I’m conflicted.
Let me start over.
I’m conflicted today more than usual. [Note to self: may need to get the doc to adjust the meds]
While I love basking in the limelight as much as the next guy, and while I also realize it comes with the territory of a historic road win, I have to recognize that the media’s current attention on the Utes (e.g., Pat Forde’s playoff bracket http://utah.forums.rivals.com/threads/pat-fordes-fab-four-for-cfp.6296/) is heading for a destination I detest. The media today is always looking for the next big thing to sensationalize and to hash and re-hash ad-museum until the next “big” story breaks. Right now, the Utes appear to be that next big thing.
What tears at me is the media attention is, obviously, a huge shot in the arm for recruiting. We all know that there’s no substitute for glitz and pub when dealing with 16 and 17-year-old kids for whom image is far too often everything. That shot in the arm couldn't come at a better time. Additionally, I believe Ute fans, especially those in Utah who were on the frontlines for the BYU Hail-Hail-Mary-Mary-palooza probably need this as much for their collective psyche as the football program needs it for recruiting.
Still, I’ve got a gnawing voice inside my head asking, “Is it too soon?” We’re only at the quarter mark of the season. Relative to teams on the back-end the schedule both Michigan and Oregon are flawed, Michigan maybe less so . . . now. Sure, Utah's probably improved as much as Michigan has, so I'm not discounting the opening day win. Still. . . .
I think an appropriate comparison is Mississippi State 2014. It was the Bulldog’s week four win at LSU that really put them on the front pages. They had a bye week following the LSU win and then faced two teams with good offenses and suspect defenses (TAMU, Auburn). Eventually, the grind of the schedule caught up with them. While they survived a slugfest against Arkansas, they fell the next week at Alabama. If it weren’t for home dates against UT Martin and Vanderbilt, things could have tail-spinned out of control. Disregarding those wins, double-digit losses in the Egg Bowl and the Capital One Bowl (Ga Tech) exposed MSU for what they were: a nice story; a quality team; but not a playoff contender.
Utah has no UT Martin, nor does it have the double bye week that MSU had. Perhaps Oregon State is our Vanderbilt, but the rest of the Utah schedule is brutal, perhaps more so than MSU’s. Utah has a slew of teams with talented QBs, perhaps even two, maybe three, eventual first-round draft choices (Goff, Kessler, Rosen). Outside of CAL and maybe CU . . . maybe the Beavs . . . the teams remaining on the schedule don’t have defenses made of paper mache and duck pâté.
Saturday was a huge step forward for the offense. And Wilson’s confidence. If they can build upon that performance with a good outing against another suspect defense in CAL, then I think we have a good shot with getting Wristband Graham to rethink his blitz-at-all-cost strategy. It’d be awesome to put that ASU fork where the sun don’t shine. But then things get interesting with (1) the trip to USC, (2) the back-to-back road games (UW, UofA), (3) UCLA and (4) the pesky Buffs. Does Utah have enough depth and quarterbacking to run that gauntlet without being maimed once or twice?
At this point, if someone utters the adjective “special” the following noun had better be “sauce”. Saturday’s win certainly was “special”, but the seasons really only just begun.
Let me start over.
I’m conflicted today more than usual. [Note to self: may need to get the doc to adjust the meds]
While I love basking in the limelight as much as the next guy, and while I also realize it comes with the territory of a historic road win, I have to recognize that the media’s current attention on the Utes (e.g., Pat Forde’s playoff bracket http://utah.forums.rivals.com/threads/pat-fordes-fab-four-for-cfp.6296/) is heading for a destination I detest. The media today is always looking for the next big thing to sensationalize and to hash and re-hash ad-museum until the next “big” story breaks. Right now, the Utes appear to be that next big thing.
What tears at me is the media attention is, obviously, a huge shot in the arm for recruiting. We all know that there’s no substitute for glitz and pub when dealing with 16 and 17-year-old kids for whom image is far too often everything. That shot in the arm couldn't come at a better time. Additionally, I believe Ute fans, especially those in Utah who were on the frontlines for the BYU Hail-Hail-Mary-Mary-palooza probably need this as much for their collective psyche as the football program needs it for recruiting.
Still, I’ve got a gnawing voice inside my head asking, “Is it too soon?” We’re only at the quarter mark of the season. Relative to teams on the back-end the schedule both Michigan and Oregon are flawed, Michigan maybe less so . . . now. Sure, Utah's probably improved as much as Michigan has, so I'm not discounting the opening day win. Still. . . .
I think an appropriate comparison is Mississippi State 2014. It was the Bulldog’s week four win at LSU that really put them on the front pages. They had a bye week following the LSU win and then faced two teams with good offenses and suspect defenses (TAMU, Auburn). Eventually, the grind of the schedule caught up with them. While they survived a slugfest against Arkansas, they fell the next week at Alabama. If it weren’t for home dates against UT Martin and Vanderbilt, things could have tail-spinned out of control. Disregarding those wins, double-digit losses in the Egg Bowl and the Capital One Bowl (Ga Tech) exposed MSU for what they were: a nice story; a quality team; but not a playoff contender.
Utah has no UT Martin, nor does it have the double bye week that MSU had. Perhaps Oregon State is our Vanderbilt, but the rest of the Utah schedule is brutal, perhaps more so than MSU’s. Utah has a slew of teams with talented QBs, perhaps even two, maybe three, eventual first-round draft choices (Goff, Kessler, Rosen). Outside of CAL and maybe CU . . . maybe the Beavs . . . the teams remaining on the schedule don’t have defenses made of paper mache and duck pâté.
Saturday was a huge step forward for the offense. And Wilson’s confidence. If they can build upon that performance with a good outing against another suspect defense in CAL, then I think we have a good shot with getting Wristband Graham to rethink his blitz-at-all-cost strategy. It’d be awesome to put that ASU fork where the sun don’t shine. But then things get interesting with (1) the trip to USC, (2) the back-to-back road games (UW, UofA), (3) UCLA and (4) the pesky Buffs. Does Utah have enough depth and quarterbacking to run that gauntlet without being maimed once or twice?
At this point, if someone utters the adjective “special” the following noun had better be “sauce”. Saturday’s win certainly was “special”, but the seasons really only just begun.
