Utah marched its way to the top of the Pac-12 South and firmly established its foothold as a conference contender. The Utes cracked the top five at one point and even received first-place votes. But a 3-3 run down the stretch, coupled with injuries and an inconsistent offense, knocked them off the national pedestal.
Still, a victory over BYU in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 19 would give them a 10th win -- their first 10-win season since joining the league -- and plenty of confidence and momentum heading into the recruiting season. Utah finished as co-South champ and was in the hunt for a spot in the conference title game up until the last couple of weeks.