Heading into this week's big game with BYU, it's looking a lot like 1989 all over again for the Utah football team. If you recall, that was the year the Utes went into the BYU game after a home game against New Mexico without their star quarterback (Scott Mitchell) who couldn't play because of an injured knee. Sound familiar?
Anyway, the Utes went up against a BYU team looking for revenge after a 29-point loss the year before, with a backup (Mike Richmond) making his first start and the results were horrendous. The Utes fell behind 49-0 by halftime, before the Ty Detmer-led Cougars called off the dogs and let the Utes make it somewhat respectable in a 70-31 loss . . .
Now I'm not saying the Utes will lose by 39 points this week. However, their main hope against the Cougars this week even before Brian Johnson's injury, was to match their offensive firepower and try to outscore BYU. With a quarterback like Johnson who can run and pass, that was possible. With a quarterback like Brett Ratliff, who is not known as a runner and who has thrown a grand total of four passes this year, it looks next to impossible . . .
There are a few differences between '89 and '05. The Utes beat New Mexico by two points in '89, and Mitchell injured his knee in the Tuesday practice before the big game. They beat BYU by 31 last year compared to 29 in 1989. Also, the Utes' defense in 1989 was simply awful, while this year's defense is simply mediocre . . .
There is one way the Utes will win for sure. If they can repeat the 2003 performance when the Ute defense shut the Cougars out, they'll win. Because even without Johnson, the Utes will score points against the BYU defense. But shutting out a Cougar team that has averaged 51 points a game the past three weeks, is, like I said above, next to impossible . . .
No one has called me on it yet, but I'm willing to take back what I wrote about Bronco Mendenhall a little over a month ago. It turns out he does have a clue about coaching. These days a lot of Ute fans are wondering if their coaches have a clue . . .
Quiz time: What is the most amount of points BYU has scored in a Utah-BYU game in Provo, since the 34-31 loss in 1993?
It looks like BYU will be going to a bowl game for the first time in four years, probably to the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 22, or perhaps the new Poinsettia Bowl the same day in San Diego. As for the Utes, they're likely staying home, barring an upset victory this week, which could send them to the Emerald Bowl or the Independence Bowl. They'd probably rather stay home anyway . . .
The question is who will be BYU's opponent in a bowl game? The way things are going it won't be a Pac-10 opponent in either bowl. The Las Vegas Bowl is supposed to take the No. 5 team from the Pac-10, and the Poinsettia would take a Pac-10 team if there was one available.
However, the top-heavy Pac-10 with 10-0 USC, 9-1 UCLA and 9-1 Oregon, has a bunch of mediocre teams in the middle, and the league could end up with just four bowl berths. Cal (6-4) will get one, but Stanford (5-4) must beat either Cal or Notre Dame, Oregon State (5-5) must beat Oregon and Arizona State (5-5) must beat Arizona, which blasted UCLA a week ago, to get bowl eligible. Let's hope the Las Vegas Bowl doesn't have to settle for a team like Northern Illinois or Western Michigan from the Mid-American Conference . . .
Just think. If BYU hadn't blown that huge lead against TCU, it would be playing for a piece of the MWC title this week . . .
If I have to hear the words "invested" or "on the same page" from a football coach or player once more this year, I think I'm going to gag . . .
Quiz answer: Surprisingly, the answer is 24, which BYU scored in a come-from-behind win over the Utes in 2001. In the other four games, the Cougars have scored 17, 17, 14 and 0.
E-mail: sor@desnews.com