Utes’ Bowl Game Snub too Outrageous to Compensate with “Holy War” Matchup
by Tyler Crum
After closing out its conference schedule with a win over Colorado, it was anyone’s guess where nine-win Utah would be heading for the postseason. Several close losses to divisional opponents had derailed any national title aspirations of the once third-ranked team in the country, but the Utes were still coming off of their best season since joining the Pac-12 and were co-champions of the South division.
Early projections predicted that the team could possibly be taking a trip to San Diego to face a fourth-place Big-12 team in the Holiday Bowl or to El Paso for a Sun Bowl showdown against a mid-tier ACC team. The potential for the Utes to face off against a big-name program in a nationally recognized bowl game — a considerable accomplishment, given the ridiculous 40 licensed bowl games that make up this year’s postseason — seemed to be a fitting reward for a team that was only one win away from a conference championship appearance and a shot at the Rose Bowl.
Many of those following the team started counting down the days until the conference championship, after which the Utes would know their end-of-season ranking within the Pac-12 and finally know for certain which bowl game they would be bound for. Caught up in the anticipation for bowl selection Sunday, it barely registered for a lot of Utah fans when the Team Down South accepted an invitation to the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.
The moment this happened, whispers of a “Holy War” skirmish in Sin City started to pick up momentum in college football circles. At first, many disregarded these notions as far-fetched. After all, the team had just played in the Las Vegas Bowl last season, and this year’s team has improved remarkably since then. The Utes were also far better than the sixth-place team in the conference, the team that is supposed to receive a spot in the game. It didn’t even make sense for there to be two successful, nine-win teams in such a mediocre bowl.
The fact that the Utes have been relegated to the Vegas Bowl again is an insult to the massive strides that the team has taken since last season. When the Utes traveled to Vegas last year, they were 8-4 and sitting at fifth place in the South division.
This season, the Utes are arguably the third- or fourth-best team in the entire Pac-12. They boast the best record in the division, are tied for first in the South and, at No. 22, are the conference’s third-highest ranked team in the CFP rankings. Yet somehow, the Utes were the sixth team in the conference to receive a bowl invite, having been passed up by the Holiday, Foster Farms and Sun Bowls in favor of No. 25 USC and the unranked UCLA and Washington State.
While Utah — or any college football team, for that matter — would be chomping at the bit for the chance to end the season with a victory against a bitter rival, the team and its fans had their sights set higher than just another Las Vegas Bowl win. I’m not saying that the Cougars aren’t a tough opponent, because they are a talented team and will likely give Utah all it can handle as they try to send off Bronco Mendenhall with win No. 100 in his final game as BYU’s head coach.
That said, the Utes have striven all season to be in the national spotlight by playing big-name and ranked opponents, but winning a game against the unranked Cougars — whose national reputation has lately been concerned with their activities after the whistle has blown — would do little to enhance Utah’s reputation outside of the state.
Despite the mountain of reasons the two teams shouldn’t have been paired, the lure of having one of college football’s most heated rivalries fought out in the Nevada desert seemed to trump logic with Sunday’s announcement that the Utes would be making a second consecutive trip to Las Vegas to face their blue-clad foes.
Even with a “Holy War” season finale in the works, I find myself in the same boat as many Utah fans — extremely disappointed with the Utes’ bowl pairing and hardly excited for the Dec. 19 game in Sin City.
@tylercrum
Though Disappointed, Utah Fans Should Gear Up For Exciting Match with BYU
by Brock Jensen
Yeah, I know. I’m not any happier than anyone else about the Utes, who were ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll this season, taking on in-state rival BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.
But it is what it is. Sure, the Utes deserved a better bowl — no question about it. The fact that they ended up in the exact same bowl game as a year ago despite having a much better season is frustrating. They had their best season as a member of the Pac-12 and they are playing in a bowl that doesn’t really reflect a season in which the Utes finished as co-champions of the Pac-12 South.
Alright, enough of the ranting — back to reality. Despite the letdown of the actual bowl game, everything else is in place for an exciting finale to Utah’s exciting season. Utah will take on its long-time foe in the Cougars, and this is a game they will undoubtedly be fired up for. They have plenty of motivation, especially with it being BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s last game before he heads to the East Coast to take the head coaching job at Virginia.
BYU will want nothing more then to have him depart on a good note, and to have it come at the expense of Utah would be all the more satisfying. This is one of the reasons I am excited for this game — BYU is going to play harder than it probably has all season long, making it a tremendously competitive game.
On paper, I believe Utah has the superior talent, and I don’t think many would argue against that, even Cougar fans. But this is a rivalry game by every definition of the word. Crazy things can happen, and both teams want to prove their superiority. This will be a hard-fought battle, even though Utah has proven it is the better all-around team with its daunting Pac-12 schedule.
Another reason I am excited for this game is the location: Vegas, one of the closest locations for a bowl game. That will make it easier for both fanbases to make the trip down to Sin City. The crowds on both sides will be well-represented, despite BYU fans having had an early jump on the ticket sales after the Cougars committed to the bowl a week prior to Utah’s announcement. It will be a pretty raucous environment.
Yes, of course, we’d rather be watching Utah play in front of a big national audience in one of the New Year’s six bowl games. But let’s get over it and enjoy the fact that the bowl game is within realistic driving distance and that we can watch this team in person one more time this season.
It’s important to win this game because it would cap off Utah’s best season so far in the Pac-12. The Utes have the chance to win 10 games, which is quite the accomplishment considering they are just one of three teams who have, or have the chance to, secure 10 wins this season in the Pac-12.
Ask any Ute fan at the beginning of the year if they would have enjoyed a Utah-BYU bowl matchup, and most would have said yes. It is sure to be an exciting game to watch, even though it feels like somewhat of a letdown. Like I mentioned earlier, Utah fans were hoping for a lot more, but playing a solid BYU team is not the worst thing that could have happened this bowl season.
@brock_jensen02