This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Football fans who wish for Utah victories and BYU defeats — perhaps even in that order — experienced their most enjoyable Saturday in 11 years, if not longer.
The combined 73-point margin of Utah's 62-20 win at Oregon and BYU's 31-0 loss at Michigan was the biggest of any day since Sept. 18, 2004, when the Utes beat a downtrodden Utah State team 48-6 and the Cougars lost 42-10 to powerful USC. The recent sequence of events is far more significant for Utah than the '04 convergence, because of the status of Oregon's program and the way Michigan's ongoing performance helps the Utes.
Even aside from the potential College Football Playoff rankings impact, Michigan's resurgence makes the Utes look good after their season-opening win. And there's nothing wrong with Utah having big ambitions at the moment, with a No. 10 ranking in the AP Top 25.
The Utes certainly maximized September, even with showings against Utah State and Fresno State that were less than overwhelming. BYU merited the attention it received early in the month with last-second wins over Nebraska and Boise State, but the Cougars have lost their Top 25 ranking and would have to do a lot to get it back, with little opportunity to regain credibility in October. The Cougars have fallen fast, since those dramatic victories opened up all kinds of possibilities for them and stirred some national interest.
Looking back, what's crazy about BYU's September is how the Cougars played so well against No. 7 UCLA, leading by 10 points in the fourth quarter at the Rose Bowl before losing by one point to a team that pounded Arizona on the road Saturday. BYU clearly hit a scheduling wall at Michigan, physically and emotionally, but there's no excuse for Tanner Mangum's 55-yard passing performance. In the NFL statistical formula, with sacks subtracted, BYU would have netted 24 passing yards.
Mangum and his brother Madison, an Idaho State receiver, gained national acclaim for their season-opening highlights, but Saturday was rough for their teams. BYU and ISU lost by a combined 111-8 to Michigan and UNLV, although Madison Mangum caught eight passes for 97 yards in an 80-8 defeat.
As for Utah, it is clear that the coaching staff saved some good stuff for Oregon, and quarterback Travis Wilson's passing ability obviously elevates Utah's offense. Yet Wilson's absence vs. Fresno State only partly explains how Devontae Booker had to work so hard for his 156 rushing yards against a defense that would allow a San Jose State back to run for 300 yards Saturday.
The previous week, the Utes were tied with Utah State at halftime and needed two fourth-quarter takeaways to end USU's long drives in a 24-14 win.
So nothing really foreshadowed Utah's 62-point production against Oregon, other than the potential effect of Wilson's return from a shoulder injury and the suggestion that the best was yet to come from Utah's offense. The defense and special teams were just as good Saturday, adding up to a dominant performance against an Oregon team that took No. 2 Michigan State to the wire on the road.
This showing rises far above a 2013 upset of then-No. 5 Stanford as Utah's most impressive Pac-12 victory, because that win required a fourth-down stop near the goal line at home.
The Utes' October schedule will be fun to watch, with home games vs. California, Arizona State and Oregon State and a visit to USC. After that Oct. 24 trip to the Coliseum, we'll know a lot more about where Utah fits into the national picture, not just the Pac-12 South race.
With an open date this week, the Utes can enjoy their highest September ranking ever. Utah stood No. 13 in the last week of September 2010, following wins over Pittsburgh, UNLV, New Mexico and San Jose State.
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