Those Other Guys Crown Utah 2008 Football Champs

Utah wasn’t completely shut out of championship award ceremonies. Collegefootballtalk.com has chosen the Mountain West program as their 2008 college football champs.

Sure, it won’t be recognized by the gridiron shot-callers, but it just becomes another trophy unrecognized by the NCAA, the organization with the most importance.

It adds another piece of hardware to a trash barrel and marks another crowning body on the NCAA “don’t care” list.

The Utes finished as the only undefeated program in America, capping the season with a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. Kyle Whittingham was the only voter in the final coaches’ poll to defy contractual obligation and select his team No. 1.

With the NCAA not recognizing any football champions, for the lack of a playoff system, CFT’s prize appears in a heap that includes the AP and Coaches champs.

And with those powerful media outlets staking their claim to recognizable crowning rights, Utah’s award is hardly a call for a sudden ticker tape parade.

What makes CFT’s award less credible than the others? Maybe it’s age. The AP and Coaches’ poll (formerly UPI) have been selecting champions for years.

Some people mistakenly make reference to the “BCS champion,” but the BCS is a made-for-TV event, and the eventual champion, working through the tripod of equations, is crowned by the members of the coaches’ poll.

The AP made their final guess, and chose the Florida Gators as their champion. The coaches determined that the system guessed correctly in placing two teams in a championship game, and also chose the Gators.

Now CFT adds to the guessing game, and they’ve chosen the only unbeaten program, possessing a superb season resume, and made them the king of the hill.

Congratulations, Utah, though no one will remember this by August or record it anywhere in the annals of college football history.

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