No one quite knew what to make of the 2007 Utah Utes. They had knocked off UCLA in dominant fashion and then collapsed, on the road, against an awful, awful UNLV Rebels team that would fail to record another victory the remainder of the season.
Everything seemed in shambles. Even a win a week later over the oft-struggling Utah St. Aggies didn't inspire.
The Utes sat at 2-3 and were facing the prospects of a tough road contest a country away against a perennial solid Big East team.
Sound familiar?
Utah faced a struggling, and inconsistent, Louisville Cardinals team that year and left 44-35 winners. They would lose only once more the remainder of the season, a seven point defeat to BYU at the tail end of '07 .
That win salvaged the season and put the Utes on the right track - one that would end with a BCS bowl victory over Alabama a year later.
Who knows if any of that happens had the Utes left Louisville 2-4. But what I do know is that the program came home with a bit of swagger that they would carry with them for an entire two years.
They need something similar this weekend. If there is one thing Utah is lacking right now, it's swagger and confidence. They just don't have it. I'm not sure this team believes they can win and that's a scary thought because once the losing mentality sets in, it's nearly impossible to shake.
If Utah comes back from Pittsburgh 2-4, do they stand a chance of saving this season?
Hopefully we don't find out and, like the Utes of four years ago, they return from a trip to Big East country 3-3 with new life and a bit of swagger.