Utah Utes @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Recap

Notre Dame 28, Utah 3

On the first Saturday of November, America found reason to doubt the Utah Utes and question their worthiness as an upper-tier team in the college football realm.

On the second Saturday of November, America’s doubts about the boys from Salt Lake City were confirmed. The verdict is now clear: Utah just doesn’t measure up as an elite group in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

It’s amazing what a two-week stretch can do. As October ended and gave way to November – the money-making month in this sport – Utah owned an 8-0 record. Coach Kyle Whittingham, who rode his 2008 team to a 13-0 record, complete with a Sugar Bowl thumping of Alabama, had every reason to think that his charges were good enough and strong enough to do the deed again. However, the TCU Horned Frogs had other ideas on Nov. 6 near the Great Salt Lake. The purple people from Fort Worth demolished Utah, laying waste to a frightened, frail and confused bunch of Utes by 40 points, in a game that truly wasn’t even that close. TCU hammered Utah between the tackles and also breezed by the “UU” crew on the perimeter as well. With plays big and small, in chunks of real estate that were both minimal and massive, the Frogs jumped all over their hosts and turned a joyride of a season into a confrontation with reality.

Just how stark was that reality going to be, though, as Utah moved to the next opponent on its schedule? Would Utah shrug off the TCU loss in South Bend, Indiana, against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, or would the Utes remain body-snatched and beaten against a 4-5 team playing with a backup quarterback named Tommy Rees? Would Utah rise or fall in a tricky but manageable test against the injured and inconsistent Irish, who had drifted through their first nine games without a clear sense of direction?

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Would Utah shore up its weaknesses against a Notre Dame squad that, in the first year of the Brian Kelly era, has manifestly struggled to find its way, or would the Utes collapse after the crushing weight of the TCU thunderbolt that shook them to their foundations?

Clearly, a nation of football fans and pundits received their answer in the strongest possible terms. Utah – whose coaching staff seemed as paralyzed as its players were – never dented the end zone at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish weren’t explosive on offense, but they steadily moved the ball, gained one touchdown on a blocked punt in the first half, and amassed a 14-3 halftime lead to bolster their own sense of confidence, which was evidently revived by a bye week. The extra practice and preparation time cleansed the minds of the Irish players and coaches following a dark period in which Kelly’s standing as the Notre Dame head coach was openly questioned. This game will affirm Kelly’s position in South Bend, and it will allow Notre Dame to move forward from an October straight out of a book of nightmares… nightmares that are all too real.

Utah now has just two chances to salvage its season. The Utes have big games against San Diego State – a clash for second place in the Mountain West Conference – and the season-ending holy war against Brigham Young in the final Mountain West game for those schools. Will Utah be remembered as a 10-2 team or an 8-4 team?

The Utes aren’t going to be called elite, but they can still strive for “pretty darn good” as this season nears the finish line.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer