The Utah Utes haven’t been shy about what they want to do this year: three-peat in the Pac-12 and qualify for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Are the Utes underdogs, or the team to beat in their last year in the Pac-12 Conference? Questions remain: Is quarterback Cam Rising healthy enough to play Game 1? What about Brant Kuithe? How will the wide receivers perform this year?
Making the CFP could be a tall order, as well. No team with more than one loss has ever made the playoff, and the Pac-12 alone looks stacked at the top. Even so, the Utes hope to be contenders for one of the coveted four spots before the tournament expands to 12 in 2024.
The Salt Lake Tribune spoke to four college football experts for their takes on what Utah can do this season. The following panel discussion has been edited for length and clarity.
If Cam Rising is limited to start the season, how does that affect Utah’s ceiling?
Yogi Roth, Pac-12 Network analyst: For the Pac-12, not as much because of the non-conference slate. For the Playoff, for sure, I think it can affect it.
We’ve seen this story before two years ago with him not being the starter and then coming in and then them going on a run after those two non-conference losses. We’ve seen that and they were the hottest team in this league at the end of the year, and I thought that they had a chance to be a playoff team. Obviously if it was an expanded playoff, they’re in it.
Chris Vannini, The Athletic senior writer: Without him, man, it’s hard to see the team getting through those first five games unscathed. Florida, Baylor. Even Weber State was a Top 10 FCS team last year, even if they have a coaching change. UCLA, Oregon State on the road. That is tough. A lot of these difficult games are in the first five weeks of the season. So if he’s not ready, dropping one feels likely.
It certainly doesn’t take away the hopes of a Pac-12 championship, assuming he’s not out for that long.
Bill Riley, ESPN 700: I think the trajectory is about the same. If we’re playing the what-if game, if he plays against Florida, then you’ve got your starting quarterback and your chance to win the conference championship and maybe keep your hopes alive for a College Football Playoff opportunity are all there.
If he doesn’t play in the first game or the second game, per se, I still think you can win those games. I think it’s just a little bit tougher to win those games. I think Utah’s overall talent is better than both Baylor and Florida’s. It really would depend on what you get out of the quarterback.
I don’t think you have quite the margin for error because you don’t have the experience and overall skill set at quarterback that you would have. I think you have to rely on the other pieces more than you would if Cam was playing.
Rick Neuheisel, CBS Sports analyst: Waiting on Cam Rising to be 100% is the wise thing to do because Cam’s got a career. He’s got a chance to be a quarterback after his time at Utah. So Kyle wants to do the right thing by him and make sure that he’s fully prepared and ready to go.
Is the Pac-12 Conference title Utah’s to lose?
Roth: I might be old school in that regard. They’re the champs. They have to be dethroned. And I get we’re in an era with free agency and you can flip your roster and all those things. But to me, it’s Utah’s league until somebody takes it from them.
Vannini: When you’re the two time defending champ, I think you can say that. Coming into the season in a vacuum, I wouldn’t say that just because I think there’s so many good teams. USC could win it. Oregon could win it. Utah can win it. Washington can win it. Oregon State can win it. Any of those could win and I wouldn’t be stunned.
To be the man, you have to beat the man. If someone other than Utah is going to win this conference, someone’s gonna have to knock off Utah first, and that hasn’t happened much the last couple of years.
Riley: I think so. If we’re going in assuming that you’re going to have Cam Rising when the conference season begins, I believe that’s the case. They bring back as many starters as anybody.
I was one of the six media members who picked them to win, and the reason I picked them to win wasn’t Cam Rising — certainly he’s part of it. I picked them to win based on the defensive side of the football and what the expectation is for Utah’s defense.
Neuheisel: I guess I would answer by saying we got to know who their big-play players are. We don’t really know who is going to stretch the field make those big plays that are really important when you’re playing against quality defenses on a week-to-week basis.
I can’t say who’s going to be in that championship game until I’m through September and kind of see what everybody looks like. Because with the quarterbacks returning, it could be anybody that I’m picking as the favorite after September.
Who are the X factors on the Utes?
Roth: Let’s just start with Brant Kuithe. He’s really a special player. I really think Ja’Quinden Jackson has a chance to be one of the more elite backs in this league this year, if not bigger.
I’ve been a fan of Devaughn Vele becoming a truly impact player. Am I going to circle him in the broadcast and say, ‘Look where he’s lined up’? I think I’d start with Brant, but man, would I love to do it to a receiver. Maybe it’s Mycah Pittman, maybe it’s Mikey Matthews, maybe it’s Devaughn Vele.
But I look forward to not saying, ‘The one area at Utah that I think they should work on, the one area I don’t have a ton of confidence in, the one area that needs to develop is wideout. I don’t want to say that this year, and I think they have the players to do it.
(Gary McCullough | AP) Safety Cole Bishop could be part of the best safety duo in the nation this year.
Vannini: I’m really curious about Mycah Pittman, the receiver came from Florida State. Obviously, that’s a position where they have to fill some holes. So him and Mikey Matthews, the freshman. Those are the two guys I’m most curious about — Cam Rising healthy or not. He’s obviously the most important player. But whether or not a couple of receivers emerge I think might be the biggest question after the health of the quarterback.
Riley: On the defensive side of the football, I think two guys that I’m looking at to be breakout players are Connor O’Toole on the defensive line and Sione Vaki in the secondary. In fact, I think Vaki and [Cole] Bishop could make up the best tandem of safeties anywhere in the country this year. I think they’re really, really good.
On the offensive side of the football. I think Mycah Pittman could play a huge role in what Utah wants to do this year, adding some kind of dynamic playmaking ability in both the open field and down the field.
Neuheisel: Kuithe staying healthy is a huge deal. For Andy Ludwig, he loves the tight end game.
At the end of the day, somebody coming through outside that can stretch the field. Even if he’s not a thousand-yard receiver, he has the threat to be. That’s important.
And then the packages with this kid, Ja’Quinden Jackson. If you can make him a wildcat, quarterback, a la [former quarterback Darren] McFadden at Arkansas, where that’s a piece of the offense, that takes a little pressure off of Cam Rising being John Wayne and trying to run the ball too much and maybe creates another way for Andy Ludwig to move the ball and incorporate it into their offensive philosophy.
Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.
