Utah and Boise State play to a nothing-nothing tie for most of the first quarter, then Utah intercepts Kellen Moore and drives backwards for a field goal and a 3-0 lead, but it's all Broncos after that. Someone should have told the Utes they were playing Alabama. Without their triggerman, quarterback Jordan Wynn, they look flat and lifeless.
BSU is the most annoying team for a non-fan to watch. Playing in a minor bowl on Wednesday night, they celebrate and dance and pistol-pose over every completion or tackle.
Someone should tell them another meaningless victory in a nowhere bowl against a non-AQ opponent convinces no one of anything. Alabama or Stanford or Wisconsin would put the pistols back in the holster in a hurry.
Have to wonder also if Utah is ready for the step up in class to the new PAC-12.
It's another reminder that the biggest single factor in most bowl games is which team is the most motivated to be there. And the next biggest factor is which team is missing its star player.
It was such a terrible game to watch, I didn't even mind turning it off halfway through. Innumerable errors, fumbles, TWO TD passes that literally FELL off the hands of Utah receivers...
ReplyDeleteI know that they had their spirit broken 6 ways to Sunday when TCU rolled in and rolled over them, but they'll need to find some sort of a makeshift offense if they even want the South Division to really get up to play them. The defense was fine, but the miraculous bumbling of their offense destroyed any hope our new Pac-12 brothers had.
Every bowl season includes some clunkers, and this was certainly one. Utah had a season a lot like Arizona's.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how big a factors preparation and motivation are in bowls. The best talent doesn't always win. Witness TCU's win over Alabama or Girlsie State's upset of Oklahoma.
In the Belotti years the Ducks suffered a couple of beatdowns in lackluster bowls, in Las Vegas and Seattle. Leaderless teams mailed it in at nowhere bowls, playing like Whizzinator-addled stupids. BYU and Wake Forest delighted Beaver fans. It was over early and ugly, and reminded many Duck fans of the bad old days of the '70s and '80s.
It's a reminder that even in unprecedented success, you have to maintain a certain amount of humility and grace. Things go in cycles in college football. It's a thin line between love and ruin. Losing a great coach or recruiting a couple of bad apples can lead to unraveling almost too painful to bear.
Dale