A MWC team could win national title next season
There is a MWC team set up perfectly to make a run at the national championship next season, and no, it isn't Utah. As many of you probably saw, BYU is playing Oklahoma Sept. 5 in Dallas.
Winning that game would do more for the Cougars than winning at Michigan did for the Utes, especially if Sam Bradford returns as Oklahoma's QB and the Sooners have a high ranking. Utah caught the nation's attention with the win at Michigan, even though the excitement of that win was somewhat lessened as it became evident the Wolverines were going to struggle.
If the Cougars beat the Sooners, follow it up with another win over a nationally respected program in FSU and go undefeated, the Cougars are going to be in line to play for the national title. What they'll have is something the Utes didn't, the known strength of their conference.
Until this season, the MWC was looked at on a par with the WAC, maybe even a little below considering Hawaii and Boise State were the more recent BCS busters, but after this season, in which the MWC went 6-1 vs. the Pac-10 and TCU and Utah won their bowl games, the strength of the MWC is more of a known factor. I don't see how the voters could keep an undefeated BYU team out of the championship game.
What about the Utes' chances? Utah's non-conference schedule next season is Utah State (Sept. 5), at San Jose State (Sept. 12), at Oregon (Sept. 19) and Louisville (Sept. 26). It isn't as glamorous as BYU's but with the furor over the Utes this season, no way would they be kept out of the title game if they went undefeated.
However, it would be a little too much of the Utes to expect back-to-back seasons, wouldn't it? Utah's defense is going to be solid, but the offense loses its top receivers (Brent Casteel, Bradon Godfrey and Freddie Brown) and quarterback Brian Johnson, plus its coordinators.
I wouldn't even be surprised if the Cougars might even be ranked higher than Utah, again, in the preseason rankings. All the changeover with the Utes may make voters hesitant to rank the Utes higher than the Cougars. The Utes probably wouldn't mind, they seem to thrive as underdogs.
This week's Sports Illustrated, which is released today, talks about Utah and why it should be considered for the national title. Here is an excerpt from Phil Taylor's article:
One thing that's certain about this bowl season is that it will not
provide a satisfactory answer, not even after Florida and Oklahoma
settle the BCS championship on Thursday in Miami. The Gators or the
Sooners will be one-loss champions, and it will hardly be fair to say
that either one is better than USC (12-1), which devastated Penn
State in the first half and cruised the rest of the way, or
undefeated Utah (13-0), which shocked Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl
last Friday night. No matter the outcome of the title game, there
will be at least two other teams-three, if Texas (11-1) defeats Ohio
State in the Fiesta Bowl, which was played on Monday night after SI
went to press-who will have every right to ask exactly what makes
Florida or Oklahoma a more deserving champion than they are.
The bowls did expose the other undefeated team (Boise State lost to
TCU 17-16 in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23), and they trampled any
claims to the crown that Texas Tech might have had as Mississippi
beat the Red Raiders 47-34 in the Cotton Bowl, but they strengthened
the cases of the Trojans and the Utes. USC's fatal flaw was its 27-21
loss to then 1-2 Oregon State in Corvallis on Sept. 25 and the
perceived weakness of the rest of the Pac-10. But Oregon State
finished 9-4, including a Sun Bowl victory (albeit an uninspiring 3-0
decision) over Pittsburgh. As for the supposedly lightweight Pac-10,
the conference's teams went 5-0 in the bowl season, with wins over
teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, Big East and Mountain West
Conference. Suddenly the Trojans' clunker in Corvallis doesn't look
nearly so damning.
Utah, of course, had no losses to overcome, just the relatively low
profile of its league, the Mountain West. How seriously could the
Utes be taken, the pre-Sugar Bowl wisdom held, when their biggest
victories came against Oregon State, BYU and TCU? But the win over
Alabama, which was ranked No. 1 for five weeks and was undefeated
until it lost to Florida in the SEC championship game, makes the
Utes' spotless record much harder to dismiss. "I think people get
caught up looking at the athletes and the glamour of the name that a
program carries," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "But there's a
reason why you play the game."
Winning that game would do more for the Cougars than winning at Michigan did for the Utes, especially if Sam Bradford returns as Oklahoma's QB and the Sooners have a high ranking. Utah caught the nation's attention with the win at Michigan, even though the excitement of that win was somewhat lessened as it became evident the Wolverines were going to struggle.
If the Cougars beat the Sooners, follow it up with another win over a nationally respected program in FSU and go undefeated, the Cougars are going to be in line to play for the national title. What they'll have is something the Utes didn't, the known strength of their conference.
Until this season, the MWC was looked at on a par with the WAC, maybe even a little below considering Hawaii and Boise State were the more recent BCS busters, but after this season, in which the MWC went 6-1 vs. the Pac-10 and TCU and Utah won their bowl games, the strength of the MWC is more of a known factor. I don't see how the voters could keep an undefeated BYU team out of the championship game.
What about the Utes' chances? Utah's non-conference schedule next season is Utah State (Sept. 5), at San Jose State (Sept. 12), at Oregon (Sept. 19) and Louisville (Sept. 26). It isn't as glamorous as BYU's but with the furor over the Utes this season, no way would they be kept out of the title game if they went undefeated.
However, it would be a little too much of the Utes to expect back-to-back seasons, wouldn't it? Utah's defense is going to be solid, but the offense loses its top receivers (Brent Casteel, Bradon Godfrey and Freddie Brown) and quarterback Brian Johnson, plus its coordinators.
I wouldn't even be surprised if the Cougars might even be ranked higher than Utah, again, in the preseason rankings. All the changeover with the Utes may make voters hesitant to rank the Utes higher than the Cougars. The Utes probably wouldn't mind, they seem to thrive as underdogs.
This week's Sports Illustrated, which is released today, talks about Utah and why it should be considered for the national title. Here is an excerpt from Phil Taylor's article:
One thing that's certain about this bowl season is that it will not
provide a satisfactory answer, not even after Florida and Oklahoma
settle the BCS championship on Thursday in Miami. The Gators or the
Sooners will be one-loss champions, and it will hardly be fair to say
that either one is better than USC (12-1), which devastated Penn
State in the first half and cruised the rest of the way, or
undefeated Utah (13-0), which shocked Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl
last Friday night. No matter the outcome of the title game, there
will be at least two other teams-three, if Texas (11-1) defeats Ohio
State in the Fiesta Bowl, which was played on Monday night after SI
went to press-who will have every right to ask exactly what makes
Florida or Oklahoma a more deserving champion than they are.
The bowls did expose the other undefeated team (Boise State lost to
TCU 17-16 in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23), and they trampled any
claims to the crown that Texas Tech might have had as Mississippi
beat the Red Raiders 47-34 in the Cotton Bowl, but they strengthened
the cases of the Trojans and the Utes. USC's fatal flaw was its 27-21
loss to then 1-2 Oregon State in Corvallis on Sept. 25 and the
perceived weakness of the rest of the Pac-10. But Oregon State
finished 9-4, including a Sun Bowl victory (albeit an uninspiring 3-0
decision) over Pittsburgh. As for the supposedly lightweight Pac-10,
the conference's teams went 5-0 in the bowl season, with wins over
teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, Big East and Mountain West
Conference. Suddenly the Trojans' clunker in Corvallis doesn't look
nearly so damning.
Utah, of course, had no losses to overcome, just the relatively low
profile of its league, the Mountain West. How seriously could the
Utes be taken, the pre-Sugar Bowl wisdom held, when their biggest
victories came against Oregon State, BYU and TCU? But the win over
Alabama, which was ranked No. 1 for five weeks and was undefeated
until it lost to Florida in the SEC championship game, makes the
Utes' spotless record much harder to dismiss. "I think people get
caught up looking at the athletes and the glamour of the name that a
program carries," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "But there's a
reason why you play the game."
8:19 AM
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10 Comments:
You're giving the voters way too much credit here. I'm pretty sure less than 5% of them could name ANY starters on Utah or BYU, let alone know who is graduating and who is not. No, Utah will start ranked higher.
The @Oregon game is scary. That's supposed to be a very tough place to play.
Cougs will lose to OU and FSU and undo all the good Utah earned for the MWC this year. Cougs choke in big games and won't match up well with their speed.
Not a chance. If either team goes undefeated next year, they will still be shut out from the championship game. Any quality wins will just be dismissed as beating a team who had a 'down year' or who was 'not motivated'. Until there is a playoff, there will never be a true national champion.
Comparing Utah's game with Michigan and BYU's upcoming game with Oklahoma is not apples to apples. Michigan stunk.
A team can win a game any given day. You can tell that by seeing who comes to play in the beginning. BYU may come out and beat OU and FSU, or they will get trampled. When teams play the MWC, they see us as podunk little teams that don't know football. The Utes always seem to be given harder schedules than BYU and earn more rep for the MWC, though Mike was right in saying people will just say the team was having an 'Off Day'. 89.1% of this country was against the Utes to beat Alabama, meaning that percentage had no idea what happens when Utah is an underdog. Please give us Utes a reason to prove you wrong and show that we belong in the top rankings. If and when the NCAA goes to a playoff system, Utah will always make it. They may not always be National Champions, but we will show the country what it means to Bleed Red.
A team can win a game any given day. You can tell that by seeing who comes to play in the beginning. BYU may come out and beat OU and FSU, or they will get trampled. When teams play the MWC, they see us as podunk little teams that don't know football. The Utes always seem to be given harder schedules than BYU and earn more rep for the MWC, though Mike was right in saying people will just say the team was having an 'Off Day'. 89.1% of this country was against the Utes to beat Alabama, meaning that percentage had no idea what happens when Utah is an underdog. Please give us Utes a reason to prove you wrong and show that we belong in the top rankings. If and when the NCAA goes to a playoff system, Utah will always make it. They may not always be National Champions, but we will show the country what it means to Bleed Red.
I think you are also giving too much credit to byu here. They have only gone undefeated ONCE in their storied history...ONCE!
I hope the cougars start chalking up wins BEFORE the games are played, again. It worked out well for them this year.
Remind me, though...don't the cougs return the majority of the players that were exposed by 3 of 4 winning teams on their schedule? Not to mention UNLV, CSU, and winless Washington.
max hall is a headcase.
Can you tell me why would Ute fans reading a Ute Football blog would care in the least about byu next season? 13-0 is here and now, we don't care about next season and certainly don't care about byu.
I don't expect BYU to go Undefeated again. We are discussing national title possibilities for the MWC. I don't expect BYU to beat OU as the inconsistencies of their plays cause many interceptions and turnovers(this season was a good example.)
I can't help but think that Lya was mentally impaired when she wrote this! Even if BYU can get their hands on a superstar quarteerback to replace the dud they now have (Max Hall), BYU wouldn't have a snowball in hell chance to beat Oklahoma! And then to go undefeated (including beating the Utes) is a far fetched pipedream! t will VERY LIKELY have a team in the National Championship game next year (the UTES!!)
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