Big 12 team preview: Can Utah crack the College Football Playoff in its inaugural Big 12 season?

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham and Utah Utes QB Cameron Rising (7) listen to a official as Utah and Penn State play in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Editor’s note: This story is the 15th in a series previewing each football team in the Big 12 in 2024.

Kyle Whittingham has accomplished a lot during his illustrious 19-year run as the head coach of the University of Utah’s football team.

A Mountain West conference championship? Check.

An undefeated season and BCS bowl win over Nick Saban and Alabama? Check.

Two Pac-12 championships? Check.

There’s only one accomplishment, aside from a Rose Bowl victory, that has eluded Whittingham and his team — a berth in the College Football Playoff.

The Utes have been close before, notably in 2019, when they entered the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon with an 11-1 record and a No. 5 ranking in the CFP poll.

A win against the Ducks would likely have punched the Utes’ ticket to the playoff, but Utah was manhandled along both lines in uncharacteristic fashion, losing 37-15.

While the Utes won back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022, they didn’t have the sterling regular-season record to be considered one of the top four teams in the nation.

But this season, the College Football Playoff expands to 12, and the five highest-ranked conference champions will receive an automatic bid. The top four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a bye and move directly to the quarterfinals. This means the champion of each of the four major “autonomy conferences” — SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 — are practically guaranteed a berth — and a bye — in the playoff.

For Utah, it’s simple. Win the Big 12, and the Utes are in the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.

“Our…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-12-team-preview-utah-030000376.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-07-28 03:00:00

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