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The Cougars flipped the script on the Utes, proving the doubters and 'experts' wrong

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The Cougars flipped the script on the Utes, proving the doubters and 'experts' wrong


If the University of Utah football season were a movie, it would be “The Perfect Storm.” You know the story. Captain Whittingham and the gang catch a lot of big fish and think they’re headed for a big pay day. There are lots of warning signs that trouble is coming, but, yeah, they sail on — right into the perfect storm.

Parts are flying off the boat. Members of the crew are being thrown to the floor and getting injured, especially first mate Cam Rising. Senior XO Andy Ludwig jumps overboard. The boat is heavy and slow. They are thrown for a loss, over and over … and then they get steamrolled.

Everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.

Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”

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Meanwhile, their neighbors, BYU, are living in La La Land. Everything they touch is gold. Everything that can go right, goes right. It’s one big Hallmark movie, with Reese Witherspoon in the lead. Sometimes it looks like they’re in trouble, but, nope. Take the Kansas State game. The offense slept through the whole thing, but the team won 38-9 behind punt returns, fumble returns and interceptions. It was like Christmas, a birthday and an anniversary rolled into one half of a game.

Then there was Baylor, which outgained BYU by 120 yards — and lost.

The Cougars are living a charmed life.

Exactly no one saw any of this coming. Can we all agree that preseason polls — and polls in general — are fun but worthless. In both the AP and ESPN preseason polls, Utah was 12th and BYU unranked (the Cougars also didn’t get a single vote for the “others receiving votes,” which was 17 teams deep).

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Utah was picked to finish first the Big 12; BYU was picked to finish 13th.

As of this week: BYU is first, Utah 13th.

BYU is 8-0, Utah 4-4 and riding a four-game losing streak. BYU is ranked No. 9 in the national polls; Utah has fallen out of the rankings.

They flipped the script.

Utah and BYU will meet in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday.

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Utah’s season is an unmitigated disaster. Much has been made of the loss of injury-prone quarterback Cam Rising, who missed all of last season while recovering from surgery. He played one and a half games this season before getting injured again, only to return for one game weeks later and incurring another injury on the second play of the game, one that sidelined him for the season. He could return for an eighth season next year, which invites comparisons to the old bit in “Tommy Boy.”

Lots of people graduate in seven years!

Yeah, they’re called doctors.

Anyway, the point is — and Coach Kyle Whittingham would be the first to say this — a solid program should be able to weather the loss of any one player without falling off a cliff. The Utes managed to win eight games without Rising last season. In retrospect, heading into the 2024 season maybe they should have planned better for a potential injury to Rising, especially given his long list of injuries. Instead, they replaced him with a true freshman quarterback, one who was in the state high school playoffs a year ago.

If the transfer portal were a physical place, you wouldn’t want to stand in front of the doors this winter at Utah. There’s going to be a stampede. Also, the Utes will go quarterback shopping.

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On the 40th anniversary of BYU’s unbeaten national championship season, BYU is doing a good imitation of that magical run. A year ago they won only five games. Good luck finding any preseason predictions that placed BYU in the top 10 of the Big 12 or the national top 25.

It’s time to take BYU seriously. The Cougars handed 13th-ranked SMU its only loss of the season. It handed No. 22 Kansas State one of its two losses. Another of their victims, Oklahoma State, has been ranked as high as 13th. The Cougars rank 29th in strength of schedule, according to the highly respected Sagarin ratings, even though five of their wins have come against teams that currently have losing records.

The Cougars suddenly find themselves among the leading candidates for a berth in the newly expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff. The schedule favors them; their final four regular-season games match them with Utah (four wins, four losses), Kansas (2-6), Arizona State (5-2) and Houston (3-5). The two road games — Utah and Arizona State — pose the biggest challenges.

The Cougars have a lot riding on those games.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham looks looks on from the sideline during game against TCU at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. The Utes will look to spoil the Cougars’ perfect season Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News



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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon

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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon


A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.

He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.

MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche

In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.

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“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.

A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas


CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.

LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.

Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.

The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.

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MORE | Murder-Suicide

Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.

10:33 a.m. — Call 1

After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.

Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.

“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”

11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3

As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.

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“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”

11:26 a.m. — Call 4

Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.

“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”

She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.

Police indicated officers were on the way.

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2:26 p.m. — Call 5

Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.

Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.

“They found a note on the door.”

2:35 p.m. — Call 6

Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.

“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”

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A dispatcher responded:

“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”

2:36 p.m. — Call 7

Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:

“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”

2:39 p.m. — Call 8

Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.

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“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”

He repeats the details he knows for the second time.

3:13 p.m. — Call 9

Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.

“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”

Dispatch responded:

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“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”

4:05 p.m. — Call 10

More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.

“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”

The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.

Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.

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The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.

5:23 p.m. — Call 11

Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.

“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”

She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.

Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference

Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.

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The investigation remains ongoing.

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing


AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”

Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.

“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.

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Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.

“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.

2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:

  • Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
  • Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
  • Does it support a ban from classrooms?

Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.

“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.

MORE | Utah State Legislature:

Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.

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“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.

“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.

The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.

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