Utes predicted 2nd in the Pac-12 South – USC predicted to win the title

[Tony (admin)]

See tweet below. Yes it’s respect for us, but I still can’t stand seeing USC get so much love.

For the 33rd time in conference history, USC is predicted to win the 2017 #Pac12FB title! More: https://t.co/eDgEfgjnQ5 pic.twitter.com/nTH2y5AByY

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 26, 2017

[ironman1315]

How many times es has ISC been predicted to win the title since we’ve been here?

[Tony (admin)]

ISC? I suck?  Something like 33 times in total.  I just read that somewhere. Since we’ve been here?  I’m guessing 75% of the time.

[St George Ute]

That’s funny. That’s exactly how I ranked each division in the PAC-12 Facebook polls. Hmmm…

[UteThunder]

Wow! I thought we would be picked 3rd at best, 5th at worst, and 4th most likely. That is some major respect considering how much talent we lost to the NFL and graduation.

[KiYi-Ute]

I think the last minute pickups of Nurse and Carrington probably bumped us up a spot or two. I was also surprised to be picked #2.

U$C has certainly been overhyped in seasons past, but I think this year they are actually back to full strength and the road to the conference title runs through the Coliseum. Darnold is a stud, and I think most coaching questions have been washed away after their dominant run last year (after they played us).

October 14 is gonna be huge.

[Tony (admin)]

I’m dreading October 14 to be perfectly honest.

[KiYi-Ute]

Funny. I’m dreading the TDS-P game way more than U$C. 

Or maybe I’m just dreading the lead-up to that game. The week before is always filled with so much anxiety and vitriol. Once kickoff happens, I’m usually okay. 

The chance of a win in the Coliseum this year though, that has me excited.

[Rick]

Did you not see the USC vs. Washington game in Seattle?  Also SC beat a very good Penn State team going 17-0 in the fourth quarter to win the ball game.  They are by far the best team in the conference and by a decent margin.

[ladyinred]

I hear you, but I think USC exposed UW somewhat. And also, USC’s defense was sort of atrocious against Penn State at times, and they needed a small miracle to pull off that win in the Rose bowl. I get that they are very good, but not unbeatable.

[St George Ute]

I think one thing that may help with Utah competing for that top spot in the South will be the schedule. I know, it’s a tough one, but we have no back-to-back away games and 3 of the last 4 games are at home. Over the last few years Utah’s faded in November. That’s been attributed to fatigue, injuries, lack of depth, the gauntlet 9 conference game schedule, etc. This year the players at least get a bit of a break from having to travel much that last month. Hopefully that helps keep the energy up and may even help with the injury issues.

I’m excited for this season! It will be fun to see if the offense can grown and produce as much as we all hope it will.

EDIT: Just looked at USC’s schedule. They could seriously be undefeated going into the post season. Their toughest games are all at home (Stanford, Texas, Utah, & UCLA) and they don’t play Washington (or Oregon if they can bounce back). In the week prior to playing Utah, they play Oregon St while we’re being battle tested by Stanford. Barring injuries, I could easily see them going 12-0, winning the conference title game and being ranked #1 or #2 in the playoffs. #%$&!