The Utah Utes received a nice endorsement Wednesday, when the Pac-12′s official football media poll ranked them a strong second behind USC in the South division.
The same voters also established just how difficult it will be for the Utes to live up to that forecast, or possibly exceed it.
Media members — particularly the 14 of 42 voters who listed Utah No. 1 on their ballots — believe that USC’s quarterbacking uncertainty and the upheaval of three coaching changes in the South make the Utes contenders to win their first division title. The only flaw in that thinking is it disregards a scheduling rotation that sends Utah against the top three teams from the North.