Sean's Sunday Links (and thoughts) III

Hey there fellow Utes! I apologize for missing my deadline for last weekend. I was out of town and didn't get back in time. I will work on being better in the future!

Before I post the links, I have just a few thoughts on Utah football. Please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions, not the opinions of the MUSS board. And yes, I recognize I am no football expert. Just offering another perspective:

- On the craziness in the Pac-12: If this were the SEC, they would probably be commenting about how deep the conference is instead of questioning how legitimate it is. Despite my longtime Pac-10/12 fandom, I cannot argue with the dominance of the SEC. That many National Championships in a row deserves credit, and personally, Alabama looks like the best team in the nation by far right now. However, I think Oregon could close the gap if that defense keeps playing well. That being said, I'm not sure I ever imagined myself talking about both Oregon teams being at the top of the conference, along with Stanford beating USC for the 4th straight year. The old Pac-10 teams came to play this season, and the obvious result is a much deeper Pac-12 conference (6 teams in the Top 25). Sadly, our Utes are near the bottom feeders at the moment.

- On the Utes' offensive woes: That being said, those of you that know me well probably expect me to be one of the very last people to throw our team (coaches and players alike) under the bus. I've never been a fan of dissing on my own team, especially not early in the season and with so many injuries occurring. I think most of our offensive struggles start with the offensive line (not really a surprising statement, I know). I'm one to preach that the game is won and lost starting in the trenches, and throwing in new guys on the offensive line against Pac-12 caliber defenses (compared to the old MWC ones) is a tall task for any young lineman, especially at the crucial tackle spot. Everything starts from the big guys up front. The pass protection is one that obviously gets a lot of attention, but struggling with run blocking initially went under the radar this year's squad. Once our coaches and players can solidify the issues up front, I think the rest of the offense will begin to click. John White IV is a great back, no doubt, but it's hard for even him to run if the defense can hit him as soon as he touches the ball. I don't want to put all of the blame on the offensive line, because it's not their fault they don't have experience, so I'll add this: Our coaching staff needs to help them out and teach them up fast. I trust that they will. Turnover in coaching circles is always difficult to adjust to, and when you throw in inexperience, the task gets that much more difficult.

- On the defensive woes: Our defensive performance versus Arizona State & Utah State were uncharacteristic of Utah defenses: undisciplined. That will be fixed. If there's anything I've learned in my years watching Utah football, it's this: Never doubt a Kyle Whittingham defense.

Now, for the links! As usual, I'll try to highlight just some of the main ones that stuck out to me:

- Utah women's soccer is off to an awesome start this season! If you haven't been paying attention, perhaps you should. They road tripped up this weekend and swept the Washington schools.
- Utah volleyball is still winless in the powerful Pac-12 conference, but they are not losing sets by much. Recaps from Oregon and Oregon State.
- An update on Utah women's tennis and men's tennis too.
- Coach Whittingham's teams have been pretty good coming off bye weeks.
- As if you didn't already know, a fully loaded USC squad comes to Salt Lake City this Thursday.
- ESPN KALL 700's Bill Reilly's "View From the Booth."
- As mentioned above, the Pac-12 is making some noise in the national rankings
- Another article on USC's arrival to SLC
- It's a just couple months out from the season, but Utah men's basketball has been prepping for the season since their summer trip to Brazil
- Coach Whittingham's press conference after the ASU game
- Words of encouragement from a fellow MUSS member, Cody Belnap
- Some ticket info for the UCLA game at the Rose Bowl
- A link to all of the Utah Athletics sporting events for the month of October

Don't forget to follow the MUSS on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@utah_muss)!

Sorry, no picture for this past week. I hope you appreciated the thoughts and links, I'll do my best to improve on it each update! If there's something you'd like my opinion on, feel free to let me know! Go Utes!

Sean Davenport
Twitter: @SeanDavenport

Positively an Atmosphere

With the season passing by, now in the 5th week, hearts may be wavering.  In the Pacific 12 conference we have hit a brick wall of bigger, faster and stronger.  Our team has been working very hard to meet these standards.  Even with such work and preparation...things can go askew.  Coach Whit knows this as well as the next coach.  Players know it takes time also, but do fans ever take a step back and realize greatness is never given it's earned?  The University of Utah's greatness is coming and it will take a few more years.

Considering the statements above, our fans must not falter from the path of encouragement and a positive attitude.  ESPECIALLY THE MUSS!  Stay the whole game and cheer your hardest.  Participate in the 3rd down jump!  Act as if every down is 3rd down.  A great coach that was apart of our history once quoted:  "Why be average?  I don't want to be around average".  The Urban Meyer stated that.  Don't let your MUSS be average!!!  Our players won't quit if their inspiration doesn't.  THE MUSS can, has been and will be the backbone to our tradition of winning and school spirit.  Please, with a hard season, don't let it die.  Don't let your heart die because some ranking, article or person downplays our worth as a school and football program.

So let's press forward as ONE MUSS and show University of Southern California that we can play PAC-12 football.  We can cheer louder.  We can help our team rise to the occasion. We haven't given up.  We will PAC THE MUSS and we dare their gang of college men to meet us in it.

• EVERY DOWN IS 3RD DOWN
• STAY POSITIVE
• COME TO EVERY GAME
• CHEER LOUDLY
• KEEP TRADITION ALIVE

Be to the tailgate early on Thursday Oct. 4th.  Red Robin will be serving something delicious as always.  Muss Bus VII tickets on sale tomorrow for 200$ and include bus ticket, game ticket and 2 nights hotel stay!  Killer deal!

As always it's a pleasure,

Cody

@cody_belnap

GO UTES!

L.A. Here We Come!

The Utes are headed to L.A. to play the UCLA Bruins on Oct. 13th. If you are headed to the game and want to sit with other MUSS members purchase your tickets here:

http://ulink.utah.edu/s/1077/index.aspx?sid=1077&gid=1&pgid=812&content_id=1351

Tickets are $42 each and student MUSS members can purchase two. That week is fall break so grab your friends, pile in your car and road trip to the Rose Bowl!

The Alumni Association is hosting a pre-game tailgate before the UCLA game and MUSS members will receive a $5 discount. You must purchase your tickets online by Friday, Oct. 5th. To purchase your tickets visit this website:

http://ulink.utah.edu/s/1077/index.aspx?sid=1077&gid=1&pgid=735&content_id=1128

Tickets are $25 for MUSS members and student members can purchase two. There will be a full buffet, prize giveaways, performances by the Marching Band and Spirit Squad, plus you can get hyped for the game with your fellow Ute fans!

GO UTES!

Win Two Front Row Seats to the Utah vs. USC game!

Want to win two front-row seats to the Utah vs. USC game on Thurs, Oct 4th? It's simple; all you have to do is submit your best MUSS photo from the BYU game. The photo can be pre-game, during the game or post-game.

Send your photos to muss@alumni.utah.edu by Tues, Sept. 25th at 5 p.m.

OFFICIAL RULES
...

*You must be a current football MUSS member to qualify for the front-row seats.
*If you are chosen as the winner you will receive two front-row seats to the Utah vs. USC football game; the second seat must also be used by a University of Utah student
*The top five entries will be chosen by the MUSS Board. Those entries will be put to a vote by all MUSS members. The photo with the most votes will be declared the winner.
*Only one submission per MUSS member
*Photo must be owned by you and cannot be taken from a professional publication

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week 5

With the start of conference play in the Pac-12, we're starting to see exactly how teams rank against another.  Arizona State beat Utah, Oregon State picked up a big win over UCLA, Oregon shut out Arizona, USC bounced back with a win over Cal and Colorado climbed out of the cellar with a win over Washington State.  Here is how it impacted our Power Rankings:

UteZone Guess The Score: Arizona State

Hey MUSS Members, UteZone is giving away a free one year membership each week to the University of Utah student that best guesses the final score of the Utes game. UteZone.com is a site for the ultimate Ute fan, including recruiting updates, interviews, insider reports, practice reports and more!

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below guessing the score of the Utah at Arizona State game at 8 p.m. The closest to the final score will win a one-year UteZone membership. If there is a tie, the person who guessed first will win, so make sure your guess hasn't been chosen yet. This contest is limited to University of Utah students only and we'll announce the winner after the game.

Be sure to check out our preview for the Utes big Pac-12 South Division match-up against Arizona State, with stats and information to help you predict the game.

Utah Opens Pac-12 Play at Arizona State

Non-conference play is now behind us with Utah's dramatic win over BYU.  It's time to begin the race for the Pac-12 South, which may be easier than everyone expected with USC taking an early loss to Stanford.

Utah opens the Pac-12 schedule with a road game at Arizona State.  The Sun Devils surprised many with a good start to the season, despite having a new quarterback and head coach in Todd Graham. They opened the season with dominating wins over Northern Arizona and Illinois, winning each by an average of 44 points.  They are coming off a close loss at Missouri, falling 24-20 on the road.

Arizona State's strength this year has been their 24th ranked defense, allowing under 300 yards per game.  They have a dominant secondary that ranks No. 1 in the country in interceptions with seven in three games and ranks in the Top 10 in passing yards allowed.   Their biggest weakness on defense has been stopping the run, allowing 148.3 yards per game.

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week 4

The big story in the Pac-12 this week is USC continuing their struggles with Stanford,  losing to Stanford for the fourth straight time.  With the loss, USC fell to No. 3 in our MUSS Board Power Rankings, with Oregon and Stanford taking the top two spots.  Here are the full rankings:

Sean's Sunday Links II

Go Utes!!!

I don't even know how to start this post with anything other than that statement. I have been to my fair share of Utah home football games, and a few Holy Wars, but that is honestly the LOUDEST I think I have ever heard Rice-Eccles Stadium! The MUSS was incredible from the get go (kudos to everyone getting there early, I think it was full 15 minutes before kickoff!), the North Endzone was great as always, but even the west and east sides in between were on their feet a lot! Absolutely deafening.

Do you think we can keep that energy up all season? ASU is next weekend in Tempe (who's going down?), so a week off for Rice-Eccles. The next home game is USC on a Thursday night, October 4th. Although they got beat by Stanford last night (fourth time in a row), crushing their national title dreams, USC is still USC. Let's introduce another Southern Cal team to the MUSS when they come to town, shall we? Fun fact: The 3rd Down Jump started in 2007 when the Utes hosted a then #11 UCLA.

What was your favorite moment from last night was? Was it starting off with a safety (even though it was called back)? Jon Hays' juke in the first quarter? One of his touchdown passes? My personal favorite, Mo Lee's fumble scoop return for a huge defensive touchdown? Star Lotulelei's batted passes? His block of BYU's first attempt at a game winning field goal? Rushing the field? The second time? The third time? Was it post game, seeing Coach Whittingham at the Pie? Or maybe it was something as simple as the 3rd Down Jump?

A thought on rushing the field: I have seen a few Tweets from people criticizing us rushing the field and calling Utes fans immature and ignorant for rushing and receiving a penalty for it. Okay people, we get it. It looks a little classless at times and even a little foolish when we pick up a penalty. Lesson learned. Now more Utah fans know that they could potentially cost us the game. The play isn't over until the whistle blows, even for fans haha. But there are very few things as sweet as beating your rival. Don't feel guilty about rushing the field, against your rival, on Homecoming Week, on ESPN2, during one of the craziest finishes I believe anyone ever seen in a football game. Rushing the field is a great experience once (and some folks got to do it 3 times last night!), but let's be smarter about it next time, yeah?

It was an especially great week to be a Ute!

- Utah Volleyball won their tournament, the Utah Classic, and some Utes made the All-Tournament team
- Utah Women's Soccer keeps their hot start rolling with another win
- Utah Tennis appeared at their first tournament of the season this weekend
- Hopefully you all noticed the new 3rd and 4th quarter break. Try to keep that beat going! Here's another look at the video.
- After multiple shoulder injuries and giving literally everything he could, QB Jordan Wynn hangs up the cleats
- The Utah Utes' website recap, with stats, quotes, and more
- ESPN Pac-12 blogger Ted Miller's recap of last night's Holy War
- The Utes pick up a helmet sticker from ESPN Pac-12 blogger Kevin Gemmell
- More Ted Miller and what we learned in the Pac-12 this week
- A free recap from UteZone.com!
- The Deseret News with a statistical analysis of the game
- Dirk Facer's Deseret News article on the game
- ESPN KALL 700 post-game radio interviews with Jon Hays and Coach Whittingham
- Salt Lake Tribune's Bill Oram writes an article about Jon Hays' 1st rivalry start
- Salt Lake Tribune's story on the game's wild finish
- Salt Lake Tribune's Gordon Monson's thoughts on the game last night
- Another SL Trib writer, Kurt Kragthorpe, and his story on the game
- Finally, Lya Wodraska of the Salt Lake Tribune's story
- A look at the Utah Utes' sport schedule  for the month of September
- One of my favorite calls of all time, by Bill Reilly
- The Pac-12 website's highlight video of the game


Don't forget to follow the MUSS on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@utah_muss)!

Hope you appreciated the links, I'll do my best to improve on it each update! Go Utes!

Sean Davenport
Twitter: @SeanDavenport

My personal pics of the week:

The MUSS tailgate looked great!

Coach Whit having a frustrating discussion

24-21, three wins in a row vs. BYU

GO UTES!!!

UteZone Guess The Score: BYU

Hey MUSS Members, UteZone is giving away a free one year membership each week to the University of Utah student that best guesses the final score of the Utes game. UteZone.com is a site for the ultimate Ute fan, including recruiting updates, interviews, insider reports, practice reports and more!

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below guessing the score of the Utah vs TDS game at 8 p.m. The closest to the final score will win a one-year UteZone membership. If there is a tie, the person who guessed first will win, so make sure your guess hasn't been chosen yet. This contest is limited to University of Utah students only and we'll announce the winner after the game.

MUSS See-TV: Homecoming

Check out the first episode of MUSS-See TV! It features a homecoming preview and update on the Utes.

MUSS Tailgate

As a MUSS member you are invited to the MUSS tailgate before every home football game. All you have to do is wear your MUSS T-shirt and bring your MUSS ticket and you will get free food, be entered in prize giveaways and have the chance to get pumped for the game with your fellow MUSS members.

This Saturday the MUSS tailgate will begin at 5 p.m. Red Robin is bringing BBQ chicken wraps in, of course, red tortillas. Plus, you can enter to win two sideline passes for the Utah/BYU game.

The MUSS tailgate is located on approx. 550 S. Guardsman Way (see map below)

GO UTES!

HAPPY HOMECOMING

It's Homecoming week and at the same time it's Rivalry Week! There are tons of awesome activities going on; check them all out here: www.alumni.utah.edu/homecoming

You don't want to miss the Crimson Rally on Thurs, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Union Plaza. There will be free food, awesome activities, music, Coach Whittingham and more! Plus you can enter to win two front-row MUSS seats for the Utah vs. TDS football game this Saturday! (For those of you who don't know TDS stands for Team Down South).

See you Thursday!



Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week 3

What a week for the Pac-12!  UCLA, Arizona and Oregon State had wins over Top 25 teams, which caused quite a bit of movement in our power rankings from last week.  The Pac-12 now has five teams ranked in the Top 25.  Here are our rankings for Week 3:

Sean's Sunday links

Hey there fellow Utes fans,

Here's hopefully the beginning of a weekly posting of links from the previous weeks pertaining to the Utes, with some Pac-12 action in here as well. I'll try to keep the links mostly related to positive news, but unfortunately some less happy news may show up. Since it's fall, most will be related to Utah Football, but if you know me very well, you know that football isn't the only Utah sport I like to follow, so look for a few other sports to pop up here.

I made the links a different font to make it easier to see from the rest of the heading (bold & italics), hope it helps.

- UteZone.com's article on the most recent commit to the offensive line
- A couple Utah tennis players crack the nation's top 50
- The Salt Lake Tribune's report on the Utah-Utah State football game
- Post-game quotes from Coach Whittingham after the Utah State game
- Utah volleyball wins in 3 sets over Bowling Green
- Utah women's soccer shuts out Texas 1-0 on Saturday
- ESPN KALL 700's recap of the Utah State game
- ESPN Pac-12 blogger Keith Gemmel's Pac-12 Bowl predictions
- ESPN Pac-12 blogger Ted Miller's "What we learned in the Pac-12: Week 2"
- ESPN's recap of the Utes' loss at Utah State
- Five from the Pac-12 in the AP Top 25
- A link to all of ESPN's Pac-12 football blog
- For you TV watchers, DISH adds the Pac-12 Networks
- The Utah Utes homepage, with some recaps of soccer, volleyball, football, and cross country
- A look at the Pac-12's website page for the Utes

Don't forget to follow the MUSS on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@utah_muss)!

Hope you appreciated the links, I'll do my best to improve on it each update! Go Utes!

Sean Davenport
Twitter: @SeanDavenport

My personal pics of the week:

Utah fans staying strong, not giving up.

 

 Kudos to the Herd for their unison, but I could hardly hear them a majority of the game.

Entering Rice-Eccles Stadium

We encourage all MUSS members to arrive to Rice-Eccles Stadium at least 30 minutes prior to kick-off. This should give you enough time to be in your seat before the game starts. The stadium has also made some modifications to the student gate and the other gates around the stadium. Please read their statement below:

The stadium has increased the number of UCARD scanners at the traditional student gate. This will increase the speed of processing for students and MUSS Members and will be the quickest way to enter the stadium. Because we know students may arrive at the stadium from various locations, there will be 1 UCard scanner at all other entry gates. These gates will be designed for both General Public and Students and will be clearly marked. If you choose to enter at another gate, please be aware it may take longer than the regular student gate, as public may be entering there as well.

Please arrive early to ensure quicker entry into the stadium.

UteZone Guess The Score: Utah State

Hey MUSS Members, UteZone is giving away a free one year membership each week to the University of Utah student that best guesses the final score of the Utes game.  UteZone.com is a site for the ultimate Ute fan, !including recruiting updates, interviews, insider reports, practice reports and more!

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below guessing the score of the Utah vs. Utah State game on Friday.  The closest to the final score will win a one-year UteZone membership.  If there is a tie, the person who guessed first will win, so make sure you guess hasn't been chosen yet.  This contest is limited to University of Utah students only and we'll announce the winner after the game.

Utes Head North to Face Improved Aggies

The last time Utah played Utah State, it was an expected easy win as the Utes cruised to a 35-17 victory and the Aggies had their typical losing season, finishing (4-8).  That was just two years ago but things have changed in Logan.

Gary Anderson, the defensive coordinator for Utah's undefeated 2008 team, has built the Aggies into a winning team that can not only compete with, but win against successful programs.  Last year the Aggies made it to their first bowl game in over 10 years and finished with a (7-6) record.  They would have fished even higher if they could have held onto 4th quarter leads against Auburn, BYU, Colorado State and Ohio.

The Aggies are a much, much better football team than Ute fans are used to. They opened the season with a dominant 34-3 victory over Southern Utah. One week into the season they rank No. 13 in the country in total offense with 581 yards gained in their opener.

NC@Utah: Tailgating and Atmosphere.

Muss Tailgate

Our Utes kicked off against Northern Colorado here in SLC at local Rice-Eccles Stadium.  Star, and the Utes crushed the opposing team 41-0.  With a great win under our belt for the start of the season many eyes are now focused upon future opponents.  Annual tailgating began again and many fans made it out even though school was not to be cancelled by the University.  

Face painting, posters and Fun!

Tailgaters were seen as early as 10am as fans looked forward to firing up their grills, dusting off coolers and bringing their finest set-up.  University tailgating with the Muss begins 2 hours prior to kickoff before taking the field.  The Muss were among these fans beginning to gather for many activities including: 

• Free food from Red Robin
• Face Painting
• Poster Making
• Muss Raffle

6000 Strong.

Red, red and some more red.  6000 members of the Muss joined the Utah defense as they took the field against Northern Colorado.  3rd down jump and all the guns came out as the Muss made a ruckus last Thursday night.  Along with the usual tricks and noise of the Muss, a new tradition took the field during the third quarter break.  A massive drum, dancers and an inspiring video greeted fans and sent a clear message that only a PAC 12 University could provide.  

Next home game: September 15th vs. BYU.  See you there! GO UTES!!

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week 2

Each week we'll be posting Pac-12 Power Rankings from the MUSS Board. Included is the school's rank among the Pac-12, record and the average ranking given by MUSS Board members.  Here are the rankings for the second week of the season: