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Show D4 The journey now begins for the Utes Football team like hobbits on a quest BUBBA BROWN T August 2011 DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Staff-Writer here's a scene near the end of The Fellowship of the Ring—the first of three volumes in J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings—that strangely enough reminds me of the football team. Given the success and popularity of the film adaptations of the novel, I'm going to assume you at least have a working knowledge of the basic plot points and spare you the details of setting the scene. Frodo, a hobbit who has been tasked with destroying the "one ring to rule them all," thus defeating the evil Sauron, has just decided to abandon the nine-member fellowship, which included a powerful wizard and several skilled warriors who swore to accompany and protect him on his quest. Long story short, Frodo believes the fellowship will eventually compromise his mission by wilting under the great and dangerous power of the ring, so he sets off on his own to destroy the ring, accompanied only by his friend Sam. It's at this point the reader realizes the only hope to avoid the land in which the story takes place, Middle-earth, to hope to avoid becoming overtaken by Sauron lies solely in the hands of two hobbits. And that's where the Utes come in. It seems to me that in the arena of public perception, the Utes are Frodo and Sam. The Utes carry with them in their move to the Pac12 all the hopes and reputations of every team from non-automatic-qualifying conferences. Utah's level of success, or perhaps lack thereof, See BROWN Page D14 WYNN continued from Page D2 now is building up endurance. Chow claims Wynn's health is his main concern. But aside from that, he has the utmost confidence in his quarterback. Wynn's new offensive coordinator, who was brought in specifically to build an offense tailored around the quarterback, has voiced his pleasure with Wynn. Chow has compared his quarterback to former Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer, who was a Heisman Trophy winner and quarterback in the National Football League. 2011 Football Schedule (all times local) Time Television vs. Montana State Rice-Eccles Stadium 6:00 p.m. KJZ. Sept. 10 @ USC Los Angeles 5:30 p.m. Versus Sept. 17 @ BYU Provo 7:15 p.m. ESPN2 Oct. 1 vs. Washington Rice-Eccles Stadium TBA Oct. 8 vs. Arizona State Rice-Eccles Stadium TBA Oct. 15 @ Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pa. TBA Oct. 22 @ California San Francisco TBA Oct. 29 vs. Oregon State Rice-Eccles Stadium TBA Nov. 5 @ Arizona Tucson, Ariz. TBA Nov. 12 vs. UCLA Rice-Eccles Stadium TBA Nov. 19 @ Washington State Pullman, Wash. TBA Nov. 25 vs. Colorado 1:30 p.m Date Opponent Sept. 1 Location Rice-Eccles Stadium FOOTBALL continued from Page D2 Walker and returning starter Matt Martinez will be veteran leaders on a linebacker corps that is welcoming sophomore Brian Blechen to the group. Blechen was an honorable mention All-Mountain West safety in 2010, but has bulked up to 230 lbs. and will start as the stud linebacker spot for the Utes. Blechen's move leaves the defensive backfield wanting for experience. Conroy Black "(Wynn and Detmer) have similar builds and personalities," Chow said. "They're fun to be around and they're extremely competitive." Wynn said he appreciates the compliment. "It's pretty surreal, but now I just have to go out and prove it," he said. There are plenty of expectations around Wynn, but he has been able to create memories and enjoy success at Utah already. The junior's favorite memory as a Ute has been winning the Poinsettia Bowl in his hometown of San Diego his freshman year. Wynn threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns on his way to being named the game's Most Valuable Player. and Ryan Lacy are slotted to hold down the corner positions, but safety is a revolving door as of now. Keith McGill, Eric Rowe, Michael Walker, Greg Bird and Joseph Bryant are all in the hunt for a starting safety position. Despite the low level of experience, the Utes are confident the backfield possesses the necessary talent. "Any time you're completely rebuilding your secondary, (experience) is a concern," Whittingham said. "From an experience standpoint, we're very lean, but from a talent "It was nice to put on a good showing in my hometown," Wynn said. "I enjoy it. There's good tradition and a good program, (both) in football and the classroom." Salt Lake City provides a very different atmosphere from San Diego, but Wynn said he has had no complaints. "Utah is beautiful with the mountains and scenery. It's nothing like San Diego, but (Utah) has been nothing but top-notch," he said. The starting quarterback is able to keep himself occupied with academics and athletics, spending the majority of his down time resting, but he still knows how to have a good time. Fox Sports Net standpoint, we feel good about things." Sean Sellwood will return at the punter position, but the leg of a departed Joe Phillips will have to be replaced at kicker. Junior Coleman Petersen is the first-string kicker going into fall with Nick Marsh set as the backup. Utah begins the season Sept. i at home against Montana State. The following Saturday will be Utah's first Pac-12 Conference game at USC on Sept. 1o. j.bullinger@ chronicle.utah.edu "I don't do a lot, but I go to a bunch of movies at the Gateway. My dad always said I should be a movie critic," Wynn said. "I'm just a regular kid. I go to school and football, then I get my rest." Wynn names Luke Matthews, Tyler Shreve and Christopher as his core group of friends on the team but he said he spends the most time with, but he doesn't really have favorites. "(The football team) is a family... We do a really good job of not having any of those cliques," Wynn said. Coaches and teammates appreciate Wynn's dedication and hard work. He has been called a football junkie for his seemingly limitless knowledge of the game. Teammates describe him as a fierce competitor who is always anxious for a challenge. The upcoming season will definitely provide one of the challenges that Wynn relishes. The Utes' schedule consists of tough teams on a weekly basis, and one slip up could result in a loss. "I look forward to the challenge. You look up and down the schedule and there's so many good teams, and it's almost like a bowl game every week," Wynn said. "It'll be fun competing and seeing how well we do." j.bennett@ chronicle.utah.edu 1— THE GREAT DEBATE —1 Which team will thrive best in Pac-12? Red Rocks are used to the pressure G ymnastics is the biggest thing that casual sports fans have probably never heard of. Sold-out crowds filled with die-hard fans are the norm for the Red Rocks, who have put together a nationally competitive team in their almost 35 years of existence. Leaving you to ask, will this move to the Pac-12 hinder the Red Rocks' gymnastics program? Probably not. In fact, the Red Rocks are poised to have the most successful opening Pac-12 season of any Ute program. Having been used to recieving the national spotlight and matching up against top competition each and every year, moving to this new conference should be no big deal. The numbers speak for themselves: • 10 National Championship Tournament • 8 Runner-up appearances • 304 All-Americans, the most of any school • 34 consecutive years to the nationalchampionship tournament Throw in co-coach Greg Marsden, who has amassed more than 900 wins in 34 seasons, and it's clear that moving to a conference with five teams ranked in the top 20 is challenging, yet nothing new Some might argue that the Red Rocks' lack of a national championship since 1995 is a reason for concern in the newly established Pac-12. However, it's clear that a team that has finished in the top seven of the national championship tournament since 1995 has reason to believe it can win this new conference each year. Having beaten top-tier, Pac-12 programs FB Division makeup ensures success T TODD PATTON Staff-Writer such as Washington, Oregon State and Arizona State this past season, the challenge will lie in defeating new conference foe UCLA. The runner-up for 2011 and national champion from 2010, UCLA is the biggest threat to the Utes. After losing this past season in the opening match against UCLA, The Red Rocks will have an opportunity to gain control of the Pac-12 as they again open their season in Salt Lake City with the team from Los Angeles. Daunting as the new conference might seem, the team will play essentially the same schedule as this past season. Finishing with just two losses and ranked sixth overall at the national championship shows once again that moving to the Pac-12 should bring just as much success. This is something that can't be said of the football team, which faces a move from the weak conference and weak schedule of the Mountain West Conference to a grueling Pac12 season. Bringing back two All-Americans and several standouts, there is little doubt that the Red Rocks will again be ranked nationally. Kyndal Robarts and Stephanie McAllister are the All-Americans VS See PATTON Page D7 he timing of the U's move into the Pac-12 could provide instant success for the football team. Although competition in the Pac-12 will surely be tough, a division foe's slipups might give the Utes a free pass in the South division. Because of NCAA violations, the University of Southern California is not bowl-eligible this year. With USC—my clear favorite to win the Pac-12 South—on its final year of the postseason ban, the Utes are relieved of the toughest competition in their division. The ban dictates that USC cannot play in any games beyond the regular season, which includes the conference championship game. Therefore, if the Utes are the runners-up to the Trojans, they would jump ahead of USC in the standings and represent the Pac-12 South in the conference's inaugural championship game. The U is positioned in the weaker • Pac-12 division, and its road to the conference championship becomes even easier with USC's ineligibility. The South's relative weakness gives Utah a favorable schedule. Not only are the Utes in the less-competitive division in 2011, but they avoided both Oregon and Stanford on the schedule. BYU could be Utah's best nonconference opponent as Pitt is looking to build on a disappointing season and Montana State is a Football Championship Subdivision team. At first look, the only team standing in the way of the Utes and the South title is the University of Arizona. If this is the biggest threat, the Utes might as well plan for Oregon or Stanford, because the Mountain West Conference held tougher challenges. The Utes faced a pair of teams in TCU and Boise State in 2010 that were arguably better than Vote on who won » www.dailyutahchronicle.com JOSH BENNETT StaffWriter any scheduled opponent here in 2011. Utah flopped in those games a season ago, but the experience will benefit a team heading into a season full of big games. Although surrounding scenarios won't guarantee the U's success, they do ease the pressure of entering the daily grind of Pac-12 ball. Given the chance to make a run at the title, head coach Kyle Whittingham and the team should and will run with it. Taking the title won't be easy: the challenges will be bigger, the competition tougher and the pressure on a whole new level. The Utes are nevertheless ready to take up the challenge. The U's unique 2011 schedule provides some help, but the team itself brings excitement and talent on all levels of the depth charts. The team did lose some key players, but there are plenty of guys ready to step up and fill the void. The football team could exceed all expectations and end up with a realistic chance of playing for the Pac-12 title in the first season as a member. All eyes will be on Whittingham and the gang as the U gets ready for another page in the history books. j.bennett@ chronicle.utah.edu |