It’s good to know we really have fully exorcised those McBride demons.

Especially Whittingham. This guy had it tough. He had to replace the greatest coach in Utah football history and at first looked a bit more like McBride than he did Meyer.

But slowly he chipped away at that perception.

2008 was bigger for the program than 2004 because it proved Whittingham had the goods. 2004 very well could have just been a flash in the pan created by the Urban Meyer Gang.

Now the more we win, the more vindication Whittingham is getting that 2008 was more than just luck.

If Utah goes 11-2 or 12-1, it will mean we’ve created a monster that will dominate at this level like Boise State has the WAC. And we’ll do it in a much better conference.

I actually can’t believe I forgot about that AFA game. I was there. I remember falling down 14-0 and thinking, “well there goes the BCS bid…”

haha, so you’re right. I was freaking. I think I thought this as I waited in line to get a hotdog and the Falcons had just scored…:/

So basically, the last one that really counts was a miracle comeback that happened through a fluke onside kick.

Yeah…fitting that type of play would come under McBride.

For the record the BCS started in 1998, and Utah could not earn a spot in the Bowl Alliance that year.

That was my first season as a Utah fan. I happened to also knew Mike Fouts off the field. Excellent person, good QB.

For some reason I remembered this game for the scoring of three TD’s in the final two minutes, but my memory had the game as a loss. I am glad to correct that memory.

I remember walking out of the stadium after the game through the old exits to the East to the south end zone. This part of the stadium was then a chain linked fence with a service road where the Air Force buses were parked. I remember the service men returning to the buses.

I also remember the Stanford game that year. I was a transfer student from Florida who didn’t know about student sections. I was told pretty much just show up and sit wherever you wanted, so I sat near the 50 yard line about 3/4 of the way up the east stands without issue. I have heard times have changed.

Coming from the heart of SEC and ACC country, and being mostly an NFL fan at the time, I expected to see a mockery of a football team. “Utah? pffft. No real football here.”

I remember sitting in the stands that day watching the game impressed by the talent on the field and thinking this team is competitive. I remember some horrible play calling, and an inability to stick with the plays that were working well. Utah should have won that day. I also remember trying what any SEC or ACC fan at the time would do and express this to the fans around me. The McBride cult was alive and well, so I bit my tongue.

I attended every home game from then until the Wyoming game in 2001 when I returned to Florida. I would not see another Utah game live until January 2009. I remember yelling alone on third and critical on several occasions. I almost wrote a letter to the crony on several occasions to outline proper cheering to establish a true home field advantage.

Only after Meyer’s success and learning about where Utah was before McBride did I eventually come to appreciate what he had done for the team.

By the time I left Utah in the fall of 2001 I had become a Utah man, and I will be till I die.

we have to do what every other team does, suck it up. eddie wide is a decent back. we will have to rely on our wr’s and te’s more. i would like more slants in the utah gameplan. not only does it work but it’s my favorite play in college football.