Today the Pac 12 announced that there will be no more neutral site football games like last years match between Oregon and LSU in Cowboy stadium. There are permissible exceptions that include the Pac 12 gettinging TV rights to the game, or the match-ups being an 'away' game like next years contest between USC and Syracuse at Met Life Stadium.

This rule doesn't effect Utah too much as there were no neutral site games ever in the works that I know of. But it does, once again, limit the games that Utah can schedule. With the 9 game conference schedule and the BiG - Pac12 scheduling agreement that will start in 2017, Utah will only have 2 flexible games per year. If the rivalry game stays as is, the Utes will be looking at one game a year to surprise fans with. A part of me was hoping on an exciting neutral site game against an AQ team in a large stadium once in a while. These games are usually brokered by a network and take the negotiations out of dealing with other schools and trying to find time to do home and homes. Now, it looks like the Utes will likely look to use that one game a year for a FCS warm up.

As much as I love the Pac 12 schedule, it may mean Utah will not play any FBS team outside of BYU, the P12 or the BiG during the regular season for a very long time, and I find that thought deflating.

So, I know football season is over, but we dont even know what kind of offense BJ will run or who will run it. So, for the fun of it, let's count out Wynn and Hays and focus on the newbies, Travis Wilson and Chase Hansen. Who do you think is the best quarterback of the two, the best for which particular offensive style, and the likeliest to give Utah its best chance at getting to the Rose Bowl (which isn't always the same as best QB)?

So I finally broke down and made an account, but I'm just wondering where another good place to get info on the Utes is. This is good and makes sure the info is right, but normally comes out after the fact. SL trib is ok, but some of the reporters don't always back up what they say. And I really became sick of Dnews after some @s used the Costa Concordia crash as a joke to describe Whit (seriously, people died on that thing, what sick person would use it as a joke?)

Any input on good info sites would be appreciated. cheers!

-Like many of you, I have followed twitter a lot this morning as news has come out of the Brian Johnson promotion. On twitter, I caught a back and forth between @jazzyvandalute and @Dan_Florence (who is a frequent contributor to Block U). They were discussing something that the radio guys had put forth, that Utah would be running a pro-style/spread hybrid.

Interesting thought. Utah has so many receivers that it would be foolish to not utilize them. There should be some 4 and 5 wide sets. But, Utah also the makings of a good pro style team, with improving tight end and full back play. (As a side note, Shawn Asiata was the reason we won the Sun Bowl. We need to keep utilizing fullbacks.) If we can find a successful blend, can you imagine what a NIGHTMARE that would be to defend against?

A lot of this depends on a competent QB being at the helm. If Jordan Wynn stays healthy, this could be a scary offense.

Of course, it could also confuse the heck out of our own players and it might be a train wreck. I think it has potential for greatness though and I cant wait to see how it does.

-An aspect of the coaching staff restructure is that Sharrief Shah is now a coach, as opposed to a sideline reporter. I think this can have a nice impact on recruiting. I have no idea how it will be from a technique perspective because I don't remember Shah as a player. I do know that it will be bad for the radio broadcasts.

Look, I love Bill Riley. He is passionate about the Utes and he works hard. I appreciate Frank's enthusiasm (although the yelling out of "oh!" and then the long pause drive me nuts). But Shah was such a great sideline reporter. Don't know who they will get to replace him, but I can't imagine they will be as good as Shah.

This probably doesn't concern too many. It does to me. I don't have cable and thus will have to listen on the radio. I just hope they can find someone good.....

-What a job by Kyle to maintain the key pieces of his staff in this. I think that this will work out well in the long run. Can't wait for UTE FOOTBALL!

As you all know, Coach W. and crew have managed to put together the most impressive class of recruits Utah has ever had. The Utes have five four-star recruits and more than a dozen three star recruits. They stacked up on the lines and picked up some vital pieces for skill positions.

This class features a lot of stand-out prospects, but I want to know who stands out to you. Take the poll, my thoughts are after the break.

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I was just commenting on another blog post about the basketball MUSS and thought I may as well post my thoughts here.

I mean did you know that our student section only merits cordoning off 12 rows? That is an embarrassment. Heck, it’s a dang good thing we have a student band because they more than double the amount of MUSS that shows up.

I understand that it’s tough to come to two games every other week, especially when your team is as bad as the Utes are this year. But come on, the 8,000 + member football MUSS can’t turn out 10% of those numbers to the basketball games? That’s all it would take to fill Section G (and maybe more) to make it truly a college atmosphere.

The HC is averaging around 8,000 per game this year, which I think is pretty dang good considering how difficult it is to watch bad basketball. But we've been able to see all 5 wins and I'm pretty sure the home crowd is a big push for our guys out there (see how bad they've been on the road?).

Also, our average attendance is pushing the tops of the PAC 12. We have a proud program and proud fans. I know we want to see wins, but we are part of those wins! Here's to calling out the basketball MUSS! Hey MUSS, how about you rally and set a goal to get 10% of your football attendance to at least one game this year. Then next year we'll push for that number as being average. What do you say?

Here's the Utes schedule (note the home games!):

P.S. I've been to every home game except one this year and I've got to say that I'm having a blast taking my kids. The losing part is hard, but the wins will come, I'm sure of it!!!

It is good news for the program and very exciting to have a player who has seen it all coming back for a Senior season. His confidence in the coaching staff is evidently a big factor and with all the doomsday innuendo and rumors about players being run off by this staff, it is a confirmation of where David thinks things are headed and his confidence of a final shot at success for a guy who's given his best effort since his arrival. Good luck to him and for success in the rebuilding process we all hope for!

So somebody commented about Coach Larry K throwing Storey under the bus in the post game interview. I didn't listen to the post game and I can't find any post game comments in the papers. Anybody care to share what was said?

I did, however, see the game and there was an instance where you could see Storey was pretty unhappy. After a silly foul 85 feet away from the basket, Farr approached Storey and gave him a high five and a pat on the head. Storey pulled a CP3, smacking Farr's hands away and yelling something at him (looked like "Don't touch my head!").

Losing as much and as badly as the Utes have this year has got to be frustrating. Hopefully that episode on the court isn't continuing in the locker room. The coaches have their work cut out for them to try and keep these guys interested and playing hard.

I can tell they lack confidence in just the way they shoot free throws. They are missing way too many and then they are shaking their heads with dejected looks on their faces. Let's hope by being at home this week they feel comfortable and are more competitive.

I can't stand Utah fans that hate byu more than they like Utah so I hesitate posting this because I do not want to be considered one of those people. I consider myself to someone that can take an objective opinion on the byu when they're not playing the Utes. So here it goes.....

I was invited to the Byu-St. Mary's game last night by a co-worker who is a byu fan. I didn't anticipate having as much fun as I did. There is something satisfying about watching 22,000 byu fans in utter frustration. However, as an active Mormon myself, I was flat out embarrassed at how the fans acted during the game.

Byu fans were warned during the first half after numerous items were thrown on the floor disputing a call that the next time it occurred byu would be assessed a technical. A questionable call to open the 2nd half resulted in a few items being thrown on the floor and byu was immediately assessed a technical. It was the first time I have ever witnessed a technical assessed on the crowd. Classic!! St. Mary's immediately hit a 3 following the technical giving it 5 points in one possession to open the 2nd half to open its lead to 15. Something Byu never recovered from. Fans continued their class act in the final seconds of the game by once again throwing things on the floor.

I am the first to admit that the officiating wasn't in the game. I think there were numerous bad calls throughout the game. However, it went both ways! St. Marys was called for technical because bench players were standing up at one point (I did not notice a warning, either). That is something that shoudn't be called. Poor officiating aside, it was obvious that St. Marys was the superior team in every way. Byu's guard line looked stupid against the smarter and more disciplined St. Marys back court. The fans' actions were horribly disrespectful and uncalled for.

I wish I could say I have never seen Ute fans act poorly. I was a student at the U during our basketball heyday in the late 90s, early 00s. I can remember Ute fans throwing stuff on the floor a couple of times. However, each time this occurred, I remember Majerus grabbing the mic and telling the fans to show some class. Such actions immediately ceased and the game went on.

I expected somone from the byu side to do the same last night but it never occurred. Although, I had to stop myself from laughing at various points of the game, I found myself embarrassed for them. They looked stupid and childish in a brand new conference. I thought byu only acted in these ways against Utah but I was amazed that they are poor losers regardless of who they're playing.

That all being said, the atmosphere as embarrassing and distasteful as I found it to be, it made me miss Utah basketball. The crowd was at least into the game. It was a packed house. It made me look forward to the day when going to a game at the Huntsman Center doesn't feel like going to an Opera house. It made me long for a day when our basketball crowd does more than sit on its hands.

The Motherstation is now reporting that Safety Greg Allen who committed to Utah last week, has since de-committed and will sign with Kansas. If I'm not mistaken, this kid wasn't even rated when we offered him. Also, as reported by one of the local papers, his only two previous offers were Memphis and New Mexico. Apparently we caused some heads to turn because now he is a three star recruit and is being pursued by bigger names in the area. The only way this move makes sense is that he is a homebody and wants to be closer to home (Houston).

You win some, you lose some; but it is unfortunate to see someone work hard in finding a diamond in the rough, just to have it poached. Sadly, this isn't the first time it has happened to Coach Scalley in Texas and probably won't be the last.