5 reasons for college football fans in Utah to be excited

SALT LAKE CITY — With only 10 days to go before college football finally debuts in the state of Utah, there are many things for fans to be excited about.

Sure there is tailgating and the bickering with rival fans about who will ultimately be the victor this year, but there is more to be excited about than just the usual preseason excitement. For all three major Utah football teams there is something new and exciting about the upcoming season. The following are just five reasons you as the fan should be excited for this upcoming year.

A new start

It doesn't matter what your favorite team did last season. Heck, 2009's Sugar Bowl victory and 1984's National Championship have little to do with the upcoming season. Those seasons are in the past and it's time to move on with a new year. With a new season brings a new start, a new way of looking at the road before each team. BYU, Utah and Utah State all had their successes and failures last year, but it's time to make now count.

What better way to erase the past than with a look at the future. All preconceived notions about the three programs are thrown out the window. Even the preseason rankings have little to do with the eventual outcome in the end. There's reason to be optimistic about your team ... for now.

Difficult schedules

While preseason rankings have little say in the final outcome, they give us a guesstimation of what to expect this upcoming season. The Associated Press released their Top 25 teams Saturday morning, giving the three schools an idea of their competition. If the rankings hold true (and they likely will not) Utah will play five of the Top 25 teams, with BYU playing four and Utah State playing two.

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BYU enters their season with the highly anticipated schedule that athletic director Tom Holmoe promised when the school decided independence was the best thing for them. Not only are the stakes raised, but the opportunity to play on the big stage is here. This season is BYU's best opportunity to play the similar weekly grind of a highly-competitive conference schedule. No longer is BYU playing Wyoming and Colorado State — or Idaho for that matter — BYU plays some of the best.

Utah has one of the toughest schedules in the nation — 12th to be exact — with Oregon (3) and Stanford (4) accounting for much of the difficulty. In their first two seasons in the Pac-12, Utah was able to bypass arguably the best two programs in the conference. Now, the Utes will be forced to play the big boys. How they hold up against these prolific programs will say a lot about their program as a whole. Splitting the games would likely be a tremendous accomplishment.

Utah State leaves behind their best season in school history as they join the Mountain West Conference. Under the helm of former head coach Gary Anderson, the Aggies became a dominant team in the now-dissolved WAC. However, with a new coach and an improved level of competition in the MWC, the Aggies will face the unexpected. Adding perennial powerhouse USC (24) to the schedule only adds to the increased competition. Although once considered the "little brother" of in-state schools, the Aggies have a chance to continue with their momentum and make a name for themselves.

No quarterback controversy (yet)

Keeton remains the arguable favorite in the state (Heisman, anyone?), but will he be able to maintain his competitiveness with a new coach and new conference? Will Hill be able to hit his receivers better than Riley Nelson (we'll forget about the pass that could have thwarted Notre Dame's National Championship run for now) and lead the core of talented receivers? And will Wilson's leadership and talent give the Utes a better offense (actually, any offense) than the past few years (without injury)?

All these questions will be answered shortly, and are some of the best storylines of the upcoming season.

Underdog status

Although Utah State has had recent success, it's doubtful teams in the Mountain West Conference will just lay down and let them take the win. Recent success doesn't mean consistency. The Aggies are certainly talented enough to lead the conference, but they'll likely still have the underdog mentality entering the season.

Now entering their third season in the Pac-12, the Utes have found out it wasn't as easy as they were expecting. The Sugar Bowl victory did not automatically give the team the keys to the car (last season was the biggest reality check). With teams like Oregon and Stanford now added to the schedule, the Utes will be the underdog heading into most games. The question is if they can compete this year and actually make a bowl.

BYU, too, will be considered somewhat of an underdog, particularly with their difficult schedule. Although the team made it to a bowl game last season, it was not the season most fans were expecting. Adding teams like Texas and Wisconsin to an already tough schedule will make it difficult for BYU to win. BYU will certainly be favored in many games, but will likely be the underdog in some of their bigger games.

Crowning Utah's champion

Last season was an all out bizarre season for all schools. And although Utah State clearly had the most success, they couldn't be declared the Utah champion — Utah State beat Utah, Utah beat BYU and BYU beat Utah State.

All three teams play each other again this year, but will the outcome be any different? Utah State and Utah will start the season off playing each other. Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham is a proven coach at preparing his team for an upcoming game with more than a week's time, and he's at home. But as we saw last year, walking into the game doesn't guarantee a victory.

I won't even venture to analyze the Utah and BYU game. There is no logic behind it and any attempt to analyze it will likely fall short. However, this is the last time the two teams will play for the next few years, and the bragging rights will last for a while.

BYU will travel to Utah State this season and will face Keeton and his well-oiled offense. BYU gave Utah State one of their only two losses last season, so expect the Aggies to want some revenge. However, the Aggies struggled against the stout defense of BYU and will likely run into a similar problem this year.

All three games are exciting with no predictability about them.

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