Does Utah have the ‘perfect schedule’ for a playoff contender? Why one college football expert thinks so

Every Tuesday during the latter part of the college football season, fans tune in for the weekly reveal of the College Football Playoff poll.

One of the main talking points by the playoff selection committee is always strength of schedule.

Jon Wilner of The Mercury News says the Utah Utes have the “perfect schedule” for a playoff contender in 2022

“The perfect schedule for a playoff contender, with just enough challenges to satisfy the selection committee but no nasty twists or turns and a revenge game (SDSU) in what might otherwise be a trap situation,” Wilner wrote. “The Utes are a 1.5-point favorite at Florida, by the way.”

Wilner ranks the Utes’ schedule as the fifth-most difficult in the Pac-12, with Colorado, Stanford, Oregon and Arizona ranked ahead of them.

Utah plays Southern Utah, San Diego State, Oregon State, USC, Arizona and Stanford at home, while facing Florida, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington State, Oregon and Colorado on the road.

That opening matchup against Florida, at The Swamp, could be a statement game for the Utes and could bolster their playoff resume.

Another matchup to circle on the schedule is the Oct. 15 game against USC at Rice-Eccles Stadium, as the Lincoln Riley-led Trojans have a lot of hype coming into the season with Oklahoma transfer quarterback Caleb Williams and Pitt transfer wide receiver Jordan Addison, and that contest could be for the driver’s seat in the Pac-12.