Utah football: Utes' second season in Pac-12 even harder than first - Salt Lake Tribu

[U-Ute]

Actually, I kinda just thought that you guys suck this year. Nothing to do with the PAC-12 at all. Your QB sucks, your star back got hurt and hasn't been the same.

It certainly is nice to blame mediocrity on the conference toughness, but that isn't the whole story here.

via a galaxy s3 far far away

True, but we'd still have more wins in the MWC than we do now. Maybe even 3 more (depending on when TCU would have been scheduled). So the competetiveness in the P12 does have an impact.

[The_Douger]

No we couldn't have. We already had a roadie at Pitt on the schedule (return trip), as well as the trip to Provo. We cancelled Iowa State's return trip to SLC (and put Montana State in its place). The only way we could have played both Boise State and BYU was to have had zero home non-conference games and only five total on the season. Only a moran would insist that Utah go through with such a schedule in its first year in a new league.

I'm not going to debate 2014-15, as I wish we would play BYU in those years.

At this point, I'm starting to fear the game next year isn't going to happen.

Point taken, my mistake.

[pelagius]

You are far too kind listing us in the 40-50 range this year.

Sure, I could be wrong. If Utah ends up in the 70s-80s this year than that is cause for concern (although I still would doubt the PAC-12 as the cause) because it way outside of Whitt's normal pattern.

I still think Utah is a 40-50s kind of team this year (I think a good estimate based on the data is around 50 right now (I think most primarily MOV based computer models will get you around there)). Strength of Schedule is a hard thing to compute well but I think based on a reasonable benchmark (essentially how difficult it is to win half your games) Utah has a top 10 schedule so far this season. Utah has struggled, but pretty much any team outside of the top 30 would expect to be 0.500 or worse given Utah's schedule.

[Top Ute]

Sure, I could be wrong. If Utah ends up in the 70s-80s this year than that is cause for concern (although I still would doubt the PAC-12 as the cause) because it way outside of Whitt's normal pattern.

I still think Utah is a 40-50s kind of team this year (I think the good estimate based on the data is mid 50s right now (a good MOV based computer model)). Strength of Schedule is a hard thing to compute well but I think based on a reasonable benchmark Utah has a top 10 schedule right so far (essentially how difficult it is to win half your games). Utah has struggled, but pretty any team outside of the top 30 would expect to be 0.500 or worse given Utah's schedule.

The schedule still has plenty of meat to it, and that will keep Utah semi-respectable in the computers (at least Sagarin). Dropping into the 70s or 80s would likely mean a loss to at least Washington State or Colorado, assuming a 5-win season overall.

[Pheidippides]

I would never presume to attempt enlightening you about anything.



niku DU

It's not a flamethrower if I agree with the last part of it.

It may surprise you to know that I have watched more Utah/USU games this year than BYU games. And of those three teams, two suck donkey balls and two are irrelevant. They are not the same two. Again, not sure why that's important in a thread in which people who watch the games (I did not see the UCLA game) comment on the games. I wager that 6 out of 8 is with a standard deviation of what you'd expect to see on a website with our demographics, but you should probably chat with Pelagius, Indy or Jay about that.

[MarkGrace]

It was inevitable. Same thing would happen to BYU in a similar conference. They're just not programs that can compete consistently on that level.

[LA Ute]

Yeah, I expect Kwhitt can do that every 30 years or so.

BYU fans know about 30-year intervals between great seasons.

[The_Douger]

Now, now; 2014 will be a bad year for us.

[Scorcho]

clearly the 2nd Season is more difficult: 5 conference road games vs. 4 last year.

And I'll go ahead and predict that the 3rd conference season will be more difficult than the first or the second. Next year features road games at USC, Oregon and Stanford.

[UtahDan]

Brethren, I don't know why any of you get pulled into these conversations.

[DU Ute]

Brethren, I don't know why any of you get pulled into these conversations.

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