My neighbor is from Louisiana. He grew up watching LSU and is a major SEC honk. (Imagine how much Ute fans love the PAC-12 and then multiply that by 100. That's how much he loves the SEC.)

Anyway, the year Utah joined the PAC he told me: "Welcome to the big boy table. Football as you know it has ended. The days when you would blow-out teams in your conference is over. The margin of victory will usually be less than a touchdown. You will beat the best team in the league one week and then lose to the worst team in the league the next week. But, I think you will like this kind of football."

I honestly thought he was nuts. But, he has been absolutely right on every point. Wins over Stanford and USC. Losses to Colorado and WSU. Every game is close. Every win means something.