10. Utah: Remember Ron McBride? No, you don't. He was Utah's coach at the beginning of the decade. McBride was a solid, not great, coach. His name will go down in history as an opening act for Frank Sinatra.
Urban Meyer (who has two teams in this top 10) arrived in 2003 and changed the landscape. His quarterback, Alex Smith, became a No. 1 draft pick. His team became the first non-BCS program to break through in the restrictive system.
Changed the landscape? Notre Dame dallied just a bit in pursuing its former receivers coach and lost Meyer to Florida. Defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham has kept things chugging with an undefeated season in ’08.
This is meant in the nicest possible way: Utah is the No. 2 football factory west of the Rockies.
