Well, that reminded me a lot of the Syracuse game. Can’t stop anything, but we rally just enough in the second half to think we might just have a chance to win and still suffer an embarrassing loss.

• The onside kickoffs are straight out of a clown’s act at a Shrine circus. Those soft little lobs 10 feet in the air make it so easy for the opposition. Why bother? But how about that hit on the Utah player that caught the ball? Rattled his ribs. Best hit all night.

• Did I really see what I thought I saw on Utah’s fake field goal attempt? Utah guy all by himself out in the wide open spaces … again. “We gotta fix that,” says the coach, again and again …

• Mario who? Never saw him, even on the sideline … or during the Card March for that matter. Those turf toes must really be bad.

• The crowded conditions in the concourse at half time are unbelievable … a giant cocktail party with all the socializing. Security would need cattle prods to get that massive herd of yakety-yaks moving back to their seats.

On the positive side, just as I predicted:

• Attendance again exceeded 40,000, actually 40,890. Just enough people got addicted to football during Petrino’s years to prevent a major drop off. Let’s hope it holds until good times return.

• There was not a booing epidemic this time … even though play on the field often challenged the best of us.

The really bright side:

• Patrick Carter caught nine passes for 146 yards; when and if Harry Douglass returns, we will have two-and-a-half great receivers.

• U of L’s College World Series baseball team received a well-deserved sustained standing ovation. Revived some fantastic memories.