Impressed with what AZ has done.
We’ll bounce back, but the Cats trended up while we stumbled to the finish line.
Things can turn around and I think we’ll be healthier and better than this weird season, but I’d expect Arizona to be favored over us in th B12.
We go on the hunt, again. We’ve done that, before.
My sources previously told me that UA had the 3rd highest NIL bankroll in the PAC12 only behind USC and the Ducks (but that was also before the Buffs brought in Deion). I was surprised to hear that. I would have anticipated UW or UCLA possibly. The uptick in the Cats shouldn’t be surprising after a couple of years of heavy investment in NIL.
The memes for the edible Pop Tarts mascot yesterday have been glorious.
So our Trojan friend piped up to brag about beating a crappy UofL:
“ Ha ha ha! Sure Jethro. You talk a lot, but you never say much.
Never forget. ucla SUCKS!
(post deleted by author)
FTFOForever”
Weird he likes to insult people because he himself has zero self awareness. Enjoy the lower tier bowls you wished for by your admin destroying your conference. Never Forget, SC is the bad guys in this scenario.
If healthy, Rising will make a difference as will Kuithe. However, too me the most glaring deficiency on offense this past year was the OL and WR group. The OL was relatively injury free but was far from dominant. Good QB play can help that by making the passing game a threat, but at the end of the day, offensive success starts with the OL group. The deficiencies at WR have been discussed to death and other than 2 high regarded freshmen, we haven’t obtained any help from the portal.
Defensively, we lost the ability to pressure the QB without blitzing when Fano and Eliss went down leaving our CB’s without much help over the top.
Personally, I wonder how together this team was. I also wonder how NIL impacts team chemistry. Rising and Kuithe were probably the two highest NIL money guys this past year and they didn’t play a down. That can’t be good for a locker room.
Or, I can be full of ■■■■ and Rising/Kuithe will make 2023 seem like a bad dream.
Utah needs WR. Arizona’s group is so much better than Utah’s, it’s laughable.
Cole Cubelic may be an Auburn man but he makes a hell of a sideline reporter. Plus, this young man is inspiring:
https://x.com/josh_ward/status/1740715793355325942?s=46&t=uVJSfJx5SZFU4gJqFfMgxg
I think the system UK runs on Offense would have been great for Utah this season. I really like their use of sweeps and ground and pound football. They don’t make many mistakes and play solid Defense. It will be interesting if they knock of UofL and Clemson back to Back.
I think this is an issue, as well. NIL is unequal by nature. In the NFL it’s a business, so inequality is expected, but college kids are 18 years old up to 23 or 24. Introducing the cold reality of business into a college football team is a big change, but every P5 and G5 program is dealing with it.
The QB situation early in the season was a really bad look, externally and maybe internally as well. Nothing like a QB controversy to divide a locker room.
A lot of reasons to call 2023 an anomaly, but it’s easier said than done, and getting everyone back on the same page is the first step. Player leadership starts in January conditioning. We’ll have some new faces and need to find a new recipe for Utah football culture.
Based on what Whitt said, from the CU game to the bowl game was unlike any bowl prep we’ve seen. NFL declarees, some Portal declarees, re-recruting your own players with NIL, HS & JC recruiting and looking at the portal.
More questions than answers right now, but at least they get a break to try and recharge and rekindle the passion.
Perhaps your most substantial post ever.
We don’t really have a history of recruiting high end WRs. You keep repeating this mantra, but it ain’t going to happen.
Dude, right now I would take a Dres Anderson, David Reed, Steve Savoy, or Paris Warren.
IDK, we have gotten a few over the years. The truth is those we have aren’t bad, they just aren’t BIG.
It’s kind of like I’ve heard said a lot over the years. You can teach technique and skills, but you can’t teach big.
I know people don’t like hearing the excuse of missing players being the reason for poor performances, but it makes a huge difference. Look at Oregon St. today. The Beavers were a very good team this year. But today, with QB No. 3 and without their top running back, we see the result: down 24-0 late in the third. OSU has 117 yards of offense.
If there’s a silver lining to our performance in the bowl game, it’s that this entire bowl season has been really ragged, everywhere. A lot of games not really worth watching.
One idea is to restrict the portal to certain windows… like after all the bowl games have been played.
Nobody is governing college football these days, granted, but it seems the money powers that have driven or stand to benefit from realignment - ESPN and Fox - really ought to have an interest in the public bothering to watch the bowl games they own, particularly ESPN.
Hell - perhaps ESPN can slip some NIL money to the NCAA to narrow the portal windows. (That’s how things are done nowadays, right?)
Totally agree. Many teams are shells of themselves in their bowl games. Some of the games are more like spring-game scrimmages.
Case in point. Look at OSU right now: down to its third QB and has three points at halftime.
I hope Missouri holds Ohio State to 3 points so that Utah isn’t the lowest scoring bowl team.
Syracuse scored zero on Dec. 21.
Looks like 14-3. Another woof bowl game. Henderson (OSU RB) should’ve been better. Harrison out. Mizzou RB probably MVP of this game.