A Tale of Two Seasons: Part VI of XIII

This year Utah kickers have had big shoes to fill.

Often kickers don’t get respect from players or fans because they only serve one seemingly small purpose, but Louie Sakoda was a star on campus. In week 6 of 2008, Louie became a legend as he kicked the final 3 points that gave Utah a last-second win over Oregon State.
As I have said, Utah fans kept a careful eye on the Beavers as they knocked off USC the week before. And with an 8-point lead and 2 minutes left in the game, it looked like the Utes would be the second-ranked team to fall to the Beavers in as many weeks.
I remember standing on the sideline thinking, "Well, it was a good run, but it's over." And some fans clearly felt the same way as they started to move toward the exits. It had crossed my mind to leave early too because it was a Thursday night. I had to edit photos quicker than I do on a Saturday. Had I left early, I would have missed a magical evening.
Brian Johnson and the offence took the ball at their 40 and started the drive that ended with a pass to Godfrey for a touchdown. Excitement started to build, but Utah still needed the 2-point conversion to tie. All our wildest hopes came true as Johnson went to the right and scored—bringing the game to a tie—and the stadium erupted in cheers!
That momentum carried over to the defense and even I began to think they could pull off a win. After forcing a three and out, Utah got the ball with just over a minute left. Brian Johnson picked up right where he had left off, moving the ball down to the 20-yardline and setting up a 37-yard field goal attempt with 2 seconds left on the clock.

Fans at Rice-Eccles held their breath as the ball was snapped, placed on the ground and Louie kicked it through the up-rights.
I had just 5 seconds to get a picture of Louie before he was surrounded by teammates, and I was bombarded by fans running onto the field.
The joy in the air that night felt like it could not be matched again. Little did we know that was just a small taste of what the team had to offer.

Fast forward to this year, and there was no way of matching the win over Oregon State as the Utes faced UNLV, where, short of an ass-kicking, it was going to be a disappointing game. There was some excitement for Utah fans as No. 17 continued to impress us with another Interception and a fumble recovery for a TD.
The team looked good against the Rebels, winning by 20 in front of a crowd that had about as many Utah fans as UNLV fans. A lot of the Utah fans were friends and family of players like Devonte Christopher, Sly and Eddie Wide, who broke off a big run for one of his longest TD runs of the year.
Next up, the Utes need a good start to the second half of the season, which will likely be the harder half. It starts with Air Force—a tough game we could lose if we're not careful.