I do think the rumored unrest in the Ute locker room and some of the documented unrest—like 86ing their offensive coordinator and losing a bunch of games where the offense didn’t perform—give us an opportunity. Even though this is a thing our team has mostly struggled to do, if we can manage to get up early, we have a chance at an early knockout blow.

When your team has not been scoring, and the opposition proves that it can, there’s a chance to sap the belief on the Ute sideline and amongst the fans away early. Provided we can take care of the ball and not hand them quick scores or golden opportunities, I think 17 is the magic number for a deflating lead that could cause a tipping point. 14 might even do it.

They want to grind it out, ugly it up, and beat us in a war of attrition accentuated with knockout blows. Hard to employ that approach when trailing multiple scores with a suspect passing game vs. a good defense.