1. The rise of Utah
Much like their former Mountain West rival (TCU), Utah has been very successful in its transition from a Group of Five program to a Power Five program.
Since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, the Utes have had only two losing seasons, played for the conference championship last season and have won at least nine games four times.
In a division where a true second team hasn’t emerged, and USC hasn’t separated itself from the pack since the Pete Carroll era, Utah has emerged as a legitimate No. 2 team and threat to win the Pac-12 South every year.
Syracuse had a banner year last season winning 10 games, but the Orange haven’t had the sustained success to legitimately call them the No. 2 team in their conference or even the division.
What Kyle Wittingham has done at Utah is place them as a legit rival to USC in the South, and a team that can compete for the conference championship. They should contend again with all the players they have coming back from injury as well.