We are more likely to beat Utah. Its plain and simple.
My goal as a football fan is to win as many games as possible. If there is an opportunity to have a guaranteed win, you take the win that is least likely to occur.
Statisically speaking, Let's say there is a 15% chance we beat LSU, and a 50% chance we beat Utah.
Scenario 1: No guarantee - 7.5% chance we beat both.
Scenario 2: Guarantee LSU win - 50% chance we beat both.
Scenario 3: Guarantee UoU win - 15% chance we beat both.
Simple, I know.
Seems pretty straight forward. The only argument I could follow for a Utah win is if it affects recruiting by a wide margin. But even still, a win over LSU does huge things for recruiting outside of Utah, and especially for high level recruits, because we beat the big boys.
I do not live in utah. So I don't have the coworkers poking fun or things like that.
If LSU have the same amount of loses in the year as Utah, then LSU is ranked higher. Just a fact of life. If they are 8-4, they are ranked 20-25, 9-3 = top 20, 10-2, top 15, 11-1, top 10. With a loss to us, they are probably 9-3 (maybe 8-4). Still a P5 top 25 win. Doesn't happen to often to us. We need that.