Steve Kragthorpe, a native of Missoula, Montana, attended his first football game in 1965 when he was four months old. His father was an assistant coach for the University of Montana.
- Montana lost that game to Utah, 28-13.
- His 2006 Tulsa team lost to Utah 25-13 in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth.
- His 2007 Louisville team lost to Utah 44-35 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Small wonder Utah is like Oklahoma to Steve Kragthorpe, i.e., a traditional football power.
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Steve Kragthorpe’s brother, Kurt, is a sports columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune. Kurt may excuse himself from covering or attending the Louisville-Utah game for two reasons: He would have a difficult time being objective and because his brother’s teams seem to fare better when Kurt is not there.
During his first 50 games at Tulsa, Steve Kragthorpe’s teams lost every game Kurt attended. They won every game Kurt watched on TV until Tulsa ran into Utah in the Armed Forces Bowl.
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Kyle Whittingham, the Utah coach, recalls how Kragthorpe’s team threw 23 screen passes against the Utes in that bowl. “His background is offense,” said Whittingham. “He is a very intelligent coach with very sound schemes.”
A smart Cat fan…isn’t that like military intelligence and any other oxymoron you can come up with?
The good news is that it wasn’t Sports Illustrated.
Especially the cover!
But I do have two of them framed and hanging in my den. If I say they are one each from 1980 and 1986 I think even a Cats fan could figure out why. Well, perhaps it would take a smart Cats fan.
We finally got a postive mention the The Sporting News. After three months of mentions only about Kragthorpe’s hot seat and being listed in the recruiting section as among teams turned down by recruits choosing other schools Victor Anderson is profiled on page three. I believe this link http://www.sportingnewstoday.com. should enable you to find it.
That is one smart lady.
I showed your blog to the dear little 88-year-old lady who lives across the street. She said, “that Stevie is such a lovely boy, so sweet-natured and kind.” I thought that was nice. Then she added “and he better kick the crap out of Utah or I’ll kick it out of him!”
Mercy.