2016 is why Utah is taking this loss epically hard.


2016 was the year that Utah turned the ball over not once, not twice, not thrice, not 4 times, not 5 times, but 6 times. They turned the ball over 6 times. And they still won.


That was the year, then 5 years into the PAC for them and independence for us, that they thought they had become a P5 team and BYU a G5 team. That was the year they began to think of us the way we both think of USU. And truth be told, the thought crept into all of our minds, as well.


6 turnovers and we couldn't turn that into a win. 6 turnovers should be a blowout, and we couldn't even merely get the W.


So that was it. We were little brother, they were big brother, and that's just the way it was gonna be from then on out. Even 2021 didn't change that perception as, well, if only Cam Rising had played. That was a self inflicted wound. A transitory mistake that would surely be corrected the next time.


2024 changes all of that. We're 6-0 in the same conference they are limping to 1-5. Our coaching staff appears to have things figured out and is continuing to get better on both offense and defense. They don't even know who their OC is for 2025 right now. For that matter, Kyle Whittingham's status is now hanging over the program from now until he retires given that he's already named his HC in waiting, something you don't do unless you are close to retiring.

They thought they had the money advantage, but being in the same conference has evened that up. They thought they had the NIL advantage, but it hasn't gone unnoticed by them what has recently happened with BYU basketball. Every last advantage they thought they had built up over the last decade: gone.


They know it. We know it.