Q: Utah may have beaten Air Force and UNLV if the Utes had scored from the 1-yard line. What would you say has been the Ute coaching staff's biggest blunder?
A: Kyle Whittingham's saying he wanted his team to be judged strictly by Mountain West Conference play.
Q. Yeah, how are you feeling about your declaration that Utah's 2007 nonconference schedule was one of the "most ambitious" in school history?
A: Clearly, I overestimated Utah State.
Q: Having observed the culture of Berkeley last spring when the Jazz practiced there during the annual Pagan Festival & Parade, are you surprised to hear of people living in trees to protest the construction of an athletic facility at the University of California?
A: Hardly, compared with the shock of seeing Cal, Boston College and South Florida ranked in the top five. The only normalcy these days is in Ephraim, where unbeaten Snow College remains a junior college power.
Q: BYU had a chance to make itself a national player this season, only to lose two of its first three games. What happened?
A: The Cougars were confused by the expectations of Mendenhall, who said before the season, "I've asked them to raise the bar. What it means is showing consistency." So they started 1-2 for the fifth year in a row.
Q: Florida coach Urban Meyer has lost consecutive games for the first time since his Bowling Green days, before he came to Utah. Still convinced he's charmed?
A: Not when he's losing to Gary Crowton. After his Oregon offense scored only eight points against his old BYU team in the Las Vegas Bowl, Crowton was promoted to coordinating the offense of No. 1 LSU, which converted one fourth-down play after another in rallying to beat the Gators. And if you can imagine this, some of the key calls were running plays.
Q: So who's charmed now?
A: Crowton, apparently. And former Utah State quarterback Mike Canales, who resigned as Arizona's offensive coordinator and landed with perfect timing back at South Florida, after being part of the original staff that launched football at the school.
Q: Utah State has lost 12 straight games and 18 of 19. Is there any hope of coach Brent Guy's keeping his job?
A: Better question: If things don't improve, why would he want to stay? Trying to resurrect the USU program is more punishment than Guy deserves. But there are hints of promise. The Aggies have been competitive against every opponent except Oklahoma and could still win three Western Athletic Conference games. That would keep Guy employed. Anything less would probably result in his parole.
Q: Where would Utah stand if quarterback Brian Johnson had stayed healthy?
A: The Utes would be 5-1 overall and unbeaten in the Mountain West. They would have lost to UCLA, because nobody would have criticized them that week.
Q: Utah has regularly succeeded with trick plays from kicking formations. What's your favorite act of deception this season?
A: Tulsa's dressing a backup quarterback in a traditional running back's jersey (No. 28) and having him throw a 36-yard completion against BYU. It was brilliant. Unethical perhaps, but brilliant.
Q: UCLA quarterback Ben Olson's college career has been mostly a case of injuries, defeats and unfulfilled promise. Do you believe Olson is somehow being punished for transferring from BYU?
A: Not any more than Tommy Grady (Oklahoma to Utah) or Jimmy Barnes (Alabama to Weber State). At least Grady will always have the UCLA game. Barnes' most memorable appearance featured one completion against Montana State, while having two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Q: Himself a transfer from Arizona State, BYU's Max Hall has thrived as a first-year starting quarterback. What does he have to do to become one of the Cougars' all-time greats?
A: Stop fumbling once a game, for starters.
Q: That reminds me; what would you say to Ute fans who believe BYU is the team that always gets the breaks?
A: Absorbing blindside hits, Hall lost fumbles against both UCLA and Tulsa when BYU was in position to take the lead or tie the game in the fourth quarter. When Johnson was hit and fumbled at Louisville, the ball hopped right to tailback Darrell Mack, who turned the play into a 2-yard gain and kept a touchdown drive going. Now that's a BYU bounce.
Q: The Utes apparently did have a good play called and blocked it properly at the Air Force 1-yard line, trailing by eight points, only to have Darryl Poston miss the hole. Could there be a more discouraging ending?
A: Actually, yes. Behind by three points in the last minute, USU failed to field a short kickoff, allowing San Jose State to recover.
Down by eight at No. 1 Montana, Weber State moved the ball to the Grizzlies' 7-yard line with a completion, only to have a dead-ball penalty result in first-and-10 at the 22. After two incompletions, a sack and three penalties, the Wildcats faced fourth-and-51 at their own 37 - and threw another incompletion.
Q: Utah's Andy Ludwig and BYU's Robert Anae have had a mixture of great moments and unfortunate results. Which of the state's offensive coordinators has earned the most respect from his players?
A: That would be Utah State's Darrell Dickey, who works in the press box on game days. After receiving the ball repeatedly during one game, USU running back Derrvin Speight referred to Dickey in saying he had to thank "the man upstairs."
Q: OK, the state's three Football Bowl Subdivison schools have a combined 6-11 record. How will they stand, going into the bowl season?
A: They will be 19-17. BYU and Utah each will be 8-4 and USU will be 3-9. BYU will not lose again until going to Wyoming on Nov. 17. The Utes will lose to New Mexico at home the same day but will recover to beat the Cougars in Provo the following week, handing Wyoming the league title and resulting in red T-shirts that say, "Collie's still covered."
Q: Recognizing that the New Orleans Saints, your pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, are 0-4, how can anyone genuinely trust your forecast?
A. This information came directly from Darrell Dickey.
kkragthorpe@sltrib.com
