Utah Football Preview 2025: Here Come the High-Powered Utes
As good as Utah has been under head coach Kyle Whittingham, it's not Ohio State, or Alabama, or at the elite of elite programs - it has yet to make the College Football Playoff. The margin for error is just small enough that something like not having the quarterback situation fully settled can be the difference between blah and fantastic.
Six quarterbacks. That's how many threw at least 30 passes for Utah over the last two seasons; there wasn't any continuity to the offense, and that was just enough to go from 2022 Pac-12 champion level to 13-12 over the last two seasons.Overall, the program is good enough to be dominant in the Big 12, but last year, thanks to that offense, the Utes lost four games by six points or fewer, lost at Arizona State by eight, and didn't have their mojo in the other two losses.Utah has gone 2-7 in its last nine games decided by one score. That's about to change.
And now everyone is about to underestimate the Utes.Yes, the Big 12 is tough from top to bottom, but no, it's not better at the higher end than the Pac-12 was before it self-imploded.Yes, Utah - the program that was a mortal lock in bowl games with a 14-1 record from 1999 to 2017 - hasn't won a bowl game in seven years.And yes, Utah has made the pivot to change all of that.
The Big 12 is winnable, and Utah is the team to do it if New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier - who comes with former Lobo offensive coordinator Jason Beck, and a few other parts - can bring that same firepower from last year's attack to Salt Lake City.A conference championship, a trip to the College Football Playoff, and doing some damage once it gets there. This Utah team should be good enough to do it all.Utah Offense BreakdownUtah Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season
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