around 9 wins against MWC competition. Then they dropped for 3 years as they struggled to compete in the PAC12. During those 3 years recruiting and team depth increased to a level previously unseen in the program. It was a little bit subtle and not world changing, but EVERYONE closely associated with the program for an extended period pointed out the increased depth and talent. It is physically obvious at every practice. Utah is recruiting in deeper waters against better schools and landing players that would not have stepped on campus in the past. Now, Utah has averaged 9+ wins for the past 3 seasons (nearly the same as 2000-2010, but this time against far superior competition). That is a surge and it is real and appears to be sustainable.

Lots of insiders think the last recruiting class may turn out to be the strongest in school history (not by a large margin, but strong nonetheless). Unfortunately Utah needs to take a sizable step upward in recruiting in order to be a consistent PAC12 title contender and or playoff contender. Whit has shown the ability to improve and I hope it continues.

BYU will need to improve recruiting in order to beat Utah with any regularity. Right now Utah is a step above BYU in player depth and talent. Of course BYU can beat Utah occasionally in the current mode, but that will be a "one off" and probably followed with a beat down the next year.