Gordon Monson: Utah football could lead one Pac or another, but the Utes have an important decision to make

The Utah football program is like a lightning-quick NASCAR driver looking for some thunder under the hood, a whole lot of thunder, all around. Not that long ago, the Utes benefitted from more fury of sound than flash.

Not anymore.

Amazing how the hovering storm on a track can flip inside of a decade or so.

And since we’re going for and elongating and beating to death a loose-and-goofy analogy here, what did Mick tell Rocky while training to fight Apollo Creed all those years ago? “Get the chicken, Rocky, get the chicken.” No, that’s not it. He said: “Eat lightning and crap thunder.”

The Utes are the lightning now. And the Pac-12 is the distant-and-diminished thunder.

I get it. The Pac-12 had some good teams this past season, among which Utah finished first, but that’s only part of the point here. The other part is that with the exit of USC and UCLA, as the conference considers San Diego State and SMU for inclusion, the Pac-12′s TV deal remains undone and uncertain, with some observers suggesting that the league whiffed on its chance for a more lucrative deal for each of its members and that on account of that the league is in danger of losing money, first, and losing schools, second.

And if the Pac-12 really is vulnerable to losing money and members, where does that leave Utah? Among the league’s lost?

This has nothing to do with squabbling between BYU and Utah fans, and the ongoing noise on social media about whose league is … um, bigger. It has everything to do with what’s in the best interests of Utah and Utah football, each of which deserves to settle in an advantageous home.

Everyone knows the Big 12 is on the hunt for more schools. The SEC has done its gobbling, as has the Big Ten. A lot of backroom shifting would have to occur for it to actually happen, but If the Big 12 batted its eyes and turned its heel, offering more money and thereby more opportunity for success, would Utah be tempted to find its thunder there?

Publicly, administrators have not only said, “No,” they’ve said, “Hell no.”

Privately, who knows what they’re thinking. They’d be irresponsible to simply ignore the possibilities. It’s wild out there.

Some at Utah, administrators, coaches, fans, might be hesitant to want to make a move, considering it was the Pac-12 that invited the Utes from the dirt-track racing of the Mountain West to what seemed like the smooth asphalt of the Dayton 500 some 12 years ago. There was a lot of gratitude, relief and pride that came with that invitation and association. It’s helped Utah become what it is today. And that’s hard to shake — unless the undisputed mismanagement of that league has disadvantaged and damaged it to the extent that darn near everybody else is making more money than Pac-12 schools are.

That’s when the shake-and-bake gets easier.

An expanded playoff is good, an expanded playoff with more guaranteed TV money from stem to stern is better.

What if other Pac-12 schools, at least some of them, decide to bolt? That’s been heavily speculated about over the seven months since SC and UCLA announced they were leaving. What if Washington and Oregon get a strong offer elsewhere? Would that be blocked because of ties, political or otherwise, to Washington State and Oregon State? Is there anything to discussion about Arizona and Arizona State leaning toward the Big 12? You know, the four-corner schools?

Regardless, Utah is an attractive catch now for any discerning league. Save the insults about this or that conference not needing the Utes. They may not be what the Big Ten covets, but they’d definitely bolster the Big 12 and deeply hurt the Pac-12, were they to leave.

The school should do what’s in its best interests. It might like being associated with institutions like Oregon, Washington, Stanford and Cal, but the question is, can it trust them? Without the bigger bucks rolling in, can anyone trust anyone anymore?

Acquire and keep the best television deal, then, keep the bigger bucks coming in. Keep the loud thunder with the bright lightning.

It’s funny. When Utah was initially welcomed into the Pac-12, it seemed as though it had fulfilled a dream. At the announcement news conference/pep rally/party in a large suite at Rice-Eccles Stadium, there were league officials, school administrators, politicians, Tournament of Roses reps, coaches, players, boosters, and there were balloons and cake and grins and giggles.

That was a day of celebration because the Utes had moved to the big time.

But time changes.

At that juncture, it meant Utah was in faster company, with a higher profile, better competition, increased prestige and, most importantly, more money. Oh, and let’s not forget, it was a fine, fresh opportunity to the benefit of the school’s student-athletes, in football, in basketball, in gymnastics, in soccer, in softball, in tennis, in golf, in … everything.

All the other sports, though, since we’re mixing metaphors and all here, were hanging onto the loose sleeves and baggy pant legs of football’s fireproof racing suit.

The Utes finished in the back of the pack for a number of years, until they could find more horsepower with a deeper roster via conference membership. They used their affiliation with the Pac-12 to rise through it and, finally, conquer it, having been to the league’s championship game four out of the past five years, winning the title in consecutive seasons now.

Utah is the current frontrunner of Pac-12 football, certainly in the lead pack with the Ducks and Dogs. The Utes have earned their respect and they’ve earned their rewards, their remuneration.

If the Big 12 waves more cash and more certainty, waves a checkered flag, the Utes could take and win it.

They aren’t the little guys anymore. They’re not followers, but leaders. They’re the fastest car on the track.

It might be time for them to find a new track, a new race, a new place to run.

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