It was so close. Knowing that brings a smile to my face, because in the Pac-12 it was fashionable to be arrogant.
The whole P5/P4 landscape might have been totally different and I am grateful.
Over the years I had a lot of fun disarming Pac-12 fans with kindness and humility. I never really bothered with Ute fans, because it wasn't worth the effort. I have so many friends who are Utes and USU Aggies, but I never give them the opportunity. Years ago a couple in my ward who were diehard Aggies and they knew I bled Cougar blue. Utah State was about to play BYU on General Conference weekend so they made a provocative comment meant to poke fun at me. I simply commented, "Oh! Does Utah State have a football team?" They were shut down.