Ranking Utah

[UtahDan]

This article was interesting:

http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/201...-ranking-utah/

Speaking of Kragthorpes article saying that Utah is the 5th best team in the Pac 12 next year he says:

Now, this isn't to say the argument is outlandish by any stretch, because it's not. You can easily make the case Utah belongs there, and Mr. Kragthorpe made a good one. It's just that I'm not sure this is an apples vs. apples comparison at this point. He points out the Utes have averaged nearly 10 wins for the past seven seasons and sport a 7-3 record against the Pac-10 in that same stretch. All true, but they're still trading up schedule-wise.

In 2008, the Utes played just three BCS schools en route to a 13-0 record, escaping Michigan (which ended up going 3-9) with a two-point win and holding off Oregon State (9-4, to be fair) by three at home. There were a few other tests, but the point is in the Pac-10, the Utes will face a test like that every week.

I am bullish on how the Utes will do, but it is a point well taken that the schedule is vastly upgraded, We will not have the luxury of having a first half like we did at Wyoming last year. The Utes will have to show up each week. Kyle has done a good job of getting his teams to rise to the occasion but it will have to be every week now. I guess what I am saying is that he is right that we won't know until we know.

This isn't to say Utah can't compete in the Pac-10. I believe it is probably middle-of-the-pack immediately (with a good chance to capitalize on this move in recruiting and move closer to the top). I'm simply saying we can't be sure until the Utes face a weekly test, as opposed to a monthly one.

I think it is also a point well take (and an exciting one to think about) that the Utes three to give years from now should be markedly better from the recruiting bump I think it is reasonable to expect.

[Uncle Ted]

This article was interesting:

http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/201...-ranking-utah/

Speaking of Kragthorpes article saying that Utah is the 5th best team in the Pac 12 next year he says:

Nice... Being the 5th best team in the Pac-10+2 will get Utah to the Las Vegas Bowl to play BYU.

[BoylenOver]

My "goal" for the Utes is to achieve bowl eligibility in their first three seasons as a member of the PAC-10. After that, I expect them to contend for a divisional title once every three years, with a trip to the title game every five years or so.

Wazzou is an easy out, but who's the next-worse team in the PAC-10? Arizona St? UCLA? UD, you mentioned our first half against Wyoming. How about the first half in Fort Collins? How about the entire game vs. an average AFA team? Or some shaky moments against a bad UNLV team? Those are losses against the lower half (minus Wazzou) of the PAC-10/12.

[DrumNFeather]

The one thing that I think KW has allowed his teams to do in the past is to sleep walk into and through some games. If USU or UNM or Wyoming (sorry cowboy and landpoke) is on the schedule, I just don't think they prepare the same as they do for a TCU or a BYU. As has been said, he can't do this in the Pac 12 and if he does, it'll be tough sledding.

It'll be interesting to see what happens year-one schedule wise because I can see Utah and CU being given a real tough slate out of the gate having to go to USC and Oregon as well as another road trip at ASU or something.

[WashingtonCoug]

So what happens if Utah gets into the Pac-10 and can't hang at the top? Could this actually give BYU an advantage in recruiting. It may be easier to reach a BCS bowl in the MWC for BYU than for Utah in the PAC-10.

[BoylenOver]

So what happens if Utah gets into the Pac-10 and can't hang at the top? Could this actually give BYU an advantage in recruiting. It may be easier to reach a BCS bowl in the MWC for BYU than for Utah in the PAC-10.

Utah and BYU don't seriously compete very often for recruits. Whatever difference a Utah jump to the PAC-10 (and the hypothetical struggle) makes will be small.

[SCcoug]

I can easily imagine Utah coming in 5th or 6th place but could also easily imagine them in the top 3 depending on the year. I guess what I'm saying is that the PAC 10 is wide open for the Utes to compete but as has been pointed out they can't afford to sleep walk through any games.

[Surfah]

I can easily imagine Utah coming in 5th or 6th place but could also easily imagine them in the top 3 depending on the year. I guess what I'm saying is that the PAC 10 is wide open for the Utes to compete but as has been pointed out they can't afford to sleep walk through any games.

So just like the MWC?

[WashingtonCoug]

Utah and BYU don't seriously compete very often for recruits. Whatever difference a Utah jump to the PAC-10 (and the hypothetical struggle) makes will be small.

My thinking though is that BYU can say, other than USC why would you go to a PAC-10 school when you can go to BYU to make it into a BCS game? Utah is proof that it was easier to make it to the BCS in the MWC. Come to BYU where you'll have an easier shot.

[BoylenOver]

My thinking though is that BYU can say, other than USC why would you go to a PAC-10 school when you can go to BYU to make it into a BCS game? Utah is proof that it was easier to make it to the BCS in the MWC. Come to BYU where you'll have an easier shot.

But the type of player(s) BYU targets rarely overlaps with Utah's. Would BYU start recruiting "Ute prospects" simply on the basis of the Cougars having a better perceived shot at a BCS game?

[Moliere]

My thinking though is that BYU can say, other than USC why would you go to a PAC-10 school when you can go to BYU to make it into a BCS game? Utah is proof that it was easier to make it to the BCS in the MWC. Come to BYU where you'll have an easier shot.

Let's make it to a BCS game first before we start saying it would be easier to do at BYU.

With 12 teams the PAC may (I repeat may) start getting two teams into BCS games, which is somehting they haven't accomplished since like 2003.

[Moliere]

But the type of player(s) BYU targets rarely overlaps with Utah's. Would BYU start recruiting "Ute prospects" simply on the basis of the Cougars having a better perceived shot at a BCS game?

Looking forward, I can see Utah targeting some of the BYU type players. I think they will start to overlap more than they did in the past. Utah has the hand up in the state of Utah recruiting given that a recruit can now stay clsoe to home and play in a BCS conference. That might be more tempting to a Timpview or Bingham graduate than it used to be when BYU/Utah were in the same conference and playing at about the same level.

[Pheidippides]

This article was interesting:

http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/201...-ranking-utah/

Speaking of Kragthorpes article saying that Utah is the 5th best team in the Pac 12 next year he says:



I am bullish on how the Utes will do, but it is a point well taken that the schedule is vastly upgraded, We will not have the luxury of having a first half like we did at Wyoming last year. The Utes will have to show up each week. Kyle has done a good job of getting his teams to rise to the occasion but it will have to be every week now. I guess what I am saying is that he is right that we won't know until we know.



I think it is also a point well take (and an exciting one to think about) that the Utes three to give years from now should be markedly better from the recruiting bump I think it is reasonable to expect.

I actually expect the Utes to do quite well in the PAC-10+2. I think they should be on par with Oregon, to tell you the truth, which means I think they should be competitive for the PAC-10+2 championship most years. Especially with USC having the sanctions and all.

One thing that should be considered, however, is the rivalry with BYU. I am guessing that the BYU game will now be played at the front end of the season instead of the back end - although I could be wrong. If that is the case - and again, it may not be - I would worry about Utah's tendency to start sluggish and finish strong throughout the course of a year. With a BYU game up front, that's bad juju.

[UtahDan]

So just like the MWC?

The MWC and Pac 10 this year are not remarkably different at positions 1-3 especially with USC having been kicked in the teeth. It is the rest of the conference that is quite a bit tougher in the Pac 10. The MWC is not now, nor will it be with Utah gone, a conference anyone should win every year. I think it will continue to be a log jam at the top with the BSU/TCU/BYU games with each other being the ones that decide who is champ.

That last part is much less true in the Pac 10. The middle to bottom teams have a much greater chance to knock off a top team if there is such a thing as a top team. One of the pre-season rags, I think it was Phil Steele, said that the Pac 10 is the hardest to predict because it has more parity than any other conference.

[il Padrino Ute]

One thing that should be considered, however, is the rivalry with BYU. I am guessing that the BYU game will now be played at the front end of the season instead of the back end - although I could be wrong. If that is the case - and again, it may not be - I would worry about Utah's tendency to start sluggish and finish strong throughout the course of a year. With a BYU game up front, that's bad juju.

Could be, but because of the unfairness of the BCS, an early season loss as a member of the PAC10 isn't as damaging as when Utah plays in the MWC.

Of course, Utah has no trouble getting prepared for the rivalry game, so I don't see how that would ever change.