This is the year.
1992.The year of the Utes.
The year the red and white supplants the blue and white as No. 1 in Utah and the WAC.
A look into the reflection pool shows the following: Utah will go 9-2, go to a bowl game AND BEAT BYU. It will also win the WAC outright if BYU defeats San Diego State. San Diego State is the preseason co-favorite with the Cougars. Utah needs some help since it doesn't play the Aztecs.
Here's an added bonus. The Utes will finish the season ranked in the Top 25.
The reasoning is simple. Eighteen starters return from a team that was 7-5 and in contention for a bowl. The leadership returns - quarterback Frank Dolce and All-American wide receiver Bryan Rowley will coolly guide the Utes to territory they haven't seen since the 1964 season when they finished 9-2, which included beating West Virginia, 32-6, in the Liberty Bowl (the Utes' last bowl appearance).
This team has depth and speed. It has an all-world receiving corps. It's tough defensively.
And, it's hungry. It got a taste of prosperity last season when bowl scouts actually came to see the Utes, not their opponents. This team is wired and ready.
Now for the rest of the local forecasts:
BYU (8-4) - The Cougars have several areas of concern and another brutal schedule. Ty Detmer can't help from Green Bay, Wis. And John Walsh and/or Steve Clements may be really good but they're also really inexperienced. The schedule - starting off with tough WAC foes UTEP and San Diego State followed by UCLA - won't allow them any slack time. And, there are problems in the defensive secondary - anyone remember the San Diego State game last year? Plus, the kicking game is another question mark.
However, BYU is BYU. There's a lot of strength on the offensive and defensive lines. Like Utah, the Cougs have an all-world receiving corps, led by wideout Eric Drage and tight end Byron Rex, and perhaps as good a running attack as has ever been in Provo, led by Mr. Breakaway, Jamal Willis.
If the running backs stay healthy and the defense allows the QBs to make a few mistakes, the Cougs may be Holiday Bowl bound again. The feeling here is that they'll spend the holidays in not too shabby a place - Honolulu, home of the Aloha Bowl.
Utah State (4-7) - The defense has got to be solid for the Aggies to have a chance for a decent season. The first winning season in over a decade is unlikely. The key offensive players - quarterback Ron Lopez, running back Roger Grant and wide receivers Rod Moore and Tracey Jenkins - are all gone. The schedule, while not quite as difficult as in some past years (Fresno State is no longer in the Big West and the Ags don't face an Oklahoma or Nebraska - or both - this year) but it still is far from lightweight.
The Aggies, under new head coach Chuck Weatherbie, open on the road against a Pac-10 team, Arizona, then return home against the best team the University of Utah has had in many years. After five games they're likely to be 1-4.
Weber State (8-3) - The Wildcats could win the Big Sky. That may be determined their third game of the season, Sept. 19, when they travel to Idaho to meet the Idaho Vandals, preseason favorite. A high ranking and a return trip to the Div. I-AA playoffs is likely with returning Walter Payton Trophy winner Jamie Martin back guiding the team at quarterback. If he can get some help at running back and the defense is stronger than last year, the Wildcats may get the Big Sky crown.
Southern Utah (7-4) - The T-Birds have a great running back, Zed Robinson, leading the offense but are inexperienced at quarterback. If the defense allows the offense to develop, an 8-3 or even 9-2 record isn't inconceivable.
THOUGHT TO SAVOR - If BYU goes to the Aloha Bowl, by contractual agreement its opponent would be the third-place team from the Big 8 - likely Colorado, Nebraska or . . . OKLAHOMA.
*****
(Chart)
Projected final WAC standings
Team Standings
Win Lose
Utah 7 1
BYU 6 2
San Diego St. 6 2
Air Force 5 3
Fresno 4 4
UTEP 4 4
Wyoming 3 5
Hawaii 2 6
Colorado St. 2 6
New Mexico 1 7