I’m just gonna say it…

[AlohaUte]

I’d rather be in a conference with the Arizona schools, BYU, SDSU, Boise State, Wazzu, Colorado State, and Oregon State (and probably would have Cal and Stanford in this scenario — also Colorado would be awesome, but I don’t think they are ever leaving their old Big-8 brothers again unless the B1G or SEC come calling) than the current Big-12.

It’s not that I think this would be an overall better conference, necessarily, but rather I’m simply more interested in playing these schools in our region that I am interested in and care about those in the Central Time Zone. I have no ill will against those schools, but I just have no connection or interest in most of the Big-12 East of Colorado aside from TCU. (I mean OSU and West Virginia are kinda fun, but otherwise…meh.)

[AlohaUte]

All that said, it’s better for the program to be in Texas more than California at this point though. Sigh….

[Trailgoat]

B12 is the best stop gap right now for the super conference beauty contest. From a fan access perspective for those of us living West of the Rockies, it’s a hell of a lot easier and more attractive traveling to the original P12 locations. From a talent show perspective, B12 is the optimal short term place to be as long as Utah contends for B12 Championships. The P12 in its current state is sadly a slower leaking life raft for the MWC schools jumping on board. Oregon State and WSU are doing everything they can to look pretty for the next conference shake down. Sooner than later, schools like Boise State will be priced out of the top tier market. Guessing we’ll see a second tier FBS level conference with it’s own play-off. After what’s gone down in the past couple years, my interest in college football outside of my Utes continues to fade. Must win game for Utah this weekend, go Utes!

[The Miami Ute]

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

[Utah]

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.

[AlohaUte]

To be fair, USC couldn’t do those things either, do you remember their defenses the last few years.

[Dallas]

I think thsts Utah’s point, even a bad USC is more exciting to play against than the current mid majors in our conference. There’s no team in the big 12 I care about beating more than I would USC, Washington, or Oregon regardless of their record. Those schools have history, cache, money, influence; prestige, etc. And we get credit for beating them even in an off year. We aren’t gonna get the benefit of doubt for beating our mid major foes. It was said in another post that it looks like the voters have mentally capped our conference just out of the top 10.
That’s what we get in a conference with no blue bloods.

[Ben]

Bashing a program so similar to Utah is a weird flex. Utah has more conference championships, OSU has finished ranked in single digits, has some 12 win seasons while in a power conference, and won some NY6 bowls. While you’re complaining about rather playing in a bigger game like USC, OSU could say the same about playing Texas and OU instead of Utah. Beating those teams would be WAY more satisfying. None of us want to be in a non SEC/B1G conference, but that’s the reality.

No one on the OSU side is even putting Utah down. I’m very excited for the matchup, especially since it’s a new fresh opponent that I’ve always respected. Of course, it’s not a blue blood, but Utah is the next best thing IMO.

Utah should schedule tough out of conference games if you’re so worried about it. OKST has Alabama, Oregon, and (to a lesser extent lol) Nebraska on future schedules.

[Hellhound152]

You should, and have every right to say that Utah is not Texas or Oklahoma. A win over Utah will not give you the same rub. You should be upset about that. The disappointment has nothing to do with OSU or KSU and you should understand because you should feel 100% the same.

As far as going out of conference for “big games” that is what the Group of 5 does. And we, unlike you, have lived that life and have no desire to go back there. FWIW we have Arkansas, LSU, and Miami on the schedule over the next 5 or so years but again, having to go outside of the league to get a shine is G5 stuff…

[Central Coast Ute]

I’m not on the Utah. I should go back to the P12 train. But to say no OK St. Fans are bashing. Utah is weird.

[utefansince79]

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.

[The Miami Ute]

Where do I sign?

[UteBacker]

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.

[AlohaUte]

Exactly. I really don’t have any ilk will towards those schools. The Pac was just fun. We had a bunch of regional teams who had fans that we worked with or engaged with. I live in Boise area, the only B12 team that has fans here is BYU. But there are tons of Oregon, OSU, Wazzu, UW and USC fans. It’s was so fun.

[Kirk Herbstreet]

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…

[RedUte14]

think it would be better with 4:6 team divisions. it would flow better with a conference championship i believe.

[Red Rhino]

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.

[Dallas]

Big12 fans are pretty “snobby” about preferring Texas and Oklahoma to Utah and the other new additions.

[voxnihili]

I agree with what you are saying: old PAC-12 was awesome but the Big XII is a good place to be right now and better than the current (and hypothesized above) PAC-12.

However, the CFB numbers you share don’t really show that they view the current Big XII all that better than the PAC-12. Of the six Big-XII playoff appearances, five belong to current SEC teams (Texas and Oklahoma). The only current member of our conference to make the playoff as a member is TCU (shoutout to Cincinnati for making it from the AAC).

[EagleMountainUte]

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.

[22Ute22]

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.

[AlohaUte]

I’d 100% enjoy that conference more than this one.

[OmahaOmaha]

No kidding. Any return to a P12 version without Oregon/Washington or USC/UCLA would be a dereliction of duty by the administration and get Harlan & Randall fired on the spot, and deservedly so. Once Oregon and Washington jumped we basically had the P12 Conference mentioned above, and Arizona, ASU and Utah couldn’t get out of it fast enough.

[Ghost of the HEB]

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.

[Knoblocker]

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!

[Tony (admin)]

Can’t disagree.

[HoosierUte]

Well said brother. Looking forward to a great game Saturday.

[prestitute]

I am with you! I am bummed the P12 went away, but I don’t understand why so many of our (Utah’s) fanbase are so negative. A top 15 matchup this week is pretty rad, imo. Winner of this game becomes a solid favorite for a trip to Arlington and shot at the playoffs.
Goodluck to your Cowboys. Hoping we get a clean game without injuries, that both teams show up, and, of course, I will be pulling for a Ute victory.

[voxnihili]

I would love to go back to the world where Utah plays USC, Oregon, et al. and your guys are going against Texas and that team south of OKC. But that’s not the current world so I’m happy to watch the Utes go against a bunch of quality teams (mostly) in the central time zone.

Go Utes!

Go (but not this week) Cowboys!

[AlohaUte]

Excellent point and it’s refreshing hearing this from. Big-12 fan instead of us being gaslit and criticized for rather having a different situation.

I am glad to be in the Big-12 and I’m sure it will grow on me. I just wish I had more connection to those schools and found the matchups more interesting. That said, I’m super stoked for the OK State game this weekend.

[Central Coast Ute]

Well said. I’m getting tired of this talk as well. Yes, we’d all prefer things to be as they were, but we don’t get to make those decisions. To say the Utes should join the new PAC is ludacris, and please don’t think the majority of Ute fans agree with this nonsense.

[SteelUte]

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!

[Kirk Herbstreet]

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.

[AlohaUte]

I’m not saying Utah should go to the pac, just that as a fan, I’d enjoy that more. The games and match ups interest me more, I have more connection to the teams we’d be playing. If I were AD at the U though, no way would I do it. The Big-12 is a much better option.

[Author]

Posts