Utes fans congratulating each other on NC

[LCN]

When having the best team on the field is not enough to win a national championship. When one must first build up national "credibility". Then college football has become like gymnastics or ice skating - where one person can perform better than anyone else on the ice or mats and walk away without a medal while those with "credibility" walk away with the gold, even with fall after fall.

The governing bodies pretend to give the youngsters a shot at gold by "allowing" them to compete, but they are involved in a competition that has already been decided. No, they don't know who is going to win the Gold, but they know who will be in the hunt for it at the end - and the youngsters are not on that list. The only prayer for these youngsters - the complete collapse of those with "credibility" - and sometimes even that isn't enough.

Ahh, college football. The spirit of open competition. Ummm, not so much...

Who thinks Utah is the best team ? I do not know of a single person who thinks that they were . While I am positive that some out there do believe so , I'm equally positive I could find at least 1000 to 1 who do not .

So , should Tulane have been crowned national champion in 1998 ? That's where I see your side of this is heading :wink: Tulane didn't do enough then & the main reason as to why not was that they had never done enough before = Utah .

We could go so far as to play a game of comparing scores to support Utah by pointing out how the Utes just beat Bama in the Sugar by 14 while Fla posted only a 10 point win but , the same line of thought would also support Tulane & their case from back in 1998 . In '98 , Tulane beat BYU by 14 in their bowl game while TN only beat by FSU by 7 in theirs . Problem is that such scenarios are obviously ridiculous . IMO , same goes for supporting Utah at this point .

Clearly Utah did not do nearly enough to claim a title . They did all they could and in the future will have to do even more to reach the top of the mountain . A lot more and it starts with -1- annually building a high quality OOC schedule -2- earning respect and credibility by winning those games and -3- hoping the chips just happen to fall into the right order for them - just like every other D1 team .

 

[lynyrd skynyrd]

Yep, the mountian west is a real world killer...BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[Bamaball2001]

I think that they have a legit gripe.

Based on their undefeated season and on what I saw against us I think they can beat any of the top five teams around them in the polls.

:BigA: RTR!

 

[CrimsonDonald]

Yes she is and a excellent Italian cook.

 

[crains]

:BigA: If they want more credibility they should try to schedule some teams out of their conference like a Ole Miss , LSU or Al during the regular season. One big time win during the season will not get it! I can see where they are coming from but if they want to be ranked with the big boys they are going to have to play with them! I can also say the same for Sou. Cal. but the media is in love with them and they get excluded!:BigA:

 

[Crimson Bourne]

Well they did schedule Michigan. Too bad for Utah, Michigan sucked this year.

 

[derek4tide]

This is an internet forum. Use a PM if you have a personal message or you should expect open participation. That is the way internet forums work.

Yeah, it's an internet forum with free flow and thought, which means you don't control the content (unless you're now a mod or an admin), nor the thread. I can post my opinions (within the rules) and have been for some time. It's not under your control, that's how internet forums work.

That is not what you said in your post. Read it again. I simply did not understand what you were trying to say. Try not to get so touchy...

My opinion made perfect sense to everyone but you. Try not to get so controlling.

 

[rizolltizide]

LOL - I give up. You guys just pick out the pieces that you want and ignore the gist of the argument - that this system is unfair.

You throw up huge hurdles, and if Utah cannot afford to jump over those hurdles, they are "choosing" to be a non-factor.

Fine. I am sure that you are all right. I am wrong. It is their fault. They are just wannabes who are afraid of the big, bad BCS conferences. You win... :biggrin2:

I haven't finished reading the thread yet and I may be a little behind, but I seriously doubt you are giving up.:biggrin:

My argument is not about the system. My argument is that Utah was not the best team in 2008, nor was it in 2004. And the barnerish congratulating of each other for winning the NC. Regardless of the fairness of the system. Life isn't fair.

 

[rizolltizide]

I always will agree when someone says I need a week at Alta. That's good terrain and even better snow.

I would never claim that a victory over PITT in 2004/05 would qualify a team for a championship. That year the schedule was weaker than this year. We played Texas A&M and North Carolina but they weren't much to shout about. We had beaten Cal and Oregon the year before but that only helped with our starting rank for the 2004 season.

My statement about 2004 is that we destroyed every team on our schedule. The scores aren't indicative of the blowouts either because we pulled starters pretty early in each game allowing teams to score more than they might have otherwise. Each game was decided by the end of the first quarter. It was an undefeated season and we had as much claim on the trophy as the other undefeateds. Though we didn't go the Auburn route with the rings.

Our offense was far more explosive in 2004 than this year. Those Utes could have competed with anyone and I believe they would have beat USC or Auburn. Urban Meyer agrees (yeah, I know. Totally unbiased opinions).

It is too bad that neither team got the chance to prove themselves in a playoff. As a side note, both Auburn and USC has had some allegations of improper recruiting/player contact in 2004. Utah has had no such allegation.

Yes you did, but to me, that isn't the point. The schedule was weak...very weak. And no way that running the table on that one gives you as much claim on the trophy as anyone else.

I hear where you're coming from bro. You had very good teams those years. But you will simply never convince me that they were the best. Fair or not.

 

[rolltidescott]

:BigA: If they want more credibility they should try to schedule some teams out of their conference like a Ole Miss , LSU or Al during the regular season. One big time win during the season will not get it! I can see where they are coming from but if they want to be ranked with the big boys they are going to have to play with them! I can also say the same for Sou. Cal. but the media is in love with them and they get excluded!:BigA:

This is what I've been trying to tell them.

"But we scheduled Michigan. It's not our fault they were pitiful hs year!" So, what are the voters supposed to say? "Well Michigan could have turned out to be good so let's give Utah credit for a BIG, BIG, BIG win!"?

Hey Utah... IMPROVE YOUR SCHEDULE or sit down and be quiet.

 

[skrayper77]

Utah's scheduled was ranked higher than Alabama's in SOS.

Not to mention that the Mountain West is probably a better conference than the ACC or Big East, both of which are in the BCS.

 

[Ldlane]

Utah's scheduled was ranked higher than Alabama's in SOS.

Not to mention that the Mountain West is probably a better conference than the ACC or Big East, both of which are in the BCS.

No the MWC is Not better than the ACC or Big East.

Conference Rankings

 

[skrayper77]

No the MWC is Not better than the ACC or Big East.

Conference Rankings

My bad.

It was better than the PAC-10 and the Big-10(+1)

Isn't the PAC-10 the one we keep telling them to join?

 

[NYBamaFan]

Who thinks Utah is the best team ? I do not know of a single person who thinks that they were . While I am positive that some out there do believe so , I'm equally positive I could find at least 1000 to 1 who do not ...

The ESPN poll showed that 32% believe that UTAH is the best team in America. That poll had over 200,000 respondants, so start your list of 64 million (at least 64,000 voted for Utah). Let me know when you get it together... :biggrin:

 

[Ldlane]

My bad.

It was better than the PAC-10 and the Big-10(+1)

Isn't the PAC-10 the one we keep telling them to join?

Guys this has been repeated several times through the thread:

1. You have to receive an invitation to join a conference.

2. You have to meet Academic standards of the conference (APR, Admission standards, Grade standards, etc....) in order to even be considered to join.


3. The ONLY reason we don't have a playoff is that the Big 10 and Pac 10 want to keep the sanctity of the Rose Bowl and they will not agree to a playoff!

 

[Ldlane]

The ESPN poll showed that 32% believe that UTAH is the best team in America. That poll had over 200,000 respondants, so start your list of 64 million (at least 64,000 voted for Utah). Let me know when you get it together... :biggrin:

You've always discounted these polls on Non-Sports, have you turned over a new leaf? Are ESPN polls somewhat more objective than CNN?

It just tells me that 64,000 Utah and FSU fans went to the internet and voted for Utah.

 

[NYBamaFan]

My bad.

It was better than the PAC-10 and the Big-10(+1)

Isn't the PAC-10 the one we keep telling them to join?

Agreed, their conference only had 3 good teams - but your main point was the one that was valid. Conferences do not win championships, individual teams do. Conference strength or SoS isn't important - individual team strength and SoS is important. A few teams with a legit shot this year and their SoS:

Alabama - 35th
USC - 38th
Penn State - 43rd

Utah's SoS - 32nd

Now, to clear up one point - I do not think that Utah is the best team in the country this year. I think that is either Florida or USC. I voted for Florida in the ESPN poll. But I think that Utah did well enough to get a shot.

Would they win the game? Probably not (realistically, I'd give them about a 10% chance of victory). But, just as OU deserved a shot this year, and Texas deserved a shot this year, and USC deserved a shot this year - so did Utah deserve a shot this year.

I am hopeful that this year's controversy, in which 57% of the country would have crowned a different champion than Florida, will prompt real discussion of change. The BCS didn't crown a champion - it crowned the winner of a game - and America just isn't buying it (even if SEC fans are).

From the responses in this thread and many conversations with friends, I have concluded that most Bama fans are not going to change their minds. They feel like their edge will be removed and/or their previous championships will be called into doubt. They feel like Bama has had to earn a shot, and other teams should, too. They feel like the SEC is the best conference, and its champ should almost, by default, be included in the game. They like things the way they are - because it benefits Bama.

But I am not a typical Bama fan. I can appreciate the past while welcoming needed change - even if that change might put Bama back on equal footing with the Utahs of the world - even if it does not benefit Alabama - even if it hurts Alabama. What's right is right, even if it harms me.

Keep in mind that this is just my opinion. I recognize that it is not the only valid opinion. I am really walking away from this discussion this time. I really appreciate the different points of view - especially those that differ from mine. I hope that no one has been offended by my candor.

Peace...

 

[Ldlane]

I am hopeful that this year's controversy, in which 57% of the country would have crowned a different champion than Florida, will prompt real discussion of change. The BCS didn't crown a champion - it crowned the winner of a game - and America just isn't buying it (even if SEC fans are).

57% of the country did not believe this! 57% of ESPN internet respondents that took time to vote did!

We don't know if they were Utah fans, MWC fans, West Coast Athletic disciples, FSU or Miami fans, etc... with internet connections. Do you vote on their polls every time you go to ESPN to check out scores. I know I don't unless it is a game changing play of the week poll for Bama! Chances are other do the same thing for their team!

 

[bayoutider]

This thread has gone from a debate to a barroom argument. It hurts my eyes to see the same words typed in post after post after post. Either you can't understand each other or just plain disagree, someone has to give up sooner or later. Let NYBamaFan have the last word and it will die but he will have the last word count on it.

 

[CullmanTide]

This thread has gone from a debate to a barroom argument. It hurts my eyes to see the same words typed in post after post after post. Either you can't understand each other or just plain disagree, someone has to give up sooner or later. Let NYBamaFan have the last word and it will die but he will have the last word count on it.

How can we talk of being fair and respecting other programs if we fail to even respect each other.