Utah quarterback Brian Johnson kisses his Sugar
Bowl MVP trophy after his team's upset of #4 Alabama
in the Sugar Bowl. Sixth-ranked Utah defeated
Alabama 31-17. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Okay, I know, I’m the Georgia Bulldogs Examiner, not the Alabama Crimson Tide or Utah Utes (what the heck is a Ute?) Examiner. But, I feel obligated, in light of the utter demolition of Georgia by Alabama earlier this season, to express my delight in the Sugar Bowl victory by the Utes yesterday. Sixth-ranked Utah rolled convincingly over #4 Alabama, right from the outset, coming to a stop with a gigantic upset of the Tide, 31-17. The win completed a perfect 13-0 season for Utah—and still leaves them completely out in the cold when it comes to a #1 ranking.
The argument has been all along that they aren’t in a BCS conference, so they cannot be the national BCS champion. Okay, technically sound, I suppose. But, you know, Utah won some games this year—real games. They beat Michigan. And Oregon State. And TCU. And, now, in the Sugar Bowl, they have defeated—no, they have trounced—the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Not exactly slackers, those Utes.
But, the debate rolls on: Do non-BCS teams like Utah deserve a shot at the national BCS title? When teams like Utah end up with a perfect season, can it truly be compared to a season in a “real” conference, where they play “real” teams? Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that question.
Maybe we should ask the Tide.
Oh, btw, according to the University of Utah official athletic site:
University of Utah athletics teams are known as the "Utes" in honor of the American Indian tribe for which the state of Utah is named. The Utes have inhabited this area of the country for at least 1,000 years. There were originally 12 "Nuche", or "The People", bands throughout Utah and Colorado. The Utes were among the first American Indians to acquire the horse as a means of transportation, and in rock writing the Utes are depicted as horses.
After several armed conflicts with Mormon settlers in 1861, the Utes were relocated to the Uintah Basin in northeastern Utah. Today, tribal headquarters are in Fort Duchesne, Utah, and the Ute Tribe, with a membership of 3,300 and its own tribal government, remains a vibrant part of the state. The University of Utah, in cooperation with the Ute Tribal Business Committee, is proud to share in the tradition of the Ute tribe through the "Utes" nickname.
[The University's mascot, "Swoop," represents the red-tailed hawk, a bird indigenous to the state of Utah.]
So, you learn something new every day, huh?
Congrats, Utes—and, hey, thanks for taking out the Tide.
Comments
The Utes are an Indian tribe in the Rocky Mountains for which Utah was named! Come on do a little homework.
I did a lot of homework, TK--that's why the article included an entire section from the official University of Utah Athletic Web site, explaining what a "Ute" actually is ... come on, TK, read the entire article! Thanks for the post! :)
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