Hey Bobcat fans.  FIrst of all, this post is loooooong.  I apologize.  I also realize this post is random, but bear with me.  As you can see from my profile, I'm not from Ohio nor am I a full-time Bobcat follower.  I'm a Ute through and through and have been since I was born.  I am a 16-year season ticket holder.  I got my first tickets as a kid in 1995 (11 years old) and am now 26 with a child of my own.  The Utes are my life.  However, somehow someway a little bit of green has seeped into my bloodstream because I have a love for the Bobcats as well.  I make it a priority to watch them whenever they are televised nationally(Utah regional broadcasts sadly don't pick up the Bobcats often).  I plan to travel to Peden Stadium to catch a game one day in the near future.

Anyway, listen to my tale.  I think it relates to the Bobcats more than you realize because I see the Utes in this program.  A meteoric rize is possible, and hopefully in the not-too-distant future for the Cats.

I'm not sure many of you know much about the Utes, and I wouldn't expect you to.  But before about 2003 when we hit the coaching jackpot (at the expense of Bowling Green, thank you very much) with the hiring of Urban Meyer, Utah was much like the Bobcats.  There were often winning seasons, though 10-wins seemed to always be just out of our grasp.  And there were often very poor finishes.  The Utes for the longest time were the perennial underacheivers.  The years Utah was picked to win the WAC/MWC, we would fall flat on our faces.  The years we were picked to do nothing, we would rise up and shock everybody.  Never could we sustain success for consecutive years.  Rarely would we live up to expectations.  As a fan, the rollercoaster highs and lows from success to failure were the most frustrating things in the world.

Then Urban Meyer came in and changed everything.

In 2001 the Utes finished the season 8-4.  They played in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas day and beat Pete Carroll, Carson Palmer, Troy Polamalu and the rest of the Trojans 10-6 in a defensive battle.  The expectations coming in to the next season were sky high.  Most publications had the Utes as the MWC favorite.  A tough but favorable schedule included games against Indiana at home, @ Michigan, and conference rivals BYU, Colorado State, and Air Force at home.  This was supposed to be a banner year for the program.  After a 2-0 start including a whopping 40-13 win over Indiana, the season was set up to be something special.  Once again, however, the Utes did as they always did.  They choked.  The promising 2-0 start was immediately followed by six straight losses.  After that, fan support was at an all time low.  The stadium was nearly empty each week.  The players were underacheiving, and the administration was fed up.  Though the Utes won their final three games, including a win over hated rival byU, a change was in order.  Coach Ron McBride was fired just days after the final game.  The athletic director was on the search for the next coach, and the fans were as disinterested as they have ever been.

When the AD announced the hiring of Urban Meyer, fans were upset.  Not only did the school fire a coach that was beloved among Ute fans, but they replaced him with a coach from Bowling Green?  That was the best our administration could do?  Same old Utes.  Little did we know, however, the future of our program changed that day.

2003, following the disappoint 5-6 finish in 2002, was another year of low expectations.  The Utes played their second game of the year on the road at Texas A&M.  In a hard fought game, the Utes trailed by 8 late but scored a touchdown with :08 left on the clock.  The ensuing 2pt conversion was oh so close, but no good.  Our QB rolled out and made a run for the pylon.  As he dove, he was hit hard out of bounds at the 1 and was injured.  We lost the game 28-26 and our QB was lost for the year.  Enter no-namer Alex Smith, a sophomore with no experience.

In previous years, the Utes would have folded at that point.  But Urban Meyer brought with him something special.  He tought the team how to WIN.  Alex Smith and the Utes finished the year 8-1 after that game including wins over Cal and Oregon, 9-2 on the regular season.  A 17-0 shutout in against Southern Miss in the Liberty Bowl gave the team their first 10-win season in a very long time.

The next season was the best of them all.  The 2004 Utes, a team loaded with players from the 2002 team that finished 5-6, went undefeated.  Thanks to our 10-2 finish the year before, we began the season ranked in the top 25.  In 2004, the ONLY way a non-BCS team could get in to a BCS game was for a team to finish in the top 6 of the BCS rankings.  After the final game of the season (a 52-21 spanking of byU), the Utes were ranked 6th.  Hello BCS Busters, hello Fiesta Bowl, hello Pittsburgh.  After that year, thanks to the controversy sparked by the Utes, the BCS changed its rules to allow any non-BCS team ranked in the top 12 to automatically qualify for the BCS.  You're welcome Boise State.

Utah finished that season 12-0 and Fiesta Bowl champs.  Urban Meyer was plucked away to bigger and better things in Florida.  But Utah has continued to win.  Do I need to remind you of the 2008 Sugar Bowl?  I'm sure Alabama hasn't forgotten.  After witnessing the change that one man brought to our entire program, I will NEVER underestimate the impact coaches have on winning.  Recruiting classes come and recruiting classes go, but coaches are what make programs.  The Utes have never had a top-25 recruiting class.  Alex Smith, #1 pick in the NFL draft, was a 2 star prospect (along with many other Utes in the NFL).

Could you have convinced me in 2002 that the Utes had enough talent to play in and WIN a BCS game?  Not a chance.  But it happened.  Ohio has the talent, I promise you.  But does it have the leadership?  Does it have the coaches?  You can answer that for yourself.

The Bobcat program is one that I pray will make this same type of jump.  Utah went from being a nobody, to suddenly being somebody.  Pac 12 here we come!  And it all happened in an instant.  This can happen in Athens.  I hope this happens in Athens.

Anyway, here's to OU finishing the season strong.  8-straight wins starts this week against EMU.  Go Bobcats, and Go Utes!  Thanks for letting me tell my tale on your board.  I have been lurking for a long time and finally felt like I needed to post.  Cheer for the Utes as the season progresses.  Hopefully I get to meet some of you when I travel to Peden one day.

Thanks for the encouraging words. People are pretty pessimistic on this board. I get tired of people saying we should just dropped to FCS or that we'll have no choice soon anyway. The start to this season hasn't been great, but we're still two plays away from being 3-1 and everyone being excited about the year to come. I also think the teams we've played are better than people realize. We have a lot of unmet potential and still could have a great year. That's all what we need to expect. We've come a long ways as a program, and of course, we've got even farther to go. Let's just keep the faith and keep supporting the Bobcats.

OR. . .

They can be like Ball State, where they reach 12-0 and peak at #12 in the nation before losing the MAC championship game and immediately reverting back to mediocrity.

 

He also mentioned that Alex Smith was a two-star recruit just like all of the guys we get. It was a matter of finding a great overlooked player. We've had an increasing number of those as indicated by annually having a player drafted, which is a good sign.

Thanks for the encouragement.  I sometimes think that we forget how bad it was at OU and expect too quick a turnaround.  This program didn't have a winning season in 15 years when Jim Grobe hit town in the mid '90s.  It takes a while to overcome such a tradition of underachievement.  But thanks to him and Frank Solich we've now had four winning seasons and two .500 seasons since then.  It is heading in the right direction.  I think we're all a bit over-anxious for back-to-back winning seasons, which would be a sure sign that the program is on its way.  And this year we thought it could really happen, given the experience at key positions and the weakness of the schedule.  September was a cold slap of stark reality, although there was vast improvement during the Marshall game.  If anybody can get eight more wins out of this team this year, Frank Solich can.  Go Bobcats!  Go Utes!

This, however, is incorrect. He definitely did NOT have a loaded cupboard. He really didn't have many players rated higher than a 2 star when took over. He and his staff made his players what they are today.

Thanks for your comments, I appreciate your interest.

I have to disagree, these ratings are so largely biases towards name schools.  Many kids have the 2-3 star moniker simply based on who is recuriting, I personally witnessed a young man go from a 2 star to 4 star over night based on one offer.  At that time Utah was a competitive program without a National presence, those same kids today would all be higher simply based on the fact that Utah offered them.

Well, here's your quid pro quo.  I root for Utah.  Mainly because (pre- PAC 10 invite) their exclusion from the BCS was inexplicable.  Its a big time program.  Fans.  Stadium.  Talent.  Budget.  No reason to keep them out.  Now I'll root for them in the PAC 10 excepting against Stanford, with whom I have familial ties.

If you ever get a chance to visit Athens, you'll fall even more in love with Ohio University. Thanks for sharing a cool story.

Thanks for the support goutes27. I too see a lot of potential for this team under Solich. The past three years we've had someone drafted which doesn't sound like much but it does mean we're headed in the right direction. We've got a good shot of extending that streak to four this year and picking up a 3rd MAC East Title under Frank. There have three games in the last three weeks that have left a sour taste in some people's mouth but there's still a lot to be excited about. It's a good time to be a Bobcat.

P.S. I will officially be pulling for the Utes until further notice

Ohio Stunter is a former cheerleader.

Stunting is anytime a male cheerleader tosses the girl in the air.

No skateboards needed.

All good guesses, but Orlando Cat is correct. Doc, I like the factoid about "Ohio Stet"!

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Believe that was my "factoid" Stunter.   Thanks for clarifying the meaning of Stunter in your screen name.