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Utah Utes football: Poll voters face dilemma with U.

"Putting personal agendas aside and looking at the big picture, Prater explained, is his intention, and the BCS title game does pit champions from the top two conferences this season."

Oklahoma isn't even the undisputed champion of its own conference! It's record was the same as Texas and Texas Tech, and it got into the big 12 title game through a computer choice! They did that in a classless way by running up the score!

Until there is a legitimate playoff system, with at least 16 teams, everything else is a fraud.

Untill there is a playoff system, then the season is the brackett, and Florida, Oklahoma, USC and Texas were all knocked out of their brackets with losses.

Utes #1

Signed,
BYU fan

Funny how Rick Neuheisel, whose team got crushed 59-0 vs. BYU, voted Utah no higher than #8 even though Utah killed BYU.
And Mike Riley, from Oregon State, voted Utah #8. Even Belotti put Utah as high as #7, as did Mack Brown.

And that clown from Missouri who put Utah at #15 should never be allowed to vote again. Especially after it's been revealed just how bad the Big 12 was this year.

from the MWC have votes I guess.
I was wondering where Bronco voted them.

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Utah
5. Oklahoma

72. BYU

BYU gets blown out by OU and FSU next year

Max Hall out for season injured after only 2 games

Cougars go 7-5 for the season make Humanitarian Bowl

Bronco opts out; accepts coaching offer from Purdue

Utes Re-tool and go 11-1

Thanks for the #72 ranking from our die hard Utah fan. I'm a die hard BYU fan and would vote Utah #1. It's nice to slam the team you hate but classless, nonetheless.

The polls are as bad as the BYU system. In Basketball, rankings are nothing but tournament seeding tools. In the end, the teams decide it on the court and many times, teams ranked anywhere in the top 10 or even 15 have a legitimate shot at winning it all.

In football, you can be undefeated, even with very strong strength of schedule and because you are not in a monopoly run BCS conference, you can't get in. This has been proven by Utah twice (congrats, by the way) and Boise State. And in all three cases, the NON BCS team won. It's fixed. It's about money. It's about exclusivity. And it's not about fair competition. BYU's national championship in 1984 was the reason it all started. A team outside of the BCS monopoly has absolutely no chance of winning it all. Lavell testified of this fact before congress years ago.

Regardless of the hate from Utah fans...congrats Utah from a BYU fan. You are deserving big time.

Why does everyone feel an undefeated season makes you National Champions? There have been MANY, MANY teams from "BCS conferences" and all other conferences who have gone undefeated and NOT won the National Title?

What?!? You are waaay wrong. Here's how it's going to go down:

1. OU (florida really doesn't stand a chance)
2. Utah
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Florida (MAYbe, and that's a BIG maybe)

I agree with the unfairness of Utah getting snubbed by voters but when people like "The arrogance" write ... "just how bad the Big 12 was this year" it cheapens the argument into being a petty whiner. Remember that the Big 12 is boasting Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State all of which are teams that nobody in the MWC except Utah could get by. And that's ultimately the problem the voters have, that Utah played a bunch of MWC teams this year.

MWC coaches that vote in the Coaches Poll and their rankings from the last poll:

Gary Patterson (TCU) - #7 Utah, #10 TCU, #19 BYU
Joe Glenn (Wyoming) - #5 Utah, #11 TCU, #14 BYU
Kyle Whttingham (Utah) - #5 Utah, #11 TCU, #18 BYU
Rocky Long (New Mexico) - #7 Utah, #11 TCU, #16 BYU

and others:

Chris Peterson (BSU) - #8 Utah, #9 TCU, #14 BYU, #7 BSU
Urban Meyer (Florida) - #5 Utah, #13 TCU, #20 BYU
Mike Price (UTEP) - #8 Utah, #10 TCU, #16 BYU
Steve Kragthorpe (Louisville) - #7 Utah, #11 TCU, #16 BYU
Rich Rodriguez (Mich) - #9 Utah, #11 TCU, #15 BYU
Mike Leach (TxTech) - #8 Utah, #11 TCU, #16 BYU
Joe Tiller (Purdue) - #8 Utah, #12 TCU, #23 BYU
Mike Belotti (Oregon) - #7 Utah, #12 TCU, #16 BYU
Rick Neuheisel (UCLA) - #8 Utah, #12 TCU, #16 BYU
Tyrone Willingham (Wash) - #7 Utah, #15 TCU, #18 BYU
Dan Hawkins (Colorado) - #7 Utah, #11 TCU, #17 BYU
Les Miles (LSU) - #8 Utah, #15 TCU, #18 BYU
Pat Hill (Fresno St) - #7 Utah, #11 TCU, UR BYU, #6 BSU

It's too bad the DN can't create a blog for the 12-year-olds to post their clueless blather and ban them from the serious sports blogs.

Just so you know, Mike Prater is largely regarded in Boise as a complete and utter buffoon, as is his Idaho Mis-Statesman newspaper.

And for the record, I think the Utes should be #1 after that impressive beatdown of Alabama.

Interesting to read the comments on the DesNews and SLTrib. 95% of BYU fans are complimentary of Utah's accomplishments this season, with about 5% still too jaded to acknowledge the Utes' success.

Conversely, the vast majority of Utah fans' comments towards BYU are still derogatory. Silly "Quest" comments, etc. that display their ignorance and stupidity.

When you're legitimately on top as Utah is this year, there's no need to belittle others to attempt to make yourself look better. Like your coach said on Jim Rome yesterday, he let his talking be done on the field. Too bad most Ute fans aren't as smart and classy as the coach!

They are a good team but they played an Alabama team that had their offensive line all messed up. They were missing the best offensive lineman in the country. They wouldn't beat a OU or Texas team and definitely not a Florida team. Congrats on the great season but you are the #3 team in the country behind the winner of tonight's game and Texas. USC deserves to be #4. Beating Oregon State will help them finish higher than USC because USC lost to Oregon State. Bottom line is we need a playoff system but money and politics will prevent this from happening. I wonder what the BCS commish John Swofford makes from this BCS system. He is the commish of the ACC and the BCS. I bet his pockets are full from this BCS system. Kudos to Utah for destroying this BCS system that was supposed to be perfect.

How did some joker from the Provo Herald get an AP vote? Who are these guys? How many of them, by percentage, actually watched more than their assigned team this season? What a system!

in college football.

Why are Florida and Oklahoma playing in the BcS "championship" game instead of Utah and Boise State? perception

Why did Oklahoma get the nod over Texas? perception

Why did Florida get the nod over USC? perception

Why is the SEC considered a better football conference than the MWC? perception
(teams from the SEC and MWC hardly ever play each other)

Why is a 10-2 team from the MWC or WAC not considered as good as a 10-2 from the SEC, Big 12, Big 10 or Pac 10? perception

EVERY national championship, Heisman Trophy, and other major award ever awarded in college football's top division is given based on only one criteria: perception

Why will a 13-1 Oklahoma or Florida win the BcS "championship"? perception

Being the best in major college football is meaningless.

Being the most deserving is meaningless.

Being the most popular is everything.

Enjoy the Miss Football Beauty Contest tonight!

The BcS should award the winner a tiara instead of a trophy!!!

These AP voters need to read "Moneyball" before they cast their votes. They are obviously voting based on inaccurate perceptions and biases and what they want to see and believe about the traditional powers. They are ignoring cold, hard statistical evidence that Utah is at least as impressive as any other contender and that their undefeated season should put them over the top.

Darrell, Bama's o-line wasn't "all messed up". Yeah they were missing that one guy, but Utah didn't have perhaps their best linebacker Nai Fotu. Why don't I ever hear any of the "experts" mention that? And I wasn't aware that their o-line was supposed to be covering Utah's receivers.....what's your excuse for that?

"Utah wouldn't beat OU or Texas and definitely not Florida." Yeah? Prove it. Oh wait, that's the problem - we can't! I can't honestly say Utah is better than any of those teams, just as YOU can't honestly say Utah is worse than any of them. That's the whole point - the system we have makes it so all we can do is speculate. We can't settle the argument on the field. We need a playoff. Give Utah a shot at Florida or OU.....just tell us when and where.

I will answer your question with one of my own. Name another sport, or football at any other level, which at the end of the season, the lone undefeted team is not the champion?

Without Utah and TCU there is nothing of substance this year in the MWC. TCU took care of Boise but was wasted by OU. Utah struggled to beat some very average teams during the regular season.

Utah deserves to move up after dominating Alabama, but its un-impressive regular season does not campare to what Florida, Oklahoma and Texas have fought through this year.

Florida/Oklahoma and Texas take the top two spots. Trojans probably a favorite for third place.

Make up all the excuses you want to, but that is how the AP will see it. Of course the BCS bylaws require the BCS top two spots go to Florida & Oklahoma.

Since the BCS has its own agenda, the independant AP's poll holds a lot more weight in picking the national champion.

AP voters have ignored undefeated teams in the past and will continue to do it until there is a playoff (just look at the times Joe Paterno's Penn St he was denied #1 after going undefeated). Utah's only chance to finish in the top three is top have Oklahoma soundly whipped by Florida. With Texas Tech losing and UT having a close game with an OSU team that was blown out by USC and Penn St the Big 12 will look weaker than they have been perceived to be by AP VOTERS all season long.