Not "everyone" believes that the MWC is as good as the Pac-10 but that Utah is going to drop to the bottom of the Pac-10. I agree that those are inconsistent positions. But I don't agree with either of them.

The MWC isn't as strong of a conference overall as the Pac-10. Sorry if it's tough for people to hear, but it's true. That's not to say that the MWC couldn't be better for a season or two. But on average, the Pac-10 will be stronger. Utah has won the MWC 3 times in the past decade, and they average about 3rd place, but even in bad seasons they're no lower than 4th or 5th. If they were in the Pac-10, they might win the conference once in a decade, come close a couple times, average between 4th and 6th, but also have a couple really bad years if the injury bug bites or if they get a few bad bounces in some games. There just aren't as many guaranteed wins in the Pac-10.