Could Utah football be more talented in 2023 but end up 4th in the conference?

[ProudUte]

The PAC12 could be very good next year.

– USC returns Heisman winner Williams and looks to have improved overall.

– Oregon returns Heisman candidate Bo Nix and they have improved their team via recruiting and the portal.

– UW’s Penix is the best QB in the league IMO and he is returning.  They were 10-2 this season.  They look to be very good in 2023.

– OSU is the best non-NY6 team in college football IMO.  Their three losses are to highly-ranked USC, UW, and Utah.  The USC and UW losses were very close.  They have now added a QB to the mix.  He didn’t pan out at Clemson, but is still very talented and could elevate OSU to a top-ten team.  He won’t need to pass for 300 yards per game at OSU.  OSU has a great freshman RB and a very good offensive line.

– UCLA loses its top three offensive weapons.  However, they got a new QB from the portal and a five-star QB recruit.

I think ASU, Colorado, and Arizona will be better in 2023 and WSU was already a good team.  That leaves Cal and Stanford that will not be very good IMO.

If Utah keeps Rising, Kuithe, Vele and Yassmin – we could be a more talented and experienced team than we were this year.  However, the road to the PAC12 championship could be more difficult because of the competition.  A lot can happen between now and September.  But, I think that 2023 PAC12 may be the best it ever has been.  I believe the only conference close –  may be the SEC.

 

[ProudUte]

[ProudUte]

Also, we play USC, OSU, and UW on the road.

[utefansince79]

Oregon State adding what is reportedly a good QB transfer makes them a very dangerous and complete team.

Going to be a very entertaining league.

 

 

[PlainsUte]

Also, Utah never seems to play well in Corvallis.

[D T]

“Never” plays well in Corvallis? Because we lost there last time?

“Never” is an erroneous statement.

[2008 National Champ]

I saw seems, which means it is an opinion and cannot be erroneous, no matter how erroneous it may or may not seem

[PlainsUte]

A team can not play well, that is, up to their potential, and still win:

2021: L 34-42

2019 Utes played well: W 52-7

2016: Slogged it out in rain W 19-14

2014: Took double OT to win W 29-23 (2OT)

2012: L 7-21

2007: L 7-24

So in the last 15 years the Utes are 3-3 in Corvallis, and arguably only had a great game on ohfense once in those 6 games.   That is playing a mediocre OSU team, who are arguably going to be in much better shape in 2023. So I stand corrected on “never”, in actuality, but given 5 of 6 were sub-par it SEEMS like they never play well.

 

[EagleMountainUte]

I am generally pretty realistic or what some call negative about things in life.
I haven’t seen USC, fUCLA, or Oregon addressing their defensive needs.
Oregon st QB transfer is a big meh. Clemson fans are glad he left.
Ucla has to come to SLC and Oregon has to come to SLC.
@USC @ Baylor @ Washington and @Oregon st are the games Utah has to weather somehow. @Arizona looks like it might be a tough one to. Defensively Arizona didn’t do much to help themselves.
ASU, Cal and Colorado are still building or starting to build.

Breaking in a new QB will obviously be the key. But as I have already stated breaking in a Nate Johnson(or someone else) for 2024 could pay huge dividends to an expanded college playoff.

[Onlyu]

At this point I expect almost everyone to come back…we will be VERY good next year and another year of development in the system will only help Nate (as it did Cam). I have always loved Sr/So QB rooms (even though Nate will be a RS Frosh).

The problem with projections always comes down to key injuries…we have more depth than ever before and can withstand some but the team or 2 that stay can stay healthy will separate.

Gonna be fun…should be 3 straight years of top 15 rankings!

[prestitute]

Love your perspective! I am not sure if everyone here recognizes that we were a lot closer to 13-0 this year than 7-5. 

UF is a game we should have one. Give Napier and Co. credit. Richardson played great, and their D stepped up big a few times, including the pick. That said, we were sloppy that game and still were 1 good throw fe a win or a kick from OT 

UCLA was the only game where we truly were beat before the last drive, and that was due to some turnovers and a TERRIBLE mistake with the flag to keep them going when we had a stop down 3.

Oregon, if Cam of fully healthy or our kicker is dependable at all, we win that game. 

USC game 1 was the only other game that could have realistically gone either way, but we won and showed out in the rematch.

WSU looked close on the scoreboard, but we won with our backups and largely controlled that game.

The top of the PAC12 was all really talented, but Utah was the only team in the bunch that handled all of the games we were ‘supposed’ to win. This team is great when people disrespect it/underestimate it. Next year we won’t be the favorites or have all the early buzz, so buckle up! Whitt knows how to inspire these men, and the bigger the chip the more likely the ‘ship!

[2008 National Champ]

unfortunately, 2023 Utah won’t get the benefit of the doubt from the 2022 season. Schedule wise you trade Stanford for Cal which should be a wash, but then you also trade at WSU for at UW which is a better team at a tougher stadium as well as home San Diego State for at Baylor. All of a sudden the most talented team(s) in the history of Utah that could only manage 9-3 the last two seasons is going to have a much tougher road just to repeat that record. The only schedule advantages I see over 2022 are getting Oregon and Florida at home but that is more than offset by going to SC and Corvallis, both places Utah has historically struggled even when those two were bad.

If you told me Vegas was setting the line at 9 wins for 2023, I’d gladly take the under.

[ProudUte]

OnlyU, I hope you are right and you usually are.  Cam does not instill confidence in me when he is interviewed.  He always says that it is his intent to move on.

When do you think they (Cam, Kuithe, Vele, Daniels, and Yassmin) will announce their intentions?

[Onlyu]

I believe they are all getting the same info regarding their draft status. Daniels/Kincaid are gone but EVERYONE else is in play. Cam/Brant have significant NIL opportunities if/when they come back and that money is guaranteed…the NFL is not. The CoVid year also increases the number of guys that are draft eligible this year so I don’t believe Cam is a top 10 QB. I mean I believe he is but they don’t on measurements alone.

At the end of the day they all WANT to go but for various reasons the advice they are getting is to seriously consider staying. Nothing is guaranteed at this point but I would be shocked if they don’t come back.

I personally think Vele would have the best chance of making a team (a la Tim Patrick) out of that group. He won’t get drafted most likely but his size, athleticism and ball skills will win in camp IMO. Kuithe unfortunately is behind because of the injury and doesn’t have the prototypical size at TE so it’s a money play for him to come back. I
think Cam makes a practice squad because of his intelligence and intangibles but not an opening day roster. Playing another year doesn’t really affect that negatively BUT it could help, even if injured, unless it was a freak career ending type deal. If he had a special year next year he could elevate his draft status and be a top 10 QB.
Yassmin has an unusual combo of size and athleticism that the NFL covets but he lacks football experience and instincts. Another year might be enough for him to stick in the league but he’s not ready now. Similar to Bam…just needs more time. He doesn’t qualify for NIL but he’s made a lot of progress after being given the chance on the field so it might be worth giving it 1 more year.

This comes down to making the best decision vs. what they want. They could bet on themselves and give it a go but I think rational thought prevails and they return.

[AlaskaSteveUteAlum]

The Utes will repeat as PAC-12 Champions next year (three-peat), and play in the CFP playoffs. The only team that I have concerns about is Oregon State.

[AlohaUte]

Really? No concern about Washington (who brings back nearly the whole team) or USC who brings back Caleb and now has great coaching?

I don’t think there is any game Utah can’t win, but I also think there are 3 or 4 they can lose (USC, OSU, Oregon, Washington). Possible that UCLA is tough one again too.

[utefansince79]

PAC12 was stronger in 2022 and Utah repeated as champs.   2023 looks to an even stronger conference and more challenging road to the title.   Utah will need an even stronger effort to 3-peat.

 

 

[AlaskaSteveUteAlum]

AlohaUte, yes, no concerns for either USC or UW. They will be good, and will be hyped as such, but the Utes will be better. Oregon State won’t get the hype, but will be better than this year on both offense and defense, not to mention playing us at their house.

[EagleMountainUte]

Playing at Washington is going to be rough.

[noneyadb]

You don’t replace an All-American DB with no drop off facing QB’s like Nix, Williams, and Penix.

[J Rocksville]

The painful thing to me is that the Pac 12 was very strong this year in comparison to other leagues. I don’t think anybody could go 6 deep like the Pac 12 (maybe the SEC, but the big 10 was 3 teams, and the Big 12 was maybe 1 good and 2 decent teams) but we’re victims of our own parity. Next year could be 8-9 really good teams, 5-6 top 25 teams potentially, maybe 3 or 4 top ten teams? But everyone is going to end up with a 1-3 losses. It wouldn’t surprise me to see another 3 loss Pac 12 Champ. Hopefully it’s us, but that kind of league needs a few things to go your way in order to win.

I suspect we’ll have a couple of the very best 7-8 win teams in the country ha ha.

[2008 National Champ]

That has always been the SEC argument, that they are so deep as a conference that every week is essentially a championship game. And they rack up enough non-conference wins by playing an extra G5 in place of the 9th conference game that they can fall back on overall record to support that.

When the Pac as a whole starts winning the majority of their P5 non-con games, they’ll start getting credit for beating each other up instead of the dreaded “parity” label.

2022: 26-10 overall, 4-7 against P5/ND, but at least there weren’t any FCS losses
2021: 16-20 overall, 3-8 against P5/ND, 2 FCS losses, 0-5 in bowls
2019: 24-12 overall, 5-5 against P5/ND, 4-3 in bowls (3-2 against P5)
2018: 24-12 overall, 3-6 against P5/ND, 3-4 in bowls (3-3 against P5)

Add in the fact that the parochial school has gone 8-6 against the Pac over the same time period and you’ve got an average conference at best. Winning an average conference will eventually get you into the playoff but it’s been hard to argue that any P-12 has been deserving of a playoff spot since 2016 and I would have ranked that UW team 5th behind Penn State.