You're torn between Utah going to the NC and getting beat (which would mean you can't say Utah was the best team in the country) versus going to the Rose Bowl, probably beating the #2 or #3 team in the BIG10, and still being able to say, "well, if only we had been invited to the NC we would have won."

If Utah is lucky enough to get an invite to the NC, they may surprise people (see '09 Sugar Bowl). But that's not a safe bet.

So a Rose Bowl invite and victory means Utah fans can make the same claims they do about the '04 team... "we could have beat anybody, we just didn't get the chance." It was probably true in '04. Not as sure this year, even though this Utah team is their best ever.