Is Anyone To Blame For Utah Canceling Yet Another Football Game?

After having its first two games of the 2020 college football season canceled due to a widespread outbreak within the program, is this the fault of the Utes or a larger issue within the state of Utah?

It's a question that nobody wants to have asked — and answered even less.

Unfortunately the reality of the situation that the Utah football program finds itself in begs the questions that needs to be asked; After having its first two games of the 2020 college football season canceled due to a widespread outbreak within the program, is this the fault of the program or a larger issue within our state?

Let me be extremely clear with this, this is not a piece of writing expressing my opinion as to why all of this is happening. This is a piece that, unfortunately, lays out the grim details that our society is dealing with. Especially people who live in Utah. 

Courtesy of Utah Athletics

So here we go...

For weeks now, the Utah football program has tested every single day and yet, they've been unable to suit up for the 2020 season. Utah has canceled games against Arizona and UCLA, and hope for next week's matchup against USC looks to be dwindling fast as well.

As of Friday afternoon, @Utah_Football has 28 members of the program who have tested positive OR are currently in quarantine (contact tracing). What this does to next week's game against USC is anybody's guess... but it doesn't look promising#GoUtes #UteNation #AllUtes #Pac12FB

— Ryan Kostecka (@Ryan_Kostecka) November 13, 2020

At the same time, BYU tests just three times per week and has already played in eight of its nine games — and playing well might I add. 

So what's the big difference between the programs?

It can't be the testing because Utah is proficient in that regard. Head coach Kyle Whittingham has been adamant about telling his players the dangers and urging them to follow the protocols laid out in front of them.

It appears that hasn't happened. 

College kids will be college kids, I get that. And yes, they're being robbed of a chance to enjoy what many would consider is the best time of their lives. But these aren't normal circumstances. 

In a Zoom call with media, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan wouldn't go all the way in saying that the genesis of Utah's original outbreak was centered around Halloween, but "that weekend could have been some of our positives going into the Arizona game."

Did the players go out celebrate, attend social gatherings? Did the coaches tell them that was allowed or not? Should they have done something to keep the players away from the temptations? These are all questions that have no answers.

If the players were adamant about playing this season, there are ways to make it happen — just look at the Cougars. But according to sources, not all of the players have been as diligent as others, with Halloween weekend serving as a petri dish of COVID-19. And unfortunately all it takes is one player to bring a team down.

Outside of the football program, Utah is under attack. 

There's no other way to put it but right now the state is being ravaged by the COVID-19 virus and it appears it has no intention of slowing down. On Thursday, the state set a record high with over 3,900 positive test results, blasting the previous record by nearly 1,000 cases.

According to the Utah health department, the rolling seven-day average number of positive cases sits at 2,616 as of Friday. The positive test rate is at an absurdly high of 23.5%, meaning that nearly one in every four people test positive for the virus. Considering Utah has the nation's largest household at 3.19, it means that the virus can spread much rapidly.

Unfortunately, members of the state have done very little to combat the spreading of the virus. A good chunk of people — and all you have to do is check the Utah Football fan boards — believe the virus isn't to be taken seriously and that things shutting down or masks is just a way for the government to take away our freewill.

Directly or indirectly, that illogical way of thinking is part of the reason why the Utes haven't been able to suit up this season. It's not farfetched to believe that someone who contracts the virus, but is asymptomatic, passes it on to someone else, who passes it on to someone else, who passes it on to someone else, until it ends up in the Utah locker room. 

“After speaking with experts and analyzing the data, we believe that all of the positive cases are coming from the community,” Harlan said.

This is exactly what Governor Hebert and Utah's health officials have been worrying about and warning us all for the past month or two. And as a state, we have failed to listen. We have failed to adjust. And for that reason alone, we have failed to play football.

Everyone can make their own decision as who's to blame for Utah canceling its first two games of the season — or maybe no one is to blame. Regardless, the reality is that there's no football for the Utes and our state has done nothing to deserve it.

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Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka