Need proof preseason rankings are pointless? Look no further than 2024 Utes, Cougars

Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) sings the fight song with teammates in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. BYU won 38-9. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

If the University of Utah football season were a movie, it would be “The Perfect Storm.” You know the story. Captain Whittingham and the gang catch a lot of big fish and think they’re headed for a big pay day. There are lots of warning signs that trouble is coming, but, yeah, they sail on — right into the perfect storm.

Parts are flying off the boat. Members of the crew are being thrown to the floor and getting injured, especially first mate Cam Rising. Senior XO Andy Ludwig jumps overboard. The boat is heavy and slow. They are thrown for a loss, over and over … and then they get steamrolled.

Everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.

Meanwhile, their neighbors, BYU, are living in La La Land. Everything they touch is gold. Everything that can go right, goes right. It’s one big Hallmark movie, with Reese Witherspoon in the lead. Sometimes it looks like they’re in trouble, but, nope. Take the Kansas State game. The offense slept through the whole thing, but the team won 38-9 behind punt returns, fumble returns and interceptions. It was like Christmas, a birthday and an anniversary rolled into one half of a game.

Then there was Baylor, which outgained BYU by 120 yards — and lost.

The Cougars are living a charmed life.

Exactly no one saw any of this coming. Can we all agree that preseason polls — and polls in general — are fun but worthless. In both the AP and ESPN preseason polls, Utah was 12th and BYU unranked (the Cougars also didn’t get a single vote for the “others receiving votes,” which was 17 teams deep).

Utah was picked to finish first the Big 12; BYU was picked to finish 13th.

As of this week: BYU is first, Utah 13th.

BYU is…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/proof-preseason-rankings-pointless-look-040000925.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-11-05 04:00:00

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