Utes picked 3rd in Pac-12 South
by JazzyUte on Jul 26, 2011 12:40 PM MDT
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Utah football was picked to finish 3rd in its inaugural season in the Pac-12 South.
SC, who can't technically win the South, was picked first, with Arizona State tabbed at second. The Utes received four first-place votes.
Oregon was selected to win the Pac-12 title, with Stanford and the Sun Devils the other two picks.
The Utes will open Pac-12 play against SC the second week of the season and host Arizona State on Oct. 28th.
The entire results after the jump...
Preseason Media Poll
North Division
South Division
1.
Oregon (29)
239
1.
USC (24)
230
2.
Stanford (13)
220
2.
Arizona State (13)
207
3.
Washington
142
3.
Utah (4)
170
4.
Oregon State
120
4.
Arizona (1)
140
5.
California
110
5.
UCLA
89
6.
Washington State
51
6.
Colorado
46
PAC-12 TITLE GAME CHAMPION:
Oregon (28 votes)
Others receiving votes: Stanford (11), Arizona State (3)
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Not bad
We’ve got first place votes and a respectable position, we don’t have to blow people away to get to the P12CG, just exceed expectations. The instant respect from the media is much appreciated.
by Joseph Silverzweig on Jul 26, 2011 1:02 PM MDT reply actions
A lot can be won with that game against SC...
Utah won’t be eliminated with a loss. But it can become favorites with a win.
First thing first: win all home conference games. That’s Washington, ASU, Oregon St., UCLA and Colorado – so 5 wins right there.
Second: At worst: Gotta split the roadies against Arizona/Cal. Ideally, Utah wins ‘em both, but I think it’s likely there is a split here. That would put them, in this scenario, at five conference wins.
Third: Gotta beat Washington State on the road. No ifs ands or buts about it. That would give them a 7-2 conference record, which should be good for the Pac-12 South (especially if one of those wins is against ASU).
Even with a loss to SC.
You'll most likely lose at least one home game...
…so you are gonna have to find another road game. Not playing either Oregon or Stanford is a blessing of remarkable charity
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
by Gekko Mojo on Jul 26, 2011 7:34 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
They might not have a choice...
It’ll be hard to ask them to win 2 of 3 against SC/Arizona/Cal. It’s doable, obviously, but not likely, IMO.
So if they’re going to win the division, I’m guessing it’ll take an undefeated home record – especially if they beat ASU.
Which I think is doable. Out of every team Utah faces this season at home, only Washington had a winning record last year. Obviously there will be improvement, but my guess is the Utes are favored in every one of those games.
I'll take it
What with the transition at OC and the injury to Wynn, if we can stay in the hunt through the season, I consider this a success. But win a couple of games that we “weren’t supposed to win” and we will have as good of a chance as anyone to be playing in the PAC12CG.
What is up with everybody lovin on ASU? I really dont see why people would predict them to finish 2nd in the PXII South….
I live and die on Saturday's
What don't you like?
They have the potential for a dominating front 7, they have a physically gifted QB, and they have a veteran O-Line. On paper, they have more pieces than Utah. They do have a tougher conference schedule.
To be truthful, I’m surprised that Utah got picked ahead of UA. I know all about their O-line, but their offense is built on a one step drop WR bubble screen. Foles threw twenty of them vs UW in a 2009 game. That can hide a lot of O-Line issues.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
by Gekko Mojo on Jul 26, 2011 7:40 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
For starters, I don't like their record against FBS teams
Over the last 3 years, they’ve been 4-6, 3-8, & 4-7 against FBS schools. There’s a strong correlation between past record and future records. The correlation is much stronger than returning starters. Over the last 4 years, Arizona State ranks 7th in the Pac-10 and 47th overall in terms of F/+ averages.
I don’t believe in a team that’s best resume stat was that they avoided being blown out by Oregon, Wisconsin, and Stanford. They play another FCS team this year so with their returning starters, they should be contending for a bowl game, but put me in the camp that doubts they’ll win the South Division.
What don't I like
It starts and mostly ends with Erickson
The O Line
They are really something to see. They always seem to fall short of expectations, though.
by Joseph Silverzweig on Jul 27, 2011 11:48 AM MDT up reply actions
The whole team has fallen short of expectations since they came a quarter away from winning the 1996 national championship...
Since then, they’ve produced one ten-win season, seven six wins or less seasons and 5 losing seasons.
So it’s hard to ‘like’ a program that has underachieved as much as ASU has the last 15 or so years.
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