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Utah Utes football: Down the stretch they come

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SoCalUtahFan | 6:47 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008

Let's go/hope for a 6-0 finish --it's possible but will be difficult. If Utah finishes 12-0, Utah will be in BCS since Utah's schedule is decenlty good, especially if OSU and Michigan finish their season strong.
44-0 | 7:29 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
If Utah doesn't shutout Wyoming by more than 44-0, will that prove that BYU is the better team?

If Utah's defense is supposedly better than BYU's defense, the Ute's shouldn't have any trouble shutting out the Cowboys, especially since BYU was able to do so playing 2nd and 3rd stringers for most of the 2nd half.

Bad sign if Utah's offense struggles against the Cowboys.
UtahBouuy | 7:50 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
As a Utah grad living in Northern California I'm realy happy with the way were playing this year. I think we can win the rest of are games except BYU (if we get some lucky turnovers you never know).

I'm disappointed that BYU is back to being the super dominate team in Utah and our conference again (I enjoyed the Crowton years). I've come to accept that fact that BYU is better than Utah at athletics and acedemics but I'm proud we Utes can be the 2nd best school in the state (sorry Utah State fans). I realize BYU's recruiting base for athletic and acedemic talent is going to continue to grow every year and I just need to be proud of the fact that we get to play against such a nationally respected school every year. Gooo Utah!
Comments continue below
Who has Utah played? | 7:53 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Michigan is 2-3 (2-point win)
Oregon State is 2-3 (3-point win)
Utah State is 1-4

Utah's only OOC opponent with a winning record is 1-AA Weber State, 4-2.

Oh yeah, they did beat a couple of MWC conference powers, Air Force, 3-2, and UNLV 3-3.

Still waiting for an impressive win over a good team to justify Utah's #13 ranking.
UtahBouuy | 8:13 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
I just sent in a comment about 30 minutes ago about how happy I am with the Utes performance this year but I haven't seen it posted yet (does our newspaper eliminate positive comments about our UTES?).

Anyway, i just wanted to add how proud I am of Kyle. I think he's doing a super job of coach and I'm really pleased with the direction of the program. Gooo Utah!
hoterene | 8:15 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
We have already seen which team is better by the comparable Utah State victories.

Bad sign that BYU fans are worried about the Wyoming score.
Ute Fan is MS | 8:15 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
44-0 The only thing that will prove who is the better team will be the game in November.

Are you BYU fan's getting scared or what, stats don't mean a thing, you all listen to Paul James too much when you were young.
Boston Ute | 8:20 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Michigan beat #9 Wisconsin.
Oregon State beat #1 USC.

Utah beat Utah State by a larger margin than TDS.

TDS barely beat 0-5 Washington with a controversial call at the end.

Northern Iowa? UCLA? Wyoming?

Tell me why TDS deserves their ranking.

Oh and "UtahBouuy" is a Kewg.
Who has the TDS played? | 8:36 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Washington is 0-5
UCLA is 2-3
Utah State is 1-4

The TDS� only OOC opponent with a winning record is 1-AA No. Iowa, 3-2.

Oh yeah, they did beat a 2-4 MWC power, at home, against Wyoming, bringing their collective opponent records to 8-18.

Still waiting for an impressive win over a good team to justify the TDS� #8 ranking.

...and still waiting for a TDS fan to be honest with his fellow man (UtahBouuy)
Re: Who has Utah Played? | 8:49 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
And Byu's schedule is just full of winners? Michigan and Oregon St. have both beaten tope ten teams. Lets stop the bashing people, please. I hope both teams keep doing well.
andrewute1 | 8:54 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Who has Utah played-

Same for byu! Why are they a top 10 team? At least oregon st beat usc, how bad did washington get beat by oregon, oklahoma, and arizona?
RE: Who has Utah played? | 8:54 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Who has shown they deserve their ranking besides Alabama? You could say the exact same thing about every team in the top 25. It's all subjective, and until the season plays out, no one knows who should really be where in the polls.
Who has BYU played?? | 9:07 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Northern Iowa 2-3
Washington 0-5
UCLA 2-3
Wyoming 2-4
Utah State 1-4

You are really questioning the schedule of Utah, when you are a BYU fan? Give me a break
UteGary | 9:15 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
To 44-0. Utah�s score against Wyo may reflect some comparison between the Y and the U. However, you seem to have missed the comparison of the USU games, Utah 58-10 vs BYU 34-14. If you want to make the argument that BYU is a better team based on this you should go all the way. BYU scored 17 points on turnovers, take those away it�s 17-14. USU scored 10 points on Utah turnovers, take that away and it�s 58-0. Utah never punted, Y 2 times, 4th qtr scoring U-14, USU-0, Y-0, USU-14. The Y looked a little out of sink; result of a bye week? USU looked better than they did against the U; a starting quarterback, some success, and better team cohesion over the last few weeks? Bottom line, while the comparative scores can be an indicator how teams compare, it can�t be taken very far, especially in blow outs. Would you say the U�s win over OSU makes them better than USC? I doubt it. Wyo is an awful team this year. I expect they will be ready to play after their humiliating defeat last year.
Fell for the bait... | 9:28 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Smiling at Utah fans falling into the same trap as BYU fans -- defending their schedule.

Having a good team or bad team is independent of schedule. Being undefeated suggests having a good team, even if you "haven't played anybody". How good is anybody's guess.

Since Utah and BYU are basically untested at this point, against supposedly "good" teams, we'll just have to wait until they play TCU and each other to find out how good.

The voters, however, have observed BYU, Utah, and all of the other Top 25 teams and found the Cougars and Utes deserving to be ranked.

Since the whole BCS system is nothing but a beauty contest to pick the prettiest teams, fans can argue all they want about who�s "deserving," but the only thing that really counts is the polls, which say:

BYU - 8th_Coaches, 9th_Harris, 9th_AP (Top 10 across the board)

Utah - 13th_Coaches, 13th_Harris, 14th_AP

BYU and Utah fans should stop bickering and enjoy the ride. November 22nd will decide who is better.

Salt Lake Cougar | 9:50 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Unranked Illinois beat Michigan 45-20 in the "big house" so there goes more luster off of utah's 'big win'. I guess Illinois is a lot better than utah because u guys only won there by 2 points.

And CSU smoked UNLV 41-28, more proof that UNLV's win over ASU was a total fluke. I guess CSU is also better than u guys since u beat UNLV by only 42-21.

Why are u guys even ranked??!
Ernest T. Bass | 10:00 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
I am very surprised that Utah is not ranked #1 today! Why, we totally dominated Oregon State and they are even better than USC!! Look at how many points we scored against them: 31! And our great defense held them to only 28! I hope Kyle...er, I mean Coach Whittingham, isn't too terribly upset about all this. Something is definitely wrong with these polls. In fact, I'm almost sure of it.
RR | 10:08 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Haven't been near a computer much, but wanted to say congrats to Utah for their big W. After making so many mistakes, I don't know how the team keeps winning. Wonder how'll they'll do vs. Wyoming and the new rivalry. Wyoming had a bad year two years ago, with a similar record, but somehow came back and manhandled Utah. I don't think Wyoming has quite the team they did last time, but if they play like USU plays BYU, it could be an upset.

This is a potential upset of the week. Wyoming will want sweet revenge. There is no overlooking Wyoming. They haven't really beaten anybody, but they didn't really either in 2006.

Anyway, congrats again! Please go undefeated so we have the greatest showdown game in the history of the rivalry!
To: 44-0 | 10:58 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Hey, according to your logic then, Utah is a better team than BYU. Just compare Utah and BYU's scores against lowly Utah State. You failed to use this common opponent in your figuring.
Winner take all | 11:25 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
What a joke that fans are squawking about BCS rankings 2 weeks before the first official rankings are posted.

The ONLY thing the BCS rankings are good for is determining BCS bowl eligibility.

If either BYU or Utah loses before November 22nd, they're automatically eliminated from BCS consideration. Do you really think a one-loss BYU or Utah will get a BCS bowl invite?

It'll all be decided November 22nd. If both teams are undefeated on that date, the winner will be playing in a BCS bowl, the loser will be playing in the Las Vegas bowl. SOS won't mean a thing.

Sorry Boise State, your SOS is about to take a huge hit as you head into WAC play.

Stop squawking about rankings and enjoy the season for heaven's sake. Just win and the rankings will take care of themselves.
Imposter | 11:31 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Hey, UtahBouuy nice try but you're easily recognized as a byU homer. Go back to your bubble in happy valley and read some Dick Harmon articles about how amazing the TDS is.
PLAY SOMEBODY! | 11:52 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
With Byu fans talking about Utah's schedule and Utah fans talking about BYU's schedule you are all sounding like the college analyst. Let's just rip both their schedules! By the way the most recent Sagarin Strength of schedule- BYU is 126, Boise is 120, and Utah is 49. You schedule N. Iowa and Weber and all the lousy teams Boise schedule- you get what you get.
Notice that Fresno State is NEVER in this conversation. At least coach Hill is not afraid to play anybody out of conf.
Re: Utah Bouuuy | 11:53 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Is that why all of those byu students DREAM of graduate school (for everything other than busisness) at the U.

The reality is that byu is the little sister of the U (USU being the little brother that has been estranged), established 25 years after the U as a high school.

A place, that up until recent years (after the 70's) has been a joke. Just ask your grandparents/anyone that was around before Lavell.

UNLV | 12:12 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
can we officially say that then 15th-ranked Arizona State (2-3) was over-ranked when UNLV beat the Sun Devils?

Sat, Aug 30 Northern Arizona W 30-13
Sat, Sep 6 Stanford W 41-17
Sat, Sep 13 UNLV L 20-23
Sat, Sep 20 (3) Georgia L 10-27
Sat, Oct 4 at California L 14-24

Arizona State's lone win against a 1-A opponent is Stanford (3-3).

Which makes you wonder just how good UNLV (3-3, 0-2 MWC) really is?
Brettski | 12:12 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Boo idiot zoobs. Hurray Utes!

I can't believe the season is 1/2 over.
re: Who has BYU played?? | 12:26 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
In addition to the weak schedule the cougars have played to date, here are the eight teams their opponents have defeated:

Idaho (ESPN bottom 10)
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Nicholls State
North Dakota State
Ohio
Tennessee (ESPN bottom 10)
Washington State

byu is very fortunate to be ranked in the top 10 based on the weak SOS.
re: To: 44-0 | 12:34 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Actually, I was counting on some astute Utah fan to point out my miscalculation, using the Utah State games.

You proved my point, which was to illustrate
the fallacy of using comparative scores to evaluate teams.

Now, if you can't use comparative scores from common opponents accurately, how can you possibly use comparative scores of uncommon opponents.

Which pretty much defeats, or at least weakens, the whole argument about using SOS to prove whether one team is better than another team.

Is a 59-0 blowout over a "possibly" weaker opponent, more or less impressive than a couple of come-from-behind wins over "possibly" better opponents.

All in the eye of the beholder; in other words, in all depends on your own personal bias, and whose ox is being gored.
wow | 12:37 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Everyone who talks about score differential forgets to consider one IMPORTANT thing. How well did the other team play? Wyoming didn't look good at all against BYU (we're talking dropped passes, backwards passes, fumbles and what not) and Utah state, down the stretch anyways, looked better against BYU than against the Utes. Say what you will about defenses making teams look bad, but I personally think that is an overstatement. No team is going to play all 12 games at exactly the same level, no matter who the opponent is. Look at Oregon, look at USC, look at Alabama, etc. etc.
Beat everybody you play | 1:55 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
to: PLAY SOMEBODY!

Kinda surprised, that a Fresno State fan whose team just lost their second game to a mediocre Hawaii team is back talking smack to fans of teams that are undefeated.

Here's a clue. It doesn't matter who you play, if you don't beat them.

Maybe you're hoping Sagarin will award the Bulldogs a trophy for having a really high SOS.

Beat everybody, then you can talk.
re PLAY SOMEBODY! | 2:12 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
two things you should consider, well maybe more. Utah, BSU and byu are all rakned top 20, where is Fresno? Did they lose to hawaii? Thought so. Secondly, did it occur to you that there are TWO sides to scheduling? Perhaps the teams fresno loses to, or i mean schedules, are unwilling to play a Utah, BSU, or byu team? To bust the BCS you have to dominate your conference, and go undefeated. Best way to do this-schedule not so tough teams. It will be like that until there is a better system, until then, a 1 loss team from the MWC or WAC, and I think its the same whether the loss is to a top tier conference rival or a team like Fla or 'Bama. Tough spot to be in.
Sagarin now | 2:16 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
(subject to change weekly)

Current Sagarin Opponent SOS:
6 Missouri (96)
9 Boise State (120)
10 Texas Tech (119)
13 LSU (118)
14 Utah (49)
15 TCU (94)
16 BYU (126)
19 Ball State (109)
20 Kentucky (103)
21 Oklahoma State (128)
31 Florida State (124)
33 Arizona (133)
34 Boston College (122)
35 Tulsa (145)
42 South Florida (106)

Next opponent ranking:
BYU vs New Mexico (77)
Utah at Wyoming (141)
TCU at Colorado State (87)
Boise State at Southern Miss (88)
Utahman05 | 2:17 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
I don't think I have ever laughed as hard as I did reading the posts from the fans of the TDS. Questioning the Utes SOS? Come on, the TDS has yet to play a team that the top high school programs in Utah can't play close. My word, even Weber State could compete with UCLA and Washington this year... Their opponents have a combined 4 FBS wins. Yeah that's right, 4 wins (and two of those are in ESPN's bottom 10 teams.) When the TDS plays a team who has proven that they can win against a reasonable opponent, we'll talk about SOS. Until then, the TDS is hands down the most overrated team in the top 25 today, and among the most overrated teams ever in the top ten.
Circular logic | 2:29 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Using comparative scores:

Team A beats Team B who beats Team C who beats Team A.

Overtimes, blowouts, come-from-behinds, doesn't matter, all finish with identical records.

Which team is better?

Comparisons are meaningless!

We need a playoff to decide the championship on the field instead of in a beauty contest or in some mathematician's matrix!

Show me a computer that includes all of the intangibles -- home/way, rivalry, short week, injuries, weather, early/late season, favorite/underdog (who decided), conference/OOC -- in its calculations. Computer's are programmed to unbiased and clueless.

Give us a playoff!!!
Tarheel Utes - BCS Re-write | 2:31 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Most reasonable fans would have to give the Utes the edge in strength of schedule, but they would also have to agree that BYU has been more consistant in winning.

Ultimately both most continue to win for BCS hopes. Lets hope they both remain defeated until the 22nd.

Who knows - maybe if they continue to win, both Utah and BYU remain in the top 12 even as one loses on the 22nd. The BSC power conferences would have to rewrite the rules again!! There is some entertainment value in that.
Wonderful World | 2:46 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
In the wonderful world of the Sagarin ELO-CHESS rankings (used in the BCS poll), only winning and losing matters; the scoring margin is of no consequence, which makes it very "politically correct", according to Sagarin.

So, the computers see absolutely no difference between:

Oklahoma 55 Washington 14 and
BYU 28 Washington 27

BYU 59 UCLA 0 and
Fresno St 36 UCLA 31

Utah 25 Michigan 23 and
Illinois 45 Michigan 20

Florida 56 Hawaii 10 and
San Jose St 20 Hawaii 17

Thankfully, the BCS, in their wisdom has implemented such an unbiased and politically correct system to help decide the BSC national champion.
Re: SL Cougar | 3:01 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
While this schedule argument and head to head stuff is silly as heck...I don't understand the numbers with SL Cougar. Check again math major.
Washington... | 3:36 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
has the 2nd highest SOS, is ranked 102 in Sagarin, and is winless.

Washington's AD must not like Willingham, because he obviously set him up for failure with his young team.
re: Play Somebody | 3:40 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Fresno State's SOS is a so so 66 in Sagarin. Not bad, but not really that great either.

And bound to get much, much worse as they travel through the WAC.
UtahBouuy | 3:55 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
I just read all of the remarks about a message I wrote early this morning. I'm not a "Kewg." Never have been and never will.

After just rereading what I wrote I kind of see why some people might of thought that. I was just trying to give my honest opinion about what I observe, from a distance, of BYU's national success and respect. I live in Northern California so I guess I didn't realize you now get called a liar if you simply compliment the success of another schools program. It sounds like Cougar and Ute fans who live in Utah really need to GROW UP (it's really no that serious)!
Full Schedule | 3:56 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Using the full schedule, including games not yet played, Massey's current rankings have:

TCU 64
Utah 65
BYU 78

Not exactly a world of difference as things currently stand, and little chance that they'll change much relative to each other since all three teams play very similar schedules.

Sorry to disappoint all the Utah fans who were counting on Utah's SOS being sooooo superior to BYU's SOS.
PLAYOFF SYSTEM | 4:13 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Well, here's my proposed solution to the BCS dilemma (keep in mind that it's not perfect, but at least I'm proposing a solution instead of just whining about it all the time):

First, I propose that we settle on every team playing the same number of games--it's hard to rank teams that play a different # of games.

Second, all regular season games need to be finished by the end of November or the beginning of December.

Third, take 16 teams to a playoff. It will take 4 weeks to play a 16-team, single-elimination playoff and have a national champion. I think that the champion from each conference should get an automatic bid. Because there are 12 conferences in Division 1-A football, the 12 conference champions will get automatic bids, and the 4 remaining spots will be filled by teams that did NOT get bids, but starting with the highest ranked team.

Like I said, it's not a perfect system, but I think it's better than the current BCS system. I know it screws up the money and the bowl games, but do we really want equity for all teams or big-money bowl games?
SCHEDULING | 4:21 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Can somebody please tell me which teams are going to be really good in 2016? I'm trying to put together a list for some of the coaches of teams that will be awesome in 2016 so they can get their schedules in place by next year.

It's just so hard for me, though, because I know that when teams are scheduled so far in advance, nobody knows who will be good 5 years down the road. I really need all your help in making a killer schedule so my team can bust into the BCS in 2016 by showing that we beat some legitimate teams.

I would just schedule Michigan, but this year makes me wonder about how good they are. I would just schedule USC, but they're also kind of spotty this year. So, I need your help.

Please, tell me which teams are gonna be worthy foes in 2016...I'm so confused!!
SCHEDULING (continued) | 4:22 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Can the Ute fans please let me know just how good San Jose State, Oregon, or Louisville will be next year? I'm just curious to know what kind of competition they'll be facing next season.

On that same note, can someone please tell me how strong a team Notre Dame or Iowa State will be in 2010? I'm just trying to decide whether Utah's schedule will be strong in 2 years or not.

Get my drift? Ute fans typically ask Cougar fans the following question: "Why don't you try playing a team that's actually GOOD?" Well, sorry, but you play who you play. These games are scheduled so far in advance that it's nearly impossible to say just how good a schedule anyone has. We all thought the Pac-10 would be at least somewhat decent this year, but...surprise!! They're horrible.

(Notice I didn't mention anything about scheduling USU...I'll give you that one. When have they EVER been good? Yet we both play them. I concede that they're always bad.)

In conclusion, unless you can tell me who the good teams are gonna be 5 years from now, your taunting comment of "try playing someone good!" is worthless and naive.
Question | 5:35 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Colorado State has more wins than Oregon State... will the Utah fans tear down the goalposts after a Utah win?
Blair Williams | 5:39 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Ute fans who hate BYU and want them to not do good should have their heads
examined. I graduated from BYU in 1952 and am the ultimate fan. I watched
the Oregon game to the bitter end and even when the score was 28 to 20 I
didn't give up. I said to those present, if they can just score and go for
two we still might win. When Utah is not playing BYU I am for them all the
way. Don't the stupid haters realize the more wins the conference teams
have, the better it is for the conference. I say let both Utah and BYU go
undefeated and let the best team win the last game. Go Utah, and go BYU.
Owen B. Williams
It only takes one game | 5:56 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
It only takes one game for either team to be done. If either team loses one game then none if this talk makes any difference to the team that lost. Also if both team lose none of this matters for either team. Both teams would be back to cheering just to beat each other becasue they don't like each other. But it would still make it pointless.

So both teams and fans of both teams need to just worry about thier team winning (and it does not matter who they play, they need to win).

Good luck both teams, because this could all be over any time.

I hope both teams win all their games and then have a very close game at the end.

Go UofU & BYU
none | 9:58 p.m. Oct. 6, 2008
Stats mean nothing - Who cares how either team wins. It will be a slugfest as always. BYU is not better than Utah and Utah is not better than BYU. Gameday will tell all so who cares about statistics. I could less whether each team wins by 50 or by 1 - Just win.

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