Utes In The Final Polls; Utah Crushes LSU; BYU-Oklahoma In Dallas; Jazz Crush Hornets

(University of Utah)

If you are the nation’s only undefeated team, with a 6-0 record against bowl teams, a 4-0 record against the Top 25 (assuming BYU remains ranked) and a 2-0 record against the Top 10 (assuming TCU and Alabama are in the Top 10) you should be the #1 ranked team in the nation. 

The results speak for themselves, but Utah has been buried by reputation.

The final polls will be released Friday and I expect the Utes will be ranked 4^th or 5^th, depending on how close the Florida-Oklahoma game is.  I think the Utes will be ranked in front of the loser, but if it is close, or if it is decided by a controversial call, or goes to overtime, then the Utes could be stuck at 5^th.

The Utes entered the Sugar Bowl ranked 7^th in both the Associated Press Media Poll and the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.  They will catch BCS Bowl losers Alabama and Penn State, to move up to 5^th, but can they get to #1?

USC:  The Trojans think they should be #1, but they are 12-1 with a loss at Oregon State.  Oregon State lost at Utah.  So, the 13-0 Utes should be ranked in front of the Trojans, I realize, Texas Tech beat Texas, who beat Oklahoma and then Texas Tech got rolled by Oklahoma, so anything could happen if Utah had to go to USC, like Texas Tech had to go to Oklahoma, but since Utah didn’t go to USC, voters should take 13-0 with a win over Oregon State instead of 12-1 with a loss to Oregon State.  Plus the Mtn West Conference was 6-2 vs. the Pac-10 after BYU’s loss to Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl.  There is a little voice telling me USC’s reputation, and the Rose Bowl blowout, will keep the Trojans in front of the Utes.

Texas: Like the Utes, the Longhorns are getting a raw deal.  They beat Oklahoma, and their only loss was to a ranked team, on the road, on the last play of the game.  The ‘Horns loss isn’t nearly as damning as the Gators home loss to Ole Miss and Oklahoma’s 10 point loss to Texas on a neutral field.  The Longhorns got a scare in the Fiesta Bowl, but the odds of the Utes catching them are about 100-1.

Oklahoma:  If the Sooners win a close game, maybe Texas can catch them in the A.P. media poll and earn a split national title. If the Sooners lose, the odds of the Utes catching a two loss team are very good.

Florida:  Like USC, there is a common opponent and the comparison favors the Utes.  Florida rallied past Alabama in the 4^th quarter while the Utes led wire-to-wire.  The final scores were similar. Utah won 31-17 and Florida won 31-20.  If they win the will be #1 in both polls, if they lose the Utes probably have a 50-50 chance of catching them.

There are people campaigning for the Utes to climb much higher than #4.  Here are stories from Yahoo, the Washington Post and the Charlotte Observer.