The novelty of losing to Pac12 teams will fade quickly. I disagree that Utah doesn't get credit for beating BYU. At least in my circles, beating BYU is about the only feather in their cap. Really, what else can Utah point to as a success over the last year? Nothing that "moves the needle" with fans and perception. IMO, not playing BYU, if they continue to have seasons like last year, has more downside than upside. If they play BYU and lose, then go on to suck against everyone else, then people will think Utah sucks (which is an accurate perception). If they don't play BYU and then suck against everyone else (like last year), and people will think Utah sucks (an accurate perception). If they play BYU and win, but then suck against everyone else, then - for some reason - people don't think they suck (an inaccurately positive perception).

The only scenario where I see playing BYU being a net-negative for Utah is if Utah loses to BYU, and then doesn't suck the rest of the season. Assuming BYU was mediocre in that year, the perception of Utah would be tarnished (an inaccurately negative perception). But this is stupid logic on the part of the Utes . It assumes that the Utes don't suck, but lose to a kind of sucky BYU team. The first clause is a stretch of logic (because the Utes usually suck). But if the first clause is true, then Utah shouldn't be concerned about the second clause. A not-sucky Utah team should always beat a kind of sucky BYU team.