Scary that it's Tuesday and I've not discussed the UCLA game much. Could I be...chicken? Hm, possibly, because this game has the foundation to be a slaughter. And not in favor of the Utes, sadly.
UCLA beat BYU last Saturday, thankfully, but also nearly blew a 20-3 lead. Was that because BYU is actually good, or were the Bruins showing a little chink in the armor? Hopefully it's the latter, because I don't want to face the prospects of Utah getting killed by the Bruins, then watching BYU roll to another great season.
So does Utah stand any chance of winning? Well crazier things have happened, but I doubt it. The Bruins are too talented and Utah has shown no signs of offensive movement to give me hope that they will be able to keep up with the Bruins. Though with minimal mistakes -- no picks, Grady -- the Utes could keep the game rather close. From there, who knows what could happen, as Appalachian State proved in week one that even the most talented teams can lose to lesser opponents. The fact this game is being played in Salt Lake City gives me some hope, yet that's almost dashed when I realize they lost to Air Force last week...and that was a home game too.
The Bruins should win, most likely will win and if they don't, it will be a loss worthy for near-top story on SportsCenter. That's good for Utah, because they'll go into this game with nothing to lose. A loss is expected and doesn't hurt them in conference play, while a victory would be worthy of a little rioting. And I've always wanted to riot!
Burn, Baby, Burn!
Of course that is not going to happen because A) we don't riot here and B) the Utes probably won't win. Though I can dream, right?
Hopefully the Utes keeps it competitive, take it down to the wire and maybe finish with a moral victory. It's possible if Utah can find a running game, their receivers can catch and Grady looks more poised, but those are big ifs.