And I'd add that where this team is right now isn't a sign of being mediocre anyway.Originally Posted by LA Ute
You'd think we got blown out the way some fans are acting. I'd always rather win. But I'm not naive enough to pretend we should expect to win every tough road game either.
Do you think anyone here sees it that way?
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Agreed, this is actually a very good Utah team. I was joking with friends yesterday that it would have been better to get beat by 20 then lose how we did because then fans might give ASU some credit for making us look 'bad'. I'll just say I'm glad that a lot of Ute fans don't have their finger on the nuke button, because a slight wind change might trigger them to blow it all up.
I've seen a few posts where people said, "I expected us to be at..." or "We're still exceeding my preseason expectations."
I don't think we should judge every week by the record we expected the Utes to have in the preseason.
If the Utes have a 4th quarter lead and lose in OT after missing a 35 yard fg, with only 57 yards passing for the entire game, and only 8 pass attempts in the entire second half and OT combined, that is disappointing to me.
I don't care how good ASU is or what the preseason expectations were. The Utes were 1 play away from winning and securing sole possession of first place in the south. Coming up short is incredibly disappointing.
I am absolutely enjoying the ups and downs of this season. This team is intriguing, and exciting, and frustrating. This is why we enjoy sports. There are 4 games left and so much could happen - good and bad. I hope for the good and believe that we can find success.
Bingo. I've been to the Fiesta and Sugar bowls. I've also been to the Armed Forces Bowl as well. And I know that Arizona has never been in the Rose Bowl and that Cal hasn't been in it in nearly 60 years.
So when the opportunity is there for a special season and it passes by the wayside, saying we're 6-2 is nice but doesn't change the fact that we're two points from being undefeated and in the top 10. If Oregon beats us, I hope they do it decisively so I can get off this kick that were somehow an exceptional team that was thisclose from doing something special.
The loss Saturday was a rip your heart out of your chest and watch it beat the last few beats kind of loss. And exactly because of what a win would have meant for the season's finish. We would have had a strangle hold on the division with wins over the preseason top 3.
That said, I don't think we are quite a division winning team yet. I picked 8-4 to start the season. I think 9-3 is well within reason at this point.
Oregon is going to be tough, but we have more than a punches chance at home.
Stanford is a perfect match for us, one of the few teams that we have superior athletes, our defense is going to shut them down (they kick 3 field goals against us).
Arizona? I don't get why so many fans can't look at this team objectively. Our defense is far superior to UCLA'S and the Bruins just held them to 7 and shut them out in the second half. Booker is going to dominate the 3-3-5. He is going to get to the second level all game long. Their secondary is going to refuse to tackke him by the end of the game. At home, we are going to win going away.
Finish this year strong and next year begins with us ranked in the top 15, with a favorable home slate. If we can get just average passing production, we will be in the conference and national race from start to finish.
Like.
http://www.utahby5.com/showthread.ph...3585#post43585
It's true. We are playing with house money. Recognition of that fact seems to be off-putting to some. I think they are confusing it with an admission of defeat or a complacency or something. You still want to win even when you are playing with house money. You still like gravy even though turkey is good on its own.
Winning out is a possibility for us. So is losing out. I'm afraid of what I would have to read here and elsewhere if we lose out.
I would not be content with losing out. Hill is sharpening his blade to plunge into Kyle's back if we end up 6-7.
Really? This year is a two-edged sword. We are showing that we can be competitive and are not at a permanent, institutional disadvantage that cant be overcome.
As one in the gambling biz, I love it when people play with house money. They end up giving it all back to us (and usually then some) because they haven't changed their expectations. There's also a sense of remorse that they didn't get up and walk. Being afraid of what will be said if we lose out shouldn't be off-putting to you for the same reasons you believe we're playing with house money. Breaking even is breaking even, isn't it?
I know our fanbase too well. The clamor for Kyle's head will be significant if we don't win another game this year.
(I personally don't think it will happen, but I didn't dream we'd lose 5 straight after beating Stanford last year, either)
Fans are already passively calling his head for getting us into an OT away loss against a top 15 team.
To me, "how" we win/lose is also a meaningful data-point.
I don't see how any of this matters. We're all staying up late to watch games. We all want Utah to win. We all hate losing. To be honest, I don't know what I will feel like if we finish 6-7.
I do know that I told myself that this season was about getting to a bowl game, and we are there. So that's at least something.
My goal for the Utes (now that we are BOWLING!) is to finish with a winning record in the PAC. That involves (a) taking care of business in Boulder and (b) knocking off yet another ranked team. Or Stanford. Finishing 5-4 in the PAC with our schedule (not to mention the Wazzu egg) would be thrilling.
I know that for some that is loser talk - we should instead be discussing how we will celebrate when we shutout Oregon this week - but if you can't recognize 8-4 (5-4 in conference) as a wildly successful season, you are going to be very disappointed during your lifetime.
My goal is to finish the season 12-2 winning the Fiesta Bowl.
"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla
I won't be calling for Whittingham's head no matter what happens the rest of the way. We are bowl eligible and that gets him to next season. If he does 7-5 or 6-6, I think it is time to hold off talking extension for now.
So I said to David Eckstein, "You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
--fjm.com
There are no gimmes left, we could easily win out but being a Ute fans I have that feeling like maybe we used up all of our positive Karma on 3 wins in a row and we'll somehow end at 6-6.
That being said here are my bold predictions, written down so you can all mock me for them:
Oregon W
Stanford W
AZ L
CO W - barely, possibly an L
I think this is the type of team to come out pissed about the ASU loss and surprise Oregon... and by virtue of that also knock the PAC12 out of the playoffs, earning us the ire of the PAC12 (but who cares about that). Stanford I think we match up well, will be able to exploit this despite this being a game likely circled by Stanford since the summer.
Riding high after those two wins we'll somehow lay an egg against AZ after our defense spends a lot of time out on the field.
CO seems to have our number each year, never the blowout it should be.
Also, I love that we are FINALLY doing stuff like this:
How the hell does UCLA end up on this list?
The 10 best student sections in college football
I didn't notice any student section when I was at the UCLA game this year.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Their justification seemed to be "they gained ticket sales while everyone else is losing them".
This Auburn-aTm game has been amazing. Two Auburn fumbles in the final 2-3 minutes of the game are going to cost them the game and their playoff hopes. The game-sealing fumble was just a bonehead mistake -- a premature snap. Wow.
Last edited by LA Ute; 11-08-2014 at 05:29 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Fire Mahlzan!!
Right! Obviously he's doing a poor job of making his players error-free.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Games of the week:
ECU @ Cincy - first place in AAC at stake
Cal @ USC
Auburn @ UGa. 5 days ago, this looked like the undercard for game of the week. Now it's an afterthought.
OSU @ Minnesota. Yes, the gopher is 7-2.
MSU @ Bama. Game of the week. The last two SEC teams with fewer than 2 losses.
UW @ Arizona. I'd really like Utah to finish 3rd in the south. Go Huskies.
Nebraska @ Wisconsin.
Missouri @ A&M. Tigers, Bulldogs, and Gators fighting for the SEC east title and a chance to spoil someone's playoff hopes.
FSU @ Miami.
ASU @ OSU. Please someone wake up Sean Mannion.
One ESPN Projection has The U squaring of against....The U!
http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls/projections
whoa.jpg
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
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