We need to start playing USU again

[Craig]

We used to play the Aggies every year until the PAC-12 and I understand why we dropped them to make room for 9 Conference games versus 8 but now we should start playing them at least every other year and maybe only at home.  They could use the cash ans recruiting help, and you really can’t tell me Idaho State  or Weber State is a better choice.

Props to Jay Hill at WSU but FBS versus G5 c’mon.

Yes in the PAC-12 beginning we needed 3 gimme games each year since 3-6 in conference was quite possible and the 3-0 OOC made us bowl eligible.  (Thank God we don’t play 4 gimmies like TDS, and even lose some) 

But now if we are good enough to really compete in conference thanks to huge recuiting upgrades why can’t we at least upgrade our non-conference and help out Little Bro.  (If that offends USU fans it isn’t my intention, but even your coaches have admitted that they get better as Utah passes over more in state kids because we recruit better and best of luck to our gradute transfers)  I hope Siaosi Mariner has a great year for USU.

We shouldn’t have to nail bite again for bowl eligibility unless we really push up the OOC SOS and USU is only likely to do a little better than BYU against us.

Go Utes and Go Aggies  (miss your ice cream- type 2 diabetes and all that)

 

[Dwight89]

Someone else suggested this and I think it’s a good idea. I like the idea of a rotating BYU/USU game. Play BYU one year, than USU the next. 

But, if we’re still playing BYU-P year in, year out then I don’t want to waste another non con game on the Aggies. 

[Gary Sapp]

That is undoubtedly the best way to get the Cougs off our schedule more often and yet to not make the ledge go all bats**t crazy.

[GameForAnyFuss]

No, that absolutely would make the legislature go bats**t crazy. See my post on this last week.

The legislature is absolutely ready to cut funding to the hospital and HCI if we don’t play BYU-P every year. They won’t accept USU as a substitute. In truth, they think we should be playing both BYU-P and USU every year.

Again, the only way this ever changes is if we stop voting for legislators who went to BYU-P.

[Craig]

With five or so more wins on the streak they will be to tired of losing to care. ( I lived through the 80’s)

Dropping them from the schedule will seem to be an act of mercy, but no more close games like last year.

It all comes down to how the athletic department sees OOC scheduling and the balance between bowl eligibility, SOS, and recruiting.  I’m all for upgrading the schedule a least a bit. (USU replacing FCS teams) But if we really want to get better recruiting we need to make a leap in OOC scheduling.  The down side is that it is embarrassing for a P5 team not to be bowl eligible. (Maybe not as much as scheduling FCS teams should be)

[Dante Guardi]

but if TDS isnt on our regular season schedule, we’ll just go 9-3 every year and see them in the Vegas Bowl

[CapitalUte]

Luckily BYU will not be able to qualify for the Vegas bowl in the future. The move to a pro stadium came with an upgrade to BIG10 (odd years) or SEC (even years) opponent. 

[PhiladelphiaUte]

I too would rather play Utah St than the tdS.  But if we’re going to continue to be stuck schedulings Yners, we should at LEAST start demanding a 2-for-1 out of it.  Because right now, ybU-p is the only school that benefits by us scheduling them.

[Stone]

It sounds odd, but my only reservation against playing USU is that it requires beating them (I hate to see USU take a loss, but I would be even more upset to see the Utes lose). 

Ultimately, I would rather see USU (and even Weber St. and SUU) on the schedule than Idaho State, North Dakota, or Northern Illinois. If we are scheduling so-called bodybag games, let’s give the payout to in-state schools and provide some love to local programs. But if it is a question of playing in-state schools versus schools that are in recruiting hot-beds (San Diego State, Houston, Rice, etc.), I am in favor of scheduling the recruiting games.

[Craig]

Yes and if we were playing recruiting area games I would not bring this up but WE AREN’T.  . 

Yes, instead of BYU, Idaho State, and NIU we should be playing Rice, UCF, and SDSU but if that is to much for bowl eligibility then at least replacing FBS teams with USU would be cool. On a 2 fo 1 or exclusively home basis.

As for USU losing,  would they rather play in SLC or play at Wake Forest? 

[Tony (admin)]

Playing USU or BYZoo doesn’t help our recruiting.

[Craig]

No it doesn’t help our recruiting but neither does playing Weber or Idaho State.

[Chidojuan]

But having a tune up game against Idaho State and then beating USC DEFINITELY helps our recruiting.

[Craig]

It is the beating USC that helps we get  better tune-up in a scrimmage. 

The real question is.

Are we ready for bigger pants and how much bigger?

Are we going to take baby steps in improving the OOC schedule, keep crawling, or boldly run ahead and risk a face plant?

[PhiladelphiaUte]

I disagree.  I just don’t see FCS teams providing Utah with enough of a challenge that it helps us raise our game to the level necessary to compete with our conference brethren.  All it does is make us feel overconfident.  Body bag games should be schools like SJSU, UNLV, Wyo, UTEP, UTSA, SMU, Rice, Tulane, FAU, and/or FIU.  And MAYBE UMass.  We should be playing one of THOSE teams to open every season.

We should also be playing another P5 program, and by that I mean a REAL “P5” program.  Not one of those midmajors who THINKS they’re an equivalent to one.

The other nonconference game should be one of the following:  Fres St, SDSU, Utah St, Colo St, Hou, USF, UCF, Cincy, Navy, or Army (but not AFA; they’re notorious chop-blockers).  Additionally, any one of these teams could also be replaced by a P5 program like Tx Tech, Bay, Kan, Ill, Pur, UKy, Vandy, Duke, WF, UNC, UMd, Rutg, Syr, or BC.  I’d even be okay with ybU-p being on this list, so long as we either (1) don’t have to face them more than 4 times a decade, or (2) get them to submit to a one-off/2-for-1 scheduling arrangement with us.  

At no point should we be playing both USU and ybU-p in the same season, and at no point should we be playing one team more frequently than the other (sans one-off/2-for-1 agreement of course).

[astUTE]

can’t give this enough up votes!

[Tony (admin)]

All the better reason not to play BYZoo or USU.

[Central Coast Ute]

If I’m not mistaken Chris Hill already told USU that Utah will not be going to Logan and USU refuses to schedule anything less than a home and home. Removing the TDS for good isn’t possible due to politics. I agree with you, I’d rather play usu but with everyone’s demands that would look like one game against usu and one against the TDS every year. That would leave only one other non con game. This scenario is not ideal.

[Craig]

You may be right I keep trying to think rationally about it but although sports are games the game theory rationality is really missing. PAC-12 administration is a good example of the irrationality in sport administration.

USU should be glad to play us every other year exclusively at Rice-Eccles instead of traveling to the East Coast for one and dones, but if the sobriquet “Little Brother ” offends them then they stick with the status quo. I think Matt Wells said that Utah’s success and subsequent wider recruiting net left better quality local players for them, but I suppose that offended some Aggies to think that they wanted leftovers.

The imagined status that fans have in mind for their teams can cloud them to reality and BYU is probably the best example. Athletic departments should be more rational but then again they have to answer to fans.

No, rational game theory planning really gets warped by egos.

[Central Coast Ute]

Exactly. I definitely would love to see USU back on the schedule, even if it’s not every year. As long as the TDS is on the schedule, I see no benefit by playing them, especially in Logan. If Utah has to schedule a home and home, it then becomes another series with little to no benefit for Utah as they have nothing to gain, but everything to lose. Just like the TDS series has become.

I agree with you that USU traveling to Salt Lake would make more sense for them than say going to Tennessee, but they won’t do it.

[Utahute72]

I would rather play USU than BYU.  That is the more traditional rivalry in state, BYU is a johnny come lately, USU was a rivalry rooted in tradition.

 

We should never open with either one.

[Puget Ute]

The fact we open with byu in 3 of the next 5 years is absolutely terrible. Twitter and FB have been awful for weeks and will only get worse up to kickoff. This game needs to be week 2 or 3.

[Puget Ute]

I agree we need H-H with USU back in the schedule, rotating years with byu. Right now our earliest openings are 2025 and 2027, and I really hope we can get Iowa in those spots.
But beyond that maybe we can do USU in 2028 and 2030, and get P5 on the schedule in a number of places. With the stadium expansion we will be more attractive to H-H from Big Ten/BIG 12/SEC.
Chris Hill is retired. Kyle Whittingham will retire before we play Baylor in 2024. The four bozos in the legislature who held up academic funding until we get but back on the schedule are not likely to remain in the leg 6+ years from now, and hopefully we will be im a different climate by then.

And both USU and byu need to be in the “B” game slot, even if they are “A”-level talent. The only caveat is we need to maximize the number of home games every year.

[Author]

Posts