Utah has an elite team this year.

Yes, the Pac-12 is mediocre this year, but Utah's victories haven't been squeakers...

They beat:

Washington State by 25 (38-13)
Oregon State by 45 (52-7)
ASU by 18 (21-3)
Cal by 35 (35-0)
Washington by 5 (33-28)
And UCLA by 46 (49-3)

There's ONE 1-score game in there, and Washington was down 33-21 with 1:05 left in the game. The closest margin after that was 18.

Their one loss- to USC- AT the Coliseum- was by 7.

Utah's average score this year is 34.7.
Their opponents average 11.3.
That's an average point differential of 23.4- including the loss to USC.

So, they're holding their opponents to less than 1/3 of what they're putting up.

And yes, they're going to lose a lot of players- including many who will play on Sunday. But they also have a lot of returning talent- especially RB, WR, OL, and DB underclassmen. Their current backup QB is more than competent, and the 4-star transfer QB they have coming in, who replaced Jack Tuttle is very good. (Cam Rising) Britain Covey also has two years of eligibility. Will they be regress next year? Almost certainly. But will it be as drastic as some people think? Doubtful.

This is year #9 for Utah in the Pac-12. They struggled initially- for obvious reasons. They were playing with MWC talent, and receiving less money than every other team. By 2014, they were able to get back to bowl eligibility. By 2015, they were starting to get P5 recruits, and came close to winning the South. In 2016, the Hallandale Trio (Huntley, Moss, and Simpkins) showed up from Florida. Two of the three turned into all-time greats- Huntley and Moss. They had a down-year in 2017, but then came back and won their division last year. And have dominated their division this year, and are ranked in the Top 10.

You don't see an upward trend?

Four years ago, they were contenders in the south, but they had NO depth- especially on offense. Booker and Covey get hurt, and they have nobody who can reliably move the ball. Remember the Holy War in Sin City? After Mangum gifted Utah 35 points, off of 5 consecutive turnovers, they could NOT move the ball. Now? They have 7-8 WR's who can be trusted to make plays. They have 2-3 TE's who are playmakers- including one who'll play on Sunday. They have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to RB. And their defense doesn't rebuild.

Am I saying that BYU will never beat Utah again? No, of course not. Am I saying that Utah is the new Ohio State? Not at all. What I am saying is that because of their brilliant coach, their infusion of cash, their increased success on the field, and their decade of dominance over BYU- there now exists a significant and widening talent gap between the two programs.