trailing 4 yrs Pac 12 football records – placed in order of total winning %

[EmersonUte]

	2018			2019			2020			2021			Trailing 4
	W	L		W	L		W	L		W	L		Wins	Losses	Win %
utah	6	3		8	1		3	2		4	1		21	7	75.0%
oregon	5	4		8	1		3	2		4	1		20	8	71.4%
USC	4	5		7	2		5	0		3	3		19	10	65.5%
washington	7	2		4	5		3	1		3	2		17	10	63.0%
wazzou	7	2		3	6		1	3		4	2		15	13	53.6%
ASU	5	4		4	5		2	2		3	2		14	13	51.9%
stanford	6	3		3	6		4	2		2	4		15	15	50.0%
UCLA	3	6		4	5		3	4		3	3		13	18	41.9%
cal	4	5		4	5		1	3		2	3		11	16	40.7%
oregon st	1	8		4	5		2	5		3	2		10	20	33.3%
Colorado	2	7		3	6		3	1		1	4		9	18	33.3%
Arizona	4	5		2	7		0	5		0	5		6	22	21.4%

[EmersonUte]

just thought it’d be interesting to see just how good the team has been these last 4 yrs.  If we finish 7-2 (with a loss to Oregon) and Oregon finishes 8-1, we will be tied over the trailing 4.

[Crazyforu]

Its great to see it on paper. I remember a few years back Utah was the only team in the South that hadn’t been in the Conf Champ game, would be 3 out of 4 years if Utah can get there this year. That’s one hell of a turnaround.

This is a huge deal, as every team has a big year, here and there (Colorado, Arizona), its really tough to sustain it though. Utah is sustaining it, against some folks that have frankly kicked their rears in years past. 

Good stuff right there.

[noneyadb]

Something is screaming upset tonight. Short week, backup QB, 9pt favorite, won the last 4 at Stanford, and last game was a blowout. Think Shah wants this one and brings in a few wrinkles that catches Utah off guard.

[Crazyforu]

Why? I actually would argue the exact opposite. 

 

I think your statement is an easy one to make, based off the items you mentioned. I think what you are failing to do is look at the way both teams are trending, as well as how well Utah has matched up with Stanford traditionally. Stanford can’t run the ball, nor can they stop the run (this puts 2 massive chips in Utah’s favor). Stanford’s QB appears to be limited, at best (again, this really will limit Stanford, especially if they can’t run the ball either). 

Keep in mind, Stanford is coming off a short week as well. Sure, they didn’t need to travel, it isn’t like Utah had a 12 hour flight though. I think the ASU week was much more difficult than this one, and they passed they game with flying colors, right after an emotional win at USC. 

Stanford could absolutely win this game, as can anyone. I would say the odds are greatly in Utah’s favor though. 

These guys know what is at stake, they aren’t going to lay an egg.

Screw it, Utes win.

[NarfUte]

Apparently it’s much more difficult to win in front of 1200 of the bay area’s finest than in front of 100,000 angry ohioans. 

 

I agree, Utah gets this one.

[2008 National Champ]

road teams on Friday nights have historically underperformed the last few years for the whole Pac-12.

[Crazyforu]

And Utah had beaten the Y 9 times in a row, until this year. Point being, every game is different, and past history (especially involving completely different teams) isn’t always a great indicator of future results.

[2008 National Champ]

Of course, statistics are only a narrative not an absolute.

I went through the 2016-2019 and 2021 seasons to check Pac-12 conference non-weekend games. I left out the day after Thanksgiving games since those involve different logistics than a normal weekday game.

There have been 27 of those games (two on Thursday) and the road team has won 10 for a .373 win %. Interestingly, Utah is 3-1 in those games. So which statistic would you want to ignore? That road teams struggle or that Utah has traditionally bucked that trend?

[RedRocks]

So, what is the road team winning percentage for all games during that period? 37% winning percentage is low, but how does that compare to the normal?

[2008 National Champ]

Here is the best place to find that information. College Sports Reference

[Trailgoat]

Utes shake playing tight as a winner demons and get the victory. 

[UteFanatic]

Upsets happen, sure. And Stanford is absolutely capable of pulling an upset, especially if Utah plays ugly and has a bunch of turnovers, blocked punts, etc.

But…I just don’t see it tonight. This isn’t Stanford of 5 years ago. They can’t run, and they can’t stop the run.

Only way the’re competitive is if they light up Utah in the passing game, and I just don’t see that happening with their backup QB.

42-17 Utes.