There were few preseason expectations outside of Salt Lake City for Utah last season. As a newcomer to the Pac-12, the Utes were expected to have their struggles and did, dropping their first four conference games before righting the ship and earning a Sun Bowl berth.

But with the Pac-12 South Division looking even weaker than last season -- outside of USC -- the Utes are a popular pick to finish second and earn a higher tier bowl. Can the Utes match those expectations, or will the rigors of major conference play take their toll again?

Here's a look at some key matchups and stretches of the 2012 season.

Must-see matchup: Oct 4 vs. USC
If the Utes are 4-0 heading into this matchup -- a distinct possibility if they can survive a home game against a BYU team they throttled last year and a road game at rebuilding Arizona State -- this game will be hyped as a battle for the Pac-12 South title. Rice-Eccles Stadium is a madhouse anyway, but with the Trojans in town, everyone will be seeing red.

Upset alert: Oct 13 at UCLA
Win or lose against USC the week before, Utah will be primed for a letdown in Pasadena against those calming powder blue jerseys. UCLA may not be an upper tier, Pac-12 team, but the Bruins do have Pac-12 talent -- as Arizona State found out last season. And the Bruins did represent the South Division last season in the conference title game.

It's a breeze (easiest stretch): Aug. 30 through Sept. 15 – Northern Colorado, at Utah State, BYU.
If there were issues with Utah’s offensive confidence coming into the season, games against the Bears, the Aggies and the Cougars should provide a big boost. Utah crushed BYU 54-10 last season. BYU beat Utah State. Northern Colorado went 0-11 in the Big Sky Conference. 'Nuff said.

Brutal stretch: None.
Utah has a very favorable schedule. After USC, the Utes get UCLA and Oregon State. After a trip to Washington, they get Arizona and Colorado. And they don’t have to play Oregon or Stanford. The table is set.

Complete Schedule:

Aug. 30 Northern Colorado

Sept. 7 at Utah State

Sept. 15 BYU

Sept. 22 at Arizona State

Oct. 4 USC

Oct. 13 at UCLA

Oct. 20 at Oregon State

Oct. 27 California

Nov. 3 Washington State

Nov. 10 at Washington

Nov. 17 Arizona

Nov. 23 at Colorado

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Pac-12 bloggers John Breech and Craig Morgan, follow @CBSSportsPac12 on Twitter.