Fans watched from the stands or thousands of miles away as the Utes marched onto the Spartan field, expecting them to wipe the floor with San Jose players. And 60 minutes later, the Utes marched off the field winners—but the victory was hollow.
The Utes have faced challenges before. When they competed against conference foe UNLV in game two of 2008, our beloved team couldn’t score in the first quarter. The Rebels had embarrassed the Utes in Las Vegas in 07—leaving a bitter memory for staunch Utah fans, myself included. That year still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The Utes had just shutout UCLA, and then went to Las Vegas where the tables turned.
So coming home after Michigan last year, Utah was looking for vengeance against UNLV. After tying the game by halftime, the Utes finally got their act together and scored four touchdowns—leaving the stadium with a 42-21 win over the team that had humiliated them the year before. Fans walked a little taller that day, ready to take on Utah State the next game.
But last week, Utah left with insecurity, not pride.
I walked into the stadium last Saturday expecting an easy victory. Although the Utes played less than exemplary their first game, I was sure the interceptions and fumbles would be cleaned up by week two. Instead, the same fumbles and missed kicks replayed over and over like a bad sitcom. Where was the former glory of the Utes who time and time again made the Mountain West Conference proud?
This was the team’s first road game, where they had to pass through a sea of San Jose fans that were yelling every insult known to mankind. Utah fans were not immune to taunts either as Spartans berated passing Utes each time blue and yellow came across red. At one point in the game, I looked up and saw a big hole in the student section where security was rushing to break up a fight. 
Utah did show promise in their first drive as they marched down the field. Matt Asiata offered a glimmer of hope as he punched it in on the 4th down.
The team played well enough in the second half to pull out a win, but it left fans with an uneasy feeling. MUSS tickets sold out before school even started as excited fans didn’t want to miss a single play of a potentially amazing season. And now fans are valiantly hoping for the Utes to demonstrate their currently hidden talent, but it remains to be seen whether this will occur.
Next week, your roving photographer and blogger will travel to Oregon and walk into Autzen Stadium hoping for the best along with thousands of other Utah fans. Utes—make us proud.
*The photos from the 2008 UNLV vs Utah game were taken by Lennie Mahler, Thien Sok and Lucas Isley.
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