Hey, I could see myself. I was the guy in red on the east side!
On another note - that Ty Jordan / Aaron Lowe memorial was something else. Always humbling to see the other team stop what they are doing to pay their respect, it was also cool to see the Ohio State fans light up their phones too. I hope this becomes a tradition at the U, not just for this year. If nothing else to stop and appreciate what we have and the community/family built around Utah Athletics.
Youâll have to be more specific⌠here you go:
Thatâs cool.
Can see all my family, but it was taken right when the lady in front of me stood up. 
Sec 16L, Row 54, Seat 2. Sadly, my lovely hard core Ute football fan wife is blocked by the person in the black sweatshirt walking up the stairs.
Both my sons are clearly visible, but I am behind two people who are standing up. I know them both. They both stood up too much all game long!
Iâm in the mask. (turned telling my wife and daughter a fight may break out next to us between the Drunk Utes and the Drunk Buckeyes). Thankfully it cooled out.
My son is clearly visible but I was bending down getting something from my bag I think.
Iâm the grumpy looking old guy sitting between the guy in the yellow sweat shirt and the African American gentleman. Iâm grumpy because the guy sitting behind me was bugging the **** out of me!
FTFO!
First off⌠Why did your friend wear an LSU shirt? Hadnât they lost enough in that stadium in 2021. I understand if I was bugging you. I wasnât happy about the Kettle Corn and was pretty vocal.
Ugh I feel like such a slouch with all you guys wearing masks. Myself, my wife and son all maskless. We all had them of course, but none wearing them in the photo. 6L, row 44, 18-20.
Know how Smith-Njigba tore our secondary to shreds? We werenât the only ones:
I HATE Ohio. But, LOVE CJ Stroud my fellow Rancho Cucamonga raised product.
My dad is a neutral party when it came to the Rose Bowl. He didnât care who won and was razzing my 12-year-old son that he was going to cheer for THE Ohio St. But one thing he came away with was how impressed he was with Stroudâs accuracy. There were so many balls that were put on a dime - in stride for a receiver, throwing a receiver open, or on the fringe where the WR was the only one who could get it but still get a foot in bounds. That combo of accuracy + NFL receivers was deadly.
Barring something like injury, I think weâll be watching Stroud play and talking about him for the next 10 years.
I havenât seen this posted yet. Itâs behind a paywall. Mandelâs Mailbag: What are the key matchups in Alabama-Georgia Part II? How impactful would Caleb Williams to USC be? â The Athletic
I know that thereâs no âvictory in defeatâ in sports, especially college football. But, as a Utah fan, Iâve never felt so ⌠good? Proud? ⌠about a loss. The Utes left it all on the Rose Bowl field. I donât even know what my question is. Just proud of my team. What a game. What a season. â Rick P.
Let me answer your unasked question for you: Yes, Utah gained a ton of respect even in defeat. It was a landmark day for that program. In the most-watched game in Utah history (16.6 million viewers, per ESPN), the Utes went wire-to-wire with the mighty Buckeyes in an all-time classic shootout.
For all Utah has accomplished under Kyle Whittingham, itâs struggled to gain a national foothold, even since joining the Pac-12. Part of that is location and time zone, part of it is being a newer brand than USC or even Oregon, and part of it is a byproduct of its conferenceâs terrible TV deals. The Utes seem to get a lot of late-night kickoffs and Pac-12 Network games. And Whittinghamâs blue-collar style of football does not lend itself to breakout stars. To this day, Alex Smith, who played for Urban Meyer, remains a more famous former Ute than anyone from Whittinghamâs 17 seasons.
But the Utah team people saw on New Yearâs Day was flashy and explosive, from those fantastic helmets to Britain Coveyâs electrifying kickoff return to Cam Risingâs 62-yard sideline dash to walk-on hero/pig farmer Bryson Barnesâ game-tying touchdown drive. The defense was ⌠not so great, but playing a running back at cornerback against an offense with C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will do that. I donât get the sense people came away mocking Utahâs performance as much as marveling at Ohio Stateâs.
Now itâs up to Whittinghamâs group to build on that momentum. The Utes play a glamorous season-opener at Florida in September, and Iâd expect they will be favored. They lose Covey and All-American linebacker Devin Lloyd, and running back Tavion Thomas could turn pro, but Rising will be back, as will defensive standouts like defensive tackler Junior Tafuna, cornerback Clark Phillips and safety Cole Bishop. With the coaching change at Oregon (not to mention Utah trouncing them twice), the Utes, for once, will be the clear Pac-12 favorites.
They checked off winning the conference. The next milestone is winning the Rose Bowl or reaching the Playoff.
Interesting. My BIL found the supplier for the replica Rose Bowl helmets and got me one early as a gift since I kept the faith in the season (had PAC12 champ travel plans in June and kept them after our start). I got it maybe 2 months before I got the one I ordered from Red Zone (which I received a few weeks ago). The earlier one has decals (TJAL, flag, 22, PAC12, Rose Bowl) at the back base which I like. The Red Zone one has the 22 in the Rose.
That helmet is undefeated. The Interlocking U is brilliant.
They have a few of the replica helmets at the Campus Store and quite a few of the mini helmets if anyone is interested.
