Musings on TDS and the rivalry game in general

[Dwight89]

Some musings regarding the rivalry game on Thursday:

1. This year’s game is perfectly placed from a competitive standpoint. There’s no one Utah will be looking ahead to and Whitt has had all summer to prep for the game. There really is no excuse to lose this game.

2. This year’s game is also perfectly placed from a fan’s standpoint. The offseason banter has been fun and has created wayyy more discussion than if we were playing Idaho State on Thursday. Obviously, we would all rather be playing a P-5 opponent to start the season but considering the schedule we’re stuck with I don’t mind it being the first game of the season.

3. Losing this game will be a BIG deal, whether we want to admit it or not. BYU fans are already gloating like they won last year, can you imagine how insufferable they would be if they won in a year Utah is seen as a darkhorse CFP contender? Also, if we lose it means Utah is really not as good as we all think/hope. So, while it doesnt technically shatter our goals of winning the conference championship and bowling for roses I think realisitically it dashes our hopes. If we can’t beat BYU we won’t be beating USC, Washington, etc. 

4. College rivalries are the best. I know its fun to be pious towards BYU fans about their irrelevance in the current landscape but this game is the most important game of the season to the vast majority of fans. Remember, we that post on fan boards, twitter, etc. are the minority of fans. So, let’s enjoy one of CFB’s most storied rivalries and kick some cougar ass on Thursday while chasing after some cougar tails at halftime. Go Utes!

[Stone]

As to point no. 4, I will add that my observation is the same. The game on the schedule that seems to get the most casual Utah football observers interested and excited is the BYU game. Alumni associations outside of Utah often hold their big events/fundraisers to coincide with the game because (as stated already), the game holds the most interest. As much as we look forward to developing rivalries with Pac12 schools, none of those matchups have the relevancy that the BYU game has to the majority of the fanbase.

[utefansince79]

I do have to admit that in addition to some die-hard Ute fans in my office, there are a few causal “fans” who want Utah to win on Thursday, but for the rest of the year, they can’t tell you who Utah (or BYU for that matter) will play that weekend.

 

 

 

[Warrior Ute]

I look forward to when the PAC 12 rivalries begin to have more importance.   BYU-Utah used to be a huge deal because of the impact on the chamption of the conference often depended on the game.

I live in Northern California and have several friends who are USC fans.  They are seeing the Utah-USC game as becoming more and more of a rivalry.  Stanford is the stated rivalry but they are in different divisions now.  The game is not as critical to deciding who will likely win the division.  My friends are seeing Utah as the biggest threat to USCs dominance in the South and are focusing more on the game and knowing Utah’s team.  Utah-USC has had some exciting finsihes, some rude words being turned into a hastag, and has often impacted who was the South Division Champion. 

My friends have recently brought up the impact of the game on the last 4 seasons

2015 – They won and went to the PAC 12 champtionship game over us as the co-champions

2016 – We beat them in dramatic fashion.  If they won they would have been division co-champions and represented in the conference championship.

2017 – They beat us and won the division and the conference championships

2018 – We won and won the division

If we continue on the trajectory this may become one of the big rivavlries in the division because it has impact on the outcome of the season.  Hopefully this will get some of the less ardent fans focused on a conference rivalry instead.

[The Holy Cougar]

USC vs Utah rivalry? 😂😂😂😂😂

Have you heard of Notre Dame or perhaps UCLA?  Those much bigger rivals. You have an over inflated sense of Utah’s value. 

[Charlie]

This isn’t just crazy talk. UCLA will always be the cross town rival. Dotre Dame will always be a huge national matchup. Still, USC needs to consistently chase the southern division title, required for a successful season. Utah just may become the biggest obstacle in that effort. But it takes a number of years to be remembered as team that ruins that dream often.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I agree with a lot of what you said, but I disagree with “if we lose it means Utah is really not as good as we all think/hope” and “if we can’t beat BYU-P we won’t be beating USC, Washington, etc.” My reasons:
– The first game tends to be an anomaly, either in a good way or a bad way. Coaches always say you see the most improvement from game 1 to game 2. If we were to lose game 1 – to anyone – I wouldn’t be ready to say we’re not a good team. Likewise, if we crush BYU-P by 50 this week, I won’t be ready to say we’re playoff contenders either. Game 1 is its own animal…beware of drawing any conclusions from it.
– They say you’re never as good as your best win, and you’re never as bad as your worst loss. A loss to BYU-P would definitely be our worst loss of the year, but we would not be as bad as that team.
– Teams change a lot throughout the year. Some change for the better, others for the worse, others do a little of both. Injuries, suspensions can bring a team down, momentum and coaching can bring a team up. The team we’ll see by Washington will be very different that the one we see against BYU-P, hopefully in a positive way.
– Matchups matter. Where are the opponents’ strengths, and what are ours? Can they exploit our weaknesses, and can we exploit theirs? Remember when we were the only team in the conference that could beat Stanford? That was a matchup thing – we were a difficult matchup for them. On the other side, we seem to match up terribly with ASU. So not all outcomes are equal because not all matchups are equal.

[BD]

BYU fans are already gloating like they won last year

They are gloating like they have already won this year also. I’ve never seen them so confident. Not even close.

I am not so arrogant to think Utah winning is a sure-given thing. Still, anything can happen. But I do think it will take BYU being +3 or more in turnovers, plus a bunch of bad calls and/or personal foul penalties to win. But it is time for a convincing victory of at least 13 points or more for Utah. It’s due.

[CapitalUte]

Fans. You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means (In my best Inigo Montoya accent).

I guess I set a higher bar for “fan” entry. I’m not knocking people who simply like the rivalry or enjoy the water cooler banter it provides for those living in the state. To each their own, I hope they enjoy Thursday night too. But if you are so far removed from what Utah football is now that you rank the importance of that win over one against USC or Washington, I don’t think of you as a Utah Utes fan. I think of that individual as a fan of Utah culture. 

They are also likely the first people to jump off the bandwagon at the first sign of a down season or the rise of another program should fortunes change. That’s not even a casual fan in my book. A casual fan may not have a clue who is on the schedule that week but they still know how the PAC12 works and the difference between a conference championship and a holy war win.  

[Author]

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