Stanford @ Oregon

[7StraightIsGreat]

Before I get into this thread, let me make something clear: This is a thread about Utah and their impending move to the Pac 10. It is in no way an attempt to talk smack on BYU, kick them when they're down, or hurt the feelings of some of the BYU fans in here that are clearly way too sensitive. Ok, with that being said:

I just settled in for the night and am currently watching Stanford and Oregon slug it out. Watching this amazing game in such an amazing setting between two really good teams made me realize just how big Utah's move to the Pac 10 is going to be. I'm actually getting chills watching this game and thinking about seeing Utah in these big games next year and beyond.

My cousin is a Utah transplant living in NorCal. As soon as the schedule comes out I'm either planning a Cal or Stanford trip (depending on which venue Utah plays at next year). It's going to be simply amazing to walk in Stanford's stadium and watch a Utah game.

No matter how long you've followed Utah, don't take this for granted. This is without a doubt the golden age for being a Ute fan. Bask in it, enjoy it and hope this ride is far from over!

 

[prodigy]

And Colorado fans just stormed the field after beating 1-4 Georgia, lol.

 

[Bronco70]

And Colorado fans just stormed the field after beating 1-4 Georgia, lol.

Lay off 'em. They're just confused about what to do when the Buffs actually win. It's like being in a life threatening situation... you think you know how you'll react, but you never really do until your thrust into it.

 

[TheItinerantSon]

I just settled in for the night and am currently watching Stanford and Oregon slug it out. Watching this amazing game in such an amazing setting between two really good teams made me realize just how big Utah's move to the Pac 10 is going to be.

but do none of you honestly percieve how big a jump in weight class this is? i honestly can't believe that utah will finish higher than 4th in pac12 in their first 5 years.

i honestly perceive oregon, stanford, usc, arizona as clearly stronger programs (talent/depth etc) than utah. I see ucla (quickly rising) and oregon state as peers to utah.

its very different to spend your entire summer game planning for one or two tests at the beginning of the year versus actually grinding your way through an entire season with 6 or 7 tough games.

if utah keeps its rivalry with BYU, than i can imagine them having to play

USC, @oregon state, stanford, @arizona state, arizona @ucla, oregon and @byu

thats 8 tough games scheduled, with 4 on the road all in one season

compare that to this years schedule

Pitt, @ Air Force, TCU, @ notre dame, BYU. 5 tough games scheduled wiht only 2 on the road.

compare that to last years schedule
@Oregon, Air Force, @TCU, @BYU - thats 4 tough games, 3 road games

Look at 2008
@ Michigan, @ Air Force, Oregon State, TCU, BYU - thats 5 scheduled tough games and 2 on the road.

playing in the pac-10 will be like nothing utah has ever experienced.

Wittingham is a good coach, and they have a tradition of success at Utah and a commitment to football, but please dont think playing in a real conference is anything like dominating the MWC. Expect ~3 losses most years instead of just when you're breaking in a new QB

 

[UGLI baby]

but do none of you honestly percieve how big a jump in weight class this is? i honestly can't believe that utah will finish higher than 4th in pac12 in their first 5 years.

i honestly perceive oregon, stanford, usc, arizona as clearly stronger programs (talent/depth etc) than utah. I see ucla (quickly rising) and oregon state as peers to utah.

its very different to spend your entire summer game planning for one or two tests at the beginning of the year versus actually grinding your way through an entire season with 6 or 7 tough games.

if utah keeps its rivalry with BYU, than i can imagine them having to play

USC, @oregon state, stanford, @arizona state, arizona @ucla, oregon and @byu

thats 8 tough games scheduled, with 4 on the road all in one season

compare that to this years schedule

Pitt, @ Air Force, TCU, @ notre dame, BYU. 5 tough games scheduled wiht only 2 on the road.

compare that to last years schedule
@Oregon, Air Force, @TCU, @BYU - thats 4 tough games, 3 road games

Look at 2008
@ Michigan, @ Air Force, Oregon State, TCU, BYU - thats 5 scheduled tough games and 2 on the road.

playing in the pac-10 will be like nothing utah has ever experienced.

Wittingham is a good coach, and they have a tradition of success at Utah and a commitment to football, but please dont think playing in a real conference is anything like dominating the MWC. Expect ~3 losses most years instead of just when you're breaking in a new QB

K so ur saying that the Pac 10 is harder than the mtn west. kool.

 

[Nate505]

And Colorado fans just stormed the field after beating 1-4 Georgia, lol.

Hey man, give us a break. Any win in the Hawkins "era" is worthy of celebration!

 

[G-O-A-T]

but do none of you honestly percieve how big a jump in weight class this is? i honestly can't believe that utah will finish higher than 4th in pac12 in their first 5 years.

i honestly perceive oregon, stanford, usc, arizona as clearly stronger programs (talent/depth etc) than utah. I see ucla (quickly rising) and oregon state as peers to utah.

UCLA - No... they are not Utah's peers. They had a good game against a highly overrated Texas team, but that's it.

Oregon State - You realize that OSU would have won the last two pac 10 titles if they had beat Oregon in their civil war game, right? You also realize that OSU is 1-0 in conference games this year and played the most brutal out of conference schedule in the nation (2 losses), right? In other words, it's interesting that you think Utah and OSU are equals, but that Utah would struggle to be a top 4 team when their equal will likely challenge for another conference championship.

As for USC, they are going nowhere... they just got beat by Washington at home. Their days of being a perennial powerhouse left with Pete Carroll.

Arizona - Solid team, but overrated. These guys will struggle to finish 4th in conference.

Stanford / Oregon - Legit programs. Stanford will be good as long as Luck stays in college, and Oregon will take over USC's role as perennial pac 10/12 favorite.

I agree that the Utes are on par with OSU... which means: I think that the Utes will make an immediate challenge for the Pac 12 title next year. Their competition being Oregon, OSU, and Stanford.

 

[TheItinerantSon]

oregon state finished tied for 2nd with 3 teams last year... so yeah, they were a game away from sharing the conference title, but they were also a game away from finished in a 3 way tie for 5th place. and the rodgers brothers won't be around forever....

 

[Loki]

Something else to keep in mind is the recruiting windfall that has just barely started happening. By next season some of these green kids that are better athletes will start working their way to regular playing positions. Utah may at worst right now be mid Pac-10 caliber but in the next 2 to 3 years the player quality will go up and up and up. Combine that with great coaching and great game prep and Utah will be contending for conference titles sooner rather than later.

 

[G-O-A-T]

Another factor supporting the Utes will be the home field advantage. Right now, there are no pac-10 teams who play in the altitude or in a snowy climate. Cold and snowy November games are going to be a huge advantage to the Utes... enough to likely win some games that would not be won otherwise.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

The only "powerhouse" the Pac 10 had was USC and Kiffin is smack dab in the middle of ruining it. Oregon is currently a better program than Utah. That's the team Utah needs to strive to compete with IMO. I also worry about Cal. They're having a down year but they recruit very well and will be back. Oregon State is a good solid program. Given the year, they could be better than Utah, but I think it's fair to say Utah has the better overall program. Arizona is getting better but has done nothing as of yet to prove they're a better program. Stanford is good, but had been such a mess for so long that I wouldn't put them ahead of Utah either. Harbaugh could be gone after any given season and for all we know Stanford is right back down in the cellar. Washington, UCLA, Arizona St, don't even belong in the conversation as of yet.

Some say it will take Utah some time before they can compete in the Pac 10. I think their problem will be exactly opposite. I think they'll enter the Pac 10 with a flurry of success and then the challenge will be to sustain it which will be very hard on a yearly basis.

Looking at the depth chart right now, Utah is in line to return 16 starters heading into next year. By the end of this season that number could even climb to around 18 or 19. They'll have a QB entering his 3rd year as a starter, 3/5 of the oline returns, 3/4 of the DBs, 3/4 of LBs and a host of players along a D line that uses heavy rotation. They lose both starters at WR and their 2 best RB's but there is a handful of talented underclassmen at both of those positions seeing substantial playing time.


I understand all of this doesn't guarantee instant success in year 1 of the Pac 10, but it certainly doesn't hurt. The timing is great for Utah. We'll see what they can do with it.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

Another factor supporting the Utes will be the home field advantage. Right now, there are no pac-10 teams who play in the altitude or in a snowy climate. Cold and snowy November games are going to be a huge advantage to the Utes... enough to likely win some games that would not be won otherwise.

Those are excellent points that I hadn't even thought of. Colorado is so terrible that I doubt they can parlay the altitude and weather into any sort of homefield advantage. Utah on the other hand will be able to do just that. Let's hope for some scheduling luck in year 1 and we see Oregon coming to SLC in mid-to-late November!

 

[The Thriller]

Pac-10 is easily the best conference in college football right now.

The Big 12 sucks. Texas stinks, Tech stinks, Kansas stinks, basically everyone other than Nebraska and OU stink.
Big 10 has one team. The rest are average teams who run the ball a lot (and are boring).
SEC has one dominate team and a bunch of overrated sissies with lots of black athletes with coaches and dumb QBs that don't know how to manage the clock (LSU). Don't know how that black QB for LSU is even on the team still, he sucks. Just because they have one dominate team doesn't mean that they're the best conference. Most of the PAC-10 and upper half of the MWC has teams that could beat most SEC teams.
Florida should drop out of the top 20 IMO. They haven't looked halfway decent at all this whole year. Boring offense with inept play calling. Should have lost their first game against someone I'd never even heard of.
Big East is far worse than the MWC.
And the ACC is a great Basketball conference. Coach K is the real deal.

In the Pac-10, anyone with the exception of Oregon, can beat anyone.

I see the Utes competing for a championship there. They probably won't win it, because I see Stanford and Oregon being better. I also don't see the PAC-10 champion being undefeated too often. They're too many roadblocks to go through. Utah could easily beat OSU, then lose to Oregon, and then Oregon could easily lose to OSU. Stuff like that is going to happen a lot in the next few years.

I think the Golden Age of Utah Football is just barely starting.

However, in order for Utah to remain in the top 5 of the Pac-12, they must continue to evolve offensively. Just look at how wide open and creative the top offenses in that conference are. Stanford and Oregon have coaches that will probably be calling offenses in the League soon.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

Well, I certainly don't think Utah's transition is going to be smooth, but I will agree that you guys should be stoked about being able to travel to those different stadiums should you choose to. The Mountain West only has about 4 stadiums that are worth checking out a game at just for the atmosphere, and even then TCU varies completely and Air Force is a one time deal. But Pac 12 fans are pretty fickle too, only take road trips when the home team is really good if you want the full experience. When Stanford sucked for all those years, their stadium/fans were about as lousy as it gets.