pac-12, but more that they are excited to join at a time when USC is down and out (kinda). 

Here is my take on that:

There is always going to be some butterflies and apprehension when stepping into a "promotion" of any sort. Questions like "can I do it?" or "can they really compete?" are always going to be in the back of the mind of the person/team promoted, and those who support them. Considering the juggernaut that USC has been the last few years, it may seem a bit more comforting for some that they are less-potent, and potentially easier to deal with. Imagine it like this- you start a new job where you know the boss has a lot of expectations, but the boss has a vacation for the first 2 weeks you are there, giving you time to learn the ropes, and acclimate yourself to the system before he returns. When he comes back, you are well-integrated, and more confident in what you are doing, thus less intimidated by the boss. 

USC has more or less been the boss of the Pac-10 for the last few years. With them "out of the office" or "available by phone only", so to speak for a couple years, I think some fans find this less-intimidating as Utah joins the conference. As for the players/organization, I can't speak for them, but I get the impression they have a "bring it on" type attitude. They seem confident to take on the challenge, and anxious to show what they've got, regardless of whether USC is full-strength or not.


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