With the calendar turning to July, we’re inching closer to the start of the college football season.
This is the time of year when preseason publications are hitting the shelves. Magazines like Athlon’s, Lindy’s and Phil Steele have released their season previews, which includes their preseason rankings.
All three publications feature Utah in their respective top-10 rankings.
While Lindy’s has the Utes at No. 7 in the country, both Athlon’s and Phil Steele project them at No. 8.
Athlon’s notes that its top 25 for 2022 isn’t a preseason ranking of teams going into the season, but rather its rankings are a projection of where teams will finish after the national championship.
Here’s how Athlon’s evaluates Utah:
“Everything is in place for Utah to make a run at a playoff spot in ’22. Coach Kyle Whittingham’s team has won three out of the last four Pac-12 South titles and crushed Oregon in the conference title game last year. The Utes got off to a slow start (1-2) in ’21, but the emergence of quarterback Cameron Rising (2,493 yards and 20 TDs) helped the offense get on track and lead the Pac-12 in yards per play (6.6 in conference-only games).
“Rising returns as one of the Pac-12’s top signal-callers, with Tavion Thomas (1,108 yards and 21 TDs) back among the nation’s top running backs in ’22. Tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Brant Kuithe are the go-to targets in the passing game, while the Utes need more out of their returning receivers with Britain Covey off to the NFL.
“Left tackle Bam Olaseni and center Nick Ford leave big shoes to fill in the trenches. On the other side of the ball, although linebacker Devin Lloyd and end Mika Tafua will be missed, it’s hard to worry too much about the Sack Lake City defense. Utah allowed the fewest points (19.2) and tied in yards per play (5.03) in conference-only matchups last fall.
“The next wave of stars features cornerback Clark Phillips III, safety Cole Bishop, end Van Fillinger and linebacker Karene Reid. With USC visiting Salt Lake City this fall, the path to a spot in the Pac-12 title game runs through Utah once again.”
