The 2014 season football thread

[crazyute]

I like Whittingham as an LB. I don't think he has the height, the weight, the strength, speed or quickness of Reilly.

Ianu really showed nothing this year and Dimick is a tough, hard working kid who is kind of a tweener. Not big enough to play inside and not quick enough to get a lot of pressure from the outside. i don't think we have a DT as good as Tenny. Ianu is probably equal to Heimuli and Seni is a step below LT.

well whittingham is a 6'2" 240 lbs. he has a great quick first step. with the talent we have coming in next year at LB getting the best 11 on the field might warrant this move. and was something that was looked at last spring and summer. unfortunately the injury that blechen went through forced him back. adding 10 lbs would make him plenty big enough. but with blechen, paul, norris, hale, and masina we have plenty of talent there to where whittingham can play the reilly role, LB/DE.

as for ianu it was a learning year. and he showed as much as LT did. and dimick while a tweener last year will add the 15-20 lbs to play DT and be very good inside. he played last year at 275.

[UTEopia]

We will be bowling next year, and everyone will be wanting to give Whitt a lifetime deal and worried about when DC is going to leave us high and dry with BJ again. Relax and get ready to enjoy it.

7-5 next year. We start out 5-1. BIG losing streak. Beat Arizona. Beat Colorado. 7-5. Win the Las Vegas Bowl over BYU, oddly enough, 54-10. 8-5, and Utah is back. Ute fans are happy once again.

Enjoy the offseason. We are finally a PAC-12 team and will start regaining our spot as a consistent winner.

I really do hope you are right. I am not a pessimist when it comes to the football program. I think we are slowly getting players in the program that we need to move in the right direction. However, I don't move guys from the unproven (limited game action without showing much) and unknown (no game action) into the they will be better than what we had last year category until they show it. We lose our best RB, our best OL and probably No. 3 as well, our top 3 defensive lineman, our best defensive player and our best defensive back. The guys behind these guys, with the exception of RB, are unknown or untested.

[Devildog]

I'll be honest...

We will be bowling next year, and everyone will be wanting to give Whitt a lifetime deal and worried about when DC is going to leave us high and dry with BJ again. Relax and get ready to enjoy it.

7-5 next year. We start out 5-1. BIG losing streak. Beat Arizona. Beat Colorado. 7-5. Win the Las Vegas Bowl over BYU, oddly enough, 54-10. 8-5, and Utah is back. Ute fans are happy once again.

Enjoy the offseason. We are finally a PAC-12 team and will start regaining our spot as a consistent winner.

The scenario you describe wouldn't be too bad. I just hope it's not delusional.

[Senioritis]

There's an amazing amount of pissiness in the Ute fanbase these days.

I would like to talk about Sagarin ratings, the virtue of winning, and figure out some kind of realistic expectation.

According to Sagarin, 2013 was Whittingham's fourth best team.

2013	34
2012	61
2011	39
2010	26
2009	24
2008	5
2007	34
2006	46
2005	51

Utah's average Sagarin during Whittingham's tenure is 35. Based on Sagarin, if Utah were still in the MWC (with TCU) they would have won 12 games in 2013, 9 games in 2012, and 9 games in 2011. Do you believe the fans who feel they deserve so much would be so full of pissiness, had Utah still been in the clutches of Craig Thompson's Aquanet?

When the Mighty Utes hearkened to Larry Scott's pleadings and reluctantly accepted the PAC 12's advances, the expectation among the clueless, yours truly included, was that Utah would continue the winning ways they had established in the MWC. Sure, there may be a little adjustment period, but, boy howdy, we are the Utes and we put on our pants one leg at a time like everybody else, but then we go out and win 10 games a year. That's just what we do, conference affiliation be damned.

Now, after three years of reality collectively cold cocking us in the specials, perhaps we are better prepared to answer the following multiple choice question:

Given the choice, do you prefer:

A. Winning, regardless of opponent
B. Opponent, regardless of winning

For a lot of noisy but very deserving and full of expectation Utah fans, it's more fun to win 10 games a year in the MWC than not win very much but play a bunch of freaking good teams in the PAC 12. It seems the majority think that winning is the thing, and we should be winning now like we were in the MWC, or at least not losing like Chuck Freaking Stobart is at the helm. I read the raging homerism at usufans.com, and I see the echoes of Utefans.net circa 2009. Fans like winning, and almost always don't really care about who their boys are beating as long as the beating is happening.

So, what can we realistically expect, with these three years haunting our collective psyche?

The fact is that the good Utah teams can compete near the top of the PAC 12, and that the conference can't possibly remain this freaking good all of the time. It will also be very uncommon for the Utes to challenge for the conference championship, over time we can expect about a .500 record overall, and expecting an average Sagarin rating better than 35 is, in my mind, not realistic. The years (like 2013 and 2012) where the PAC has 6 or 8 teams in the top 35, Utah's not going to fare all that well. There have been four of those years over the last nine. In another four, Utah would have done just fine (and did, in 2011), and in one, Utah would have challenged.

I'm a Whittingham guy, and will be until he's run out of town by fans who expect better and know that they deserve more than what they are getting. My trousers are Gorilla Glued to the Whittingham bandwagon.

Whittingham is who he is, and will continue to deliver what he always has. Is it enough?

[Applejack]

There's an amazing amount of pissiness in the Ute fanbase these days.

I would like to talk about Sagarin ratings, the virtue of winning, and figure out some kind of realistic expectation.

According to Sagarin, 2013 was Whittingham's fourth best team.

2013	34
2012	61
2011	39
2010	26
2009	24
2008	5
2007	34
2006	46
2005	51

Utah's average Sagarin during Whittingham's tenure is 35. Based on Sagarin, if Utah were still in the MWC (with TCU) they would have won 12 games in 2013, 9 games in 2012, and 9 games in 2011. Do you believe the fans who feel they deserve so much would be so full of pissiness, had Utah still been in the clutches of Craig Thompson's Aquanet?

When the Mighty Utes hearkened to Larry Scott's pleadings and reluctantly accepted the PAC 12's advances, the expectation among the clueless, yours truly included, was that Utah would continue the winning ways they had established in the MWC. Sure, there may be a little adjustment period, but, boy howdy, we are the Utes and we put on our pants one leg at a time like everybody else, but then we go out and win 10 games a year. That's just what we do, conference affiliation be damned.

Now, after three years of reality collectively cold cocking us in the specials, perhaps we are better prepared to answer the following multiple choice question:

Given the choice, do you prefer:

A. Winning, regardless of opponent
B. Opponent, regardless of winning

For a lot of noisy but very deserving and full of expectation Utah fans, it's more fun to win 10 games a year in the MWC than not win very much but play a bunch of freaking good teams in the PAC 12. It seems the majority think that winning is the thing, and we should be winning now like we were in the MWC, or at least not losing like Chuck Freaking Stobart is at the helm. I read the raging homerism at usufans.com, and I see the echoes of Utefans.net circa 2009. Fans like winning, and almost always don't really care about who their boys are beating as long as the beating is happening.

So, what can we realistically expect, with these three years haunting our collective psyche?

The fact is that the good Utah teams can compete near the top of the PAC 12, and that the conference can't possibly remain this freaking good all of the time. It will also be very uncommon for the Utes to challenge for the conference championship, over time we can expect about a .500 record overall, and expecting an average Sagarin rating better than 35 is, in my mind, not realistic. The years (like 2013 and 2012) where the PAC has 6 or 8 teams in the top 35, Utah's not going to fare all that well. There have been four of those years over the last nine. In another four, Utah would have done just fine (and did, in 2011), and in one, Utah would have challenged.

I'm a Whittingham guy, and will be until he's run out of town by fans who expect better and know that they deserve more than what they are getting. My trousers are Gorilla Glued to the Whittingham bandwagon.

Whittingham is who he is, and will continue to deliver what he always has. Is it enough?

A-freaking-men.

[SoCalPat]

If we can get our QB situation steadied, we will be a 7-win team at worst in 2014. And I believe we will.

[LA Ute]

There's an amazing amount of pissiness in the Ute fanbase these days.

I would like to talk about Sagarin ratings, the virtue of winning, and figure out some kind of realistic expectation.

According to Sagarin, 2013 was Whittingham's fourth best team.

2013	34
2012	61
2011	39
2010	26
2009	24
2008	5
2007	34
2006	46
2005	51

Utah's average Sagarin during Whittingham's tenure is 35. Based on Sagarin, if Utah were still in the MWC (with TCU) they would have won 12 games in 2013, 9 games in 2012, and 9 games in 2011. Do you believe the fans who feel they deserve so much would be so full of pissiness, had Utah still been in the clutches of Craig Thompson's Aquanet?

When the Mighty Utes hearkened to Larry Scott's pleadings and reluctantly accepted the PAC 12's advances, the expectation among the clueless, yours truly included, was that Utah would continue the winning ways they had established in the MWC. Sure, there may be a little adjustment period, but, boy howdy, we are the Utes and we put on our pants one leg at a time like everybody else, but then we go out and win 10 games a year. That's just what we do, conference affiliation be damned.

Now, after three years of reality collectively cold cocking us in the specials, perhaps we are better prepared to answer the following multiple choice question:

Given the choice, do you prefer:

A. Winning, regardless of opponent
B. Opponent, regardless of winning

For a lot of noisy but very deserving and full of expectation Utah fans, it's more fun to win 10 games a year in the MWC than not win very much but play a bunch of freaking good teams in the PAC 12. It seems the majority think that winning is the thing, and we should be winning now like we were in the MWC, or at least not losing like Chuck Freaking Stobart is at the helm. I read the raging homerism at usufans.com, and I see the echoes of Utefans.net circa 2009. Fans like winning, and almost always don't really care about who their boys are beating as long as the beating is happening.

So, what can we realistically expect, with these three years haunting our collective psyche?

The fact is that the good Utah teams can compete near the top of the PAC 12, and that the conference can't possibly remain this freaking good all of the time. It will also be very uncommon for the Utes to challenge for the conference championship, over time we can expect about a .500 record overall, and expecting an average Sagarin rating better than 35 is, in my mind, not realistic. The years (like 2013 and 2012) where the PAC has 6 or 8 teams in the top 35, Utah's not going to fare all that well. There have been four of those years over the last nine. In another four, Utah would have done just fine (and did, in 2011), and in one, Utah would have challenged.

I'm a Whittingham guy, and will be until he's run out of town by fans who expect better and know that they deserve more than what they are getting. My trousers are Gorilla Glued to the Whittingham bandwagon.

Whittingham is who he is, and will continue to deliver what he always has. Is it enough?

Post of the year so far. I do think our program can consistently be a top-quarter-of-the-PAC-12 program, but it will take a while to get there, if we ever do. I'm more optimistic about basketball becoming a perennial challenger relatively soon.

I think what Utah fans have to get used to is that being in the top half of the PAC-12 is a great ride, year after year. In the MWC we got too used to the idea that the only successful season was a conference championship season.

[DrumNFeather]

When the P12 network was showing highlights of the early season games leading into the interview with Whitt, it reminded me of how good Wilson was early. He played pretty well prior to the injuries. Sure, he had a few bonehead plays, but it feels like most of those were post injury-ies. Here's hoping we solve the QB problem for 2014 and beyond.

[Applejack]

When the P12 network was showing highlights of the early season games leading into the interview with Whitt, it reminded me of how good Wilson was early. He played pretty well prior to the injuries. Sure, he had a few bonehead plays, but it feels like most of those were post injury-ies. Here's hoping we solve the QB problem for 2014 and beyond.

I would love this to be the case, but I am really doubtful that we can fix our QB sitch (thanks instagram!) by next year.

1. Travis Wilson - I doubt he plays - no insiders have told me this, but this seems like a long time to go without knowing whether you will be starting for a Pac-12 team or hanging up the cleats.
2. Adam Schultz - I'm not a fan, even though he once threw for 3,000 yards in a scrimmage in 2009.
3. Conner Manning - I know nothing about him. From all indications he is next in line based on his practice and development last year. I just know how freshmen quarterbacks tend to do in BCS or whatever we now call "difficult" conferences.
4. Brandon Cox - He struggled learning the offense last year, as you would expect for a freshman. I doubt we ever see him take snaps in a game.
5. Donovan Isom - Many on here think he is a cross between Brian Johnson and Goliath, but true a true freshman taking snaps makes me have a Darnell Arecenaux flashback.
6. Micah Thomas - Is he a safety yet?

That's a lot of bodies, but they don't instill much confidence.

[Diehard Ute]

I would love this to be the case, but I am really doubtful that we can fix our QB sitch (thanks instagram!) by next year.

1. Travis Wilson - I doubt he plays - no insiders have told me this, but this seems like a long time to go without knowing whether you will be starting for a Pac-12 team or hanging up the cleats.
2. Adam Schultz - I'm not a fan, even though he once threw for 3,000 yards in a scrimmage in 2009.
3. Conner Manning - I know nothing about him. From all indications he is next in line based on his practice and development last year. I just know how freshmen quarterbacks tend to do in BCS or whatever we now call "difficult" conferences.
4. Brandon Cox - He struggled learning the offense last year, as you would expect for a freshman. I doubt we ever see him take snaps in a game.
5. Donovan Isom - Many on here think he is a cross between Brian Johnson and Goliath, but true a true freshman taking snaps makes me have a Darnell Arecenaux flashback.
6. Micah Thomas - Is he a safety yet?

That's a lot of bodies, but they don't instill much confidence.

Wilson is 50/50 as he's always been. There's just a formula for evaluation of his condition and it requires time between exams.

[Utah]

In response to Senioritis, I posted this on UFN:

I think Utah's goals should be this:

1 - Bowl game every year. This is very likely and possible considering the talent that is found in the state of Utah. Utah is the third best state in the West in putting kids into DI programs. If we win Utah, we should be eligible to go bowling. This last year was tough, as 4 of the top 5 left. If we get to bowl's I think more kids stay home.

2 - Out of every five years, end the season ranked 2 times. If we are going bowling every year, that means at least six wins every year. Oregon, Stanford, Washington, USC, ASU, and UCLA all finished ranked. The worst team was Washington and they had four losses and nine wins. I think that with the talent we have access to, we should get 9 wins twice every five years.

3 - Out of every five years, compete for the south once. This means with two weeks left, we have a chance to win the south division.

What this means, is that every 5 years (a full recruiting cycle) we should have records that look similar to this (including bowl games):

7-6 (6-6 regular season)
7-6 (7-5 regular season)
8-5
9-4
10-3

Once every 10 years play in the PAC-12 title game, and once every 20 years finish in the top 5 and play in the Rose Bowl.

[U-Ute]

1. Travis Wilson - I doubt he plays - no insiders have told me this, but this seems like a long time to go without knowing whether you will be starting for a Pac-12 team or hanging up the cleats.

My concern for Wilson is upstairs.

Even if he is cleared to play, when it's 4th down and two at the 35 and Wilson starts to scramble, don't you think it will be in the back of his head as he thinks about taking that strong safety head on?

As a parent, I would have a hard time encouraging my kid to continue unless I was absolutely certain that there would be no long term ramifications. I don't know if they can give that kind of assurance.

[Diehard Ute]

My concern for Wilson is upstairs.

Even if he is cleared to play, when it's 4th down and two at the 35 and Wilson starts to scramble, don't you think it will be in the back of his head as he thinks about taking that strong safety head on?

As a parent, I would have a hard time encouraging my kid to continue unless I was absolutely certain that there would be no long term ramifications. I don't know if they can give that kind of assurance.

In the end the decision is going to be his, however the doctors he has will tell him if there's any risk, or if he can play without worry.

University Healthcare has some of the best neurosurgeons in the world.

[Utah]

So, some guy on sportsnation came up with a power ranking of all the college football teams using the last five years. While it has huge limitations (namely Boise St being ranked so high, UCLA being ranked so low, etc) it's football and something to have a yawn about.

According to him, Utah is ranked #45.

Utah's opponents are ranked:

Fresno St - 46
Michigan - 23
Wash St - 73
UCLA - 15
OSU - 39
USC - 11
ASU - 28
OU - 3
Stanford - 6
Arizona - 34
Colorado - 96

I'd make three groups: The top 25 (losses), the next 25 (50/50 games) and the rest (should win). Here is how we stack out:

Top 25:

Michigan
UCLA
USC
OU
Stanford

The next 25 (50/50):

Fresno St
OSU
ASU
Arizona

The rest:

WSU
Colorado

Tough schedule. The only thing I would change is I think Michigan is a little high. They are 23 under this formula, and I don't think they are that good. I'd put them in the next 25 category for next year.

That means we should lose to:

USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon

I don't think anyone would argue with that. ALTHOUGH, we always seem to have a WTF win every year. So, I put us at 1-3 in those games.

The next 25 are:

Michigan, Fresno St, Oregon St, ASU, Arizona.

I think Utah wins Fresno St, Oregon St, and Arizona next year. I think ASU and Michigan are 50/50 games. It wouldn't shock me if they beat or lost to either team. So, worst case scenario, that puts us at 3-2 in that group. 4-5 overall.

The last group is WSU and Colorado. I think they win both games this next year. That puts our record at 6-5. Toss in an Idaho State University, and we are at 7-5. I think we win our bowl game and end the year at 8-5, which is a great year.

All of this hinges on Utah finding TWO QB's. If not, then we are headed to the cellar as a new coaching staff comes in, blows up the south pipeline and tries to unsuccessfully regain California. Then in three years, he is fired and hopefully after that we find a keeper (another reason that Whitt should get two more seasons).

http://www.footballstudyhall.com/201...rs-projections

[mpfunk]

So is Utah trying to land Kendal Thompson for the QB spot next year?

Announces he is graduating early and leaving on January 21, 2014.
http://m.newsok.com/oklahoma-footbal...rticle/3926003

Today he tweets that he is in Salt Lake City.
https://twitter.com/thurm405/status/434432644386803712

This could be the perfect bridge for the Utes to next season.

[Applejack]

So is Utah trying to land Kendal Thompson for the QB spot next year?

Announces he is graduating early and leaving on January 21, 2014.
http://m.newsok.com/oklahoma-footbal...rticle/3926003

Today he tweets that he is in Salt Lake City.
https://twitter.com/thurm405/status/434432644386803712

This could be the perfect bridge for the Utes to next season.

What is his story? After your post, I got excited and googled him. Looks like he didn't do much at OU and wasn't highly recruited out of high school (only offered by OU and Tulsa). I want a transfer QB in the worst way, but is this the right guy?

[SeattleUte]

So is Utah trying to land Kendal Thompson for the QB spot next year?

Announces he is graduating early and leaving on January 21, 2014.
http://m.newsok.com/oklahoma-footbal...rticle/3926003

Today he tweets that he is in Salt Lake City.
https://twitter.com/thurm405/status/434432644386803712

This could be the perfect bridge for the Utes to next season.

How do you know he's not visiting SLC for another reason?

[mpfunk]

What is his story? After your post, I got excited and googled him. Looks like he didn't do much at OU and wasn't highly recruited out of high school (only offered by OU and Tulsa). I want a transfer QB in the worst way, but is this the right guy?

Here is what Oklahoma reported as his recruiting out of high school.

Under Armour All-American ... four-star recruit by Tom Lemming's MaxPreps ... three-star recruit by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com ... played in just three games as a senior due to an injury in the season's second game ... completed 25-of-34 passes for 295 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in those three games while logging 42 rushing attempts for 237 yards and one TD ... completed 166 of 259 passes in 2009 for 2,793 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for 466 yards and 10 TDs ... as a sophomore in 2008, threw for 1,025 yards and 13 TDs with 76 completions on 148 attempts while rushing for 136 yards and one TD.

No. 14 quarterback (Rivals.com)
No. 17 quarterback (ESPN.com)
No. 21 combo quarterback (Tom Lemming's MaxPreps)
No. 2 player in Oklahoma (Rivals.com)
No. 2 player in Oklahoma (Scout.com)

[mpfunk]

How do you know he's not visiting SLC for another reason?

You are right, he might be visiting SLC for another reason. That is why I asked if Utah is trying to recruit him.

[jrj84105]

You are right, he might be visiting SLC for another reason. That is why I asked if Utah is trying to recruit him.

Dennis Erickson started following him on twitter after the transfer announcement, so I'd say, yes we're recruiting him.

[SoCalPat]

How do you know he's not visiting SLC for another reason?

Take it to the bank: we are recruiting him.

[concerned]

did we also try to recruit max Wittek, or was he prohibited from playing in conference free and clear even though he had graduated.

[Diehard Ute]

Of note Utah signed 3 of the recruits who are headed on missions because we had available signing spots for this year.

In that same release Kyle stated we have one more signing spot that they're holding for the "best available player"

[Applejack]

Hold on, SU is on to something here. What other reasons could bring him to Salt Lake? Does he ski? Does he love choral music? Is he a salt water taffy connoisseur?

[Utah]

What is his story? After your post, I got excited and googled him. Looks like he didn't do much at OU and wasn't highly recruited out of high school (only offered by OU and Tulsa). I want a transfer QB in the worst way, but is this the right guy?

Until we find the right guy, I want as many guys as possible.

[mpfunk]

Take it to the bank: we are recruiting him.

That certainly seems like the logical explanation for why he is in Salt Lake City for the weekend. Utah has need for a QB. QB is transferring and eligible to play the next year. QB is spending a weekend in Utah. QB has previously stated on his twitter account than he may head west to play. QB has no ties to Utah.

I think we can take it to the bank that Utah is recruiting, especially because they would be stupid to not recruit him.

[LA Ute]

The chatter I am getting is that this is pretty close to a done deal.

[UBlender]

Hold on, SU is on to something here. What other reasons could bring him to Salt Lake? Does he ski? Does he love choral music? Is he a salt water taffy connoisseur?

Possibly to catch a show at Hale Center Theatre, although I've been and there's nothing worthwhile there.

[DrumNFeather]

Is Tommy Grady showing him around town?

[LA Ute]

I love the fact that we are recruiting him. If Wilson does not return, we are very thin and inexperienced at quarterback. I'd much rather see excessive pessimism about the future than the kind of optimism that saw us hoping that Jordan Wynn would return injury free and stay that way. As they say, hope for the best, plan for the worst.