Indeed. The troll is strong in this one. LOL.
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That is a very small gif
Fixed it
Goodness
I have never been a fan of Whittingham. I always think that he gets our team to be average to slightly above average. Then we have a year like this one, when we looked great, except for choking in three games that mattered ā USC, Oregon, and the consolation game with Texas.
I realize that Utah probably canāt be a program to challenge for the CFP year after year, so when the opportunity presents itself, I want our coach to make it happen. We were clobbered by Oregon and Texas ā it almost felt like were back in the MWC just happy to be playing those guys.
I donāt want to be āthat guyā and keep complaining about Whittingham. But when are we going to say that he just isnāt going to carry us to the next level? Of course, Urban Meyer is available!!!1111111
The truth is thisā¦ every single year there are a grand total of 5 head coaches who win a P5 conference championship. A grand total of 4 head coaches who make it to the CFP.
Whit is on the cusp of one if not both of those. You donāt throw that away because āmuh feels say muh team shud be betterā. The one who would will be putting their own career on the line if things get worse. So itās kind of a big deal.
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Whit has a body of work. Like McBride, he has gotten us to a higher plateau, and a very high one indeed. Also like McBride, we hope that he can take us to the next level, but thatās all we have ā hope. His record suggest strongly that he has trouble winning the really big games when Utah is actually favored. Those are simply facts.
And he will be our coach until he decides to retire, probably another 3-5 years. We must all be resigned to that, Letās hope that he can break through at least once before he goes, and that the transition to a new coach will be a positive one and will keep the good things KW has done and add some characteristics that have been missing.
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This. Utah ascension into the PAC-12 was a great boon, but in many ways we started at the bottom, like we did when McBride came in, and had to claw our way up to where we are now. And the margin for error is minimal. I think what this year showed is that we still lack the necessary depth to compete at the highest level. But we are getting there. And that is why recruiting is so important.
Side Note: if by some miracle we get into the PAC-12 championship game a third year in a row, imagine the recruiting boost.
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What is the ānext levelā? That is an excellent question, and it will vary from fan to fan. To me it means we finally shed any semblance of wannabe/pretender label. And that would need to start with actually winning a PAC-12 title and every few years get into the Rose Bowl or maybe even the CFP. And as I said, we have reasonable hopes that Whitt will get us to that level, but heās only going to be here for 3-5 more years and there is no evidence, based on his body of work, to believe heāll actually pull that off. All that said, he deserves to stay here until he doesnāt want to be here anymore.
Meanwhile, I will keep donating, keep my membership in the Crimson Club, and keep purchasing my annual season tickets.
My $.02.
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So nice LAUTE said it thrice. 
LOL. Weird things kept happening as I tried to edit typos in that post!
Many havenāt pointed out the obvious. Whitt has to deal with many things behind the scenes in running the program. An AD that has their fingers in every hiring/firing decision. Losing good coordinators to other programs. Losing players to the new transfer portal.
Maybe it is his fault that weāve gone through multiple OCās, but Iām not sure about that.
Ludwig has been back a total of 1 season. If you canāt see the improvements heās made then youāre blind. If we can keep him for a few years and retain Scalley, weāll have some decent seasons ahead. Consistency is key. KW has ALWAYS done more with less. Hopefully this yearās recruiting class is a sign of things to come.
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I donāt mind being resigned to that either. Most fans are not like you. They get tired when a coachās stubborn quirks seem to be holding a program back, and they donāt ignore those quirks. Itās ok to (1) wish heād get past the quirks and wonder if we can ever do better, while at the same time (2) steadily opposing any suggestion that he ought to be fired, recognizing that heās the best weāve got, and being grateful we have him and for what heās done. (1) and (2) are positions that a person can hold at the same time.
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āBest weāve gotā just means we arenāt going to do better by dropping him. Iāve said many times that talk of letting Kyle go is just crazy.
Anyway, you and I will never agree on how to think about Kyle, and there are no thought crimes outside of the book ā1984ā (and certain threads in Ub5 - ). Iām already looking forward to the 2020 season and made my Crimson Club donation yesterday. Go Utes!
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Bear in mind that last years championship game was lost on a weird special teams play. While this yearās championship game sucked mightily I think Whittingham is very close to being able to close the gap and actually win. I am comfortable in trusting the process to get there. I my opinion far too many fans are looking for Utah to suddenly vault into the upper echelon of the PAC 12 occupied by programs that have been in the league for years. Patience grasshopper.
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I appreciate your thoughts and truly hope you are correct. The course is set. Kyle is at the helm.
Go Utes
Yes, sensei. 
No sudden vault expected here and I do hope we will get there while Kyle is here. Like all of us, I am getting older, and I would like to see it happen in my lifetime.
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