they were able to win the division with a 5-4 record. The odds of them going 5-4 or 6-3 were high and there were no real contenders out there that had been consistent or good. But colorado came to play this year, ASU is looking good enough to beat utah, and USC looks dominant. Utah struggles with washington, cal, and washington state. There's a real possibility utah ends conference play with a losing conference record (I wouldn't bet on it, but it's much more likely today than it seemed in pre-season).