Pac-12 Preview: University of Utah Runnin’ Utes

Since moving to Southern California from Utah a few months ago, I’ve had to take the following uncomfortable position on several occasions: defending the University of Utah’s status as contender in the newly-created Pac-12 South division. As sports teams go, Utah rates a 9 on the Scale of Hatred, with 1 being mildly objectionable and 10 being Brigham Young University. (I went to Utah State, and unlike a lot of my home state’s residents, I don’t divide my loyalties among the three FBS schools: the one I went to is the best, and the other two suck. End of story.)

I had a blast last year watching TCU’s 47-7 destruction of the Utes in Rice-Eccles Stadium. So it stands to reason that I’d love to see the U of U get buried in the standings, the way most people out here seem to think they will. But looking at this team’s talent level and recent results against the former PAC-10 schools, I just don’t see it. Utah looks like a contender to win the division.

At the very least, with Jordan Wynn(right) piloting Norm Chow’s offense, the Utes should be mighty entertaining and score a lot of touchdowns. Surrounding the junior Wynn is a talented group of skill position players, starting with receivers Devonte Christopher and Luke Mathews, and punctuated by freshman running back Harvey Langi, who was the clearcut number one recruit in the state of Utah last year, and the 24th-ranked running back nationally. If a defense led by three returning starters at linebacker, Brian Blechen, Chaz Walker and Matt Martinez, can stand up to the rigors of big-conference football, Utah could play for the Pac-12 title.

Perhaps even more important than the impressive players and coaches Utah fields is the nature of college football itself: It’s a short season. On-field talent and brilliant coaching can be trumped by quirks of the schedule, screwy bounces of the ball, or odd calls. There are three – for lack of a better word – flukes in Utah’s favor that have me giving the Utes even odds with Arizona State to win the South:

1. Utah avoids Stanford and Oregon out of the more powerful North division.

2. Utah has five home games, and will play Cal in AT’T Park, leaving three true conference road games, against USC, Arizona, and Washington State. The weather in Salt Lake City should be legitimately nasty for the games against Oregon State (Oct. 29), UCLA (Nov. 12) and Colorado (Nov. 25).

3. USC can’t win the division. An NCAA ruling on Reggie Bush’s actions in the early part of the last decade may be the biggest factor in the University of Utah’s chances of winning their division. Welcome to College Football in 2011. The Matt Barkley-led Trojans are the best team in the South, so this is huge.

Utah could easily start out 0-2 with losses at USC and Those Guys Who Are Slightly Bigger Douchebags Than The Utes Themselves (BYU). But from there, they get a chance to get their legs beneath them with a bye, then they play the Jake Locker-less Washington Huskies at home, and then they play the Arizona State Sun Devils at home – where they are 30-6 under head coach Kyle Whittingham – in a possible division race deciding game. That would put Utah at 2-1 on October 8 with the tie-breaker over the other most likely contender  in their back pockets.

Who’s to say the Utes couldn’t run the in-conference table over the next six games and play for a title? It’s not like they have a woeful record against this conference, over three coaches’ tenures going back 10 years and including bowl games, they are 8-5, both straight up and ATS. That includes a win over a Pete Caroll-coached USC team, a 44-6 thrashing of #11 UCLA, and a 37-27 win over Cal in the 2009 Poinsettia bowl. That last one is particularly relevant, given that current Utah starting quarterback Wynn was 26-36 for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns. Still think Utah can’t compete in what projects as the third-toughest football conference? (Source: Phil Steele’s 2011 College Football Preview.)

I’m crestfallen too, but the facts do not bear out the case for Utah being inferior out of the gate. This is a program that has been big-time in all aspects but conference affiliation for the past decade. The last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for Utah.