The last time a top-five team walked into Rice-Eccles Stadium, it didn’t end well for the visitors. Led by a 234-yard, two touchdown performance from quarterback Travis Wilson, the Utes used a late goal line stand to take down No. 5 Stanford. In the waning seconds, Wilson kneeled the ball, flashed the ‘U’ and fans began to rush the field.
This Saturday, Oregon, another top-five team will attempt to come out of Salt Lake City with a victory. But they won’t if the MUSS has anything to say about it.
Every weekend, media and fans alike try to analyze why Utah can beat its opponent. By breaking down the X’s and O’s on the football field, most people can get a general sense of how a game will play out.
Last season, the Utes were not supposed to beat the Cardinal. Stanford’s big, bad defense was supposed to come to Salt Lake and dominate an inferior Utah offense. The Cardinal were supposed to leave the Beehive State with national championship hopes still in mind. These were all things that were “supposed to happen,” according to pretty much anyone who wasn’t a Utah fan.
However, none of those things happened on Oct. 12 of last year. So what went wrong for Stanford on that day? Or USC two weekends ago?
While there were probably many logical explanations as to why Utah played well against Stanford and USC in those games — and I’m sure there are further reasons why the Utes just always seem to play better at home — I can tell you that one definitive reason why they play better in RES is because of the MUSS.
It’s basically a proven fact that playing at home gives home teams an advantage. Well, playing in Rice-Eccles provides the Utes just that, and then some. Although Utah’s student section doesn’t seat the most in the nation, it makes up for the lack of quantity by picking up the quality.
From the third-down jump to the traditional hanging of the number “5” in front of the section to represent the amount of yards lost for each false start caused, the MUSS is a top-notch and highly underrated student section. Not to mention, the students in the section are the main reason for all those yards lost, thanks to their endless and tireless screams.
Now the nation has started to take notice. On Tuesday, NCAA.com released its rankings of the top five student sections in the entire nation, and guess who made the cut? Yup, it was the MUSS coming in at No. 4 to solidify itself as one of the best in the country.
I’m not sure I’m ready to declare this group one of the top five across the country, as there are a number of good sections out there that can compete for that title. I do know, though, that the MUSS will continue to gain recognition with Utah’s recent climb in the rankings.
If nothing else, the Oregon Ducks will definitely know the MUSS after Saturday night. I can guarantee that.
 
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