In the last two years of Pac-12 football, the USC Trojans lost to the Utah Utes three times. No team was a bigger nemesis for Lincoln Riley and the Men of Troy than Kyle Whittingham's Utah team, which beat USC in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game, denying the Trojans a spot in the College Football Playoff. Utah beat USC twice in 2022, preventing an undefeated regular season, much like Washington did to Oregon last year. Kalen DeBoer did to Dan Lanning in 2023 what Whittingham did to Riley in 2022. Utah, which had beaten USC twice in 2022, beat the Trojans again in 2023, this time in Los Angeles, where the Utes have historically struggled. Bryson Barnes led a game-winning field goal drive that broke USC's heart in the final minute. Utah fans reveled in USC's suffering. Now Utah fans have to keep their fingers crossed for a USC player: Isaiah Collier was selected by the Utah Jazz in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Collier is the latest piece in a long-running rebuilding project for the Jazz. Utah has become an NBA developmental team over the past few years following the big “reboot” trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves that saw Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley traded away. The Jazz enter the 2024-2025 NBA season knowing they may not make the playoffs. Learning and growing will be the main goals for the season while Conley and Gobert chase an NBA title with the rival T-Wolves. Collier likely won't be an instant success in the NBA. Jazz fans are smart enough to know it will take Collier two to three years to get going and hopefully reach his pro potential. This isn't an instant situation where Collier is expected to add value to the Jazz franchise right away. Hopefully, Utah fans will eventually enjoy what a USC Trojan brings to the table. That probably won't happen in a year. This is – like the Jazz organization itself – a long-term project in Salt Lake City.