Ever since Utah joined the Pac-12 and BYU charted its own path through independence, we've heard buzz about the potential of the rivalry game between both schools dying down.

Well, it just might happen.

This was posted over at Utefans the other day and while it's not definitive proof the rivalry is about to go the way of the Dodo bird, it's a scenario that seems pretty plausible.

So, if we're about to see the last breaths of this rivalry game, are you okay with that?

I don't think I am.

I like playing BYU. I think these two teams have a unique rivalry and I would hate to see 90 years of history erased over night. I'm positive, even if the vocal opinion online suggests otherwise, that most in the state would hate to see this rivalry die.

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Utah's 2011 Dream Team is no more.

The University of Florida has confirmed Utah offensive line coach Tim Davis has accepted the same position with the Gators.

Davis, a Utah graduate and former coach under Ron McBride, returned to the Utes along side Norm Chow last year to help guide Utah through their inaugural Pac-12 season.

Both have since left the program.

Chow, of course, became the head coach of the Hawaii Warriors.

Losing Davis is a big blow. He's not only one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, he was also, at least until leaving, the most experienced offensive coach on the staff. With Brian Johnson, who's 24, now Utah's offensive coordinator, the prevailing thought was that he could lean on the wisdom of Davis - who's coached here, at Wisconsin, USC, with the Miami Dolphins, Alabama and Minnesota.

So, you can see his resume is pretty topnotch.

The Utes had announced last week the hiring of Dan Finn, who had coached the offensive line at San Diego State in 2011. The hire suggested maybe Davis might be on his way out, however, the staff was reshuffled and Davis was moved over to coaching tackles and tight ends. It's possible that played a role in his decision.

With Davis out, you've got to expect Finn to take over the entire line, though, nothing is official yet.

I'm disappointed...but I'm not. I didn't really have faith Utah could win Thursday night and, what do you know, they didn't. But I also was bracing for a blowout because, well, that's exactly how almost every road game has gone this season.

To my surprise, the Runnin' Utes were within a possession down the stretch. That's progress, I guess? Sure, the Sun Devils are awful - horrible, in fact - but at least it wasn't another massacre. And considering Utah lost to the last-place USC Trojans by an amount larger than our national deficit, I guess I can't be too down on the performance.

You know, I'm not even bummed they lost. I guess I'm more bummed it probably means we're not going to see a road win this season. That's hard to accept, regardless of how bad this team is and how much talent they lack. I wanted a road win, dammit! I WANTED IT!

But oh well.

So, now on to Tucson. Shudder.

Okay, so it's not technically their last road game, but you get the sense if they can't beat the Sun Devils tonight they're probably doomed to finishing winless on the road this season. I'm not going to look it up, but I'm pretty sure that might be a school first.

Definitely not the way you want to rewrite the record books.

The Sun Devils are certainly beatable. They're 4-8 at home, only own one more win in conference play than Utah and, of course, the Utes already knocked them off in Salt Lake a couple weeks ago.

But Utah is, how do I say this in the nicest terms, godawful on the road. They're not only losing, they're getting absolutely destroyed by horrible teams like the USC Trojans - who still haven't been able to find a victory after ripping apart the Utes late last month.

It's why, against a 7-16 team, they're 11-point underdogs.

It's not pretty. This whole season has been a struggle. So, it's really about those minor victories. Defeating ASU won't suddenly save the season, but it could at least provide some serious comfort at the moment. I think we just want a bit of progress, the taste of victory - the feeling this team is, in fact, moving in the right direction.

Another poor road performance, however, is going to be tough to just shrug off. Maybe we should. I mean, this season is all but over anyway. Still, we want victories. After all, we're fans. We want to cheer our team on to victory.

Hopefully that happens tonight.

The hiring of Brian Johnson certainly sent shock waves through the world of college football today. It's not often a Pac-12 program hires a guy as offensive coordinator who still could be of playing age.

It just doesn't happen. In fact, Brian Johnson now becomes the youngest coordinator in all of college football - taking the crown from East Carolina's Lincoln Riley, who's currently 28.

So, as we try to wrap our brains around the idea of a 25 year old, two-year 'veteran' now leading the offense, we're left with a lot of questions and concerns.

In one year's time, the program went from having the most experienced and successful offensive coordinator in arguably college football history, to potentially the least experienced and clearly youngest coordinator of the last decade.

That's quite the contrast.

Brian Johnson hardly brings the cachet Norm Chow brought to the program in 2011, but then again, he also brings youth and the possibility of new ideas to help spark an offense that, while forced to battle through injuries last year, was down right awful.

What I do know is that this unconventional hire has its benefits - but it also has some concerning negatives and the hire will inevitably sink or swim based just on that.

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Brian Johnson as Utah's offensive coordinator.

That happened.

How do you feel about it?

Tom Cella, who helps run UteZone.com, has tweeted that Utah's next offensive coordinator will be Brian Johnson.

I'll wait a second while you pick your jaw up from the floor.

Johnson, of course, is Utah's quarterbacks coach and best known for leading the Utes to a 13-0 season in 2008.

He's only been coaching two years and has no experience calling plays - at least as a coordinator.

Genius move or WTFISHETHINKING deal?

It might not be true, but Cella is a pretty legit source and I don't think he'd put that out there without some confidence. Either way, we'll find out soon enough.

By all accounts, the 2012 recruiting class will go down as the best in program history. With the signing of Alphonso Marsh, a three-star defensive back out of Compton, California, early Wednesday evening, the Utes wrapped up a stellar class that features 28 new signees.

Kyle Whittingham says it's the best class, at least on paper, he's ever signed.

It's hard to find fault in that statement. Utah put together a diverse and deep class that will help bolster the program as it adjusts further to Pac-12 play.

You have to look no further than their recruitment of offensive linemen. Whittingham mentioned during the signing day press conference that the Utes were often undersized at this spot. That's about to change. Carlos Lozano, a near-400 lbs lineman out of Montebello, California, is certainly going to have a huge impact - in more ways than one.

All told, Utah signed nine offensive linemen in this class and I'm sure every single one of them will be put to good use over the next few years.

Of course, with most recruits, the impact probably won't be felt for a while. In fact, some will go on their Mormon missions before seeing a down at Utah. Still, it's hard not to get excited about this class. It helped fill the needs (quarterback, DB, OL) and did it in impressive fashion. Even better, the Utes dominated the state of Utah - signing five of the ten best prospects locally (BYU only got two).

The future is certainly bright for Utah and you can't help but think the recruiting will only improve the better the Utes become in the Pac-12.

The entire list of Utah commits after the jump...

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Today is signing day! The future of every football program across this great diverse nation of ours will be held hostage by a bunch of high school kids and, knock on wood, decent fax machines.

These are the moments that make or break a coaching staff. You don't bring in the recruits, you're not going to win and if you don't win...well I don't need to finish that one for you.

So, as it is every year, the top recruits will fax in their letters of intent and all will be right with the world. Because these kids haven't played a down of football at the college level! That means the sky is the limit or something.

For Utah, it's a chance to cash in all those chips from their Pac-12 invite and Sun Bowl victory.

We'll have updates throughout the day, but if you're really looking for second-to-second news, head on over to Twitter and follow the following accounts: @utahathletics, @utezone, @insidetheutes, and, of course, @blocku.

The first faxes are expected early in the morning, so if you're up around 8:00 MST, get ready for the first wave.

After the jump, review potential Utah commits that are, at the moment, currently undecided.

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Finally, after over a month of speculation, it appears we're close to the end of the wait.

The Utes are expected to announce the hiring of a new offensive coordinator this week and a decision might even come down in the next 24 or 48 hours.

Since Norm Chow left in December to take the Hawaii job, the search has yielded little names. In fact, only one name has definitively been linked to the position - Gary Crowton. However, nothing came of his interview and the lack of names and the expected leaks when an announcement is close, you've got to suspect that, in the end, the hire will come from within - which seems even more likely when you realize the announcement will be made through a press release.

But that's just speculation on my part. We heard last week from Ted Miller that the hire could potentially come from the NFL and that's still a possibility. Either way, because of the lack of names thrown around, even if just in passing, I'm starting to believe it will be Aaron Roderick.

We'll see, though.

I feared this after the UCLA debacle. When you're terrible overall, you're even worse on the road. The USC Trojans are not a good team. They entered tonight's game as the worst team in the conference record wise, had depth issues galore and still rolled the hapless Utes.

I hate to say it, but all the progress this team made in January has eroded and they're now looking just as bad as they did in November and December.

If there is one good thing to glean from this horrendous road swing is that it's now over. The Utes return to Salt Lake City, where they've been at least more competitive this past month, to take on the Oregon schools.

Not sure if they'll win, but hopefully we can at least, you know, make it a game.

No 1983 magic this year.

The Runnin' Utes failed to show up to take on a struggling UCLA team and dropped their seventh straight on the road in embarrassing fashion. It marks yet another blowout loss for the program that has yet to find any traction away from the Jon M. Huntsman Center and illustrates just how bad the bottom of the conference is compared to the murky-middle, where the Bruins have resided for most this season.

It also raises questions as to whether this team can even manage to win its first road game of the season. They're not good anyway and worse when not playing in front of a partisan crowd (however weak that crowd may be this season).

As much as the Arizona State win bolstered confidence in this team's ability, a lot of that was diminished tonight, even if not entirely deserving. We knew this team was bad. We knew UCLA, though struggling, was loaded with talent. No one should be surprised Utah lost this game. But in a season where all we want is a bit of consistency, the lack of total effort, the total collapse in the final three or so minutes of the first half and then the ultimate beatdown in the second, is a bit disheartening.

Yes, this team is better than they were in November. Yes, the talent on this team can't and won't win many games.

Still, it doesn't make the blowouts any easier to accept or enjoy. I might not have expected or believed in the potential of victory tonight, but I certainly felt the team would be competitive. They weren't and haven't been in all but one road game this season.

Because of that, the fact this team has yet to really build on any momentum (whether it was the Wazzu win a few weeks ago or the victory over ASU Saturday), it's hard for me to get on board with the idea they can beat USC. Yes, the Trojans are equally bad - but this team just doesn't get it on the road.

Now get through this tough stretch and come home, Utes, 'cause the road is one lonely place.

Even though Utah basketball has shown some improvement over the last month, they're still winless on the road. They hope that changes with a swing through Southern California this week with two games against surprisingly struggling programs.

The first is tonight against UCLA and marks the first time these two teams have met since the Utes' shocking upset of the Bruins in the 1983 NCAA Tournament. Utah was a 10 seed that year and UCLA was one of the tournament favorites, entering the game as a two-seed. They were coached by Larry Farmer, who had a stint as Weber State's head coach back in the 1980s, where the game actually took place.

Tonight, the Utes hope for some similar magic.

The Bruins, however, are struggling and may be one of the most disappointing teams in the nation. It wasn't that long ago, in fact, they were playing in consecutive Final Fours. Since that '08 season, though, they've struggled recapturing past glory.

They enter tonight's game with only a 10-9 record and an un-UCLA like 3-4 record in conference play. As of now, the Bruins are officially only one game better than the Utes in the Pac-12.

Of course, at least on paper, they seem like the superior team and it might not even be close. It doesn't help that Utah is 0-6 on the road and UCLA is 8-3 at home.

But this game is probably a bit more winnable than many thought at the start of the season and that shows improvement.

Hopefully that improvement continues tonight.

Tom Petty hated it. I hate it. You hate it.

But what're you going to do about it? It's now been over a month since Norm Chow officially became Hawaii's next football coach and, outside hearing Gary Crowton's name linked to the job, nothing of note has transpired since.

We've gone over how painfully slow the search has become and I think it's time to concede that Kyle Whittingham will only make a hire after signing day, which is next week.

When Whittingham hinted at the possibility of this going into February, a great deal of us scoffed and yet, here we are, only days away from the end of January - and Chow left in December!

Yikes.

It doesn't help Utah is one of the few holdouts without a coordinator, as even Auburn hired Scott Loeffler, the guy who was Tim Tebow's quarterbacks coach at Florida, to replace Gus Malzahn, who was hired by Arkansas State just a few days before Chow bolted to take the Hawaii job.

So, I guess the wait continues and hopefully there is a method to this madness...because the longer this search goes on, the more anticipation builds for this hire.

Woohoo! Utah basketball picks up another victory, destroying the Arizona St. Sun Devils by 21 points! It's their second conference win of the season and it means, for the time being, they're a full TWO GAMES ahead of USC in the win column - who's stuck in the cellar of the conference.

We're not worst! We're not worst!

Utah held their own against the Arizona Wildcats Thursday night - for a half, anyway.

Trailing by only five points entering the break, the Runnin' Utes collapsed in the second half as the Wildcats heated up and pulled away to win by 26 points. It was the Utes' fourth consecutive loss and their second straight blowout defeat.

This was also the first game without Jiggy Watkins, who had been suspended earlier in the week for violating an unspecified team rule.

Utah lost this game because they just couldn't keep up with the scorching Wildcat shooting. Arizona was 50% from the three point line and connected on twelve three pointers. Utah could only hit on four.

It was an ugly second half for the Utes and shows just how difficult the remaining of the season will be without Watkins.

With that said, Saturday's game against Arizona State is definitely winnable. But it might be the last winnable game on the schedule.

Utah's search to replace Norm Chow continues to be painfully slow. Outside last week's news that Gary Crowton interviewed for the job, there has been a blackout of information.

No hint of any other candidate - or even an end date to this decision.

What we do know is that the potential (read hopeful) list of candidates is slowly being whittled down by outside sources.

Mike McCoy, who was Utah's quarterback in the 1990s and a dream candidate of sorts, could be the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Dirk Koetter was just hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their new offensive coordinator.

Steve Fairchild, whose name was batted around after he was fired by Colorado State, is now an offensive assistant with the San Diego Chargers.

Last month, I asked readers who they wanted to replace Norm Chow and the favorite, though with a plurality of support, was Aaron Roderick. It seems, at this point, if it were Roderick, he would have been named already. Maybe that isn't the case and he'll still be the next offensive coordinator, but why the long wait? It's not like promoting Roderick will negatively impact recruiting like passing him up could (which might be the reason they're waiting until after signing day).

Regardless, the lack of names is a bit surprising, especially when, a few weeks ago, Kyle Whittingham hinted that a good number of candidates had shown interest in wanting the job.

Weeks later, and only Crowton's name has been linked to the position.

Either Whittingham is good at keeping things under wrap or we've been had.

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Who's a bust now?

The Runnin' Utes are getting better.

No, that isn't a subtle jab at Utah's last coach, rather an honest assessment of this year's team.

They look far more competitive than they did in the preseason and in their conference opener. Even in defeat, I was impressed with the effort. Though they were double-digit dogs, Utah still had a chance to tie it at the end and force overtime. Not bad, especially against a talented team like Stanford.

What does it mean? Well, the gap is closing. Unfortunately, they're 1-3 in Pac-12 play and, like against Washington, failed to capitalize on a game they maybe should have won (the Cardinal shot 5-17 from the line). Still, it's encouraging to see this team actually contend in a basketball game - which was a far cry from where they were back in November & December.

I always said I wanted to see progress by January and we have. Now, hopefully, the progress continues and, who knows, maybe they'll surprise a team on the road this season.

Could it be Cal? Unlikely - but I like their chances a bit more today than I did a couple weeks ago.

Though the '11 season is only days old, that hasn't stopped many sports pundits from predicting and projecting what will happen later this year.

For Utah, the consensus seems to be that they'll challenge USC for the Pac-12 South title.

Of course, challenge could be liberally used here and it's obvious the Trojans will enter next season as the clear favorites to win the division.

Still, even with an 8-5 season and some head-scratching defeats (the way Cal happened and Colorado), the preseason buzz is already ratcheting up.

Ted Miller, who runs the Pac-12 blog for ESPN, had this to say about Utah (ranking them 3rd overall in his '12 conference power rankings):

3. Utah: The Utes welcome back 18 starters, though replacing both offensive tackles will be a huge task this spring. The defense has a chance to be beastly. The key? Utah proved it can win eight games with poor-to-middling quarterback play. But does a healthy Jordan Wynn -- back to late 2009, early 2010 form -- mean 10 wins?

Not bad.

Utah also came in at 24th in Mike Huguenin's early top 25 and 21st in Brett McMurphy's way early preseason rankings.

Athlon lists the Utes as 'others to watch'.

So, there certainly is evidence to suggest expectations will be a bit hire for Utah in 2012 than they were in 2011.

But is it reasonable?

Not entirely.

The Utes still have a quarterback problem, at least until Jordan Wynn proves he can make it through a season healthy. That right there is enough to dampen expectations.

Even so, I think we might have seen the Utes' Pac-12 floor (6 or 7 regular season wins). Even with a struggling quarterback and a one-dimensional offense, Utah nearly won the Pac-12 South and still managed eight wins.

If Wynn can remain healthy, especially with all the talent returning on the offensive side of the ball, the Utes could certainly make some noise.

Now here's to it actually happening.