Graham Watson actually comes to Utah's defense and swats down this bogus excuse put out by Alabama head coach Nick Saban months after the Utes waxed his Tide in the Sugar Bowl. 

"There's very little interest from our fans, our players or anybody else to play in the Sugar Bowl, which to me is a tremendous opportunity," Saban said. "I tried to tell everyone, you're only going to remember one thing about this game and that's the outcome. So there's no interest, there's no passion and everybody is embarrassed because of how we played. Well, it's because you didn't have any passion for it, you didn't have any interest in it, you didn't have any enthusiasm to do it, and that's across the board. And that's not right. We go to a BCS bowl game, everybody ought to be positive and enthusiastic about what we're doing."

I actually thought Nick Saban, after his only real undefeated team remark, handled himself pretty well in the wake of Utah's victory, but why do this now? Why come out and state your team had no interest playing in the Sugar Bowl, as if it was a huge step down from where the Tide have been the past fifteen years?

What this sounds like is Saban still hasn't gotten over the beating and is still trying to excuse it away. But instead of just admitting that maybe his team lost to a really good Utah squad, he actually undermines his own coaching ability by implying he failed to motivate his team prior to a huge game. Isn't that why Alabama pays him more money than any coach in college football? Or did he forget that little detail? 

With all that said, I believe the second those players took the field, they were just as fired up as Utah, especially since 70-percent of the stadium was filled with partisan 'Bama fans. If that can't get the adrenaline flowing, then you're playing the wrong sport. 

via graphics8.nytimes.com

It seems the BCS thinks Utah should sit down, shut up and take their screwjob in silence. At least that is what the ACC commish is saying.

Discussing the obviously flawed system, John Swofford had this to say about Utah's beef with the sham system.

“Prior to the BCS, Utah would not have had the stage provided to show the nation what it did."

You see, Utah fans, we should just quiet down, accept our standing in the world and enjoy the ride, even if we are getting railroaded!

It kind of reminds me of Oliver Twist, the lovable orphan who had the audacity to ask for more food. I mean, how dare he ask for more. What a true ingrate he was to believe he deserved better than a bucket full of slop.

What a freaking joke. So Utah should just be happy to be there, screw wanting to win the championship, right? Just playing on the big stage is good enough in their eyes. Pathetic. But what's even more pathetic is tonight, when they give the trophy to the winner of the BCS championship game, they will do so on behalf of the 11 conferences, including the Mountain West. Let's be clear, though, tonight's game won't decide college football's national champion. It will decide the BCS champion and nothing more.

The debate as to who is worthy of the title, however, continues.

Started over something I said here. I guess my wording has set off a firestorm because I hinted at the possibility of Utah being a football power. But I thought it was clear in my post that we were witnessing the birth of a power, not that the Utes had already become one. Sure, we can debate all we want as to whether the Utes are on the verge of becoming a national power, but that doesn't seem to be the debate they are having. Instead, it's turned into parsing my words and making me out to be the overzealous fan who lost any ability to think rationally. 

For those Block U readers who have already read through there and defended Utah, thank you. For those who haven't ventured over, I'm not asking you to troll, but you might feel inclined to defend Utah's honor. 

This is the post. Enjoy.

Find me anybody else that went undefeated. Thirteen-and-zero. Beat four ranked teams. Went to the Deep South and seal-clubbed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

No other team can claim what Utah has this season. They didn't win on a fluke in their bowl game, they didn't play a bunch of scrubs and sure, while a few of their games were close, they don't have to excuse away a loss like Florida, Texas, USC and Oklahoma. Had any of those teams finished undefeated, I think Utah's case would be less than it is now. But they didn't and for that, I have a real hard time believing they are more deserving than a 13-0 Utah team that beat four ranked teams.

Rick Reilly, thank you for this. Now hopefully even more people join the cause. GO UTES!

Utah proved as much when they walked into the heart of the SEC, slaying the Pride of Dixie Friday night. Yes, here in the highlands of the Rocky Mountains, we too play a pretty good brand of football. 

Back in 2004, many dismissed the Utes as a cute story, the little team that could. They defied all the odds by crashing the BCS, but beyond that, it was a short feel good story that quickly became a footnote in college football history. Sure, they were the first and possibly the best, but as the more successful Boise State stole the show in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl against the College Football Power Oklahoma Sooners, people quickly forgot the Utes' accomplishments. To put it bluntly, Utah was so four years ago. 

Well until they did it again and now the Utes sit as the first team in the BCS era to make it through the season perfect twice. USC, Oklahoma, Florida and Ohio State -- all powers for the last decade -- can't say the same. 

Call these Utes the 21st Century Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes. Two programs that leaped from obscurity to football dominance in a pretty short time. They rolled through the latter part of the 20th Century, unconventional in their success and disproving every myth along the way. That is exactly what Utah is doing right now. Southern Speed might have conquered pre-game discussion, but it was Utah's speedy defense and offense that was on full display during the game. They confused the Tide, flying around the field surprisingly easily and in the end, Alabama had no answer. All the hype leading up to the Sugar Bowl fizzled and it was Utah that left everyone wondering exactly what they had been missing this entire season.

What they were missing was the birth of a football power and Friday night, Utah proved to the country that there is, in fact, football played in the Rocky Mountains. Now maybe those who were so quick to reject Utah won't be so inclined to do so in the future.

I don't want it to go down like this, but it will. 

Thursday night, we will have a national champion. Unfortunately for those fans living in Los Angeles, Austin and Salt Lake City, there won't be a split title. Either Florida or Oklahoma will be atop both the polls and everything after that then becomes the big story. Who'll finish 2nd and who'll get jobbed out of a top-3 ranking?

As of tonight, USC, Utah and Texas were all winners in their BCS bowl games. The Trojans and Utes own the two most impressive victories, as they dominated their opponents. Texas, who faced Ohio State last night, came from behind in the final minute to pull out their victory. Will it diminish their final ranking? Probably not. 

It won't because too many members in the media will look past the fact Texas came 30-seconds away from losing and instead, they'll focus on how they pulled out a pretty impressive come-from-behind victory.

Before the game, Ute fans wanted something similar to what happened in Glendale Monday night. A close and ugly win by Texas was the best-case scenario for anything that wasn't a loss. Ironically, that close game set the foundation for a finish that will easily mask Texas' obvious deficiencies. The story tonight isn't that Texas struggled to barely beat a  fairly unremarkable Ohio State team, rather the story is that Texas had a remarkable comeback to win the Fiesta Bowl. Had the game ended with an interception on the Buckeyes' final scoring drive and maybe we're looking at a win that is less satisfying to many in the media than what we received. Sure, it won't be enough to split the title for the Longhorns, but it will help in their final ranking, which hurts Utah. Such is the life for a non-BCS team.

Moving beyond Texas, though, this close contest helps USC, too. The Trojans easily defeated Ohio State earlier in the season and for a while, the win didn't seem to register, since the Buckeyes weren't performing at a fairly high-level. That changed in the Fiesta and while the Trojan win over Ohio State would have held more merit had they actually pulled off the upset, it does offer a comparison. USC beat the Bucks 35-3, Texas beat them 24-21. Does it prove USC is better than Texas? No, but it does add more fuel to the debate. Of course, if you use that whatever-degrees of seperation here, then you've got to add Utah, who defeated the Beavers, the lone team to beat USC. But they won't. 

So when it's all said and done, the AP and Coaches will most likely figure out a way to stick it to Utah. They'll make an excuse about 'Bama not being motivated enough as justification for ranking them below a bunch of 1-loss teams and ignore the true dominate fashion of Utah's win. Of course, that will play less of a role in ranking Texas and USC will get the benefit of the doubt with their blowout of Penn State, since no one would ever question the Nittany Lions' motivation. That leaves the loser of the national championship game. While no one can predict how that game will go (in terms of the final score), if the loser keeps it close, don't be surprised to find them ranked ahead of Utah, as well. 

In 2004, Oklahoma was rolled by USC, yet finished the season 3rd, ahead of Texas and Utah. A year later, the Trojans lost a heart-breaker to Texas in the national championship game and finished 2nd. Ohio State, after getting rolled by Florida in their title game, finished 2nd. Last season, with two-losses, they did drop to fifth (AP) and fourth (Coaches), which might give us an idea of what to expect for this year's loser.

What does that mean for Utah and where will they most likely finish? It isn't going to be No. 1 or No. 2. They might have a shot at No. 3, but I doubt it and it's possible they get the 4th spot if the national champion loser gets blown out. Also, don't be surprised if the AP poll has Utah a spot higher than the Coaches, which was the case in 2004, when the media put Utah 4th (ahead of Texas) and the coaches 5th (behind Texas). Though I would not be shocked if Texas was ahead of Utah in both polls, since in 2004, the Utes were still ranked ahead of the Longhorns in the AP Poll entering the bowl season. This year, though, Texas is 3rd and it seems very unlikely they would drop them behind Utah. 

That means on eary Friday morning, this is how I expect the final top-5 to shake out: 

1. Florida/Oklahoma

2. USC

3. Texas

4. Florida/Oklahoma

5. Utah

It'll suck and we'll be pissed, but I don't see it happening any other way. Had Texas lost to Ohio State, the Utes would have undoubtedly been no worse than 4th. I even think had the Longhorns not won in such exciting fashion, the Utes very well could have leaped them. But not after a finish like that, even though the game as a whole was less impressive than many expected. 

But as I said, such is the life.

The Buckeyes took the lead with only minutes to go, but a late rally by Texas saved the win and any lasting hope of a national championship.

A loss would have helped Utah. 

A close Texas win doesn't hurt Utah, but it isn't nearly as good.

Can someone still make the case Texas should be ranked ahead of the Utes when the final polls are released? And did the Longhorns doom any chance of splitting the national championship, regardless of what happens Thursday? 

Discuss.

Anyone dare refute Mr. Anderson?

Jamal Anderson's case for putting Utah at No. 1