Can we become a national championship contender?

[ProudUte]

I believe we can (in time).

Look at Nebraska that won 3 championships in the 90s.  They are located in Lincoln Nebraska.  Not hardly an attractive place for young men to live, party, have fun, etc.  Yet, Nebraska under Osborne ended up in the top ten for like 20 straight seasons.  They were in a power conference and we were not in those days.

Look at Oklahoma.  Also, not an attractive place to live with killer tornadoes on top of everything else.  Yet, they seem to make the final four quite often.  Why? Tradition, facilities, coaches, etc.

We could not have become a championship contender prior to joining the PAC12.  Now it is possible IMO.  Are we there yet?  No, as the post below indicates – our recruiting is not close to where it needs to be.  Utah needs to become a location where young superstars want to come and play.  The University and the area have a lot to offer and I think with the right coaching, facilities, etc. the Utes can build up the tradition needed to become a player on the national scene.

Just my two cents.

[Tony (admin)]

This season is our best chance, as slim as that might be.

[UteThunder]

Our best chance . . . so far.

[ProudUte]

It is our best chance so far.  I think we have enough to end up playing in the Rose Bowl and being ranked in the top ten.  I do not think we have the offense to be in the final four.

[UtMtBiker]

I agree. We can be damn good but I don’t see Huntley as a champion level QB. Pretty damn good but made some really dumb, costly mistakes in his 3rd year. I don’t know many that have improved that much from year 3 to 4.

Not a popular opinion but it’s the truth.

[Utesbyfive]

A Rose Bowl would be a dream.

The Rose is a CFP semi-final site next year, so this is the year to take it.

[Dwight89]

I’m a firm believer any team in a P-5 conference can become a national title contender, its just reallllly hard. You have to build a tradition of winning over a decade or so and then start convincing blue chip kids to take a hard look at you. It’s a battle on two fronts. 

I’m definitely not a believer in this idea that SLC is any harder of a location to recruit to then Eugene, Ann Arbor, or Columbus. 

[EagleMountainUte]

I agree with this to. I don’t buy the destination BS of partying and stuff is appealing to these kids. Alabama sounds like a miserable place to live. I view the south as mostly miserable because humidity sucks. 

Whittingham recruits and has a certain appeal for certain players needs or wants . Most of these kids mention a family type atmosphere. Saban recruits the best because he wins A LOT!  

It is almost comparable to the Jazz. Snyder and what he has built brings an appeal to a certain type of player. It isn’t going to get the Durant’s or Lebrons of the nba to come here. Mitchell seems genuine in saying he likes Utah.   But getting a player of his caliber was luck. It is extremely rare to draft that late a player who is so exceptional. Retaining him will be interesting. 

[dystopiamembrane]

We can’t become a national championship contender until USC gets better.

[Puget Ute]

Absolutely. All of the top conference teams will need to make noise and win their OOC games for Utah to get into the cfp picture.

[chinngiskhaan]

If/when Whitt keeps the team on an upward trajectory, and he retires with the program in a better place than it is in now, we will be in good shape.

What needs to happen is a continued string of good/great/amazing coaching hires. So far, we have had 3 of those in a row. Mcbride was the right hire for that time, and he got the program to a steady place, then Urban showed us what we could be, and Kyle has done a solid job of improving the depth and reputation of the team throughout his stint as HC. When he is gone, we just need to make the next great hire. Scalley may just be that guy, I’m not sure.

If fully expect Whitt to retire having made it to the playoff one time. If that happens his last year, and we hire the right guy, either that guy will get us there, or the next one will.

[Charlie]

What is needed is to finish as a one loss team and the conference needs to have another top 12 team. A one loss team will almost always make it unless there are no other good teams in the league. The ACC can pull that off but not the Pac. It is not easy but doable to win the CCG after a season with only 1 loss. When it happens, the team will have a very good QB, RB, DL, and DBs. If Huntley moves into the category of very good, we have a chance. The OL needs to only be good enough to not hurt us. This team goes as far as our QB goes assuming no critical injuries.

[homer]

Special teams are critical for Utes. Next season’s kick game concerns me.

[Utah5410]

I have zero concern for any area next year. Except special teams. Very concerned about our kicking situation.

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