NCAA Football 2012: Top 25 Predictions

The 2012 college football season kicks off Thursday August 30th.

As with each new year, the associated press has determined that these are the top 25 teams in college football for 2012:

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	USC (25)	0-0	1445
2	Alabama (17)	0-0	1411
3	LSU (16)	0-0	1402
4	Oklahoma (1)	0-0	1286
5	Oregon	0-0	1274
6	Georgia	0-0	1107
7	Florida State	0-0	1093
8	Michigan (1)	0-0	1000
9	South Carolina	0-0	994
10	Arkansas	0-0	963
11	West Virginia	0-0	856
12	Wisconsin	0-0	838
13	Michigan State	0-0	742
14	Clemson	0-0	615
15	Texas	0-0	569
16	Virginia Tech	0-0	548
17	Nebraska	0-0	485
18	Ohio State	0-0	474
19	Oklahoma State	0-0	430
20	TCU	0-0	397
21	Stanford	0-0	383
22	Kansas State	0-0	300
23	Florida	0-0	214
24	Boise State	0-0	212
25	Louisville	0-0	105

 

Predictions –

Kentucky @ (25) Louisville – Sunday Sept. 2, 2012:

It’s always hard to pick these games. A rivalry game always has potential for upset and in this case, Kentucky seems to be fully capable of blindsiding #25 on the road if they play a clean game. Because of the home crowd, I give the slight edge to Louisville.

Louisville wins 24-23

Bowling Green @ (23) Florida – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Classic SEC warm-up game for the Gators. Some analysts have Florida as a SEC dark horse this year.

Florida wins 45-13

Missouri State @ (22) Kansas State – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Kansas State looks to continue moving forward after a breakout 10-3 season in 2011. Missouri State will need a miracle.

Kansas State wins 35-14

San Jose State @ (21) Stanford – Friday Aug. 31, 2012:

Stanford faces no small task in replacing Andrew Luck which cannot be anything but a step backwards. Coach Shaw won’t have too much to be concerned about week one however.

Stanford wins 31-17

Savannah State @ (19) Oklahoma State – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

OK State’s offense took two huge hits in losing both Veteran QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon to the NFL. The defense may need to step up to buffer the blow as they gave up 26 points per game in 2011. Savannah State will not likely put more than 20 on the board, though.

Oklahoma State wins 28-10

Miami (OH) @ (18) Ohio State – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Welcome back Urban Meyer! Look for this Ohio State team to be markedly better than the Buckeyes from 2011. Meyer has a knack for making instant improvement everywhere he goes.

Ohio State wins 38-20

Southern Miss. @ (17) Nebraska – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Nebraska looks to be fast and ready to run in 2012. Southern Miss. is about a 20 point underdog in this game but I see it being a little closer.

Nebraska wins 31-21

Georgia Tech. @ (16) Virginia Tech. – Monday Sept. 3, 2012:

Why they have to play Monday is unknown to me but what I do know, is that VT has a tendency to start slow and GT is no slouch. Look for the Yellow Jackets’ triple option offense to confuse an untested 2012 defense.

Georgia Tech wins 28-24

Wyoming @ (15) Texas – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

After a disappointing 2011 season for the Longhorns, they look to turn things around and again, win the Big 12. To do that, they must start by crushing the outmatched ‘Pokes of Wyoming.

Texas wins 40-7

(14) Clemson @ Auburn – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Expectations are high for Clemson this year. Doesn’t that sound familiar? We’ll see how the past few stellar recruiting years will pan out for Clemson. Auburn struggled to beat Utah State at home in last year’s opener.

Clemson wins 21-17

(24) Boise State @ (13) Michigan State – Friday Aug. 31, 2012:

Ah, the annual event of Boise State facing a BCS team in a battle of the ranked in week one. Although Boise has a great track record in the past, they lost a lot on their defense and will struggle to keep Spartan points off the board.

Michigan State wins 31-21

Northern Iowa @ (12) Wisconsin – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Wisconsin has high hopes for another 10+ win season. All signs point to Michigan and Wisconsin facing each other in the B1G Championship. First things first, tune up game against NIU.

Wisconsin wins 49-10

Marshall @ (11) West Virginia – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

West Virginia makes the move from the Big East to the Big XII this season. Some analysts expect the Mountaineers to challenge Oklahoma for the conference title.

West Virginia wins 34-17

Jacksonville State @ (10) Arkansas – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

The Arkansas Razorbacks were supposed to be flying high this season until Head Coach Bobby Petrino was caught in a scandal and fired in the off-season. The talent level alone keeps Arkansas afloat at #10 but will have a tough road ahead. After the first week at least.

Arkansas wins 56-14

(9) South Carolina @ Vanderbilt – Thursday Aug. 30, 2012:

It’s a rare occurrence to have a week one conference game. Especially dangerous when a top ten team goes on the road to face a conference foe. Vanderbilt isn’t the most threatening team in the SEC by any means, but they should not be overlooked.

South Carolina wins 31-24

Murray State @ (7) Florida State – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Murray State was a huge story in the college basketball world in 2011-’12. Too bad that won’t help them from getting destroyed by the Seminoles on their way to trying to win the ACC.

Florida State wins 45-10

Buffalo @ (6) Georgia – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

The Georgia Bulldogs crack the preseason top 10 for the first time since starting at #1 in 2008. It’s been a while since Georgia made big waves in the SEC. Buffalo should provide good practice.

Georgia wins 31-7

Arkansas State @ (5) Oregon – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

Oregon looks to get off to a fast start to the 2012 season with a warm-up game against Arkansas State. The Ducks will be flying in this game with new QB Marcus Mariota and potential Heisman candidate RB DeAnthony Thomas putting up points.

Oregon wins 49-13

(4) Oklahoma @ UTEP – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

The Sooners have national championship aspirations this season and with good reason. NFL prospect Landry Jones returns for his Senior season and will get UTEP to cut up before the tough games begin.

Oklahoma wins 45-9

North Texas @ (3) LSU – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

LSU is on the BCS National Championship rebound after losing 21-0 to Alabama last season. With Tyrann Mathieu unavailable this season, LSU really has to worry about North Texas upsetting…I’m kidding. N. Texas is toast.

LSU wins 48-3

(8) Michigan @ (2) Alabama – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

This is the marquee game of the week without question. Michigan is the top ranked B1G team and Alabama is the top SEC team. Regardless of the outcome, whichever team loses will have work to do to get back into the BCS conversation. Michigan is returning Denard Robinson with a steadily improving defense under Brady Hoke.

Alabama wins 28-21

Hawaii @ (1) USC – Saturday Sept. 1, 2012:

With all the talent USC has returning in 2012, the #1 spot is deserved. With a tough schedule this season, it’s hard to think USC will make it through unscathed. Hawaii will not be the team to taste victory against the Trojans this year.

USC wins 42-7

***Locally***

Southern Utah @ Utah State – Thursday Aug. 20, 2012:

After a 6-6 season in 2011, the USU Aggies are hungry for a new season and hopefully even more improvement. There’s no reason to think that they can’t add to last year’s success and they will start that road by hosting in-state D-2 Southern Utah.

Utah State wins 35-14

Washington State @ BYU – Thursday Aug. 30, 2012:

New Washington State Head Coach Mike Leach begins his tenure with the Cougars by heading down to Provo and taking on his alma mater BYU. BYU is expected to be good on defense while Leach is an offensive mastermind with tools at his disposal.

Washington State wins 27-24

Northern Colorado @ Utah

Utah heads into its second year in the Pac 12 with high expectations and improvements all around the offensive side of the ball. Northern Colorado will be a great opportunity to solidify some positions for the Utes and prepare for tougher competition later on.

Utah wins 42-3

Utah Utes Football 2011: The Renewal of a Lost Rivalry?

At 1:30 PM on Friday, November 25, 2011 the University of Utah and Colorado University face off in the last regular season game as “natural geographic rivals.”

I think I speak for the vast majority of the Ute fan base when I say Colorado is not our rival any more than the University of Arizona or UCLA are our rivals.

I like to think that a rivalry inspires greater play on both sides of the ball. For Utah, there have been several different rivalries over the years. Most often, three situations surround a true rivalry.

#1 – Proximity

This situation seems to breed the deepest of rivalries. Of course, for Utah, this rival is BYU. Personally, I see no reason this will change. Colorado will not replace BYU as the “rival next door” unless they become much more competitive in both the division and head to head. I don’t see this happening soon.

#2 – Consistently Close Competition

The most infamous of Utah rivalries in this category is undoubtedly the Air Force Falcons. Over the last 9 meetings between the 2, the average margin of victory was about 6.1 points.

Who knows, maybe Colorado will step into the Air Force void as the game each year that Utah fans dread as an inevitable battle and struggle, but I would take Air Force over Colorado head to head 4 out of 5 games the way each team is currently playing.

#3 – Big Time Games

The last decade or so, Utah has battled BYU for not only bragging rights in the Holy War result, but also for rank in the conference standings. Because the Holy War was played as the last game of the regular season, there was inherently added importance. In ’04 and ’08, specifically, Utah/BYU was highly important for Utah to finish undefeated, and even for BYU in a spoiler role. In ’09, BYU beating Utah broke a conference record tie of 6-1.

With Utah and TCU battling the last 3 years for national spotlight and BCS invites out of the Mountain West Conference, it felt sometimes TCU was more a conference rival than the Cougars.

With better recruiting and gained familiarity in the Pac-12 South, I find it hard to believe that the Utah/Colorado game will hold a lot more weight than Utah clinching the South division with a victory (which may be the case in this inaugural year).

I have hopes that within the next 5 years, Utah builds a rivalry or rivalries with division or conference foes the caliber of USC’s and Arizona State’s.

*     *      *

In closing, I do see three situations where a rivalry could ignite between the Buffs and Utes this weekend, and that is if CU beats Utah on a last second play, if CU blows Utah out, or if a brawl breaks out after a controversial play.

At least the genius’ marketing this forced rivalry thought up an amazingly cool name for the game.

“Rumble in the Rockies”…

Yikes.

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Top 10 Most Unfortunate BYU Fan Moments

Every fan base has them. Those awkward, gangly, dorky fans that embarrass the heck out of the rest of the crowd. Fortunately for me, my rival fan base has no shortage of such fans that I can point out with joy.

These are the top 10 most unfortunate moments for BYU fans:

10. BYU Touchdowns Are No Laughing Matter

This moment starts off our list and is unfortunate for a couple of reasons. #1 – Who is dense enough to suddenly scream around babies in a relatively quiet atmosphere. #2 – That moron filming was ecstatic that this child (possibly his son) was scared spit-less while he was rolling. The one upside to this is that this video was from the 2010 BYU/Utah game so the kid only went through this once. (And only once the next year)

9. Good Ol’ Wholesome Flash Mobbin’

Now, this video comes in at #9 because I’ll admit, it’s impressively executed. That being said, the video is a tad unfortunate in what it says about life at BYU. Very roughly estimated, this is easily over 1000 students who have this dance memorized…which raises the question how in the name did they get this many students together long enough and often enough to stick the choreography? Did they get credit for this? My word…

8. How Could They Lose This Time?!

I gotta say, I love watching this video but I feel awful for this kid. Really, he has no idea how deep this rabbit hole goes. If he’s cries about a losing effort during BYU’s best basketball season they’ve had for 50 years, let’s hope his Jazz turn things around…

7. That’s a Fair Question Actually

Ok, just a couple of questions of my own. Uh why did it take so long for this “seasoned” veteran to come up with the word games? “I pretty much go to all the football……..” I wonder if questions such as “When are we going to beat a team with a winning record?” came up…but I don’t think so.

6. Chumba-what-the…?

Well, this video is clearly unfortunate for you Y fans. Tubthumping? That’s your pump up song? I get it, you have kids in the back of the car, (as Provo enforces a very strict 3 child minimum in vehicles) so I don’t expect DMX or Tech N9ne on blast but dude! You don’t even know the words to the crappy song you decided to rock to. Bad taste seems to be the resounding theme to this whole situation.

5. It’s the Biggest Somethin’…

I didn’t know Jimmer Freddette could fake such a horrible Australian accent…and I learned something from this.

4. HI HO!!!!!!!!

That’s my coach! Good heavens, man. The only thing missing from that all-time low moment was the messy conclusion. Although, I’m actually glad they cut away because in my mind, I’ll always know…he ate that booger, and you can’t tell me he didn’t.

3. That Did Not Go Like I Planned In My Head…

Your dumb fan got whooped by our cheerleader. The End.

2. Oblivious: Not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around one.

Oh, oh, oh, I got it. Music major! Is this guy for real sittin’ next to her? This girl is now synonymous with every Jimmer Freddette fan I know/meet in the future. Wow…your team.

1. You Lost Me At #1 Wear Blue…

This is unacceptable behavior. There’s a reason 3/4 of the “fans” you rounded up/tricked/drugged into being in this monstrosity look like they are 12. And did you really have to spend an entire minute singing the song? My favorite part about this video is “Franken-drummer” standing behind “MC Chucky Cheese” staring off into what had to be laughing camera guys. Also interesting to note that this video had 10 “like” votes and 95 “dislike” votes and maybe 105 people involved in the video….just saying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BYU Football 2011: The Team that Cried BCS

Well, ladies and gentlemen, every BYU football fan’s favorite time of the year has finally arrived – preseason!

This is the time of year when the Cougar faithful reminisce of 1984 and let-downs of yesteryear long forgotten. This is the moment in the college football season when there are no losses in the right hand column. This is the year that BYU goes undefeated and stake claim to an illustrious BCS bowl game.

Talk filled with speculation and hear-say, “if this”s and “if that”s and, of course, the ever so popular “if only”s.

According to the current roster, this year’s Heisman winner will be Jake Heaps and according to the number of games on this year’s schedule, the regular season record will be 12-0 (13-0 if you include the national championship game).

Just based, plainly, on general BYU fan consensus of preseason expectations, the Cougars are the nations most successful team of all time.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrt!!! Stop the car. Reality check time.

First and foremost, Ute fans are more than aware of the hype around Jake Heaps. In fact, a fair number of Ute Nation refer to Jacob as Jake Hypes (or my personal favorite, Joke Hypes. Look, give me the list of teams Hypes has beaten as the starting (and only) quarterback. In all reality, you know… that world of fact and matter, Jordan Wynn had a much, MUCH more impressive freshman season (albeit much shorter).

Both Wynn and Heaps lost in the Holy War their freshman year, so that’s a wash (although Wynn did lose to senior Max Hall and Heaps to Wynn himself). Both had in-conference wins that were inconsequential and also a wash. The comparison lies truly in their losses to TCU and bowl victories.

Wynn and Heaps each faced TCU on the road in a year when the Horned Frogs went undefeated on their way to a BCS bowl game. Wynn, in his second ever start and third game, got rattled early by the Frogs, but got dusted off and led the Utes offense to 28 points and finished the game as the game’s leading passer over Andy Dalton. Heaps, in his fourth start and seventh game, led the Cougars to one field goal and that’s it.

The Holy War and TCU losses were the only on Wynn’s record that year, Heaps piled two more in Nevada and mighty Utah State.

Wynn beat an 8-4 Cal team out of the Pac-10 while Heaps whooped on a 6-6 UTEP team out of Conference-USA (in which, they had a 3-5 losing record).

Explain it away any way you like, it really makes no difference. Even if Heaps is the better quarterback, a reception is a two-way street. You know what made Max Hall so amazing? Collie and Pitta. Heaps is a Ferrari engine in a car with 4 flat tires. So until Heaps actually does something, quit yapping.

Speaking of talking after completion takes me to my second point. How ’bout we cut with all the BYU BCS predictions because, frankly, it’s insulting.

Every year since 2004, it seems BYU fans have had dreams of BCS bowl victory and the national glory they once enjoyed (key word once). Y fans are literally starving for national success and attention. You think I’m exaggerating? Simply take a look at how the city of Provo reacted after beating Oklahoma by one point in the first game of 2009. You don’t need to watch the entire video as my point is made almost immediately, but I suggest you turn down the volume (there’s a lot of squealing).

I would venture to say that the literal starvation for national spotlight and glory is so severe that any speck of success will throw the entire city into a state of delirium. As you’ll recognize, this was the very first game of the season. How did these teams end up? Oklahoma beat Stanford in the Sun Bowl and BYU beat Oregon State in its fifth straight Las Vegas Bowl.

Speaking of bowls, which bowl game sprung off its hinges to pick up an affiliation with the Cougars this past year? The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (A.K.A. the 3rd most prestigious Mountain West Conference bowl game). If only the Cougars had snagged something akin to the Las Vegas Bowl or Poinsettia Bowl (A.K.A. the fourth and fifth most prestigious Pac-12 bowl games).

Jake Heaps will no doubt explode onto the scene at some time or another (I’m guessing once the Y gets into the WAC portion of the schedule). Once that happens, please, tell me how great Heaps is. I would love to chat about his pocket presence, throwing motion, whatever your little blue heart desires. Until then, zip it.

Once BYU goes undefeated, gets a BCS bowl invite and victory, please, tell me how amazing the team was that season. Until then, zip it.

Heck, Jimmer is still fresh enough, I guess. Keep talking about Jimmer leading the Y to the “Sweet 16.”

Lastly and most importantly, PLEASE stop talking about going independent as if you weren’t backed into it and went independent in spite of BCS Conference affiliation invites. Notre Dame went stag to the prom, despite numerous suitors seeking to escort them because it benefits them more to dance with whomever they choose. BYU went stag to the prom because nobody asked them but their dad is rich and enjoys encouraging their child’s nostalgia of their popularity in 3rd grade.

Utah is the kid BYU picked on that year in 3rd grade and grew into one of the hottest kids in school and got asked to the prom by one of the popular crowd. That’s reality.

Have a great fall camp. We’ll see ya Sept. 17th.

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NCAA Football 2011: Best and Worst Case Scenarios for Utah’s College Football Trio

Utah's Jordan Wynn, BYU's Jake Heaps and Utah State's Adam Kennedy

This is the time of year where I start to get antsy and excited for fall camp to start for college football. This year is especially important for the state of Utah as conference realignments have altered the field of play, so to speak.

The University of Utah heads into the Pac-12 as an immediate challenger in the south division. BYU looks forward to a conference-less freedom not shared but by a few others in the nation at 1A level. Utah State will now be  without Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State, or Hawaii as competitors in the WAC.

Here are the best and worst case scenarios for each team in the state of Utah this year:

Utah

The Utes lead the Utah “Pac” as far as upward advancement this past offseason. As they made their membership into the Pac-12 official July 1, 2011, they pull the most eyes and attention from the national media.

In my experience with unbiased, out-of-state, college football fans and analysts, about half the nation expects Utah to contend immediately and half expect them to flop and crumble under the pressure. As far as local input, the general consensus with Ute fans can be summed up with a comment made by fan Tyler Beck saying, “Utah Utes are good.”

Yes they are. But what lies ahead?

Worst Case Scenario – 6-6 record with no bowl appearance.

I strongly believe that September 10th is the most important game on the Utes’ schedule and it isn’t close. They head to LA to face the Pac-10 legend USC Trojans on their home turf as the first Pac-12 game ever played. Talk about your pressure situation. But, as Utah has proven in the past, pressure is what they live for. If Utah loses this game against USC (as in blowout loss), it could start a slide to Utah’s season where they could end up losing to BYU at Provo, Arizona State at home, Pittsburgh at Pitt, Arizona in Tucson, and either Oregon State at home or at Cal. Even in a down and out season, I cannot picture the Utes with a losing record, especially with the favorable schedule they drew this year.

Best Case Scenario – 13-1 record with loss in the Conference Championship game or National Championship.

Keep in mind, this is not my realistic expectation but rather the best case scenario and, yes, it is very possible. Let me explain.

I go back to that USC game. If Utah can go into the Colosseum and beat USC, the confidence level will be through the roof. That may be just what Utah will need heading into Provo to face bitter (and I say bitter very literally as almost 100% of the Cougar fans and players believe they deserved the “W” in last year’s rivalry game) rival, BYU. Stringing wins together against hopeful future rival and hopefully past rival two weeks in a row, and Utah may just have enough to carry them the season’s length.

We already know the schedule works out great for Utah as Stanford and Oregon are absent this year (A situation that will happen only every 4 years or so). The only really tough games remaining are; @ Pitt (Utes 2-0 against the Panthers), vs Arizona State (winnable game at home), vs Oregon State (Utes can repeat history from ’08), and at Arizona (good history against the Wild Cats). Utah benefits from a downhill ending to their season with UCLA, Washington State, and CU making up the last 3 season games. If Utah makes it undefeated past Nov. 5th, they should finish that way.

But…then comes the championship rounds. I think Oregon has the tools to go all the way this year and should Utah win the south, I doubt they would beat the north division champ and end up winning the Rose Bowl against the Big 10 Champ. If, and that’s a huge if, they win the Pac-12, the SEC champion they likely would face, will be ready to pound them in the BCS National Championship Game.

BYU:

Expectations are sky-high for the Cougars this year, at least in Provo they are.

With the Cougars entering their first season of independence in football, they are starting to realize something – the only championship they can claim is the national championship. At BYU media days, players, directors, coaches and fans all talked avidly about how their new standard is winning the national title. We’ll see how it works out.

Worst Case Scenario – 8-5 record with win in the Armed Forces Bowl.

BYU steps up to the plate with plenty to be concerned about. A losing record is not one of those as they will face Utah State, San Jose State, Idaho State, Idaho, New Mexico State, and Hawaii. All of which, should be written-in W’s. (Yes, BYU got destroyed by Utah State last season, but that was at Logan, during BYU’s defensive struggles, and BYU will no doubt be looking for revenge in the worst way for that game.

Starting their season with Ole Miss, Texas, Utah and UCF, I can see a very possible rough start for the Cougars, adjusting to a new offensive coordinator. Then, facing TCU and Oregon State on the road later on poses a concern as well.

Whether or not BYU tanks this season, won’t really matter with their bowl affiliation. The Armed Forces Bowl isn’t exactly given first pick of the litter. BYU will likely face another UTEP caliber team and another likely blowing out of that team.

Best Case Scenario – 12-1 record with a loss to Ole Miss, Texas, Utah, TCU, or BCS Bowl opponent.

This is an interesting call. I have trouble thinking BYU will make it out of their first 5 games unscathed. There is too much talent on the other side of the ball with Ole Miss and Texas for me to say the Y will get both on the road. If they do, the Holy War is always a 50/50 and they run the risk losing that game just as Utah does. TCU has BYU’s number the last 4 years, but they also lost a lot more than most realize. They were a young prodigy-filled team that grew up and played together the last 3 years. Many of them have left and I think BYU should be able to win this game.

Should BYU do the unthinkable and win out to the end of the season, the pure weakness of the second half of that schedule will betray the Y as it has Utah, TCU, and Boise State. BYU is not guaranteed a spot in a BCS game, even, unless they finish in the top 6. An undefeated record would do that for sure. BYU is not a team known for its composure in big-time games, and likely would be beaten in a BCS appearance.

Utah State:

The Aggies are in their 3rd year now with Coach Gary Anderson. His first two seasons, he was working with players recruited by his predecessor Brent Guy.

The Aggies hit rock bottom a few years ago in 2006, when they won just 1 game all season going 1-11. Since then, they’ve gone 2-10, 3-9, 4-8, and 4-8. I expect a better showing with the schedule the Aggies will have to work with.

Worst Case Scenario – 2-10 with wins against San Jose State and New Mexico State.

With one year left to some conference foes’ affiliation with the WAC, Utah State won’t be in a position of dominance by any means, but they will have familiarity. I don’t think Anderson will regress in his work to the point of losing to SJSU and NMSU. Utah State is noticeably more athletic, quicker, and more hungry for success than in years past but that opener against Auburn could really hurt the Aggies, and I mean that literally. Last year, Utah State came close to beating Oklahoma (or I guess keeping with them long enough to sneak past), but Oklahoma hadn’t found their niche yet. BYU is also going to be in the hunt for revenge against the Aggies for how badly they were embarrassed last season in Logan.

Best Case Scenario – 10-3 with a victory in the Humanitarian Bowl against MAC Champion.

Believe me, I know this is not a sight used to being seen. Utah State having a little respect pre-season. Fact is, If they can gain any sort of confidence against Auburn, even in the loss, they have a cupcake schedule to feast on after that. I see in no way BYU losing to the Aggies at Provo. Also, I predict Fresno State, Wyoming or Nevada will make their 3rd loss in such a season. With the confidence and excitement of playing in the first bowl game Utah State has played in since 1997, where they lost to Cincinnati in the Humanitarian Bowl.

I believe that every season for these 3 teams will fall somewhere in the middle of these predictions, but it’s nice as a fan to think of best case scenario for your team, and worst case for your rival. Right?

Brandon Burton dives to block Mitch Payne's kick.

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Utes vs Cougars: The “Holey” Argument of Big Brother/Little Brother

Should you ever have 5-10 minutes to kill and want to laugh: Go to your local newspaper’s online college football section and pick an article at random, scroll to the very bottom and start reading the reader comments.

You’ll find a jungle of pride, ignorance, more pride, a few thousand statistics, stand up comedian hopefuls, etc.

Here, in Salt Lake City, I have the pleasure of stumbling across “comment battles” in which I have a vested interest; the Utah/BYU football rivalry.

It’s dangerous business reading a comment or two.

You start to get into it.

But if you put in the effort to actually “throw down” and give an opinion on one side or the other, you want to make sure your point is sound and air-tight.

The second you hit that “send” key, it’s up for assault.

You begin to see a phenomenon called “keyboard courage.” People saying whatever they want, paying no mind to the consequences of their words, hiding in anonymity.

It was during such a 10-minute-killing visit that I came across a comment battle under an article regarding Utah’s and BYU’s recruiting of a local QB.

You know when you’re looking at anywhere over 50 comments, it’s an argument. I don’t care who you are, No one is going to write “I agree with everything the previous 49 people said.”

That just doesn’t happen.

So, I take a look and, sure enough, a group of Ute and Cougar fans are going toe-to-toe about why this QB would choose either school over the other. This kid is not the second coming of Tim Tebow, but, fans will be fans and a stage is a stage.

After reading thousands and thousands of back and forth trash talk over the years, one point is argued loud and clear by both sides: They are the big brother in the rivalry and both cite their own reasons.

I think that often “big” and “little” are confused with “older” and “younger” when used with brother in a rivalry sense.

Utah, when claiming to be the big brother, is accused of fraud for the lack of the same accomplishment BYU achieved during their dominance – a Cougar; National Championship, Heisman winner, etc.

BYU, when claiming to be big brother to “the team on the hill,” is dismissed as a novelty, having only the amazing streak nearly 2 decades forgotten while Utah sees national success and recognition more recently.

I want to hear it well thought out and tell me who you think is the big/little brother in the Utah/BYU rivalry specifically regarding football.

I want to write  a say-all, end-all, type article on the matter and this topic is open as far as I’m concerned.

Think hard and comment, or email me your response at forthandwon@gmail.com and I’ll publish them or throw ’em on Twitter.com?

Separation of Church and Hate

BYU recently released Brandon Davies, starting center for the Cougars’ men’s basketball team. Reason given, “honor code violation”.

Now, growing up in Utah and being Mormon myself, I’m more than familiar with BYU and their honor code, which stems loosely from standards expected of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I also happen to be a fan of BYU’s rival school, the University of Utah, so I find myself in a life canundrum. On the one hand, I respect the Church for standing by their rules and guidelines and am completely in agreement with Davies being kicked off the team and possibly out of school.

On the other hand, I hate BYU…fans. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting a BYU fan during a down year for their current sporting program, nicest people you could ever meet. Now, if you meet that same fan during a year where their team (football or basketball) is having a great season, or in this case, the best year they will ever have…ever, the story is the exact opposite.

BYU fans have trouble handling success. If you think this statement is false or biased in any way…watch this video of a mass celebration in the streets following BYU’s victory over then ranked Oklahoma week 1 of the 2009-10 season.

Week 1. Over a team ranked #3 in the preseason before ever playing a game. These fans act like they just won the BCS National Championship game. Fast forward through the season, Oklahoma losses 5 games and ends the season unranked. BYU gets slaughtered on their own field by Florida State, TCU, and ends up 2nd place in the Mountain West with yet another invite to the “illustrious” Las Vegas Bowl.

Arrogance, self-righteousness, having a sense of entitlement, all great ways to describe the Cougar fan-base. Ever since BYU started to get recognition, or should I say since Jimmer Freddette started to receive recognition, the rumblings started again for the team down south.

“We will win the tourney this year”. “Jimmer Freddette is the best shooter ever to live”, and of course “Jimmer is gonna be unstoppable in the NBA” are all ridiculous comments I have heard personally from friends of mine that attend BYU. Don’t even get me started on the comments I’ve read online.

Because the Cougar fans can never seem to learn to hold off talks of greatness until they actually acheive it, I am thrilled at the prospect of another early exit for the “kitties”.

Once upon a time, there was a modest sports program out of Salt Lake City that went undefeated and shook the college football world in 2004. They liked it so much, they did it again in 2008. As an added bonus, their school was invited to the PAC-10 to play with the big boys.

BYU, meanwhile, went on to lose in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. They also lose Jimmer Freddette to the NBA, Jackson Emery to graduation, and Coach Dave Rose to a higher paying position. They move on to “solitary” in football and the West Coast Conference for basketball and a few other sports, where they strengthen their rivalry with increasingly competitive Utah State and fade into obscurity.The End

Good story huh?

Pouncey Twins proof that Cam Newton can succeed in the NFL

The SEC is a very polar topic when it comes to college football. Either you are convinced that the SEC is the cream of the crop of college football, or you are of the opinion that they are overrated.

I, for one, believe that the SEC is, as some NCAA football analysts call it, a “mini NFL“.

When the first round in the NFL draft is dominated by SEC talent and you see Rookies from the SEC making waves in the NFL, you know where the best football is being played.

That being said, there is a large difference between having the most talented individual players athletically, and being capable of winning games. There have been many occasions that have proved this. Utah’s victory over Alabama was due in large part to the Utes game plan and the higher level of coaching and play calling. Same with TCU over Wisconsin, Boise State over Oklahoma, and BYU over Oklahoma.

But when all is said and done, SEC players, more than any other conference’s players, are better prepared for NFL play because so much is expected of them at the college level when compared to the teams playing in the Mountain West and the WAC for example. You see it all the time with players that put up huge numbers in lesser conferences and then those numbers tank in the pros.

Alex Smith and Max Hall are proving examples of this.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have players such as the Pouncey twins. Maurkice and Mike Pouncey both played football for the University of Florida on the offensive line. Maurkice played right guard and forewent his senior season to enter the 2010 NFL draft. He started all 16 regular season games at center for the Pittsburgh Steelers and has made a name for himself. Mike Pouncey played his senior year at Florida as their center and was highly regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in college.

These are the types of players and talent that exist in the SEC all around. They play for these schools to prepare for the NFL. Cam Newton might have a few things to tweak here and there, but he is able to break tackles from linebackers just as fast and heavy as the ones the NFL has to offer. Sure, they might be more experienced but that will come in time for Cam.

Cam’s biggest challenge and criticism is that he has not played in a pro-set offense taking snaps under center. He will deal a lot with this package in the NFL no matter where he goes, and will need to prove that he can handle that style of play. If he can do that, why shouldn’t he be able to make big plays like he is doing now? Tim Tebow showed potential at Denver the back-end of the season. Newton should do just fine, if not, spectacularly.

The Mountain West Conference: AKA the new WAC

Fake Logo combining MWC and WAC

Conference expansion dominated the college football world last off-season and even trickled into the season itself. After all was said and done, at least the first waves, no conference was affected more than the Mountain West Conference and the WAC.

Let the upgrades begin: Utes expected to gun for Norm Chow

 

UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow

 

 

I’m giddy. I was on break at work today and decided to listen to some of the “Bill and Spence Show” on the local AM radio station ESPN700. They were discussing Norm Chow leaving UCLA. They were making points for and against the likelihood of Utah picking up Norm Chow.

Since then, there have been numerous articles out talking about the Utes and Norm Chow dealings. I am a huge believer in nothing being official until it’s official, and so far there hasn’t been word from the University of Utah as to the confirmation or denial of these claims.

That being said, I will not make this article a “Welcome back to ‘Ute Nation’ Norm” article, but rather a “What the hiring of Norm Chow would do for this program” article.

First off, let’s start with the #1 thing Norm Chow would do for the program: Provide PAC-10 insight.

Hands down, this would launch the Utes miles ahead of where they are now in preparation for the PAC-12 transition. Would Utah otherwise be capable of beating the teams in the PAC-12 next season without Norm? I think capable, yes. But let’s remember, Norm Chow has been in the PAC-10 with USC and UCLA combined for the good part of the last decade. He knows what those PAC-12 teams are bringing to the table. He knows the other coaches’ tendencies. He knows their schemes. That knowledge alone is priceless!!! (Not to mention both USC and UCLA are in the future PAC-12 South Division with Utah next year).

Secondly, Chow brings experience.

Norm Chow is no stranger to “Ute Nation”. He played football at the U from 1965-1967. Chow coached under LaVell Edwards as offensive coordinator from ’73-’99, winning a national championship in 1984 and coaching Heisman trophy winner Ty Detmer in the process. He also has 2 more national championships at USC in ’04 and ’05 along with 2 additional Heisman winning quarterbacks in Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

The most encouraging aspect, I think, is that the Utah offense will finally get feet back under them. I think the spread has run it’s course in Utah and I would welcome the transition over to a pro-style. Jordan Wynn definitely has the arm to make the throws.

This season was a let down. No disrespect to anyone in the Utes’ system, as I understand how much work goes in day in and day out and how tight-knit the team is. I’m all for that. BUT, starting out the way the Utes did through the first 8 games (8-0), and then capping off the season with 3 blowout losses in 3 big games, losing the Las Vegas Bowl in blowout fashion to out-of-conference rival Boise State, which ended the Utes’ 9 game bowl win streak they had carried since 1997, I’d say it’s safe to call that disappointing.

Fingers can be pointed anywhere if you look hard enough, but most of the fingers point to the offense in those 3 particular games. against TCU: 7 points from Utah. Against Notre Dame: 3, against Boise: 3. The common denominator in the losses was struggles in offensive production and an absolute lack of any attempt at strategy, adjustment, or solutions from the Utah offensive coordinators. I would bet my life in most situations that when Utah is struggling, they are going to run a combination of 3 plays in no particular order; 1. The screen pass (most often with reception 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage), 2. a counter draw play (very often on second and long due to a -3 yard screen pass from 1st down), and 3. A button hook pattern or short slant route on 3rd and 8 to 3rd and long (ball being caught 2-3 yards in front of the 1st down marker).

Obviously that is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one, sadly.

Lastly, the recruiting on offense just skyrocketed. Utah is going to attract the future great PAC-12 quarterbacks with the history Norm Chow has with quarterbacks. 3 Heisman winners under his tutelage.

“You ever heard of Jim McMahon kid? Steve Young? Carson Palmer? Matt Leinart? Well, they all played for me and I want you to play for me. Whad’ya say kid?” Case closed. Another huge boost to recruiting for Utah.

If the the addition of Norm Chow becomes a reality, we can gain conference insight, experience, and replace our offensive stagnancy with fluidity, I’m hoping. Tomorrow is a big day. Listen in to ESPN700 AM at 2pm-6pm weekdays for Ute talk and news from the best. Bill and Spence.