MVP!!

A special thanks to the clear MVP of last night's game: Max Hall! I don't know what Ute fans' plans are for Thanksgiving, but someone better be having Max over for dinner! All I know is that last night's game is probably going to ruin his entire weekend (just ask John Beck). There were times where he truly looked like he was throwing the ball right to the Ute defenders. We were kind enough to drop a few of them, but we couldn't let all of the picks get by! 5 interceptions and a fumble is NOT the way to win the Heisman, fulfill a 'Quest for Perfection', or even beat a Jr. High team. I certainly had my worries coming into this game, but Hall was kind enough to put those at ease.

Big props to both the Ute offense and defense. They came out hungry and they played their hearts out. I've been critical of Brian Johnson quite often, but he was amazing yesterday. It's hard to find faults in a 30 - 36, 300+ yards and 4 touchdown performance. It was interesting to see the Ute "D" often drop down from pressuring Hall and instead fill more of a pass coverage role, daring him to try to squeeze the ball into the smallest cracks. The D-line did a phenomenal job of watching the quarterback's eyes and getting their hands up to bat down balls. BYU was certainly good enough to give Utah a run for their money, but Max wouldn't allow that to happen. Thanks Max!

I'm excited for the next step: a BCS Bowl of some kind, though I can't seem to avoid the feeling that we're going to get hosed. Chances are we'll play another version of '04 Pitt: a team with multiple losses that noone cares about. Once again, we'll likely be denied the chance of finding out whether we're good enough to play with the 'big boys'. At the same time, I'm not naive. Our chances of beating a top team were MUCH greater in '04 than this year. Still, you hate to see a perfect season end in a bowl game against a mediocre opponent that got there by winning a mediocre conference. It will be an exciting few weeks! GO UTES!