This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Down to the last two games of the regular season, No. 11 Utah has been trying to think of every contest as "a Super Bowl," according to defensive tackle Pasoni Tasini.
The upcoming home contest against Oregon (3-7, 1-6 Pac-12) in which the Utes (8-2, 5-2) are 11.5-point favorites doesn't exactly register as a must-watch contest. But with the chaos of college football hitting a sudden crescendo this weekend, every remaining game the Utes play has super stakes.
After a blowout win over Arizona State on Thursday, the Utes could camp out at home on Saturday in front of TVs, watching the rest of the conference action unfold. But the road to the South Division title didn't get any easier, as Colorado easily blew by bottom-of-the-barrel Arizona, then USC pulled the stunner of the weekend by upsetting No. 4 Washington, 26-13.
Utah moved up to No. 11 in both the AP and Coaches' polls, but the work is cut out for it. Still third in the South, Utah's most likely path to the Pac-12 championship game remains winning out. But while the margin for error continued to get slimmer, the potential reward may have gotten higher.
With Washington taking its first loss, there's a higher probability that the Pac-12 winds up with a two-loss (or more) champion. It could be Washington State, which took the lead in the North and has tough dates at Colorado and at home against the Huskies to close out the year. It could be the Buffs, who see two of their toughest opponents in the Cougars and Utes the next two weeks. If Colorado and Utah each take losses, USC could rise, which isn't inconceivable given that the Trojans looked a cut above the league's top-ranked team on Saturday night in Seattle.
But it could also be the Utes, who are coming off their biggest Pac-12 win — finally getting healthy, just set new records for sacks and are seeing balance on offense. They've also shown fire, fighting back from deficits to USC, Arizona, UCLA and Arizona State this season.
"That's been a recurring theme all season," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "They didn't flinch when we got down 13-0. Nobody panicked. Nobody deviated from the game plan."
What's waiting at the end of the road for the conference champion? That's also a murky question.
There are now only two unbeatens: Western Michigan and Alabama. Clemson, Michigan and the Huskies each took their first losses, giving an opening for other, more flawed candidates in the College Football Playoff, such as two-loss Wisconsin, two-loss Oklahoma and two-loss Penn State — which all have chances to win their conferences.
Could two-loss Utah enter the conversation by winning out and earning its first Pac-12 title?
It's a question that won't be answered unless Utah keeps winning — maybe the Super Bowl metaphor does work after all.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Oregon at No. 11 Utah
P Saturday, noon
TV • Pac-12 Networks