Just a dream? Utah Utes’ season was as confusing as ‘Inception’

Texas Longhorns running back Keaontay Ingram (26) stiff-arms Utah Utes linebacker Quinn Fabrizio (25) on his way to the end zone during the second half of the Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019. Utah Utes defensive back Terrell Burgess (26) also defended on the play.   | Colter Peterson, Deseret News

After starting the season 11-1, Utah’s finish left fans puzzled

Wait a minute, I’m not done with the Utah football season. Not since I saw the movie “Inception” have I been so misled and bewildered. That wasn’t the ending I expected sitting there in the theater. I thought I was watching one thing and it turned out to be another. “What just happened?” I asked others who saw the movie.

They couldn’t explain it either. There are entire websites devoted to explaining the mysteries of this movie, if you want to work that hard.

Now I need someone to explain Utah’s football season. Led by coach Leonardo Whittingham, the Utes left us in another dimension somewhere in the late stages of the plot.

Was it just another “dream within a dream?”

Steve Griffin, Deseret News

Swoop, the University of Utah mascot, walks to a pep rally outside Levi’s Stadium before the start of the Pac-12 Championship game between Utah and Oregon in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019.

Here’s what I thought was happening in the Utes’ story: They were marching through the regular season and they were going to go to the Rose Bowl or the national playoff and, who knows, maybe do to their opponent what they did to Alabama a few years ago in the Sugar Bowl.

Here’s what actually happened: They drove off a cliff, like Thelma and Louise.

End of story.

Hit the rewind button. What happened? The Utes weren’t just winning games, they were winning big and, as a result, they made weekly climbs in the national polls — ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth. They were poised to qualify for — egads — the national playoff.

After 12 regular-season games, they were 11-1 and outscoring their opponents by an average score of 35.6 to 11.3, including the lone loss to USC. They were giving up less than two touchdowns per game.

Some believed they were on their way to becoming the greatest team in the history of the school.

Colter Peterson, Deseret News

Utah Utes running back Zack Moss (2) motions to his Sportsmanship Trophy after the Utes’ 38-10 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019.

That seemed like a stretch — they’ve had two unbeaten teams in the last 15 years and two top-four poll finishes.

The Utes have the talent. Zack Moss became the school’s all-time rushing leader and was one of the best backs in the country. Quarterback Tyler Huntley was completing a school record 76% of his passes and had by far the highest pass efficiency rating in the Pac-12 at 188.6, with 16 touchdown passes to only two interceptions and an average of 11 yards per attempt. Bradlee Anae became the school’s all-time leader in sacks and the defense ranked among the elite in the nation across the board statistically.

The Utes also boasted a long list of NFL prospects — Jaylon Johnson, Moss, Anae, Julian Blackmon, Leki Fotu, Terrell Burgess, Huntley, Francis Bernard and possibly others.

It was a big buildup to a climactic finish — and then the story went nowhere.

They played the Pac-12 championship game and lost to Oregon 37-15.

Then they played in the Alamo Bowl and lost to Texas 38-10.

Colter Peterson, Deseret News

Utah Utes wide receiver Solomon Enis (21) is tackled by Texas Longhorns defensive back Chris Adimora (11) during the second half of the Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019.

Any questions?

The Utes didn’t merely lose. They got run over the same way they ran over other teams during the regular season. They were outplayed in every way. Oregon and Texas were superior in every way — skills, blocking, tackling, physicality, execution, speed, etc.

Quite possibly, they were overrated. Even after the loss to Oregon, they were still ranked in the range of 10th to 12th, depending on the poll, but did anyone really think they were better than Auburn, Alabama and Notre Dame, which were all ranked below them?

Maybe not enough weight was given to the Utes’ strength of schedule (44th, according to the Sagarin ratings). They played Idaho State, which is not only an FCS school, but a weak FCS school (3-9 overall). They played Northern Illinois, which would finish the year at 5-7. The rationale for an easy preseason schedule is a supposedly tough conference schedule, but the Pac-12 has a majority of mediocre (or worse) teams — Arizona (4-8), Colorado (5-7), Oregon State (5-7), Washington State (6-7) and the always-enigmatic UCLA (4-8).

The league has improved in bowl play, with 4-3 records the last two years after winning just one of eight games in 2017. But of the 24 berths up for grabs in the national playoff since its inception in 2014, the Pac-12 has filled only two of them, by far the worst of the Power Five conferences.

This season the Utes played two teams ranked in the final top-25 poll for the college football playoff rankings and lost both games, to Oregon and USC (Texas wasn’t ranked). The Utes played four teams in the top-35 of the Sagarin ratings and claimed one win.

Anyway, the Utes’ big season was a dream. Maybe this quote from “Inception” will help explain things: “You create the world of the dream. You bring the subject into that dream and they fill it with their subconscious.”

Nope, that didn’t help.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/37wZcdi