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Only two years ago, when Utah and Texas Christian were struggling to compete in their new conferences, the two football programs seemed far removed from the old days of the Mountain West when they annually staged matchups with major impact in early November.

The Utes and Horned Frogs each finished 2-7 in conference play in 2013. The mutual downturn of teams that went a combined 41-1 against other opponents in their last three years together in the MW created doubts about their prior level of competition and raised questions about how it would take them to thrive in Power 5 leagues.

Not that long, as it turns out.

"They're just going through some of the same growing pains that we are," Ute coach Kyle Whittingham said then, and both programs are being rewarded for overcoming the tough times. Just look at them now: TCU is 8-0 and likely to be positioned just outside of the top four when the first College Football Playoff committee rankings are issued Tuesday. Utah leads the Pac-12 South. So maybe these schools are who we once thought they were, after all.

"To be compared to them is an honor, because they're outstanding," Whittingham said Monday.

The irony is that TCU made it to the Rose Bowl as an MW member in 2010, in the former BCS system. Utah is trying to get there the traditional way, via the Pac-12's historic affiliation. In any case, both teams have become playoff contenders in 2015, fulfilling the ambitions they declared in the previous decade as rising programs trying to break into the power structure.

Making it more interesting is how they've done it. Whittingham spoke of sharing "a lot of the same beliefs" with a defensive background like TCU coach Gary Patterson's. Yet TCU made its jump in the Big 12 last year after a major overhaul of its offensive scheme, with Patterson recognizing he had to do things much differently to keep up with other programs. Utah, in contrast, is sticking with its usual approach of strong defense and conservative offense to distinguish itself in the Pac-12.

The common theme is better personnel. The new affiliations have enabled TCU and Utah to increase their talent levels through recruiting. If anything, though, they've simply restocked their volume of NFL prospects back toward the levels of their 2008 meeting, which featured more than two dozen players who went on to have extended pro careers.

Just as important as top-tier talent is depth throughout the roster, where the Utes are "miles ahead of where we were when we first entered the league." Whittingham said.

TCU's rise in the Big 12 has come more quickly, after the Frogs remained in the MW for another year following Utah's departure. "I said we have to do it a couple years until we understood the landscape," Patterson said this past summer during the Big 12's media event. "How did we have to recruit differently? How did we have to play differently? We changed the offense."

Radically so, in fact. Patterson hired co-coordinators with ties to Oklahoma State and Texas Tech and authorized the move to a fast-paced Air Raid scheme, with stunning results. The Frogs have gone from averaging 344 total yards two years ago to 630 yards this season, behind quarterback Trevone Boykin, a strong Heisman Trophy candidate. They've needed every bit of that production in some games. TCU has rallied for victories of 55-52 over Texas Tech and 52-45 over Kansas State, hardly resembling Patterson's winning formula in the old Mountain West — or Whittingham's in the Pac-12.

The Utes actually have regressed offensively since 2013, yet they're winning a lot more games. Utah averaged 396.6 yards that season and is at 387.9 yards this year, tied for 75th in the country. That's partly explained by not scheduling an FCS opponent this season, although the Utes faced downtrodden Fresno State and exploited Oregon's defense for 630 yards.

Whittingham has sounded as reactionary as anyone else after the last two games. He wondered why Devontae Booker totaled only 20 rushing attempts and receptions in a loss to USC and then said a lack of downfield passing was a "recurring theme" after a win over Oregon State — with Booker getting 28 touches.

Quarterback Travis Wilson went 14 of 17 for 198 yards, so "we probably just needed to throw it a little more," Whittingham said.

Satisfying both desires is difficult, considering Utah ran only 61 plays. Partly as a concession to injuries and partly because of defense-oriented strategy, the Utes are usually huddling and slowing down the game, which "serves us best," Whittingham said.

So the transition from Dennis Erickson to Dave Christensen to Aaron Roderick as Utah's play-callers over the past three seasons has failed to produce big numbers, although the offense is doing enough complementary work for the Utes to stand 7-1 with a No. 13 AP ranking.

TCU (8-0) can enhance its playoff credentials by beating Oklahoma State this week and Baylor on Nov. 27, after barely missing the top four last year at 12-1. The Utes will have to win their last four regular-season games and the Pac-12 championship game to have any playoff shot. Making the top four also would require some mayhem occurring in front of them.

Yet multiple possibilities could send them to the Rose Bowl, as long as they win the South title. They could get there as the Pac-12 runner-up, if Stanford beats them in the championship game and makes the playoff. In either case, the twist would be Utah's reaching the same destination as TCU did five years ago, out of the Mountain West.

Twitter: @tribkurt