BYU (USU) v. Utah (OSU)

Before I begin let me acknowledge that OSU is a much higher caliber team than USU. Year in and year out OSU seems to serve up an upset special (usually on USC), while USU continues to be an average Division II school that somehow manages to stay in Division I.

UTAH
This is an email I sent to my seriously misguided Utah friend:

Hey I was about to give the Utes some respect for sticking in there and winning a game for the conference and showing that the MWC is not a doormat conference. But then you rushed the field....... how pathetic. Why in the world do you rush the field when:

• 1. you are favored in the game;
• 2. you are ranked #15 nationally;
• 3. you are playing against a lower tier Pac-10 team;
• 4. you are playing a team that is not ranked; and
• 5. you are playing a team, that despite upsetting USC last week, received only 3 votes in the AP and 6 in the USA Today polls.

Rushing the field was an embarrasment to the MWC. Rushing the field is reserved for upset wins, games that remove "the monkey from your back," and games that bring championships or monumental accomplishments such as finishing undefeated, or locking yourself into a BCS game. I know you probably agree with everything I said, but man, just when I am ready to give the Utes some love, the boneheaded fans of the U make it impossible. Go Cougars (No. 7!!!)

BYU
This was a game where the Cougars should have rolled. To look at the score of 34-14 it seems they pretty much did just that. However, the Cougars' win was less than entertaining, less than impressive, and in many ways acted like a superior team walking through the motions. The talk of anybody regarding BYU as a national champion is crazy talk at this point. The Cougars certainly belong ranked in the top 10, but a national champion discussion should only happen once the Cougars have taken care of business by going undefeated. The MWC is not a "walk-in-the-park" conference any longer, but the rest of the country is a little slow on recognizing that BYU, TCU, Utah, and even Air Force, are not automatic wins for any team in the country.