Although I do think that e en if USC wins, they may still lose another game, I’d much rather have Utah in control of their own destiny tonight rather than waiting and hoping later, and I’d much rather face an 11-1 Oregon in the championship game.
Regardless of Moss and Blackmon, I’ll argue it was the stubbornness of Scalley (and his mentor Whit) to stick religiously with man coverage in the secondary, that cost us that game. The secondary, has been managed much more progressively, efficiently, and successfully, since and look at the results.
My guess is that dogmatic man coverage, will no longer be a problem for Scalley - he learned a lesson that will make him a better DC and eventually a better HC. No strategy is “always right”.
The rate this is going now, will play into the Ute’s hands if they met Oregon in the Championship game; they’ll be comparing their score against USC with ours. At first glance, that would seem to indicate that Oregon is more powerful. But it does not take into account how Utah grew, on both sides of the ball since.
I’m looking forward to a Utah/Oregon Championship game.