This just in via ESPN:
The Salt Lake Tribune is of course all over this story too, with articles expressing a range of "attitude," running from sheer elation to cautious optimism:
• Pac-10 extends official invitation to UtahAnd down in Zoobieland, let's just say that the Provo Herald is taking the taking the news of the departure of the Utes to the "Conference of Champions"... well, philosophically... although to their credit they do encourage Cougar fans to avoid to avoid adopting a sour grapes attitude:
• Once in the Pac-10, can Utah win?
• Monson: Utah should celebrate Pac-10, but also be warned
• Touchdown!
• Kragthorpe: Utah-BYU split will make rivalry stronger
• FRANCHUK: Pac-10 move not too bad for Utah — or BYUNice work, Utes. For our money the 2011 NCAA athletic season can't arrive fast enough.
And what say our gentle readers about this?
4 comments:
When the Utes find the likes of USC, UCLA, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, on their schedule every year, I wonder if they'll think the move was as attractive in retrospect as it was in advance. We shall see.
It will mean a heftier cut of bowl money though, year after year.
It's about time we received some national recognition. From academics (College of Medicine, College of Law, College of Engineering, Fine Arts) to athletics, the U of U is on a par with the best of them. During the Wizard of Westwood's string, he missed going to the Finals only one year. That year the West was represented by Utah.
We trounced West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl in '65, have won 8 or 9 straight bowl games. stand 7-3 vs. Pac 10 teams, and who can forget the beating we gave to Alambama a couple of years ago.
Sure, the schedule will ne tougher, but personally I have no doubt that the Utes can and will rise to the occassion.
Go Utes! A Utah man am I!
Utah Man:
Utah has, against all Pac Ten teams [including Colorado] a winning record against only one of them, a tie against another [5-5]. Against all the rest, Utah has a losing record. That does not encourage optimism about the Ute's overall competitiveness in the conference over time.
We shall see.
I guess you missed yesterday's press conference where the records were gone over, Curmudgeon. In fact, I'm quite sure Utah has beaten USC twice in the Las Vegas Bowl. Next stop, Utah in the grandaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. And then there's basketball, baseball, golf....the list goes on. I'm not saying that Utah will dominate, even though they have John Pease and some other fine coaches who played on the glory teams of yesteryear, but they will be competitive and will have a good shot at the BCS Championship one of these days. The Pac 10, now Pac 12, did not take 2 mediocore teams, they took 2 true competitors. And don't forget Academia, professor.
What has been almost as aforefront in my mind is the fact that Weber State and Boise State were once in the same league and battled it out on the turf and courts, until Boise, the city, got behind it's team and turned it into a national power. They will be a fine replacement to Utah. Beware BYU and TCU.
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