Two lists, submitted for your perusal before we plunge into Utah’s prospects for 2017:

A

Michigan

Alabama

Miami

B

Ohio State

Clemson

USC

Washington

Florida State

Oklahoma

Notre Dame

List A is the select group of teams that produced more 2017 NFL Draft picks than Utah.

List B is a sampling from the massive group of teams that produced fewer 2017 NFL Draft picks than Utah. Get Pac-12 Conference news in your inbox. Sign up for the Pac-12 Hotline newsletter.

Each time I ponder what lies ahead for the Utes this season, I return to two words: No way.

No way will the Utes, a power running team that lost four starting offensive linemen, execute as consistently as they have.

No way will one of the steadiest programs in the conference maintain the level of success it achieved the past three years.

Eight players to the draft: No way that won’t resonate like a pancake block.

The unknowns, it seems, are the degree and duration of dropoff:

Will the Utes give back all the ground they’ve gained, relative to peers, since their arrival in the conference?

The Hotline verdict: Yes and no.

Look for a marked backslide this fall, but it will be temporary. The program’s backbone is too strong for a multi-year regression.

Coach: Kyle Whittingham

Season: 13th

Record: 104-50

Win totals (last five years): 5-5-9-10-9

Contract status: Signed through 2021

Real-world job security: Granite: The voices that matter know the Utes can’t do any better than Whittingham.

Notable: The Utes are 8-12 in November the past five years. And no, degree of difficulty isn’t the issue. Utah was favored in more than half those games.

*** Previous installments:

Arizona projections

Arizona State projections

Oregon projections

Oregon State projections

Here we go, Utes …

Aug. 31 (Thurs): vs. North Dakota

Result: Win

Record: 1-0

Comment: Combined score of last two dates with FCS directional schools: 65-0. Utes might allow a TD this time, however.

Sept. 9: at Brigham Young

Result: Loss

Record: 1-1

Comment: BYU should be significantly sharper than Utah thanks to having played two games, including the Sept. 2 tussle with LSU. Edge to the Cougars given reasonably good health.

Sept. 16: vs. San Jose State

Result: Win

Record: 2-1

Comment: Same order of Week Two/Three games as last year, only with venues flipped. Utes had a slow post-Holy War start in ’16 before putting SJSU away, and we could see similar course of events.

Sept. 22 (Fri): at Arizona

Result: Win

Record: 3-1/1-0

Comment: Logistics are stacked against Utah: It’s not only a short week roadie, but Arizona will have a full week to prepare after playing UTEP on a Friday. And yet …

Sept. 30: Bye

Comment: Utes better make every second of the bye count, because the final eight weeks bring no breaks and no gimmies.

Oct. 7: vs. Stanford

Result: Loss

Record: 3-2/1-1

Comment: Two weeks to prepare with Cardinal on a regular schedule is a significant edge, but it won’t offset Stanford’s advantage on the lines of scrimmage.

Oct. 14: at USC

Result: Loss

Record: 3-3/1-2

Comment: Feels like Utah’s first decisive loss in conference play since the 2015 trip to … you guessed it … the Coliseum. Trojans are too fast, too good.

Oct. 21: vs Arizona State

Result: Loss

Record: 3-4/1-3

Comment: The physical toll from Stanford and USC back-to-back leaves Utah sluggish and sloppy. ASU steals one as the reality of a tough season takes root in SLC. Related Articles Poll: What do you want from the Pac-12 Hotline?

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Oct. 28: at Oregon

Result: Loss

Record: 3-5/1-4

Comment: Now reeling from three-game losing streak — the Utes’ first since 2013 — the staff and players begin tinkering, which only exacerbates the problem.

Nov. 3 (Fri): vs. UCLA

Result: Win

Record: 4-5/2-4

Comment: Short-week home game provides relief: The Bruins, having offended the schedule gods, will be coming off a Saturday game in Seattle: It also brings the postseason back into focus.

Nov. 11: vs Washington State

Result: Win

Record: 5-5/3-4

Comment: Back to .500 for Utah as Troy Taylor’s offense proves malleable enough to break tendencies in November and confuse the visitors. For more Pac-12 coverage

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Nov. 18: at Washington

Result: Loss

Record: 5-6/3-5

Comment: Opportunity for the Utes with Washington coming off hyped game at Stanford. But the offensive line is no match for UW’s front seven.

Nov. 25: vs. Colorado

Result: Loss

Record: 5-7/3-6

Comment: At home, with a bowl berth on the line, Utah self-destructs in the second half for its first losing season since ’13. Whittingham heads to the offseason with issues to resolve. But this year, finding a new playcaller isn’t one of them.

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