This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

After its schedule the last two years, Utah football could be forgiven for wanting just a little bit of relief.

The 2015 slate, released Tuesday evening by the Pac-12, isn't easy, but it doesn't project to be Spartan tough, either. And good news for fans and Utah administrators: There's plenty of good home games to start talking about, and there's really no apparent duds.

First, here it is:

Sept 3. • MichiganSept. 12 • Utah StateSept. 19 • at Fresno StateSept. 26 • at OregonBYEOct. 10 • CalOct. 17 • Arizona StateOct. 24 • at USCOct. 31 • Oregon StateNov. 7 • at WashingtonNov. 14 • at ArizonaNov. 21 • UCLANov. 28 • ColoradoDec. 4 or 5 • Pac-12 Championship game (Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.)

Now to parse.

The obviously has a nice home balance, with seven games at Rice-Eccles Stadium. While the 2014 schedule is notable for a six-game death march against five teams that started the season ranked in the top 25, next year's games don't appear to have that clustering effect.

The non-conference schedule kicks off with a bang as Michigan visits Salt Lake City for the first time, then there's an in-state follow-up with the Aggies making the short trip south. Going to Fresno State gives Utah its first road trip of the year without having to worry about conference stakes.

The road game to Autzen Stadium projects to be the toughest game of the year, even though many expect Oregon star quarterback Marcus Mariota to leave for the NFL for the next draft. But after the bye, Utah gets two home games against Cal and Arizona State, building up to another big road test against USC.

Oregon State comes calling before a potentially rugged November. Chris Petersen will be in his second year when the Utes go to Washington, and RichRod has a young group of playmakers who could be tough when Utah visits Tuscon. Those lead into arguably the biggest home game of the year when UCLA travels to the Wasatch Front. Colorado, perhaps improved, perhaps still in the lower tier of the conference, wraps up the season in a "rivalry" game that feels a bit forced.

Just as notable is who Utah misses: No Stanford, no Washington State. While the Utes gained notoriety for knocking off the Cardinal last year, it's an undeniable difficult game that takes a physical toll. Meanwhile, the Utes get a break from Mike Leach's Air Raid offense, which they've split against recently. Bringing in Cal and Washington in their places are probably favorable substitutions, although time will tell. Another plus: No FCS game, which while being an automatic win in most cases, lacks the thrill of suspense.

Also: No BYU. But you knew that. (That will be the last mention of that team in this post.)

How do you feel about the schedule? Chime in by writing a comment below.

Kyle Goonkgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon