[Stone]

It is the best angle. Thank you for sharing. It changes my mind. Whether the call should have been made in that situation can be debated, but Utah’s defender definitely grabbed the receiver’s jersey and held. The subsequent facemask by the defender came afterward. I no longer question whether there was a hold on the play (I previously did).

Even before seeing that, I have found the complaining by the refs (from both fans and the AD) to be lame. The refs did not cost Utah the game. Utah had its chances and came up short. As others have pointed out, a field goal in the second half or even a first down on that final Utah possession would have won the game. Utah had its chances, but was not good enough.

[Stone]

Lots of the criticisms here seem to be envy and a misunderstanding of NIL.

I think every fan base wishes they had a Phil Knight or Ryan Smith as a booster. I sure do. That said, I think NIL has caused my interest in college sports to diminish–I am still a HUGE fan, but my interest has certainly not increased since NIL. Because the genie is never going back into the bottle, at this point, I would prefer college football just become a semi-pro league that is affiliated with a university, and make the players employees with salaries and contracts. Although, technically, that would not necessarily change the NIL payments because those are separate from salaries, the same way sponsorships and salaries are separate for NFL and NBA players. Which goes to my next point.

As for the statement that BYU will not pay to play, people need to remember that NIL is not a school paying players to play. It is a booster paying the player as a sponsor. BYU can legitimately claim that they are not paying players to play. Utah can make the same claim. But that does not mean players are not being paid. NIL simply means that players are free to make contracts outside of the school for use of their Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) with anyone. I find nothing contradictory with the statement by the BYU dude.

[Stone]

To clarify, I believe Utah recruited more of the top ten in-state players than that, but that is how many signed with Utah. Your point remains the same (in terms of success trends for signing in-state recruits). But I want to clarify the distinction because the original poster on the other thread made it sound like Utah was not even recruiting the top in-state talent. Utah is definitely doing that, but they are not overwhelmingly signing with Utah.

[Stone]

You say this:

“If Utah really wants to secure their future, they need to swing for the fence and recruit the local kids.”

Is Utah not recruiting these local kids? Or is Utah just not getting commitments from them. I assume Utah is swinging for the fences and trying to recruit them (maybe I am wrong), but recruiting them only goes so far, there also needs to be a kid interested in going to the U. Some will, but some will find appeal in leaving “the nest” and going away to school. There is also now the NIL factor.

[Stone]

Correction to the Athletic: Maybe my math is off, but Cam has missed THREE full games (Utah State, OK Stat, and Arizona). And the first full game without him was not OK State, it was Utah State.

[Stone]

Here is my gripe with this whole situation. If the injury is actually bad, then the blame for this IMO lies with Whit. Whit has downplayed the injury, which leads most observers to assume that Cam is a pussy and has no heart or desire to play.

Whit has the notion that there is strategic advantage to downplaying the injury because then other teams need to prepare for two QBs. But what has instead happened is many fans (and perhaps teammates) have taken Whit at his word (that the injury is not a big deal) and then assumed Cam is a baby for not playing. The strategic advantage of downplaying the injury (I question whether there really is one) is not worth the downside here. If I was Cam, I would be p**sed that I am essentially being thrown to the wolves, made to look like I can’t play through a small laceration.

[Stone]

I disagree. ALthough there is definitely some contact pre-limp, the limp comes after he plants on the left foot to change direction. The contact prior does not look malicious. Nor does the subsequent contact where Kuithe goes down. It looks like Kuithe collapsed from the injury on the change of direction and the defender does not expect the sudden slowdown and collapse, so there is more contact.

I blame this injury on turf/shoes/pre-existing conditions.

[Stone]

NIL has brought both parody and parity to college football. But I would argue more parody than parity.

[Stone]

Although I sort of understand the potential gamesmanship and advantage of not saying if a star QB is playing (although I fall on the side of more disclosure), it boggles my mind that the coaches think there is ANY advantage in not disclosing the return timetable of someone like Reid. Maybe I am wrong, but I do not think opposing teams are changing their schemes based on whether Reid is playing. The secrecy does nothing but annoy and turn-off fans.

Some may say, “who cares what the fans think? I am playing every advantage to win.” I would respond that such an attitude is shortsighted because fans can be forgiving of mistreatment when you win, but things can change quickly when you start to lose. So you better be sure that the annoyance of the fans really pays off with wins.

[Stone]

Middle aged Utah white guy thing? Do you really think that only middle aged white guys in Utah wear their hats backward? Seriously? Have you ever looked around you when outside Utah? It is a common practice among people of all skin colors, of all ages, in all geographic areas. Does everyone do it? No. But it is hardly some cultural practice unique to light skinned, middle-aged, males living in Utah.

There is a perception among some to attribute trends they deem odd to be unique to Utah. Yes, there are certainly some cultural practices that are different in Utah, due to its history, but fashion trends in the U.S. are not all that different with the way media has shrunk the world.

[Author]

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