Firstly, I'd rank these not solely on national prominence or it would be USC, UW, Stan, UCLA, etc.
My ranking considers: November play, Division play, recruiting, who's favored,ect..
12) ND- This is pretty obvious. Nice game to get the young dudes going. I suspect that Kyle and Co will be super vanilla.
11) SJST- I like that this game is the last of the non-conference. Shouldn't be such an emotional game and we can get the younger guys more time to gel before the conference.
10)Zona- I am sure we all were shocked last year after the first play. I thought not again... We need to put the death knell on R-Rod. If they pull out a win vs Houston they could 3-0, which would make the win look better than it is because they are going to nose dive in conference play.
9) Stanford- Perhaps this seems like selling Stanford short, but they aren't in our division and I've never heard it's between Utah and Stanford for recruit X. They are definitely a top 3 or 4 team we'll play in 2017. I really like our chances in this game but I don't think it makes the season.
8) UW- I'll be at this game! This is going to be a tough win. If the Utes were to pull it off it would perhaps be the best win of the year. I know they're the 2nd best team we'll play but I rank the meat of the schedule above a long shot win. Imagine the season we'd have if we beat #s 2-7.
7) BYU- Based on the Byu threads there are going to be 10k people upset they'd be so high (and behind superior teams like UW & Stanford). Hear me out. We do recruit against them and we play some really good teams this yr. This win is important. We can end the narrative that Kalani is the savior of the Y with 3 or 4 more head to head wins. They'll literally have nothing to say. Bronco blamers will shift to Kalani.
6) Wazzu- They have a top QB and we can't underestimate them. I like that we get them in RES and I hope Kyle has the team rewatch the game last time we played in RES 10x. November game.
5) Colorado- We all agree they'll take a step back but how far? I'd like Utah to help bring them back to earth. We cannot afford for buffs to rise up. I was in Boulder last yr and it was awful to see the RISE IS REAL shirts. South wins are premium and we must finish strong. November game.
4) Oregon- Go rewatch "the replay" if you disagree. I also think our uptick in recruiting has put us against them more than ever.
3) ASU- Just ask the Mods how many questions they got about recruits with regard to ASU. They are the next step IMO. We need to continually surpass them in recruiting and wins. Head to Head matters.
2) UCLA- It's the first game in November. I don't want a bad game to set the tone for the month. We need to hold serve and get em at home.
1) USC- easy pick I know. I was tempted to push it back further because we aren't expected to win and we'll never be SC but... I hate that narrative. I think most coaches and plays will have this game circled as number one. If we can steal this one in LA it would be huge.
This is just my take.
My ranking considers: November play, Division play, recruiting, who's favored,ect..
12) ND- This is pretty obvious. Nice game to get the young dudes going. I suspect that Kyle and Co will be super vanilla.
11) SJST- I like that this game is the last of the non-conference. Shouldn't be such an emotional game and we can get the younger guys more time to gel before the conference.
10)Zona- I am sure we all were shocked last year after the first play. I thought not again... We need to put the death knell on R-Rod. If they pull out a win vs Houston they could 3-0, which would make the win look better than it is because they are going to nose dive in conference play.
9) Stanford- Perhaps this seems like selling Stanford short, but they aren't in our division and I've never heard it's between Utah and Stanford for recruit X. They are definitely a top 3 or 4 team we'll play in 2017. I really like our chances in this game but I don't think it makes the season.
8) UW- I'll be at this game! This is going to be a tough win. If the Utes were to pull it off it would perhaps be the best win of the year. I know they're the 2nd best team we'll play but I rank the meat of the schedule above a long shot win. Imagine the season we'd have if we beat #s 2-7.
7) BYU- Based on the Byu threads there are going to be 10k people upset they'd be so high (and behind superior teams like UW & Stanford). Hear me out. We do recruit against them and we play some really good teams this yr. This win is important. We can end the narrative that Kalani is the savior of the Y with 3 or 4 more head to head wins. They'll literally have nothing to say. Bronco blamers will shift to Kalani.
6) Wazzu- They have a top QB and we can't underestimate them. I like that we get them in RES and I hope Kyle has the team rewatch the game last time we played in RES 10x. November game.
5) Colorado- We all agree they'll take a step back but how far? I'd like Utah to help bring them back to earth. We cannot afford for buffs to rise up. I was in Boulder last yr and it was awful to see the RISE IS REAL shirts. South wins are premium and we must finish strong. November game.
4) Oregon- Go rewatch "the replay" if you disagree. I also think our uptick in recruiting has put us against them more than ever.
3) ASU- Just ask the Mods how many questions they got about recruits with regard to ASU. They are the next step IMO. We need to continually surpass them in recruiting and wins. Head to Head matters.
2) UCLA- It's the first game in November. I don't want a bad game to set the tone for the month. We need to hold serve and get em at home.
1) USC- easy pick I know. I was tempted to push it back further because we aren't expected to win and we'll never be SC but... I hate that narrative. I think most coaches and plays will have this game circled as number one. If we can steal this one in LA it would be huge.
This is just my take.
