I haven’t seen this posted yet. It’s behind a paywall. Mandel’s Mailbag: What are the key matchups in Alabama-Georgia Part II? How impactful would Caleb Williams to USC be? – The Athletic
I know that there’s no “victory in defeat” in sports, especially college football. But, as a Utah fan, I’ve never felt so … good? Proud? … about a loss. The Utes left it all on the Rose Bowl field. I don’t even know what my question is. Just proud of my team. What a game. What a season. — 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, it’s 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 conference’s terrible TV deals. The Utes seem to get a lot of late-night kickoffs and Pac-12 Network games. And Whittingham’s 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 Whittingham’s 17 seasons.
But the Utah team people saw on New Year’s Day was flashy and explosive, from those fantastic helmets to Britain Covey’s electrifying kickoff return to Cam Rising’s 62-yard sideline dash to walk-on hero/pig farmer Bryson Barnes’ 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 don’t get the sense people came away mocking Utah’s performance as much as marveling at Ohio State’s.
Now it’s up to Whittingham’s group to build on that momentum. The Utes play a glamorous season-opener at Florida in September, and I’d 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.
