words.

This doesn't have to do with the Utah game, but it is an example of what I observed. In 2008 I was no longer a tutor, but I had lunch with one of the guys I had worked with previously who was still a defensive player on the team. It was right after the homecoming game against New Mexico, which we won, and we were playing TCU on a Thursday night game (really quick turnaround). I asked how things were going and he said he wasn't sure. I thought that was a weird response, so I asked him what he meant. He said that TCU essentially ran the same scheme as New Mexico so they were simply using the game plan from the previous week. I asked him what he thought about that and he simply said, "I don't know, man. I guess we'll see." He didn't seem really confident at all. Well, the game didn't go well. We got killed 32-7 and that was the end of us winning MWC championships.

That kind of attitude was kind of emblematic of what I experienced prior to other major games against opponents like Notre Dame, Florida State, and Utah during those years. (I'm not saying they recycled game plans every week, just the attitude of the guys I knew.) Again, it's hard to explain, but the feeling was real.