Debating Myself: Can Utah repeat as Champions?

For those of you that are like me, the summer has dragged on much too slowly. I catch myself looking at the mountains to see if the leaves have changed colors yet. I want my college football to start.

Luckily, the Mountain West Conference whetted my appetite by hosting their media days this week, with Utah projected by the media to take third place in the conference, trailing TCU and BYU. This is not surprising, as everyone thinks those three teams will finish top of the conference in some order.

The preseason poll is ultimately meaningless, but the questions remain: Where WILL the Utes end up? Will they defend their conference championship and make another push for the BCS? Or will they lose a couple of games with a new quarterback under center, and finish third (or worse) in the conference? Following is a condensed transcript of my internal debate about the upcoming season:

ME (to myself): Utah had an incredible season last year. They went 13-0, beat several top 25 teams, and capped it off with a magical upset over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Give them credit where credit is due; they earned those wins, and there’s no taking them back. However….

MYSELF (to me): What do you mean ‘however?’ What does Utah need to do in order to prove that they are a perennially-contending program? They have bashed the BCS twice, won three of the last six conference championships, won eight consecutive bowl games, continually sends players to the NFL, and is considered by at least one writer to have one of the top ten current football programs in the country. This team has set themselves up nicely for the future, the head coach isn’t going anywhere, and they are recruiting better talent. It’s about reloading, not rebuilding.

ME: Let me finish what I was going to say! There is a very fine line between winning and losing. Take a look at their results last year. Two-point win at Michigan. Seven-point win at Air Force. Three-point win at home against Oregon State. Three-point win at New Mexico. And a three-point win at home against TCU. That is five wins by a touchdown or less. I’m not suggesting that they won these games by accident. I’m just saying that they caught some lucky breaks in a schedule that was much easier last year than it will be this year. Now they have to prove themselves AT Oregon, AT TCU, and AT BYU.

MYSELF: Whoa whoa who, hold on. I have to interrupt you here. AT BYU? Who cares? They won in Provo in 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, and 2005. I think they’ve proven that playing in Cougartown is hardly a major disadvantage.

ME: Touché. But there’s more. They also have to play AT an improving Colorado State and AT UNLV. Does 27-0 ring a bell?

MYSELF: No…no, it doesn’t. I have purged that memory from my brain. But here’s my rebuttal. I have already proven that the locale of the BYU game is insignificant. Air Force and New Mexico—traditionally two teams that they struggle with — are at home and the Lobos are expected to take a step back with their new head coach. Utah beat UNLV and Colorado State by 21 and 33 points, respectively, last season. Those two teams haven’t improved THAT much, have they? As for TCU, those games are always close, and anything can happen. In 2007, they only lost by a touchdown on the Horned Frogs’ turf. And in 2005, they lost in overtime, but only because of an illegal pick set in the end zone that wasn’t called. This is the year that Utah gets over the hump and wins in Forth Worth. I can feel it.

ME: That’s a pretty tall order to ask of a new quarterback, isn’t it? How do you think Utah won all those close games last year? It was all due to Brian Johnson’s great game management and good decision-making. The guy was pretty clutch all year long when he needed to be, and now he’s gone. We all know that new quarterbacks tend to make far more mistakes, bringing in a lot of inexperience and confidencelessness (and, yes, I just made that word up).

MYSELF: Brian Johnson was an amazing quarterback, but he isn’t irreplaceable. He had his moments, to be sure, but also made a lot of mistakes here and there. He wasn’t solely responsible for those close wins last season. Louie Sakoda played a gigantic role in pinning offenses deep in their own territory and helping the team to incredible field position every game. And—

ME: And Sakoda is gone…he graduated. The verdict is out on his replacement, but surely he won’t be so accurate a kicker as Sakoda.

MYSELF: I understand that. Losing Sakoda will be huge. But I was going to go on and say that he had other weapons like Braden Godfrey, Freddie Brown, Darrell Mack, Brent Casteel…

ME: Gone, gone, gone, and gone.

MYSELF: My point is that they have simply reloaded at the skill positions, and the supporting cast isn’t just alive, it is well. David Reed, Aiona Key, Matt Asiata, Eddie Wide, Sausan Shakerin, Jereme Brooks, Elijah Wesson, DeVonte Christopher. There is almost an endless list of speed and playmaking ability on this roster. It doesn’t matter which quarterback gets the starting nod. He’s got a lot of help, which makes the quarterback transition a lot easier. Look no further than the Team Down South. In 2007, Max Hall replaced John Beck but had a boatload of offensive talent around him. The Cougars repeated as champions that year. Who’s to say that Corbin Louks or Terrance Cain can’t do the same thing?

ME: They do have a lot of talent and speed on their roster, but they are still largely inexperienced. Reed and Asiata have plenty of minutes in the bank, and Brooks and Wide have shown flashes. But the rest have seen only occasional appearances or have no Division I experience at all. Surely they will have their moments and high-scoring games, but can they be consistent? To win the conference championship, they need to prove this each game. And no matter how much help one has around him, it takes just one lousy game from a quarterback to ruin everything. Give me all the all-conference running backs and wide receivers that you want, but if you put in a quarterback who can’t effectively distribute the ball, it is all for naught.

MYSELF: That is true. Louks, Cain, Wynn…they have virtually no experience running an offense for an entire game, at least not at this level. So it remains to be seen, of course, how they perform. But the Utes also have a great offensive line led by Zane Beatles and Caleb Schlauderaff that should ease that pressure and allow them to establish a potent running game. There’s always going to be question marks. But can we at least agree that the defense should be good?

ME: Yeah, the defense should be good. I think they might give up more points than they did last season, assuming their field

position advantage won’t be as good with Sakoda gone. They also lose playmakers Sean Smith, Brice McCain, and Paul Kruger.

MYSELF: Um…you’re forgetting that they still have Stevenson Sylvester, Mike Wright, Koa Misi, Derrick Shelby, Kenape Eliapo, Joe Dale, Robert Johnson, R.J. Stanford, et al. Again, the word ‘reload’ comes to mind.

ME: So, I hear what you’re saying, but it almost never happens that a new quarterback comes in and leads the team to a conference championship, much less a BCS run. I say the media was right…third place is a good expectation for them. Anything better and Ute fans should be very happy.

MYSELF: Are you kidding?! They have all the tools and weapons in place to repeat this year. Remember, defense wins championships, and their defense is stellar. Coach Kyle Whittingham is a defensive mastermind. Their offense might take a step back, but they should still be able to outscore their opponents. First place is reasonable, and should be expected by their fans.

ME: Why can’t we agree with each other? We are the same person, after all.

MYSELF: I dunno. That’s the beauty of college football, I guess. Every season brings new surprises.