But that’s not what is being evaluated.
The question is at the end of the regular season would you trade 10-2 with a ranking between 20-25 including a loss to Utah for a 7-5 season with a win over Utah.
If we go 10-2 and are ranked 20-25 our schedule must have turned out poorly. Given how both you and I think our schedule will likely turn out there is no way we are not a top 15 team going into the bowls at 10-2. But that is not this scenario.
I’ll never complain about a 10 win season, but given the context of the question I’ll take ending the streak and getting a memorable win over our rival in a winning season over 10 wins over garbage teams. If we were only 4-5 games into the streak I would feel differently.