The Utah 2011 Football Thread

[BoylenOver]

Not for the ALUF. He would be glad that he could watch the Utes without interrupting general conference and that his wife could attend Women's Conference without missing a game.

What about the other 2 Friday night games? I mean, that seems like a fine arrangement for Houston or Tulsa, but for the mighty BYU Cougars and their national--nay, international--fanbase?

[Portland Ute]

Hmm, then I'm not sure why he thinks FSN regional (albeit multiple regionals) is that much better than VS. Is it? I dunno.

Well, the idea has been advanced by at least one person here that Versus was not as presigious as Fox Sports.

http://cougaruteforum.com/showpost.php?p=601052&postcount=30

I don't see much of a difference between FSN or Versus, but apparently, it is better for USC to play on FSN than Versus. As such, I would think that it would be better for Utah/Colorado to play on FSN rather than Vs.

[myboynoah]

What about the other 2 Friday night games? I mean, that seems like a fine arrangement for Houston or Tulsa, but for the mighty BYU Cougars and their national--nay, international--fanbase?

Are Friday night prime time games a bad thing? Friday night TV audience, no other games for competition, ESPN distribution, larger payday. Seems like an okay deal.

But I realize this is the new talking point for so many of BYU's detractors after Tuesday and Wednesday night game didn't come to fruition.

[il Padrino Ute]

Are Friday night prime time games a bad thing? Friday night TV audience, no other games for competition, ESPN distribution, larger payday. Seems like an okay deal.

But I realize this is the new talking point for so many of BYU's detractors after Tuesday and Wednesday night game didn't come to fruition.

Yes, they are a bad thing. Fridays are for high school games.

[BoylenOver]

Are Friday night prime time games a bad thing? Friday night TV audience, no other games for competition, ESPN distribution, larger payday. Seems like an okay deal.

But I realize this is the new talking point for so many of BYU's detractors after Tuesday and Wednesday night game didn't come to fruition.

You want to be playing your games on Saturdays. Thursday nights have come to be a nice showcase day. And holidays generally attract a sizable audience (Boise St/VaTech and Miami/FSU have been on Labor Day the last two seasons, for example).

Friday nights? Based on ESPN's Friday night schedule in years past (C-USA and Big East, chiefly), it's the 3rd-most prestigious time slot (ahead of Tuesday and Wednesday).

Speaking of distribution/payday, I don't hear BYU fans talk much about that when deriding Utah's TV presence.

[kccougar]

What about the other 2 Friday night games? I mean, that seems like a fine arrangement for Houston or Tulsa, but for the mighty BYU Cougars and their national--nay, international--fanbase?

Try to keep up, BO. BYU plays 3 times this season on Friday night.

1. Annual game with USU on conference weekend. This will be a standing date for the Friday before conference, and I think most BYU fans are fine with this being a Friday night game.

2. Central Florida at LES on 9/23. This game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but because of LDS Women's Conference ESPN bumped the game to Friday. It also happens to be the ONLY college football game on that night. Will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

3. TCU at Jerry World. This was an ESPN special that they approached BYU with to replace the dog of a game we had scheduled for a Saturday with Louisiana Tech (part of the WAC schedule fill in games). Cowboys stadium, big-money payout, again the ONLY college football game on that day, and broadcast nationally on ESPN.

These are generally no Tuesday night, ESPN2 or 3, late-night, Boise State games.

[myboynoah]

You want to be playing your games on Saturdays. Thursday nights have come to be a nice showcase day. And holidays generally attract a sizable audience (Boise St/VaTech and Miami/FSU have been on Labor Day the last two seasons, for example).

Friday nights? Based on ESPN's Friday night schedule in years past (C-USA and Big East, chiefly), it's the 3rd-most prestigious time slot (ahead of Tuesday and Wednesday).

Speaking of distribution/payday, I don't hear BYU fans talk much about that when deriding Utah's TV presence.

http://cougaruteforum.com/showpost.php?p=600996&postcount=17

[Hot Lunch]

Are Friday night prime time games a bad thing? Friday night TV audience, no other games for competition, ESPN distribution, larger payday. Seems like an okay deal.

But I realize this is the new talking point for so many of BYU's detractors after Tuesday and Wednesday night game didn't come to fruition.

IMO Thursday night is the big night if you are going to play during the week. The Thursday night football game on ESPN has become a pretty big deal now.

I wouldn't say that Friday night prime time games are a bad thing nor would I really say it is a really good thing. Friday night is for High School football across the country which is why you don't see many games that night. It is also a night where many people "go out" to do things they don't normally do on a week night and don't watch much T.V. that night. It would be interesting to see the average T.V. ratings for Friday night television. I would bet that it has some of the worst T.V. ratings during the week. Hell, when we don't go out on a Friday night we always rent a movie or something because there is never anything on.

[LA Ute]

Jon Wilner tweets:

Best part of Pac-12 TV sked for viewers might be: There are three TBDs on Nov. 5 and four on Nov. 12. Huge flexibility on crucial Saturdays.

More Pac-12 TV: Fox only used 6 of its 24 windows, leaving 18 in-season selections. Good news for viewers. (ESPN used 15 of its 20.)

Wilner's kind of establishing himself as the news media authority on PAC-12 TV.

[Babs]

Jon Wilner tweets:

Is TBD scheduling new for the Pac?

[LA Ute]

Is TBD scheduling new for the Pac?

I don't think so, he's just noting the number of windows they're keeping open. This is a lot of "inside baseball" (or football) to me.

[Eddie]

Yes, they are a bad thing. Fridays are for high school games.

One day - when I have a high school age kid playing football - I might agree that they are a bad thing.

But for me personally - and I know I don't speak for anyone else or to ratings - I really like the Friday night games.

I think they are a great way to kick off the weekend. My wife and I have made a date of it and spent the night in a local hotel - something we wouldn't ever do for a Saturday game. I love having the entire Saturday open to do whatever I want with - without figuring out how to fit stuff in around football. And I typically don't have a lot more of other things going on Friday night. So I can change out of my work clothes, grab some good gameday eats, and enjoy the game.

I don't think I would want this for every Friday. But if I am being completely honest - I think I look forward to the Friday night games more than the Saturday games (if you don't take the opponent into consideration).

[LA Ute]

Story on Thretton Palamo.

I've never heard until now of The Upset. It claims to cover "College Sports in the West:"

The Upset was officially born in July 2009 as an outlet for MWC and WAC football. In 2010, The Upset began coverage of MWC, WAC, and Big Sky basketball. Now the blog extends its coverage to football and basketball in the Pac 12, MWC, WAC, and Big Sky, as well as to West Coast Conference basketball, making it the premier home for major college sports in the West. Born out of college football fandom, The Upset aims to keep fans connected to their favorite western schools, and will always be a champion of the "little guys" in college sports.

[LA Ute]

Ted Miller breaks down the Utes' 2011 schedule:

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/22437/schedule-analysis-utah

[Portland Ute]

Jordan Wynn on the Davey O'Brien Award watch list...

http://blog.daveyobrien.org/2011/07/15/2011-davey-o’brien-watch-list/