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Utah Utes football: Whittingham, Utes ignoring the outside opinions

I hope that Utah, BYU and TCU can all win their respective bowl games, even if a 3-0 run is a long shot. A TCU win over BSU would show that the MWC is still better than the WAC.

A BYU win over a mid-tier PAC team that lost 5 games by a total of 28 points (including a loss to NM)would show that the MWC is competitive with a BCS conference.

A Utah win in a BCS bowl over a traditional SEC powerhouse would be the icing on the cake.

TCU over BSU should be a sure thing.
BYU over UA should be even up.
UU over UA should be a struggle, but maybe, just maybe.

Go MWC!

I remember KWhitt didn't care what Glenn said about a sure victory over Utah. We all now how that ended up. The game tabbed "Guarantee, on-side kick, fingergate"!

Sure Alabama is much better than Wyoming. However, Whitt is using this to get his team ready. Bama is a good team and Utah has nothing to lose and only 60 minutes to play. Utah is no Hawaii!!!

Can't wait to see Utah prove all those "4-letter" idiots wrong when they give Bama everything they can handle or even beat them in their own backyard.

GO UTES!!

IF UTAH GOES INTO THIS GAME WITH THE MIND SET THAT THEY WILL HAVE TO PLAY THEIR VERY BEST GAME OF THE YEAR TO WIN, THEY HAVE A SHOT. 100% FOCUSED AND FIGHT WITH ALL THEY'VE GOT! FOCUSED LIKE THE 97000 ALABAMA FANS ARE ROOTING FOR THEM AND WORK LIKE THEIR EFFORT IS SAVING THEIR MOTHER.

I THINK COACH WHITT WILL HAVE THEM READY!!

UTAH 24 ALABAMA 21

After several years, Utah finally has been matched up with a good team in a bowl game. Unfortunately, the Utes will get destroyed. There is no way that the mind of Whittingham or the lackluster talents of Johnson and co. can keep up with the Crimson Tide. Utah will get some defensive stops but ultimately will be unable to points on the board--other than 2-3 Sakoda kicks.

So everyone in college football knows that Utah will lose big to 'Bama. Other than that, the MWC really should be able to win the rest of their games. 4-1 as a conference isn't bad.
Really, TCU should have no problem with BSU since TCU was the best team in the MWC this year and I don't think the WAC can really compete (maybe just BSU) with MWC. Utah and probably BYU would have beat BSU this year as well.
Too bad TCU didn't make the BCS bowl as they would give a much better showing than Utah will. I love the Joe Glenn comment at 4:47am by the way, shows some true fantasy world fans here.

Utah beats decent teams in bowl games.
byu loses to decent teams in bowl games.
It's become tradition actually.

I really wish I thought different, but I did watch Utah all year long. I saw the weaker wins.

Realistically, Utah is not as good of a team that BYU put on the field in 1984, and Utah in 2004.

I hope they do not embarass the conference, and other non-BCS teams. I think they are in way over their heads.

I am happy it's not BYU, because they are not as good this year as they thought.

Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.

If Ole Miss can beat Florida.

If Oregon State can beat USC.

If Boise State can beat Oklahoma.

Then Utah has a chance against Alabama.

You don't know BSU too well, do you? TCU isn't going to have as easy a go as you think they are. When the dust settles I'll bet BYU is the only one of the MWC's top three to come out of bowl season with a win. Utah needs to adopt the mindset of the "moral victory" (staying close) because beating Alabama just isn't going to happen. Kyle can take any attitude he wants but everyone else sees it as the denial it is. His Utes will be successful with a 12-1 respectable showing at the Sugar Bowl. Hawaii the second is the more likely outcome.

Utah is NOT Hawaii and is not going to lose 41-10 like that team.

That said, they are not the '04 Utes either and they are matched up against an excellent team.

I think Utah will give them a tough game, but I am still picking 'Bama: 35-21.

The Yewts are going to get killed. Roll Tide!

So now you're calling Alabama a decent team huh? I've got news for ya bud, Utah is the decent team. Alabama is a National Championship caliber team.

You're probably just like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber when the chick says he has about one in a million chance of landing her. I'm sure your attitude is th same "So you're saying there's a chance."

Ute fans are in some fantasy that they're going to play a "decent" Pittsburgh again. Unfortunately, to the embarrassment of the MWC, they're eyes will be open when the Tide rolls at the Sugar Bowl.

The Utes are going into the Slaughter House. That's the game plan. Go Bama!!

Utah has never even played, let alone beaten, a team ranked higher than #15 in a bowl game. Utah has never beaten a Top 10 team, EVER!

Utah's tradition in bowl games is beating mediocre teams with 6-5 to 9-3 records, average 8-4; 8-5 in their last 7 bowls. The only team with less than 3 losses that Utah has ever played in a bowl game was New Mexico, 8-2, in the 1939 Sun Bowl.

#18 Washington State, #15 Arizona, #19 Pittsburgh, and #24 Georgia Tech (pre-bowl AP rank) are the only ranked teams Utah has played in a bowl.

This will be Utah's first football game ever versus an SEC team.

Utah has a chance, but only a very slim chance to beat Alabama. I just hope that Utah can stay close enough to keep the final score respectable.

It'll be a defacto home game for the Crimson Tide, 90% of the crowd, minimum, will be 'Bama fans.

How many Utah fans will actually make the trek to Norleans?

Hey Coach Whittingham and Utah fans, Denial isn't a river far away...I agree with BCS at 7:30am Be careful what you wish for. In the end you'll have your conference trophy to console you but you'll be classified the same as BYU and TCU-a large step below the BCS conferences (minus the PAC-one).

Everyone is very optimistic about the bowl season saying things like the mountian west if going to go 4 and 1 like it is already a given. All the success that the MWC has had this year would be erased with a poor bowl showing. Anything less than going 3 and 2 would not be good for the conference. It is also a possibility that we could go 1 and 4 as a conference, that would be a huge set back and erase a lot of the success that the conferences has had this year. The MWC needs a good bowl showing to solidified the good season that it had against the pac 9 + 1 and the BCS in general.

Colorado St and BYU could help by getting the conference off to a good start. GO MWC Teams

Prediction for Mr. Bass:

After this year's bowl games, BYU will have a 3 game bowl win streak over "decent teams." Utah will have a one game losing streak against a really good team.

Truth is, BYU has played a lot of really good teams (not so much recently) in bowls and has lost frequently. Utah has not played so many really good teams in bowl games, but when they have, they've lost as well. The last better "decent" team Utah played in a bowl game was USC in 2001, and USC was not that good back then.

The last really good team Utah played was Wisconsin in the '96 Copper Bowl, and they lost big. In fact, that was the only good opponent they've faced in the last 8 bowl games.

Unfortunately, the Utes lose big and BYU wins a close one. So much for tradition, Mr. Bass.

With affection,

Gomer Pyle

No, I don't think BSU has a chance against TCU, it is like Utah against 'Bama, a long shot, but we won't know until the fourth quarter is over.

Johnson will be scared to death come Jan.2