The 2012 season ended much earlier than Utah fans are accustomed to. The last time Utah missed a post-season was in Ron McBride's last season in 2002. Many state that the reason they had such a tough year was their move to the PAC-12. The new conference is tougher than the MWC that is for certain, but this was a very un-Utah like season regardless of the level of competition. The offense struggled mightily all season, and the defense was exposed and exploited during the heart of the conference season. True, there were injuries, but they may have struggled to reach bowl eligibility even in the MWC this year.
What evidence do I have of that? Of Utah's 7 losses, only 2 were within 1 score. They took Utah State to overtime, they did manage to get within one score of UCLA and Arizona. The Bruins had trouble offensively against Utah, and it was a low point for UCLA in 2012 on the offensive side of the ball. But Utah's offense was even worse that day. Outside of those games, Utah was dominated.
The high note was their win over BYU. But Ute fans should ask the question, why can't we play everyone else as good as we play against BYU? That is evidence that this rivalry is still alive and should continue. The longer off-season will give Utah extra time to work and get ready for next season's opener at home against Utah State. The Utes lose a lot of key players to graduation this years. Hopefully, they will be able to find good replacements.
Offensive MVP: RB John White IV
Defensive MVP: DL Star Lotulelei
Best Win: BYU
Worst Loss: Arizona
Do over moment: 1st 3rd quarter drive vs. UCLA
Best player not returning: Lotulelei
Best freshman: QB Travis Wilson
2013 schedule
August 29 Utah State
September 7 Weber State
September 21 @ BYU
Conference schedule not yet announced; we know who, but we do not know when.
Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA at home
Arizona, USC, Washington State, Oregon on the road.
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