People always play the "what if...?" game in life. What if I had gone to a different college? What if Russia had gone to the moon first? What if college athletes were paid for their contributions to the universities? Wait, that last one is actually happening now, but you get the point. What If Sports has made playing the "what if...?" game much easier in the sports world by simulating teams' performances in imaginary settings. MWCConnection's Matthew Kenerly is currently using their services to come up with the greatest MWC football teams in conference history.
Our good friend and colleague Chris Hondros at Underdog Dynasty (and others over there) found a very fun way to use What If Sports' platform to pass the summer months by simulating what would happen if certain teams switched places in terms of conference alignment. We are always saying, "Well, if Boise State had gone to a power conference, then... (X)" or whatever else. So let's actually make it happen!
Here are the ground rules. Each team's schedule is transposed directly onto the other's. Games are played at the location actually used. And only the first simulation will be counted, there are no do overs. That being said, here is what the season could have looked like had USU gone to the PAC12 and Utah stayed in the MWC.
Utah State's season in the Pac-12
Utah opened their season against FCS program Idaho State, easily defeating them 56-14. Unfortunately, FCS teams are not in the WIS database, so I used the next best thing, the Idaho Vandals. In this game, USU pulled out an easy victory, winning 34-0.
Utah's next opponent was MWC member Fresno State; the Utes took care of business with an easy 59-27 win. USU's game wasn't as big of a blowout, but they still came away with a solid score of 48-27. So far so good.
After a bye week, Utah took to the road to take on Big Ten foe Michigan. Utah was in control the whole game, leaving Michigan with a 26-10 victory. USU, apparently, took this as a challenge, and blew the Wolverines out of the water, putting together a shocking 51-24 drubbing heading into the Pac-12 conference slate of opponents.
Utah's first conference game was a home game versus Washington State. The Utes dropped the ball on this one, losing 28-27 in from of their home fans. The Aggies would avoid this disappointing fate, however, crushing Washington, 48-13, giving them plenty of confidence in their first year in the Pac-12.
Next, the Utes visited the No. 8 ranked UCLA Bruins and, in an equally surprising game, stole a major upset by winning 30-28 on the road. USU apparently decided to also take the challenge, pulling off a stunning 18-10 victory that no one saw coming. By this time, with wins over a top ten team and two other P5 teams, USU will break into the top 25 and leapfrog BYU by a couple spots, much to the Cougars' chagrin.
Riding a 5-0 record and a ton of momentum, and with an extra week to prepare, the Aggies visit the Oregon State Beavers on the road. The Utes barely escaped Corvallis with a 29-23 double overtime victory. USU, however, was not so fortunate. In a trap game of epic proportions, the Aggies drop a disappointing game, 37-31, and fall out of the rankings after a very short duration.
Smarting after the letdown, the Aggies play host to the No. 20 ranked USC Trojans. Utah, in their contest, pulled off yet another upset, snatching a 24-21 victory in front of their adoring fans. USU couldn't quite get their own upset, however, and lost an extremely frustrating shootout, eventually falling 51-53 for their second straight loss.
Utah next flew to Arizona State, where they lost a disappointing overtime game 16-19. USU never kept it close in a 26-39 point loss.
After going 5-0 for the first time in program history, USU found itself at 5-3, with No. 4 ranked Oregon coming to town. The Ducks downed the Utes in this game, 51-27, and the Aggies fared little better, dropping the game 20-41.
The depressed Aggies now go on the road to visit a beatable Stanford team. The Utes escaped with a narrow win, 20-17 in double overtime, but the Aggies fall yet again in a 7-27 pounding.
Next up is a visit from the fifth ranked team of the season, No. 15 Arizona. The Wildcats blew Utah out of the water, 42-10. While USU kept their game closer, they were never really in it either, and lost 20-34, falling to a record of 5-6 on the season.
Aggie Nation is about ready to throw in the towel at this point after losing six straight, especially after such an impressive start to the season. They have one last chance to get bowl eligible, however, in a road trip to Colorado to take on the Buffs. Utah took care of business here, scraping out a 38-34 win. USU, inspired by their immediate need to get to six wins, also scrapes the bottom of the barrel to pull out a 20-15 win.
After starting 5-0 and being ranked in the top 20, the Aggies are relegated to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl versus Minnesota. In an exciting game, USU barely pulls out a win, 20-19, to finish with a 7-6 record. Certainly not what they were hoping for going into the season, much less six weeks in, but adequate given the level of opponents faced.
Utah's Season in the MWC
In order to make this next section go quicker, because we don't really care about the Utes any more, I'll simply put USU's results in parentheses at the beginning of each game.
(USU 7 Tennessee 38) Utah is excited to go on the road and take on an SEC opponent. They come in with guns blazing, and take out the Vols 32-29, much to the shock of the Vol fans, who had been talking crap all summer.
(USU 40 Idaho St 20) Utah plays local patsy team ISU next, giving the Utes fans their first live look at the team. Again, since ISU isn't in the database, I used Idaho, whom the Utes dispatched 31-10.
(USU 36 Wake Forest 24) Utah hosts ACC's bottom-dweller Wake Forest next, and allows them to keep it close before closing out the win 30-20.
(USU 14 Arkansas State 21 OT) Utah travels to the home of the Red Wolves next, looking past the game to the following week's showdown with BYU. The Utes manage to escape with a win nonetheless, pulling out a win a game that had both coaches pulling out their hair; the difference was the Utes' field goal kicker, as Utah never saw pay dirt, but snagged three field goals to win 9-7.
(USU 35 BYU 20) With BYU on the docket, Utah stayed on the road for the second straight week, and play their hated rivals one last time. The Utes hadn't lost to BYU since 2009, winning four straight heading into the game. Both teams are undefeated and ranked at this point, and the expectations could be higher. With everything on the line, the Utes simply collapse by falling, 41-17, completely erasing their credibility after a strong start.
(USU 34 Air Force 16) After such a huge disappointment, Utah plays hosts to the Air Force Academy. Utah takes out their frustrations on the Falcons, and becomes bowl eligible with a 34-16 victory in front of the home crowd.
(USU 13 CSU 16) Visiting the Rams in the second MWC game of the year, the Utes officially exorcise their demons in a 40-16 throttling that leaves Colorado State fans in tears.
(USU 34 UNLV 20) Hosting the UNLV Rebels, the Utes nearly get toppled by the upset-minded guests, but scrape out a 26-20 victory.
(USU 35 Hawaii 14) Utah is taking everyone's best shot at this point; despite Hawaii's pitiful record, they nearly pull off yet another comeback, but Utah is able to hold on for a 30-24 win.
(USU 20 Wyoming 3) Utah stays on the road for another week, this time visiting Wyoming. At 8-1, ranked again in the top 25 due to BYU's continued success- the Cougars are also 8-1 at this point after losing a close game to Boise State in which Taysom Hill ran rampant, but couldn't quite close the deal at the end of the game-, the Utes are unable to sustain their momentum, and fall in the first week of November, 23-33. The Cowboys' post-season hopes remain alive as they pull out their fifth win of the season with two remaining.
(USU 28 New Mexico 21) After falling out of the rankings for the second time this season, the Utes are visibly struggling. They still pull out a 27-20 victory, but you can tell that their minds aren't quite 100 percent focused.
(USU 41 SJSU 7) Staying home for the second consecutive week, Utah snatches a close victory over San Jose State, scoring two TDs in the final quarter after trailing most of the game. The win gives Utah their 10th win of the season for the first time since 2010.
(USU 19 Boise St 50) Closing out the season on the road, Utah faces Boise State in the de facto conference championship game. Both teams have one loss in conference, and the West division is a mess. The Utes will not be denied, and leave Boise with its second straight "woulda, coulda" season as they barely miss the championship game again.
(N/A) Utah hosts Fresno State in the MWC Championship game, and comes out on top easily, defeating the 'Dogs 25-7. With losses to BYU and Wyoming, they narrowly miss being chosen as the top G5 team- that spot goes to NIU instead-, and end up playing Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl; they lose by the slimmest of margins, 21-22, and spend the rest of the summer talking about how close they were to an amazing season.