College football is here!
I’ve been waiting for college football forever now. Especially since all the expansion news. BYU is the latest to leave the Mountain West. I predicted this after Utah accepted an invite to the PAC-10. BYU is probably the only program at this time to make the jump to independence. BYU has a new broadcast center and a worldwide TV network, which makes the transition to independence easier. I don’t know how they will fare at being an independent, but I think they’ll be fine. However, I think being in the PAC-10 outweighs being independent any day. BYU’s other sports are going to the WCC, which really makes no sense to me because the WCC schools are much smaller than BYU and play in small facilities.
Since I moved to Salt Lake City and now work at the University of Utah, the Utes are now my second favorite team. I’ve always enjoyed watching them and especially loved the Sugar Bowl. We have season tickets to the Utes, and they are a hot commodity. The PAC-10 move was a great move on their part. Season tickets sold out within hours.
My first game at Rice-Eccles Stadium was pretty awesome. The game day atmosphere was excellent and they already have some great traditions. Many people tailgate and there’s activities for everyone. What I like the most about the University of Utah is they put the students first. Students are part of the “MUSS”, which is the most insane student sections I’ve ever seen. Their section is just a sea of red and they are jumping and cheering like crazy. People were really into the game and the stadium was very loud. The Utes were very sloppy and had some silly mistakes. I think the mistakes can be corrected over the course of the season. Luckily, the upcoming stretch is very favorable for the Utes and the hardest game they have on the schedule is not until TCU. That game is at least two months away. I think the Utes have what it takes to go undefeated again. The Ute defense is impressive and probably will take them over the top this year.
Here’s some highlights:
I am a die-hard Vandal and Idaho is my #1 team. I think it is perfectly acceptable to have a number two team, especially if they are a BCS conference team. Utah isn’t in the PAC-10 yet, but will be next year. We have season tickets to the Utes, which is a good investment. I have a connection to the “U” and my SO will be a student there next year.
As for the Vandals, they had a great win against North Dakota. I watched the game on the DVR. The offensive line had some trouble and they need to get those issues ironed out when the season starts. Nathan Enderle looked great. The defense looked much improved. However, it is tough to see when the opponent is North Dakota. Idaho has a real tough test next with Nebraska.
Here’s the ND highlights:
Welcome to Utah football! Could be an awesome year to adopt the Utes as a second team. And what better way to do it than with season tickets? You have a luxury that thousands of out-of-state fans would love to have.
So how are your Vandals going to do this year? They sure surprised me last year. I think the schedule is not going to be too bad. Do you think U of I will be back in a bowl game this December?
Oh wow, thank you for visiting my blog! I am very fortunate to have season tickets. The Pitt game was a BLAST. I can’t wait to get into the tailgating and meet more Ute fans. I think it is great to see the tradition Utah has built up.
Anyways, I think the Vandals will win 5-6 games. It will be a bit of a down year because the offensive line is pretty green. The Humanitarian Bowl is possible again, but you never know.