When trying to justify an invite to the Vegas bowl instead of another bowl - Utah tanked
When trying to seem relevant in the PAC12 conversation - Utah was X number of plays away from the division title.
In reality - Utah made it to the bowl for the first time in three years on two things 1) a "special" year (great play at critical times, good bounces, etc), and 2) a down year for the rest of the PAC.