When the Utes and Bruins meet this fall, Utah will once again be facing a Pacific Ten team. As the ever optimistic type, I've always thought of these games as auditions to the bigger show. That one day I'll turn on the radio and hear the unthinkable, the Utes have accepted an invitation to the elite western conference. And yes, emphasis on the the because it's essentially the only conference out west that gets any respect.

C'mon, you know ya' want the Utes

But I'm not naive and I understand that the politics of college football do not make expansion a viable option at this time. So the Utes are stuck in the Mountain West Conference still, with road trips to Laramie, Wyoming (quite possibly Hoth of the American west) and Albuquerque (home to the world's largest meth lab and the only American town still stuck in the 80s).

No, that's not Echo Base, rather the University of Wyoming campus

So instead of dwelling on the improbable prospect, I've decided to enjoy Utah's domination over the Pacific Ten over the past few years. If you can't join them, beat the hell out've 'em I say!

This September 2nd, the Utes will play its 5th Pac-10 opponent in four years. Currently, they've gone 4-0 with wins against Oregon, Cal and Arizona twice. If you go back further, to 2001, the Utes also have a win against the Pete Carroll led USC Trojans.

Utah was the last team to hold USC to a TD or less in a game.

Now 6 seasons after beating the Trojans 10-6 in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl, Utah will look to another Los Angeles team to prove its worth to the Pacific Ten and their fans.

In my preview of UCLA, I stated that the Utes had a great shot at knocking off the Bruins. If Utah can run their winning streak to 5 games, the Utes, since 2001, will have knocked off the best the Pac-10 has to offer. How many programs, BCS or not, can say that? In fact, the Utes have more wins (1) than UCLA does against Pete Carroll and his Trojans, ouch!

Will Dorrell and UCLA become the Utes next Pac-10 victim?

I like the Pacific Ten but can't deny that a part of me has a growing hatred toward their elitism and greediness. I feel the Utes make a perfect fit and the benefit of a Utah addition outweighs any negative aspects they might bring to the table. The problem with the Pacific Ten is that their ego holds the better good of the conference hostage. The fact is, outside of the western United States, it's believed the Pacific Ten is a lower-tiered BCS conference with one really good team (USC). Not that it's true, but perception often dictates prestige, just ask Oregon and Cal, both of whom were left out in the cold by the BCS system in favor of other elite teams.

This is a problem as other conferences grow and the college football world continues its focus on the midwest and southern regions of the United States. The SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and now even the ACC are perceived as superior conferences. Mostly because they field, on average, better teams than the 10 team conference out west. It's difficult for the Pac-10 to shake this perception because some of it actually has roots in fact.

The Pac-10 has struggled to produce programs that can sustain success over a long period of time. Prior to USC's domination over the past four seasons, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Stanford and UCLA all won the conference outright, or at least shared a piece of it. Programs like Washington State were notorious for following up a winning season with a losing one, while Washington hasn't really been a consistently dominate team since Don James retired in 1992.

The parity within the conference has done a number on the national image. With the recent success of Cal and the revival of Oregon, and possibly UCLA, the conference is looking up. However, this has happened before, only to see the parity once again consume programs that had promising futures. Can Oregon, UCLA and Cal sustain this success and subsequently produce a conference that isn't just USC and those other schools? I guess only time will tell, but it's clear that the Pacific Ten needs to improve its standing nationally if it desires national respect.

The Pacific Ten, the Cinderella of the BCS.

Whatever happens in the future, Utah can continue to make a statement to the Pacific Ten this September. Beating a Bruins team that went 10-2 last year on the road would be the statement game the Utes need. Whether the Pacific Ten takes notice is an entirely different subject altogether.