Hey, at least we totally owned the tailgating (and a weather report)
by JazzyUte on Oct 3, 2011 2:06 AM MDT
in Football
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PrintThe hours leading up to Saturday's game were pretty damn awesome. I had some drinks, ate, met a lot of good friends I hadn't seen since the end of last season and really soaked in the entire scene. The tailgate lots were packed, people were buzzing about and I think it started really setting in that we were a Pac-12 member now.
It was a perfect way to start the day. That's what worried me.
Mother Nature here in Utah has a funny sense of humor. A few years ago, back in the '07 season, I remember walking through a nasty snow storm in September to watch Utah take on Utah State. I sat, soaking wet, throughout that whole miserable game because, at the time, I didn't know how many wins I would actually see that season (the Utes entered 1-3 and were coming off a crushing and embarrassing defeat to UNLV the week before).
Point is, you can't ever predict what the weather is going to be like here. Especially at this point of the year.
In Utah, you're generally assured the first two to three weeks of the season will provide perfect football weather (depending on what your definition is, of course - for me, it's shorts and sun). After that, it gets sketchy the closer to December you get.
Saturday, though, it was bliss. Beautiful weather. Warm, but not too warm. Breezy, but not too breezy.
But like I said, as we inched closer to kickoff, the more worried I became because, whether I wanted to admit it or not, I felt like I was having a dangerous and hellish sense of deja vu.
Maybe it was the few shots, a couple Long Islands and the beer, but I definitely felt like I had been here before.
I found myself thinking back to the '06 Boise State game. This was another game that fell on conference weekend and the weather was just down right unbelievably amazing.
Unfortunately, the game wasn't. The Utes got their teeth kicked in and as I sat there watching this unfold from my seats, melting away in the late-September sun, I wondered how such a great day could sour so fast.
I wanted to print a t-shirt that read: I went to the BSU game and all I got was this horrible sunburn because that's exactly how I felt as I left the stadium.
Saturday, once the sun started setting, and the breeze set in, it wasn't nearly as hot as it was earlier in the day, but the end result wasn't much different than what I experienced that Saturday five years ago. A great day pissed away by the results on the field.
Then I started thinking, maybe as I was sobering up, has there ever been a huge game at RES where the weather was unusually better than it typically is and the Utes won - at least under this current coaching staff?
Last year's TCU game was unusually warm for November and we all know how that turned out.
In '08, the two biggest wins of that season at home, against the Frogs and BYU, took place in the frigid depths of winter. I'm still trying to warm up from that TCU game.
Hell, even last year's BYU game was colder than a witch's tit (full disclosure, I've actually never touched the tit of a witch, so I don't know if this description is apt) and the Utes won - albeit in ugly fashion.
There has to be a reason for this, right?
Maybe people lounge around too much in the warm weather and become too relaxed prior to the game. I know in November, when I'm tailgating and it's so cold, even my breath turns to ice, my only thought is total survival.
You keep warm by any means necessary and it's unlikely you're going to relax to the point of a near-coma.
Then, when you get into the stadium, you're energized and ready to go because the only thing keeping you alive is screaming loud and jumping up and down.
Is there a correlation here, folks, or am I just mad?
Regardless, I hope you at least got out and enjoyed the warm weather. It's supposed to be much cooler, with rain, next Saturday. Hey, maybe that means we'll win!
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I don't think you're mad.
I don’t know what it was, but I definitely had a weird feeling outside the stadium on Saturday. I was jacked all week for the game, but once I arrived at the stadium something felt “off” to me. I was also having flashbacks of those very games you mentioned. Probably a combination of the weather, the fact that it was conference weekend, and our opponent and it’s fans wearing purple. And it certainly didn’t help when I saw the team run out wearing those black pants.
It's weird when you get those feelings...
I actually got it before the TCU game last year, too. I think a lot of that was because I was grumpy tired (had been up since 4 for GameDay) and couldn’t get into the freaking stadium because it was so packed at the entrances, they were having a difficult time moving people. I remember standing outside the NE corner for 15 minutes as I was convinced the game was starting thinking this didn’t feel right.
We got in right before the team ran out on the field. So we did make it. But I was not into it and felt something was off. A few plays into the game, it became apparent something was off.
I’m not some psychic or anything, and I don’t pretend to say I have some clairvoyance ability, as I’m sure I’ve had the same feeling before some wins, but this game felt weird all around, especially when, like you, I arrived at the stadium,
i know what you are saying.
definately had the same feeling about the TCU game. also the last two byu games, I have had very good feelings about both, even when all things pointed to them being close games. I knew we would win both, somehow.
Want to see someone really get their brain twisted up? Try explaining the Monty Hall problem to them....
by BigBenSportsGuy on Oct 3, 2011 12:44 PM MDT up reply actions
of course...
I had a good feeling about this game. I went to conference feeling very good about what the team was doing. We had just scored, stopped them cold, and were driving in UW territory when I left. When I got out……..yeah……….disaster…….
Want to see someone really get their brain twisted up? Try explaining the Monty Hall problem to them....
by BigBenSportsGuy on Oct 3, 2011 12:49 PM MDT up reply actions
I had a good feeling even going in to the half...
…feeling like we got out of that mess while only being down by 3 (rather than 7, as they were driving) made me think we could regroup and pull out a win.
I thought that Whit would be able to settle the team down after all of the turnovers, make adjustments, instill confidence (due to the fact that we had dominated the 1st half, outside of the TO’s) and that we’d come back and grab the momentum.
…but we gave up that first TD, and then before I even knew what was going on, Wynn was out…Hays was in, throwing an INT no less…and that pretty much swung the floodgates open.
Disappointing to say the least, because I felt like this game was ours to take…almost like the Boise game was (as mentioned by the poster below)…but we just didn’t have a guy on the field who could take the reigns and make it happen.
We’re probably spoiled, because since 2003…we’ve always had that guy…and we’re just not used to having an average team. I think Wynn could be that guy, but he just can’t stay on the field.
It reminded me of last year's Boise game
For the first few drives in Vegas, I thought that our defense was (surprisingly) solid, but the offense needed to produce. We know how that ended. Saturday, when we turned it over our first two trips to the redzone (not to mention the opening play), I started having flashbacks from last year.
+1
My thoughts exactly…I don’t want to get all “BYU whiny, we gave the game away” BS…but that first half was owned by Utah on both sides of the ball, sans turnovers.
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I’m worried about the prospects of our season now, just because it seems like the staff knew that Wynn had to stay healthy in order to make the season a success…which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for Hays.
His decision making isn’t where it needs to be…but I do like his toughness (diving for that first down got me a little excited, even with the depressing nature of the game). His arm strength looks good too, hopefully he can get in sync with the WR’s.
O-line is still not where it needs to be… primarily Cullen. What a bust he has turned out to be. Anyone else want to reach through the TV and choke him after that first offensive series where he let the UW defender through untouched?
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The season is still salvageable…6-6 should be the bar (wins vs. Oregon St. UCLA, Wassu, Colo) … 7-5 is where I thought we would end up before the season started, and a win @ Arizona gets us there.
…and if we can get 1 out of 2 vs. ASU / Pitt, that would be icing on the cake.
…but I’m not sure if we can even get to 6-6 if our offense sputters like it did under Hays in the 2nd half.
At least my expectations are grounded back in reality again.
great article
yeah, we have had some head-scratching losses over hte years and you can file this one under that category. I think that we are just as good as they are. But they showed up to play, and we did not. I refuse to use injuries as an excuse or say that the game would have been different without the turnovers. Thats zoobish. We didn’t play to our capability, and we got worked. I think that with Vontaze Burflict and company rolling into town this week, the focus and urgency will be higher. If we can execute, ASU is beatable.
Want to see someone really get their brain twisted up? Try explaining the Monty Hall problem to them....
As if Saturday's loss weren't bad enough
now you remind me of the ‘06 suckfest and last year’s home beatdown? ;)
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Don't know about before the game, but once it started I was not feeling good.....
When you fumble away a score to the visiting team to start the game, the doubting starts quickly. No injuries there, but we are all ready in a hole.
We did recover well and we certainly played them even for the first half. But, frak it, that is just not good enough. We should have been up by 20 points at the half. You have to score when you get in the red zone. Even if its just a field goal, you have to get points. And both times to get so close and turnover the ball and come away empty handed is not acceptable. Yes, our receivers got good licks and if it was me I’d have dropped the ball too. But that’s why I am not playing and they are. Work on fraking ball security and lets stop this trend before it gets worse.
And I have no clue what went south to start the second half. Did we back off mentally because of the 2 dumb penalties on the Husky drive at the end of the half. Was the defense that demoralized knowing Jordan wasn’t play any more (I would have thought they would have sucked it up and came out harder for that) or where they just worn out by the pounding by the Washington offense? Just not how we expect our guys to play.
All I can say is, we know we are in a hole now. I am not discouraged because we have often used that as a jumping off point for a heck of a comeback game. This may be harder because of the caliber of opponent from now on, so I just want our guys to keep trying and not just roll over.
Hays looked like he could do the job. No Alex Smith, but not Jake Heaps either. If we can just get our heads screwed back on we can keep this season good. I never expected us to get to the Rose Bowl this year and I figured the championship game would take a big load of over achievement, but we can still have a good year. If everyone keeps trying regardless of how this next game turns out, we can hold our heads up and say we transitioned ok. We’ve got a lot of years ahead of us to climb up to the Oregon, USC level and I believe we can. Just make us proud of how you play guys and the wins will come.
Any word on Wynn?
Everything I have heard is pretty dire. He really was playing well other than the interception. Which makes it all the more hard to send him off for the season.
FWIW
Whitt is quoted in the Des News as saying he hopes that Wynn is able to play against ASU, but admitted that the initial reports are “not good”. We won’t know more until we hear the results of his tests. Stay close today to Block U, ESPN 700, or Lya Wodraska via twitter.
Want to see someone really get their brain twisted up? Try explaining the Monty Hall problem to them....
by BigBenSportsGuy on Oct 3, 2011 10:23 AM MDT up reply actions
No one knows yet...
He’s out for ASU, Whitt knows that.
I don’t like this, tho. Whitt says they might use Christopher in the Wildcat and that tells me they’re not sold on Hays at all.
What were your thoughts on....
Whitt saying they would use more of a spread against ASU?
I guess it makes it hard for ASU to gameplan, seeing as how they will have no real film to go on. Still, I dont like our chances this saturday.
Want to see someone really get their brain twisted up? Try explaining the Monty Hall problem to them....
by BigBenSportsGuy on Oct 3, 2011 12:45 PM MDT up reply actions
That's more of suiting the offense to the QB.
Hays is a bit more of a runner, and more used to a spread.
This was a bad loss.
I have a Washington State fan and Montana State grad giving me crap today about Utah’s loss. “Nice Pac 12 debut,” stuff like that. Washington State and Montana State.
Dolphins and sharks are natural enemies. Dolphins are like, "Quit eating us," and sharks are like, "Stop smiling all the time, you morons."
Sort-of-daily sort-of-funny sort-of-thoughts at danoftheday.com
Actually, what I had in mind was
An NMSU Aggie fan could be giving you crap about Utah’s loss. But that’s probably never going to happen.
Saturdays
Saturdays like that make for three martini lunches on Mondays. Seriously though, wait till ski season bitches.
Jazzy...
I’ve been kinda on your case a few times about this, but I seem to get more and more disappointed every time I see you do it.
What I’m talking about is your (and a lot of other Utah fans’) overwhelming pessimism when it comes to the Utes. Don’t take this as a knock, because I dont mean it that way. I just am interested to know why you do it so much… particularly because you’re such a passionate Utah fan.
It seems that so many of you overreact to every single negative thing the Utes do. Whether it’s in your game week previews, the game day threads, or the post game blogs.
You said in your post-Washington blog that you felt stupid for overselling the Utes. OK, maybe you did oversell a little. But now, you’re tragically underestimating them. They may not be as good as we all hyped, or hoped… but they also aren’t as bad as many fans believe either.
You’ll forgive me for bringing this topic up, but I just don’t understand that approach. I grew up in both South Florida and the SF Bay Area… where there have been some pretty good teams. And the fans there just don’t pick and critique and worry over their teams like they do here. Sure, many of them are disappointed when they lose, but when things go bad… they keep believing.
Utah fans’ approach sometimes seems to be, “Uh oh, this is not good. I’m worried. Maybe we’re not that good. I’m afraid the wheels may be coming off.”
Whereas in other BCS circles, the approach feels like, “OK we lost and we didn’t look good. But we will bounce back next saturday because we KNOW we’ve got a good team.”
Don’t be cocky. But don’t be a scaredy cat either, is what I’m saying.
I wish more Utah fans would adopt the second approach, because it would exude some desperately-needed swagger for a team that most certainly belongs in the Pac 12.
Do you need to be positive to be a "true" fan?
I’ve had this discussion with a friend of mine who is also an avid Utah fan. He gives me crap any time I say anything negative about the team…tells me I should go hang out with the BYU fans (which makes no sense to me, because they are all sunshine and September National Championships).
I ask him why my opinion of the team or players have anything to do with my status as a fan? Why should the world always be sunshine and rainbows when the reality is far from that?
To me, and I think many on the BlockU boards, being a fan has less to do with your “attitude” and more to do with loyalty. Fans like my aforementioned friend see someone complaining and think that makes them a bandwagon fan. I disagree.
I’ve been a fan since I was 6 years old and going to games at Rice Stadium, only to watch the ever-loving snot get kicked out of the Utes, and being made fun of for wearing Utah apparel to school…and I’ll be a fan long after we have a stretch where we string together several losing seasons…but that doesn’t mean I have to like losing, or only focus on the positives.
I like BlockU & Jazzy’s reporting for that reason. He seems far more realistic in his perspective than someone like my friend, who refuses to believe he’s being held down and fed dirt even during the very act.
Fans like myself aren’t any less fanatical, we just need a place to vent our frustrations, to analyze what went wrong, and to lament in it. The attitude has nothing to do with your loyalty toward the team.
Optimists tend to view even realists as pessimists, and pessimists view realists as optimists…and everyone thinks they’re a realist.
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Utah played a crap game on Saturday. Sure we can sugar-coat the loss by looking at how we dominated the 1st half (except for those pesky turnovers)…but unfortunately, football is played in 2 halves…and we were far more awful in the 2nd than we were good in the 1st.
Bottom line for this team…unless Hays plays like he’s the second coming of Brett Ratliff, we’re going to struggle to get to stay .500…and that’s with Oregon St., UCLA, Washington St. and Colorado remaining on the schedule.
Pac-12 life = no bad teams...
I’ve been beating this drum here since the day you got the invite, but the brute reality of it is pretty hard to sell.
What you have in the Pac-12 is 12 good teams. You have good teams having great years, and you have good teams having horrible years. But they’re all still good. Packed with athletes. Well coached. Completely deserving of your full respect.
And that most certainly includes you guys. Your season is still young, and you’re not off to a great start, but it’s a one game at a time deal. As a Dawg fan, excuse me for thinking your schedule was rather front-loaded with USC and then us (and ASU and Cal will be tough, too). But the tail end of your schedule breaks solidly in your favor. No bad teams, but a bunch of good teams that you should probably beat if you play well.
Let me repeat, for emphasis, `If you play well’.
Honestly, you probably beat us, if you played well. But you didn’t, really. You rather laid an egg. Your guys were probably pretty full of themselves with the BYU thrashing, the BYE, the 10-point line, and the first game hoopla. You were there to be had, and the Dawgs (to their credit) took it from you. They hit harder, they ran harder, and at the end of the day, they wanted it more.
And that can be seen as Pac-12 experience talking. The Dawgs know (they’re finally learning) just how precious and difficult it is to waltz into someone else’s Pac-12 stadium and steal a win. It’s what they live for. Anything less than that, that maximum focus and effort, every single week, you’re in trouble. Against ANY Pac-12 team.
That’s the grind. That, and the injuries you accumulate. You will run into teams that won’t play well. You will get easy wins. But you just can’t COUNT on that, ever. You have to assume, always, that you have to earn it.
Now ASU is there to be had. They’re full of themselves, and thinking that you guys will be easy. The opportunity for bounce-back here is immense. If you pull off the win, you’re right back in the drivers seat. ASU will lose a few games, you can count on that. Make one this week, Good luck.
by Hawnk on Oct 3, 2011 4:38 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sorry, but it's hard to be optimistic when there is so much uncertainty...
Hays might shock us all and turn this thing around and I’ll happily go along for the ride. However, right now, we’re coming off a thumping where we lost our QB and sit at 0-2 in conference play.
I’d like to report on the positives, but frankly, I can’t think of too many right now.
Is the season cooked? No. But I think I’d be doing a disservice if I spent the entire time telling you nothing is wrong and we’ll be just fine.
With that said, it’s clear you’ve not been reading Block U all that long. Last year, I was extremely upbeat, even after the loss to TCU. My first extensive post after that debacle was about how this team needed to put this loss behind them and try to win out.
Hell, I was even upbeat about the Las Vegas Bowl, using Whitt’s history as why we should all get behind the team. I’ve been plenty positive over the years. I’m negative because we got our clock cleaned at home and we’re now looking at an unknown lining up under center.
I want to be positive, but not until I am given reason to be optimistic.
Life is "so much uncertainty"...
and a negative outlook on life get’s you nowhere but down. Football isn’t life (or, at least, it shouldn’t be), but the same applies. You want a reason to be positive? This is it: positive nets positive. The last thing Utah needs is a stadium, or a fanbase, full of negative mojo. I’ve lived enough to have finally figured this out. Here’s my advice, just enjoy the games.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 4, 2011 5:37 AM MDT up reply actions
I could be a wild-eyed optimist...
And then me even more grumpy after we lose.
haha
Frankly, I don’t buy positive nets positive. I was positive all week and what the hell did it get me!?! lol
There's a difference between being an optimist and being positive.
Being positive just means you’re a realist who chooses to acknowledge that there’s just as much good as there is bad, but we prefer/tend to only focus on the bad. Trust me, positive does net positive but it seems like it takes awhile because one has to choose to seek it out.
Not to sound like some New Age-y, chakra-aligning, crystal-polishing, patchouli-smelling douche, but positive energy is a powerful thing… especially when it’s coming from some 46K people in a stadium. You have a voice here, Jazzy. If you want to help the Utes win, I suggest you use it to adjust the attitudes of as many fans as possible. We all know we each feed off of the energy of others. Football players aren’t any different. Let’s give ’em something decent to eat for a change.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 4, 2011 5:54 PM MDT up reply actions
Not going to happen...
I post how I feel. If I feel good after a loss, like I did after SC, I’ll be more positive. If I feel bad after a loss, it’s probably going to be a bit negative. I can’t help that and I’m not going to change it because you think I’m too negative.
Honestly, though, I can’t win for losing with some of you. After the SC game, I had a handful of you fans saying I was a homer because I was so upbeat after the game.
Now that I’m disappointed with the performance and not sold on the unknown, I’m too negative and a reason the team’s losing.
I’m sorry, but I’ve been running this blog since 2006 and there have been plenty of positive posts and negative posts and realist posts. That’s not going to change.
Last year, I vented once after the TCU debacle and moved on, suggesting everyone should do the same. I was as upbeat and positive as one could be without looking ridiculous or homerish or trying to find excuses with every play. I made a whole post saying our goal now was to win out and finish 12-1.
What happened? They got creamed in two more games.
Like I said, even after the SC loss, I was pretty positive. Well, now it’s hard for me to find what you’re looking for when we get our teeth kicked in at home, sit at 0-2 in conference play and are now without our quarterback.
Is the season over? Nope. Is it going to be a tough journey back to the top? Yup. Am I going to just skip over the losses? Nope.
I’ll do what I’ve been doing for six years now: report how I feel.
Looks like we've been missing each other's sentiments here.
This was never meant as a critique/criticism of your blogging. All I’m saying is that it might be good for you, personally, and for the rest of us, to dwell a little longer on the positives (because they’re there, even in a debacle) and give them equal air-time with the negatives. It’s a mindset thing. There was a time when, after a loss like last week’s, all I would see for the first night or so were the fumbles and miscues and poor play, but now I tend to see the whole game, including the good stuff.
I just think you’d be really good at covering the whole game, rather than just what sticks out predominantly. There’s no such thing as a “good loss”, but there are always bright spots (excepting, of course, the 2007 UNLV game), and those bright spots deserve some coverage.
Now, as a realist, I fully understand there will be games (like that 2007 UNLV game) where there are no bright spots, and nothing positive to cover, but they’ll be rare. Last week’s game was not one of those games. Despite the frustration at seeing a team blow scoring drives and lose its starting QB, we can’t forget that Utah was moving the ball, that Chow’s game plan was a good one (spoiled by poor execution) and that John Hays showed some skill and heart.
Our fanbase also has to realize that this is how things are going to go in the Pac 12. We all want to believe that Utah is some perennial USC-like power, but they’re not and they may never be. There will be up years and down, and roller coaster seasons with stretches where they look like the second coming of the ’85 Bears, only to play the very next game suddenly looking more like the 2011 BYU Cougars.
by -FeloniousMonk on Oct 4, 2011 9:01 PM MDT up reply actions
I agree with Tomahawk, Jazzy knows my position
I was giving Jazzy hell the other night after the loss for the crazy headline, our team will bounce back, gotta be positive all the time, none of this wishy-washy shit. We will bounce back.
You want doom and gloom pessimism
Take a gander at cougarboard.com these days. They are in meltdown on a weekly basis. Many of their fans are even discussing the real possibility of abandoning support for their team altogether because of their loss to Utah, near loss to USU, and possible exclusion from the Big 12. It’s crazy.
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