SALT LAKE CITY — If all goes as expected, the University of Utah should receive its highest-ever College Football Playoff ranking when the first 2019 results are released Tuesday evening.
The Utes (8-1, 5-1), who are currently No. 8 in the Associated Press top-25 poll and No. 9 in the coaches poll, have never been higher than 10th in the CFP rankings. That came in 2015, in the midst of a run where they appeared in every CFP top 25 from 2014-16. After not making the grade in any of the six rankings in 2017, the Utes were in five of the six CFP rankings last season — debuting at No. 15, placing No. 17 three times and 19th once.
The CFP rankings, which were created in 2014, are released each Tuesday over the final six weeks of the season. They ultimately decide the four teams that will contend for the national championship and participants in the New Year’s Six bowl games.
This year’s committee is chaired by Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens. Others in the group include Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, ex-Arizona Republic reporter Paola Boivin, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, former football coach Ken Hatfield, Robert Morris president Christopher Howard, former USC defensive back Ronnie Lott, Arkansas State athletic director Terry Mohajir, former Army chief of staff Ray Odierno, former football coach R.C. Slocum, Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury and Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin.
There’s plenty of intrigue as to how the Pac-12 will be viewed by the committee.
“Oregon and Utah survived road trips to USC and Washington, respectively, and the fact that they both did is crucial for the conference as a whole,” writes Andy Wittry of watchstadium.com. “Having the two schools meet in the Pac-12 Championship as 11-1 division winners would guarantee the conference a 12-1 conference champion that would deserve playoff consideration.”
ESPN’s Heather Dinich examined how the deep Pac-12 might be seen by the committee.
“Things couldn’t have gone better for the Pac-12 on Saturday, as Utah and Oregon both won what should be their most difficult remaining games of the regular season. Oregon’s win at USC also helped Utah because the Utes needed USC to lose to help their position in the Pac-12 South race,“ Dinich writes. “Oregon also benefited a bit from Auburn’s win against Ole Miss, as the Ducks’ narrow, season-opening loss to the Tigers certainly isn’t a deal-breaker. Oregon and Utah are favored by at least 80 percent in each of their three remaining games, according to ESPN’s FPI, and are on a collision course to meet in the conference title game.”
Dinich added that a one-loss champion from the Pac-12 would be considered for a CFP spot.
“Its resume will be compared to that of other Power Five conference winners, which is why it’s important to see if the committee ranks any other Pac-12 teams besides Oregon and Utah,” Dinich explained. “If not, it’s possible that the only ranked team each will face all season is the other.”
Utah took a big step forward Saturday thanks to a combination of its 33-28 win at Washington and Oregon’s 56-24 victory at USC. The outcomes gave the Utes sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 South. They had shared the lead with the Trojans beforehand but didn’t own the tiebreaker because of 30-23 setback in Los Angeles on Sept. 20.
The path to a second consecutive appearance in the Pac-12 championship game is now in Utah’s hands. The Utes have a bye this week before finishing the regular season with home games against UCLA (Nov. 16) and Colorado (Nov. 30), as well as a road date at Arizona (Nov. 23).
After a sluggish start at Washington, Utah rallied to extend its current streak of victories to five games. During the run, the Utes topped Washington State, Oregon State, Arizona State, California and Washington by a combined score of 179-51. The Huskies, though, presented the greatest challenge as the teams met again after playing in last year’s Pac-12 title game. The Utes avenged the 10-3 setback and topped Washington for just the second time in 14 tries overall.
“It was really a gut check for our guys,” Whittingham said. “We never quit and we found a way to win.”
Quarterback Tyler Huntley completed 19 of 24 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown, while running back Zack Moss finished with 100 yards rushing and five receptions. The defense was highlighted by cornerback Jaylon Johnson’s 39-yard interception return for a score. The Utes, who lead the nation in rushing defense, held Washington to just 53 yards on the ground.
• . • . •
College Football Playoff Rankings Show
Tuesday, 7 p.m. MST
TV: ESPN