I’m just gonna say it…

The road trips would be more palatable, at least for me.

Yeah, this conference sucks. The games suck. This should be our USC weekend. Instead, we get OSU.

And we have to pretend that a team that can’t stop the run, pass or run the ball themselves is somehow equivalent to USC.

Hell, Utah State played us and USC and has a better defense than Oklahoma State. But yeah, this is soooo much better becuase OSU has real fans and plays real football.

I hope OSU fans and media continue to talk them up and put Utah down. That bodes well for us.

Best feasible scenario, couple of mega-leagues of a couple dozen teams each with divisions where most of the former PAC12 teams are in the same division. 80% of conference play is your own division with the other 20% against teams in other divisions.

Utah has regular meetings with the teams like the Trojans, Bruins, Huskies, Ducks, etc., with the occasional game against Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.

I had a couple of Zoob work colleagues call Ute fans out for being arrogant about their new home in the BigXII. I tried to explain to them that while we are grateful to have found a landing spot, we just miss the awesome place we had in the Pac12. We can miss our old conference and still respect our new conference. Those things are not mutually exclusive.

That said, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to get excited about the XII. There are no blue bloods to go after anymore (including us). There are no games in this conference that will make me lose sleep in anticipation or that will cause me to float on air for a week after we beat them. So, while I don’t think the XII sucks (I actually think there are a lot of good teams, atmospheres and parity), I do think it’s missing regionality and that’s what used to make college football so fun.

The PAC 12 was a perfect conference. And if saying that rubs Big XII fans wrong, particularly the remaining original members, I will point out to them that the original Big XII was a perfect conference as well. Significantly better than what it is now.

If we can’t have that, then I would love for Utah to be in a 24-team Big 10, with 3 eight team divisions. The western division would be comprised of Washington, Oregon, Cal, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Arizona State and Utah. That is 7 games. Utah could get 3 more games against other conference teams in other divisions, 1 game against an SEC team, and 1 “other” game.

I can dream…

Why are so many of our fans so snobby about the BIG 12? I agree that I’d rather the Pac 12 would have stayed intact. I strongly disagree that we would be better off with the remaining west coast teams. It would be like going backwards to the Mountain West again. I live in the Midwest and they and the East Coasters consider the Western teams irrelevant. Their games are so late that nobody watches them.

I loved the Pac 12; however, even with Oregon, USC, and Washington, most people out east did not have any respect for the Pac 12. They regularly called it the worst power 5. They constantly made fun of the low stadium attendance and lack of passion. Even USC didn’t have respect out here. Really only Oregon and Washington were shown any respect.

Don’t believe me about the bias? Go look at who was let into the playoffs the last 10 years.

SEC:12
BIG 10: 9
ACC: 7
BIG 12: 6
PAC 12: 3

We are in the best place we can be until a BIG 10 invite comes. We can stay relevant because we will be in the playoffs if we win the BIG 12. The invitation to the BIG 10 won’t come if we go back to the revised Mountain West.

Think long term.

It’s a meh either way. Utah should do everything that it can to get into the Big 10.

PAC12 was destination amazing. Anything after that is just meh unless you get into a west division of the Big10.

Not this again. No, that conference would not be more enjoyable. SDSU, CSU, and Boise State? Are you serious? Even Cal and Stanford are terrible teams. For all the talk of Utah running the big 12, Utah would legitimately dominate that boring version of the pac 12 that you propose.

I also think it’s funny considering that had we been included in the big 10 instead of UCLA, you guys would have zero problems playing 6/9 conference games from teams that we have no history with and that aren’t even remotely close to us geographically.

I don’t connect with this romanticized nostalgia some of yall have with the Pac-12. I’m grateful for the golden ticket to the big boy club it offered and for the ascension of the program, but that ship has sailed. No TV network is going to pay SC UCLA OR and WA to get the band back together. We’re in the best spot that was available. Saying you’d rather go to a g5 conf for the sake of regionality is insane.

HAPPY GAME WEEK!

This subject again? From an original Big 12 member/outsider:

We’re all in a worse situation. We’d rather play OU and Texas than Utah and Arizona. And we know you’d rather play USC and Oregon than OSU and KSU. It just seems that Ute fans have been the loudest about it. All of us small market teams are eating a turd sandwich out here while the Alabamas and Ohio States grab up more money and more power. Let’s just play football!

It’s not wrong to say “I wish we were still in the Pac 12!” It was a great fit, great conference, great travel destinations, being run by greedy buffoons. With that statement comes a load of gratitude for what the Pac 12 did for us. Our campus is in a different universe compared to 12 years ago thanks to what that step up to the Pac 12 did. Part of the perceived ingratitude others feel from us I think comes from a sense of uncertainty that is prevalent throughout College football. I just don’t know how invested to feel in this conference, because I don’t think it will last more than 3-5 years. I am grateful we landed in the Big “12”. It could be a great conference, and possibly be full of great rivalries, schools, etc. I just don’t know how long it will last, and I don’t know that it will be better or worse than the PAC “12”. It will be what we make of it! For an example: I feel like we’re the kid that was becoming super popular in school, was the star of the team and finally had a hot girlfriend, and his parents were forced to move to a new town. It’s going to be an adjustment. It’s going to take time. And it may not be pleasant for awhile. We can make what we want in this new place. Let’s be the fans I know most of us our, passionate, kind and respectful and up for a good time be it in Los Angeles or Stillwater. Lets go Utes!

Moving back to the PAC would be a disastrous decision. I would, however, consider a move to the ACC if several conditions were met.

1. Florida State and Clemson were not going anywhere. It sounds like there may be a settlement in place that makes that likely.

2. Utah is guaranteed at least one home game every year against one of Miami, Clemson, Florida State, or Notre Dame.

3. The conference moves to 9 conference games.

4. Two of the other four corner schools come with.

5. Utah plays Cal, Stanford, the other two four corner schools and SMU every year.

6. Utah is guaranteed more money than it is currently getting in the Big XII.