Any Ute fan that thinks we’ll dominate the Big12 year one

Utah will be competitive in the Big 12 but to say they will dominate is a bit of a stretch.

There will be questions for sure…QB and TE most notably. Not saying we’ll dominate but a 4 year recruiting ranking that borders on a top 25 average and less than 10 Sr’s in the two deep means there is a good chance you return 75% of your experienced players depending on the draft.

You also have guys like Nate Ritchie, Justin Medlock,Money Parks and newcomers like Mathew’s, Lomu, the RB room and the Fano brothers that will be on the field. DL and Barton return…Snowden, Blocker, etc…the train keeps moving.

We’ll reload imo. This is a top 25 roster for the next 4 years. QB play is instrumental and that’s a question mark but plenty of young talent to play behind potentially our most talented OL’s in our history.

We’ll compete for the championship on Day 1…winning it is another matter altogether.

I always cringe when I see Utah fans claim we’ll dominate. The Utes will be good and competitive for sure, but for the reasons you’ve laid out, they’re not going to dominate. Even if/when the Utes win the conference, they probably won’t dominate it.

If this were 2015, I would agree with your analysis. But in 2023, we have the transfer portal, and successful programs use it to restock lost talent. You mentioned losing TEs and Rising (QB). Our starting QB for next year might be at another program getting playing time this year. If the Utes are good this year, like we have been the last two years, they will have the chance to attract some good transfer players looking to level up and compete for a championship. The transfer portal has changed how rosters are built and how you forecast champion contenders.

Dominate? No. We are almost always competitive no matter who/where we play because of our disciplined, tough, defensive style.

Not sure about next year, but, long term, I wonder if the Utes recruiting strategy needs to pivot, and fast. Seems that Utah has drawn talent from California and Nevada, but now tell a kid and his parents that they’ll be playing in the Central and Southern Plains, are they going to lose recruits? I suppose the recruits’ other options (USC, UCLA, Wash, Oregon will also be playing at far-flung places but at least Cal, USC, UCLA will have some home games in California. How is Utah set up to recruit Texas and the Plains?

The only people who are saying we will “dominate” from the start are CougarBoard created Ute troll accounts online. They are desperately fanning any negative flame they can create because of the now inevitable return of daddy.

This is a straw man argument. Who is saying we’ll dominate? Why do you invent things to argue about?

It’s doubtful that Utah can consistently dominate the Big 12 year in and year out. However, I will say this, if they can continue to recruit at the level they’ve been doing for the last few years and supplement that with key additions via the portal, it is a possibility. I can see a pathway for the Utes to become the new Oklahoma in that conference and dominate it like the Sooners did for extended periods of time.

One observation. First year in the PAC, with USC on probation, we had a chance to beat Colorado (who had a long road losing streak) and get into the first PAC12 title game. Colorado surprised us and late in the game, a fan nearby noted that Utah had adapted to playing PAC teams and had a fairly good showing but were now facing a BIG12 style team.

Next year we’re facing a few long time Big12 members (and also a few recent newcomers as well as some former PAC teams of course).

I can’t wait until the AI bots get good enough that most people will eventually get to a place of not believing anything on the internet.

No, I don’t think we’ll dominate. Recruiting rankings put Utah in the top 3 or 4 of the conference, and I think we have a top 3 or 4 coach in the league. So anything less than being in the top 5 regularly would be fairly disappointing.