Former University of Utah Athletic Director Chris Hill recently described the “toxic” relationship with BYU. I see a quick fix to that.
When Utah announced in 2010 that it was leaving the Mountain West to join the PAC-10, many thoughts entered my mind. I was shocked that the Utes got the invite, disappointed that the Cougars did not, and even a little jealous, to be honest.
When thinking about the rivalry, I had little concern. At the time, BYU Football had won three out of the last five in the series. I assumed that it would continue to sway back and forth evenly, with a few short streaks, but no major shift toward either program.
Then something went entirely wrong.
The unimaginable happened. The Cougars lost. And then they lost again, and again, and again.
Now, eight years removed, BYU Football is yet to beat Utah since they left for the “big time”. The repercussions are catastrophic. This factor is the largest in a list of what’s slowly dropping the Cougars into irrelevancy.
The losses are the proverbial elephant in the room. It’s one thing that Cougar Nation loves to downplay, but must be acknowledged and confronted.
Some may believe this is just another BYU fan from Utah who focuses on beating the Utes. I have never lived in Utah a day in my life. I seldom see Ute fans, and could count on one hand the number of conversations I’ve had with one concerning the rivalry.
So why in the world is beating Utah such a big deal to me? It is about a squandered opportunity that could prove to be monumental.
The Imbalance
If taken advantage of, having a Power 5 program as a rival is a huge benefit. How many other non-Power five teams claim such a privilege? There’s a reason for this.
These “upper-level” programs know that simply playing, much less being rivals with, non-P5’s can be detrimental to their success. They’re expected to beat the “lesser” program. When they don’t, it causes damage.
On the flipside, a team outside of the Power 5 conferences can elevate itself to the level of its “superior” opponent by periodically defeating them. This makes the rivalry with Utah extremely beneficial to BYU.
It makes perfectly good sense why Utah prefers not to play BYU. Honestly, it’s surprising that the Utes are still playing the Cougars on a semi-regular basis. I’d want to get out of the rivalry too, if I was in a similar situation, and especially if I currently had the upper hand.
Evening Things Out
Now that this sounds like a hopeless case, let’s talk about the solution. This is no lost cause. The remedy is a simple one:
Win.
Will beating Utah solve all of the problems BYU football faces by of not belonging to a P5 Conference? Of course not, but it will end the Utes’ reluctance to play the Cougars for at least the time it takes them to get their revenge. They’ll be counting the days until the next chance, just like Cougar Nation is right now.
Former Utah AD Chris Hill spoke of the “toxic” relationship between the universities. He feels that if BYU were to join a Power 5 Conference, it would fix the issue. Although it might ease the Ute mind into considering the Cougars a worthy contender, there’s a better solution:
Win.
The coaches, players, and fans have grown tired of being considered Utah’s little brother. They dread having their faces rubbed in their inferiority. Stop giving them ammunition.
Win.
Some have found consolation in losing close games. The time for moral victories has passed. Narrow losses no longer ease this pain.
BYU Football needs to win.
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The Talent is There
There are those who claim that BYU just doesn’t have the athletes to compete with Utah. And though talent might be an issue, new Offensive Coordinator Jeff Grimes made it clear during spring practices that the Cougars have it. As he put it, “We have plenty of talent here. It’s not about the talent we have right here.”
Grimes would know. Coming from SEC country, he saw many of the finest athletes in the country. Either the players on the roster are a lot more talented than they get credit for, or somebody is lying.
Kalani Sitake obviously agrees with Grimes’ mindset. Why would he come to Provo to take over, knowing he couldn’t defeat Utah? Surely, he felt the talent was enough to beat his former team.
Inability to entice talent to come to BYU would be a valid reason for not competing with the likes of Utah. It would be something out of the control of coaches, because of high academic standards and the honor code.
But Grimes assures us that this isn’t the case, so what’s the reason?
If lack of execution is the answer, then things have to change. Coaches have to implement methods that improve how well the Cougars execute.
It’s a gutsy move to tell the media that you have sufficient talent at BYU. Such an acknowledgement shifts the blame to coaches rather than circumstances of the program.
Whether it’s talent or execution, there’s just no sugar-coating it. Eight years is way too long.
If BYU Football’s shortcomings in the Utah rivalry are from lack of execution because of coaching, then coaches need to step up their game and fix it.
There is a talent gap between these two teams, but it’s not enough to warrant the current dominance that Utah enjoys.
Regardless of who the Cougars are preparing for, no matter what scheme is implemented, if it doesn’t progress towards beating Utah, the course should be changed. It has come to the point where there is no greater priority.
Enough is enough. It’s time to beat Utah.