Block U

Most anticipated game of 2012?

2012-05-22T04:19:40Z

So, as we try to keep our sanity while we wait for college football, I've been doing poll questions on expectations and what-not for the 2012 season. This isn't really an expectation, but it fits the overall point. I want to know what game you, as a fan, are anticipating the most? It's the game you can't miss. I'm talking about a game that you'd sell your first born just to see.

I think I know the answer to this question, so, a poll would probably be a bit pointless. I mean, we all know every Ute fan is looking forward to that monster showdown with Arizona. We're all waiting with bated breath for that outcome...right?

Ha.

But seriously, what game are you anticipating the most?

Is college football about to move to superconferences (again)?

2012-05-21T03:16:01Z

The talk of superconferences appeared to die down last year when Texas and its followers decided to save the Big 12. Though while the SEC did expand to include Texas A&M and Missouri, there has not been any real dramatic movement since the conference realignment craze in 2010.

Is that about to end?

With the Big 12 & SEC agreeing to a new bowl game for their conference champions, and the talk of a new playoff on the horizon, there is discussion that college football is moving more and more toward a four-league, superconference makeup.

It's entirely possible with this change that the Final Four will be set between teams that exclusively come from four conferences - the Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC and Big 12.

That means the Rose Bowl, between the Pac-12 and Big Ten, could be a battle for a spot in the championship game. Similarly, the winner of the unnamed New Year's bowl game between the SEC & Big 12 would also be for a spot in the national championship game.

So, if you're not already in those four conferences, you might be screwed. That includes every non-BCS team and every program in the Big East and ACC - two conferences that have, of course, come under fire over the years for their lack of national success.

Is this what the future playoff scenario, the one everyone was clamoring for just weeks ago, has in store for college football? I guess when they tell you be careful what you wish for, they're not kidding. Fans in Boise and Provo have to be a bit worried about this development

I say that because superconferences don't necessarily mean more teams. This isn't 2011 anymore where every conference was trying to best the next. If the SEC went to 14 or 16 teams, the Pac-12 would soon follow. But the SEC doesn't need to go to 16 teams. They can settle at their current 14. Likewise, the Pac-12 doesn't need to expand to include 16 teams just to placate its members. Unless the Big 12 dissolves, which seems unlikely now with this new deal and the possibility of a playoff, it's not like the conference has many options anyway to expand beyond their current 12 members. BYU? Hawaii? Boise? New Mexico? Don't hold your breath.

In all actuality, the term superconference might just mean a conference that dominates the college football landscape, regardless of how many members it has. If college football is on the verge of a playoff and its set up in a way where the system favors the four most successful BCS conferences, even without expansion, those conferences inherently become superconferences.

So, where does that leave every other conference? Well, if you're the Mountain West? Tough luck. If you're the Big East or ACC? You better hope beyond hope that somehow you're included.

Now, no one knows if this will pan out that way or if this is just speculative hysterics,but it is an interesting development that certainly suggests we're nowhere out of the woods yet when it comes to all this conference talk. Which is getting old, considering we've been going at this for two years now.

What we do know is that the new bowl game, as it is, will pit two teams from the Big 12 and SEC that didn't qualify for the playoff. So, as of now, the plan isn't to incorporate this bowl game into a true Final Four. But the speculation, and let me remind you that this is all just speculation, is that, down the road, after the playoff has been implemented, we'll use the Rose & this bowl game as the official Final Four and a spot in the title game. It does make sense if we're only looking at a four-team playoff, right? You get to preserve the nature of those bowl games, while also allowing the winner to advance to play for the championship.

It's not hard to see that scenario actually happening in the next decade or so.

Either way, we're in and that's all that matters. But it's interesting nonetheless.

Expectations for 2012: How many wins?

2012-05-17T05:52:34Z

We went over bowl games a couple days ago and most Ute fans feel the Utes are going to the Alamo Bowl. Surprisingly, 41% Utah fans believe the team will make some sort of BCS bowl game - whether the national title (6%), Rose Bowl (25%) or another BCS bowl entirely (10%). I think that might be a bit optimistic, however, I guess if Utah does go 10-2, they will have a legitimate shot at playing in either the Rose Bowl or another BCS bowl game.

So, we think Utah is either going to the Alamo or the BCS, with a small number, 19%, predicting, or expecting, the Holiday Bowl (full disclosure, that's the one I voted for). But how many wins will they have heading into their bowl game?

Utah's schedule is pretty favorable. Once again, they miss Oregon and Stanford and get USC at home. Even so, three of their conference losses last season (ASU, Washington & Colorado) are now road opponents, so, I wouldn't say anything is even remotely close to a given. Those three games, coupled with a trip to the Rose Bowl to play UCLA and Corvallis to take on Oregon State, will test this team. None of those games are sure-wins and expecting a loss at least once or twice on the road should be the level-headed answer here. But that's just me. I'm cautiously optimistic and believe this team can push 10 wins, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to expect it.

But what about you? What are you expecting?

Poll

Utah will finish the REGULAR SEASON...

Expectations - we all got 'em...

2012-05-15T04:40:51Z

I told you to soak up spring ball because once it was over, the time would drag. Well, it's dragging. We're only in May and I'm already dying for some football.

But I guess talking about football might help get through these next few days - especially when it comes to pumping up expectations.

We expect good things, right? How good, though? CFN predicts Utah to finish 10-2 and #13th nationally. A bit too positive, don't you think? Yeah, I really do think. But I'll take it! I like preseason buzz. It helps build excitement for the upcoming season (not that we really need a boost there). It might prove wrong, but in May, does it really matter?

So, knowing what you know - Jordan Wynn's health, Travis Wilson's leap during spring, Brian Johnson calling the offense, the overall schedule - how do you see this season going? Will Utah contend for the Pac-12 South or is it pretty much USC's for the taking? Can Utah get back to 10 wins or even make a run for a BCS bowl?

I don't think anyone knows. The reality is, the best case scenario is pretty sweet, but who knows if that's even attainable. The realistic outlook probably puts Utah 2nd or 3rd in the South and playing in either the Alamo or Holiday Bowl. Not bad, right? I'd take it.

Instead of asking you to spill your guts on everything from wins to points per game, let's start with just one question - what bowl game will Utah make?

Then we'll visit other expectations throughout the summer. Might help spark a conversation in what has proven to be a very dead period.

Who's the better coach - Bronco or Whitt?

2012-05-11T06:44:14Z

If you buy The Sporting News, it's Bronco Mendenhall.

I'm guessing most here would disagree. Is Mendenhall the 15th best coach in the nation, while Whittingham 21st - behind such coaches as Paul Johnson, Brian Kelly, Mike Leach and Mark Dantonio?

Personally, I think Whittingham deserves a top-fifteen ranking, not Bronco. That isn't to say Bronco isn't up there, he is, but almost every factor is in Whittingham's favor - from most recent game, to head-to-head, to undefeated seasons.

So, who's the better coach and where do you think, nationally, Whittingham should rank?

If I did a list, I'd probably flip Whittingham & Bronco.

Poll

And the best coach is...

Sporting News: Whittingham 4th best coach in the Pac-12

2012-05-08T20:14:00Z

The Sporting News has decided this spring that they're going to rank the coaches in every conference. Well, today, they finally got around to the Pac-12 and place Kyle Whittingham fourth on their list - behind Chip Kelly, Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin.

While the top coach is a no-brainer, as Kelly has easily proven himself one of the best coaches in the country, I am a bit perplexed why Leach is ranked 2nd. I think he's a very good coach, clearly, and he very well may grow into the 2nd best coach in the conference - but he's still not coached a game yet in the Pac-12. And while he had flashy offenses and exciting teams at Texas Tech, what has he done to be placed above Whittingham?

I guess that's my question. I think Leach is deserving of a high ranking, but I question placing him that high. He did do great in 2008, guiding the Red Raiders to an 11-2 season - but that's the only ten-win season he's ever had as a coach and his overall winning percentage, 66-percent, doesn't exactly have greatness written all over it.

I know, I know! But he did it in Lubbock! And if you've been to Lubbock, you'd know how difficult it is to pull in recruits and win there. I get that. I respect that. Hell, I agree with it. The fact he was able to sustain winning in Lubbock shows just how great of a coach he is and I'm not disputing that. He's a great coach and I expect he'll continue being a great coach in a similarly tough place to coach - Pullman, Washington.

Still, this is about besting Whittingham and I just don't see it. Whittingham has the better overall winning percentage, more ten-win seasons, a better bowl record and, more importantly, something that seems to be often ignored by many when compiling these lists, an undefeated season.

Whittingham's best season also came in 2008, when he guided Utah to perfection, a number two ranking nationally and a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. Leach, for all he's done, still could not get Texas Tech to a BCS bowl game and maybe that's solely because of where he coached and not necessarily about his skills. But, in the end, Whittingham has done it - Leach hasn't.

So, where do you come down on this debate? I think Whittingham is the second best coach in the conference and will probably put him there when I do my annual rankings later this season. I can, however, see the justification for putting Kiffin at number two based on what he did last year. But putting Leach above Whittingham seems to be done only because of this unreasonable legend status he attained in the wake of his firing at Texas Tech. I get it. Leach is a fun guy. He's awesome. He's great all around - but on resume, on wins and losses, bowl success, top-25 success, BCS success, none of that matters. At least, it shouldn't. There, plain old boring Whittingham wins.

Runnin' Utes wrap up class by signing Dakarai Tucker

2012-05-03T07:29:01Z

Utah basketball picked up another commitment yesterday, as guard Dakarai Tucker, who's out of Gardena, California, is expected to sign with this year's class. Tucker had offers from a slew of western programs, though most were either from the WAC or WCC (Saint Mary's - take that, Randy Bennett!, Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara and Nevada being those programs).

Tucker is now the fourth guard to sign with Utah, and completes what we can now call Larry Krystkowiak's first real class.

Are you impressed?

Goodnight WAC

2012-05-01T05:40:55Z

With Utah State and San Jose State on their way to the Mountain West soon, the WAC, which is one of the oldest continuous athletic conferences in the nation, is on its last breath. I'm sad to see that. While Utah hasn't been a member of the WAC since the 1998-'99 season, and since has joined two conferences (the Mountain West and then the Pac-12), it was still the conference that housed most my memories as a kid growing up. Most deal with basketball, though some are of the football variety.

I became a Utah fan in the 1990s, at the height, really, of the conference. It had expanded, too much so, as we later found out, in 1996, and it ultimately declined from there, forcing Utah, BYU and a slew of other programs to bolt the conference and form their own. But for a period, between the early-90s and until the end, the conference was pretty excellent. There were rivalries, great basketball, powerhouse football programs, and a sense of remarkable history. This was, after all, the conference that gave us some great BYU teams, a Utah basketball championship run that, unfortunately, ended in heartbreak, and exceptional consistency from Air Force and Colorado State on the football field.

Who could forget the Wacky WAC of the 80s and 90s? Before Boise State and Thursday and Friday night ESPN games, there was Utah and Colorado State battling it out in an epic 45-31 showdown on national television. The WAC was home to such potent offenses as LaVell Edwards' open-air, pass-happy touchdown machine down in Provo, the hard as nails to defend wishbone offense of Air Force in Colorado Springs, and the Joe Tiller spread 'em out, basketball on grass offense in Laramie, Wyoming. If you liked points, if you liked high-octane, no-defense, slap ya mama craziness, in the 90s, the WAC was for you. It was an exciting, revolutionary conference and though it was not necessarily as prestigious as its bigger and better brothers, it still offered a great show.

Forgive me, I can't help it that a bit of nostalgia is consuming me right now. It'd be like returning to your old neighborhood and finding out it's been leveled for an expressway. A lot of memories. A lot of good times. Like Utah's first win in Provo in 24 years, their first conference championship in three decades, and their first-ever ten-win season.

And that's just football! The height of Utah basketball, two Final Fours, one national championship game, top-25 rankings, Sweet Sixteens, legendary coaches - they all happened in the WAC. Jack Gardner roamed the sidelines, as did Bill Foster and Jerry Pimm. Of course, the legend himself, Rick Majerus, was the most successful basketball coach in WAC history - guiding the Runnin' Utes to seven conference titles, including a perfect conference season in 1999.

So, the conference Utah helped form in the 1960s appears to be on the verge of collapse. I find that sad. I know, I shouldn't, and we've moved on to bigger and better things. But I've always been taught to never forget where you came from and for this program, and the beginnings of my fanhood, that's the WAC. If you will, please bear with me, my heart is in the coffin there with the WAC, and I must pause till it come back to me.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite WAC moments...

KEITH VAN HORN (via KSL5Sports)