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The Case for the Utes

January 7, 2009 /

It was pretty amazing. Late on January 2, and on into the weekend, we were bombarded with stories of how wonderful the Utah football team was. They had beaten Alabama, and done so in dominant fashion.

However, as we draw closer to the BCS national title game, the story has swung another way. Now we are being told that Utah is a “good story,” but they could never match up with either Florida or Oklahoma.

This change in story illustrates the problem with NCAA I-A (or FBS) college football. It’s all about appearances. So, for a few moments, read with an open mind the case for Utah winning the AP national title.

1. They played a good schedule. I know they didn’t play in the Big 12 or SEC. I get that. But let’s consider how many people are claiming that USC deserves a shot at the national title this year. The conference the Trojans are in (the Pac-10) went 1-5 against the conference the Utes are in (the Mountain West). So, should we not be saying, “USC doesn’t play in the Mountain West?”

The Utes, of course, won every game, but let’s look at the games they won. They played one I-AA opponent (Weber State). Yes, they works against them, but their other non-conference games were quality. They played Utah State (obviously, an in-state rival, which should not work against them). They went to Michigan and won (and scheduled the game before anyone knew Michigan would stink. Let’s be honest, if we were arguing about a Pac-10 school, the Michigan game would get a pass.) Finally, they beat Oregon State. Anybody remember who handed USC their only loss of the season? That’s right: Oregon State.

2. Add the conference strength in 2008. I don’t think anyone arguing for Utah would claim the Mountain West is one of the best conferences year-in-and-year-out. They have quite weak years, but 2008 was not one of them. The conference was very strong. BYU was ranked for much of the year. TCU is ranked #11 (and will probably move into the top 10 in the final poll), while Air Force also had a strong year.

The Mountain West won every game played against Pac-10 opponents in 2008, including a 4-0 weekend on September 13 (which included UNLV–an “also-ran” in the MWC–defeating Arizona State). This was not a normal year for the MWC, and should not be treated as such.

3. They are the only undefeated team in America. Every other team lost a game (with the caveat that Boise State was also undefeated through the regular season, but lost their bowl game. To whom? TCU of the Mountain West Conference!).

We could argue all we want about whether or not Utah would have survived a grueling Big 12 or SEC, but the fact of the matter is, they did survive a grueling MWC. No other team “ran the table,” including a convincing win over a strong Alabama team in the Sugar Bowl.

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One final point, and that is to make a comparison.

We can’t really compare Utah to an SEC team or a Big 12 team, but we can compare them to another non-BCS conference school: Notre Dame.

Let’s just, for the sake of argument, say that Notre Dame played Utah’s schedule and was 13-0. First of all, if they were 12-0, they’d be playing Thursday night instead of already at home. But, if they won that final game, even if it were the Sugar Bowl over Alabama, nearly every voter in the AP poll would move his vote to Notre Dame. Why? Because of perception. Notre Dame is history and tradition. They have the backing of media and talking heads all over the country.

Utah deserves the same ending to their season.

Don’t let the logo on the helmet be the determining factor. AP voters, do what is right! Utah deserves a title in your poll. They have earned it all season long in a way no one else has.

—end of rant!

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7 Comments

  • Dale's Spot

    January 7, 2009 at 6:20 PM

    As a VERY big Tide fan I was a tad happy when we lost to Utah because I can’t stand the inequity of the BCS. It is just stupid. Every year at least one team gets wronged when it comes to this. San Diego, Hawaii, Auburn…let ’em play it out on the field. Utah probably wouldn’t survive a playoff but we’ll never know. Obviously they deserve a shot at it.

  • Faughn Family of Four

    January 7, 2009 at 6:32 PM

    @ blogprophet

    Yes, I have read it. I don’t have the link, but Yahoo! Sports also had a great article on it.

  • Justin Guin

    January 7, 2009 at 6:50 PM

    I agree with everything that you have said. I have watched Utah four times this year and knew they would beat Bama. We do not have the lock down corners or speed rushers that you have to have to stop the spread. We are built to stop big physical running teams that we see so much in the SEC. Hopefully, the AP voters will give Utah a share of the NC, but I am not optimistic about it.

    Another thing to add the the MWC strength is that their teams beat two SEC teams Wyoming beat UT. Granted UT was terrible but so was Wyoming. As bad as UT was they should not have lost to a bad Wyoming team. Also, as you have noted Utah beat Bama.

    We can plead for a playoff all we want but we will get nowhere. The TV contracts are too big with Fox and ABC. I think it is ironic that ESPN pleads for a playoff but they are one of the reasons we keep the BCS system. Unfortunately, money controls the situation. It is unfair to those student athletes who deserve a shot at a NC but will not get it. If we keep the current system we at least need a plus one. We need to thank the Big 10 commissioner for shooting that idea down. He knows the only way his teams can play for a NC is with the flawed current system. They would not get in otherwise.

    Sorry for the rant. Great article.

  • Joey

    January 7, 2009 at 9:00 PM

    Your logic here makes sense. But the BCS (or any national championship 'system' since the dawn of creation) is not built on logic. If it were, we'd already have a playoff.

    If Utah & the Mountain West wants to get into the discussion, they're going to have to pony up some dough to get the automatic bid consideration and same standing as the other 6 conferences. Fair? No. Reality? Yes.

    Who wants to award a National Championship to a team who is undefeated, has a great championship resume and yet doesn't sell 4,000 (FOUR THOUSAND) tickets to the biggest game in the program's history? In this case, perception is reality. They ARE historically a lesser program, and look no further than their own fan-base to prove it. The MWC will never be able to compete financially–and thus with perception–if their own fans don't support their programs like other major conferences do.

    They should be glad they played Bama (instead of Cincy or Va Tech; or Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl in 2004) this year so that everybody was watching. No one would have watched them if they would have ended up in the Orange Bowl.

    The beauty is that it doesn't matter. Since the NCAA doesn't award a championship, Utah can claim it all they want (banners, shirts, rings, etc.). If the BCS is broken (it is, and it never was 'fixed'), then why do we have to acknowledge its results? Auburn didn't in 2004 and Utah's got a much better case than them (since USC and OU were both undefeated that same year).

    Players really don't care about championships either (until they get 'left out,' that is). They care about getting to the NFL and making money. The fans are the only ones who care about championships.