On Thanksgiving weekend at the Cayman Island Classic, Utah fell 20+ behind Mississippi State, came back to lead in the last couple minutes, but lost.
Then the Utes beat #3 Notre Dame, which actually looked less impressive because Texas Christian also beat the Fighting Irish two days earlier.
The Frogs are one of the best teams ever assembled for a simulation, because computer or tabletop gaming simulations only care about past performance, not about how the individual statistical records mesh as a real-life team. TCU has evidently figured that out, and they look like a national championship contender.
TCU Coach Mark Campbell made the right decision in enabling Van Lith to be herself, whereas that parade float at Louisiana State felt compelled to impose its will on her. (Van Lith isn’t blameless — transferring to LSU the year after the Tigers won the title wasn’t a good move, or a good-looking move.)
Last Wednesday, Utah went into halftime vs. Utah State leading 50-30 (in the Utah Jazz building, which was a nice gesture toward supporters of either), and I turned it off. A video clip following the Notre Dame win showed Coach Petersen asking the Utes if they were “starting to believe a little bit”, which was truly what the Utes needed.
I said a month ago that Utah looked hesitant in the second half vs. Weber State, and they were completely unsure while losing their first game at Northwestern. But the steady win over Notre Dame followed by blasting Utah State suggests the Utes are surefootedly on the path toward a special season.
Where have I been, instead of covering these Utes in a timely manner? I’ve been moving. Spent the whole month of November hauling one or two boxes at a time in a Mini Cooper. But it’s done, and I’m back where I feel comfortable in the Hayward Park neighborhood of San Mateo, Calif. One accident that must be fixed: Mattresses come wrapped in two sheets of plastic. One to keep it tidy, another to keep it compressed. If you inadvertently puncture the inner layer too soon, the mattress goes FWOOOOPH, after which you have to hire two or three strong people to help lift it to the top of your loft bed.