SALT LAKE CITY — Breaking down Utah's 24-17 win against Michigan on Thursday night:
THE BIG PICTURE: Jim Harbaugh’s return to college football has been the talk of the offseason — fueled in part by his quirkiness and an aggressive recruiting push. But all of the nice offseason publicity shouldn’t have obscured the obvious: Harbaugh has a challenging rebuild ahead at Michigan. Meanwhile, Utah is flawed but fun to watch. The Utes probably won’t win the loaded Pac-12 South, but with a tough defense they could certainly factor into the race.
WHAT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Most people will focus on the performance of Jake Rudock, a graduate transfer from Iowa, who won the starting quarterback job and was inconsistent.