By winning his first 6 games coming out of Utah’s bye weeks, Utes Head Coach Kyle Whittingham was known as the Nation’s “best buy” coming out of a bye week. Then, as with so many of his in-season challenges, Coach Whitt’s gawdy winning numbers took a big hit once Utah joined the Pac12. Coach Whit promptly lost his first 3 games (2011 lost to Washington, 2012 lost to USC, 2013 lost to UCLA ) coming out of bye weeks as a member of the PAC12. Last season Coach Whit’s bye week magic re-appeared, as Utah won both of it’s games coming out of bye weeks, so heading into Saturday’s Homecoming battle with “J-Air” Goff and the unbeaten, 22nd ranked Cal Bears , Whittingham’s all-time coaching record coming out of the traditional in-season week off stands at a very respectable 8-3. Course, while Kyle and his coaching staff’s been busy (1) Game-planning to slow down maybe the nation’s best QB Jared Goff and his talented Cal Bears, AND (2)Recruiting, all of the machinations of another wild week in the world of college football has turned THIS bye week into the best bye week in Utah Football history!
Whatintheworl??? What am I talking about? While the Utes “rested”, the PAC12 South burned! Just about top to bottom! OK USC also benefited in their bye week too but 7th ranked, unbeaten UCLA lost, defending South Division Champ Arizona gave up 55 at Stanford and last place Colorado lost at home to Oregon. Now that the weekend South dust has settled, the Utes find themselves alone (1-0) atop the PAC12 South Division, the only remaining unbeaten. Then the “other” numbers started to rise above the rest. The national numbers! Historically, hysterically good here in the first week of October. Utah’s #1 in ESPN’s national power rankings and they’re polling well too. Rocketing up to #5 in the latest Coaches poll, 7th in the new AP poll. The “WOW factor peaking with the news that the crown jewel of ESPN’s College Football Weekend Programming, “Game Day” will come set up camp outside Rice Eccles Stadium from Friday on, through the end of Saturday night’s Homecoming special. A matchup of PAC12 unbeatens as #22 Cal comes a callin’. AND, you want a marketing homerun??
How ’bout the notion that months ago, Utah Football promotions picked this Cal/Utah nighttime, Homecoming “Dance” for the Utes to rock their “Throwback Uniforms”.
$$Cha-Ching!!$$
This is the fact Jack…Utes control their own destiny! How often can you say “If Utes win out…they’re IN the National Championship Playoff, regardless of what any other team does??”
Now if only Devontae Booker can run wild vs Cal, “Book” will elevate himself right into the thick of the Heisman sauce!
Is that asking too much?
