This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Having played only one conference game, Utah suddenly looks like the clear favorite in the Pac-12 South. The Utes certainly made a big impression with their 62-20 win at Oregon, but they deserve only partial credit for their distinction as the South's best team.  The preseason top four – UCLA, USC, Arizona State and Arizona, in some order – all have suffered at least one surprising, disappointing loss in conference play. One of those other teams was responsible, in some cases. But that's not true of USC's two defeats, as the Trojans have lost to a pair of North opponents.  Washington became the latest team to head south to the Coliseum and leave the Trojans reeling. In a 17-12 victory Thursday night, the Huskies held USC quarterback Cody Kessler to 156 passing yards. That defeat came after USC lost at home to Stanford – with a resounding win at Arizona State in between.  The local impact of Thursday's game was a big dropoff in the magnitude of Utah's Oct. 24 visit to USC. Imagine this: Utah could have a two-game lead (in the loss column) in the South, going to Los Angeles. If the Utes beat Cal and ASU in their next two games, ASU beats Colorado on Saturday and UCLA loses to Stanford next Thursday, Utah would be 3-0 in Pac-12 play – and everybody else in the South would have at least two losses.  Certainly, USC could tighten things by beating Utah, and there's a long way to go. But the obvious conclusion as of early October is that the South is not nearly as tough as it appeared, going into the season. The North's success in Los Angeles is strong evidence of that point.  – Kurt Kragthorpe