Utah got a clean sweep on the predictions, but they also had a great clip of Whittingham talking to the team saying confidently…

“Anytime it’s a street fight, my money is always on you guys.”

The Utah G.O.A.T. is a badass. He’s a treasure.

Utah Athletics is holding a NIL Roundtable discussion tomorrow. Even though we got a late start raising money for NIL, we have finally recognized that it is an important factor in our success going forward. A few weeks ago Whitt said that in the future if you line up the top 25 programs from a ratings standpoint and the top 25 programs from a NIL standpoint, you would see the same 25 names.

Many have made the same comparison between the top 25 from a ratings standpoint and the top 25 from a recruiting standpoint. While we have not been able to crack the top 25 in recruiting, we have improved steadily as we are now hovering in the low 30s. It appears that recruiting and NIL money are converging such that we will not be able to improve any further, or even hold our current position unless we can create a significant NIL fund.

I hope that some of you will attend the roundtable and bring your best ideas along with your checkbooks. I plan to.

Here’s Dustin’s deep-dive into Oregon:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/inside-the-numbers-oregon-4

Micah Beckstead is a beast of a RB (5-foot-11 and 206 pounds). He just got the T-Birds on the board in the championship game. He’s a PWO that could end up needing a scholarship.

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Let’s get this thing rollin’… Who is Utah’s starting five:
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Joseph talks about Utah’s sudden defensive improvement this week:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/statistically-speaking-utah-at-oregon-2

In both polls and Oregon State checks in at 25 in the AP, 27 in the coaches.

Is it possible that the PAC 12 is the second strongest conference this season? AND it Is it also possible that we miss out on the playoffs again I spite of that? SC is the last hope for a playoff berth and it might make me sick to see them in it.

A win against Oregon on Saturday might guarantee a NY6 game, either the Rose Bowl if we win the CCG or lose to SC and they go to the playoff or the Cotton Bowl if we lose to SC and they don't go to the Playoff.

Here’s Sean Oregon preview:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/opponent-preview-oregon-11

Can someone enlighten me on how to regurgitate the game ticket from last weekend to use for the free haircut? I thought I'd be able to pull it up or something but can't seem to figure that one out.

Do you buy this or or think it’s a bluff? Regardless, I want Utah to beat them at their best.

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Utah is beating Oregon this Saturday. CCG here we come!!!!!

Notice how I didn’t call him “2025 Utah commit.” Smith announced a commitment to Utah over the summer — he’s a tremendous talent — but it caught Utah off-guard with him committing. It was a young kid getting excited about an early offer. Additionally, Utah is very careful with how they offer kids early. Because of this, I was initially told, they’d love to have him but that was tough to consider it a commitment.

This tweet is no surprise. Also, I do believe Smith she he says Utah remains a top choice…

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We should address the speculation on Tweets such as these. Is there a chance that this could be his last year, yes. Does that mean it’s a certainty, no.

Both current players and recruits have all known of this as a possibility, and been reassured that there is a firm transitional plan in the event he does retire, but he will still be very actively involved in the program, albeit not formally with the head coach title. That said, he deserves to go out when he decides he wants to. And that very well may leverage on going out on a high note or not. So regardless of peoples opinions, nobody knows for sure and won’t until after the season.

Halie answers last week’s questions and looks ahead to Oregon:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/burning-questions-utes-head-into-week-11

Between Brian Johnson, Britain Covey Javelin Guidry, and Blair, that’s a good team to root for…

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Here’s Dustin’s in-depth look at the Utes’ numbers against Stanford…

https://utah.rivals.com/news/inside-the-numbers-utah-s-pff-grades-vs-stanford

For anyone who knows, I'd love to 1) get a list of the players who walked that still have remaining eligibility, and 2) your thoughts on whether or not they are coming back. Thanks.

Finally, it's basketball season. Looking forward to year 2 under Craig Smith and a revamped roster.

My projected starters
C Branden Carlson
PF Ben Carlson
SF Marco Anthony
SG Lazar Stefanovich
PG Rollie Wooster

Gabe Madsen first wing off the bench
Bostyn Holt first front court sub
Mike Saunders will get plenty of time at PG
Keita, Exacte and Gavin Baxter will also play.

Looking forward to seeing what we have in Ben Carlson, Bostyn Holt and Mike Saunders. Interested to see how Gabe Madsen and Stefanovich perform in year two and how Keita and Exacte grow as the season goes along.

Doesn't look like a great shooting team outside of Gabe. But we have better size, athleticism, experience and depth than last year.

Here are the takeaways from the Idaho State game:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/takeaways-carlson-leads-utah-past-idaho-state

Let’s get this thing rollin’… Same starting five tonight.

-Whittingham opened with talking about the awful Virginia tragedy and the sad passing of the Utah fan on the stands from Saturday.

-Not counting the last drive, they scored on 6 of their last 7 drives

-Called Autzen Stadium a crucible. A tough and loud place to play.

-Oregon is doing a really good job in a ton of categories on offense.

-“If you’re not playing in pressure games, you’re irrelevant.”

-Not counting the shortened COVID year, Utah has been in the thick of the conference race and playing great football deep into November for four straight years. It speaks to the talent that they’ve developed as well as the jobs the assistants are doing.

-Called Harding one of the top OL coaches in the country at any level. The fact he had their third-string Faaiu ready without missing a beat, speaks volumes to how he prepares his guys. They hope to have at least one of Maile or Maea back for Oregon.

-He’s pleased with Tavion and hopes they get that same effort from him this week.

-He’s really happy with how the team has evolved and developed throughout the year. Says that by now you know who teams are.

-They don’t go completely off of analytics, it’s more of a feel thing, especially on 4th down.

-They were careful with the reps they gave Dalton because he’s not 100% yet, but he’s getting a lot better.

-The Pac-12 has a tradition of cannibalizing itself and this year is no different.

-The need to put the best QB room together that they can, if Cam indeed leaves. They’ll do what’s best for the room if it leads to the portal. He’s really pleased with Barnes, intrigued by Johnson, and Brandon Rose is developing really well and growing every week with the scout team.

-It’s been a big benefit to see that the stage isn’t too big for Nate Johnson. He’s also lightning quick.

-During the season, the focus is the team. After the season the focus is the player. They’ll help the guys weigh if they can improve their stock by coming back or if it is time to go and capitalize on their success. If scout or GM evaluations say for them to come back, they warn the players what to be prepared for and and hope they come back. It has to be their decision, because you’d hate to see them come back and get injured. There’s also the aspect with NIL of, “Can I make more staying than if I could as a free agent.” He mentioned the odds of sticking as a free agent are a longshot.

-The biggest reason for the defensive improvement is how the guys have come of age throughout the course of the season.

Ughhhhhh… never good. My heart breaks for the university…

https://richmond.com/news/state-and...cle_207a7095-51d9-5aad-afd9-003409653d3f.html

For those that want to read my recap from the Stanford side. I really had a lot of fun at my first ever Utah game!