Buffs and Utes set up shop in brand new Pac-12

For folks in Boulder and Salt Lake City, moving day has finally arrived as the Pacific 10 Conference officially welcomes both the University of Colorado and the University of Utah to the fold, thus creating the brand new Pac-12. The move represents the league’s first expansion since 1978 when Arizona and Arizona State were added, and with 12 teams, two divisions have been established in football with the winner of each meeting in the first-ever Pac-12 Conference Championship Game set for December 3, 2011.

“This is a very exciting day and a historic moment for our conference, for college athletics and for Colorado and Utah,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said. “Our conference was built on a pioneering spirit and through innovation that has contributed to some of the most valuable advancements in this country and the world. Colorado and Utah share those core values and instantly enhance the strength of our conference both academically and athletically.”

Colorado left the once-comfy confines of the Big 12, but to say the Buffaloes are upset about it would hardly be accurate. While certainly enjoying some memorable seasons there, the reality is CU hasn’t posted a winning record since going 7-5 in Gary Barnett’s last year (2005), and the team has been to just one bowl game in the last five seasons. The hope is a change of scenery may be what the program needs to re-energize the fan base and establish a new sense of pride.

Despite going just 21-40 the last five years, the Buffs have won 60 percent of their games (671-442-36) all-time, and claimed their first and only National Championship in 1990 under the direction of head coach Bill McCartney, actually sharing it with Georgia Tech. Despite the obvious changes Colorado faces with the move to the Pac-12, some things will remain the same, the most notable being the heated rivalry with Colorado State, which will continue at least through the 2020 season.

Jon Embree has been entrusted with ushering the Buffs into this new chapter in their history, and the first-time head coach knows what CU pride is all about as he played his college ball in Boulder from 1983-86. One of his sons already calls the Pac-12 home as Taylor Embree is a senior wide receiver at UCLA. But with a glaring lack of talent on both sides of the ball, it will be difficult for the new coach and his charges to mount much of a threat in their inaugural trek through these uncharted waters.

As for Utah, it comes over from the Mountain West Conference and is one of the winningest programs in all of college football over the last decade. The Utes are 96-39 since 2000, and they have won 24 conference championships in five different conferences during their history. Overall, they too have won nearly 60 percent of their total games (615-423-31).

Utah is an impressive 12-4 (.750) in bowl games, which is the highest winning percentage in the nation among teams that have made ten or more postseason appearances. The Utes, who won nine straight bowl games before losing to Boise State in last year’s Maaco Bowl, have played in two BCS games (2005 Fiesta Bowl and 2009 Sugar Bowl), winning both, and they were the first team from a conference without an automatic bid to play in a BCS bowl.

Urban Meyer is the man largely responsible for getting folks to stand up and take notice of Utah, at least on a national level, as he took over in 2003 and it was clear from the start that the Utes were going to be a force. After just two years and an impressive 22-2 record, Meyer bolted for warmer weather and tougher competition, taking the head coaching job at Florida. However, the foundation was set for Utah to continue its meteoric rise in the major college football ranks, despite maintaining its membership in the recondite Mountain West.

The Utes are currently coached by Kyle Whittingham, and his six years at the helm have resulted in a 57-20 record with five bowl appearances. Like Colorado, Utah will maintain two of its long-standing rivalries (Utah State and BYU), at least for the next couple of years.

Ironically, there is actually quite a bit of gridiron history between Colorado and Utah, as the two met nearly every year from 1903-1962. At the time, it was considered one of the biggest rivalries for both schools, but for some reason the series was discontinued and the teams have not met since. That will change this fall as the Buffs and Utes close the regular season against each other in Salt Lake City the day after Thanksgiving.

The Pac-10, now Pac-12, touts itself as “The Conference of Champions” and it’s hard to argue against such a claim. A total of 400 team championships have been won by its member schools over the years, with two of them (UCLA and Stanford) accounting for more than half. Then there’s the high academic standard by which most of its members adhere. Not that Colorado and Utah aren’t fine institutions of higher learning in their own right, but when you consider Stanford is ranked in the top-five of all colleges, and three others (Cal, USC and UCLA) appear in the top-25, the bar for both has definitely been raised.

Getting back to football, and the 2011 season specifically, Utah is expected to be competitive in the Pac-12 South, while Colorado figures to bring up the rear. The Utes have performed well against some of the best teams in the country in recent years, but haven’t had to do so on a consistent basis. Meanwhile, the Buffs have taken their lumps in the Big 12 recently, and it doesn’t appear things are going to change any time soon. At least not until Embree has a chance to start collecting more west coast kids — currently only 19 of the 83 players on CU’s active roster hail from the state of California. It will also open new recruiting avenues for Whittingham, as he attempts to stockpile more talent with the promise of greater notoriety, now that the Utes have moved to the big time.

Time will tell how both will fare, but for now there is a palpable air of excitement surrounding the two schools that can’t be measured, but can surely be understood and appreciated.

Welcome to your new digs guys! The neighbors have been expecting you. Just don’t expect them coming over bearing apple pies and offering to watch your kids.

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