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LOS ANGELES — Expectations can barely get any higher this season for the Utah football program, which is picked to finish second in the Pac-12 South Division.
In the annual preseason poll released Wednesday, the Utes were slotted behind perennial favorite USC. The Trojans received 22 votes for first place, eight votes ahead of Utah.
Washington was the overwhelming choice to capture the North Division, with 40 first-place votes. Stanford and Oregon each got one vote.
The Huskies know all about high expectations, repeating as the preseason favorite. Most prognostications anticipate Washington being a strong contender to be one of the four teams in the national playoffs.
“It’s nice to have the preseason recognition, but it doesn’t really mean a whole lot,” said Washington quarterback Jake Browning.
No, it doesn’t.
Still, this is lofty territory for the Utes, especially considering they were only 3-6 in the conference last season. But a historically good defense, combined with a returning quarterback and running along with four offensive linemen, have the Utah contingent thinking this is finally the year the program breaks through to win the South. As it is, Utah is the only team of the six in the South yet to have won the division.
Eight years into Pac-12 membership, Utah has arrived as a legitimate contender. Respect within the conference runs deep for the program coach Kyle Whittingham has built.
“Kyle does an awesome job,” said Washington coach Chris Petersen.
Utah’s favored status goes beyond the team’s overall talent. In this case, it also says more about the mediocrity of the division.
Three teams – Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA – will have new coaches. In UCLA’s case, it will also have a new quarterback. Then there’s Colorado, which has struggled every season except one since joining the conference together with Utah.
But the Utes are not going to contend based on the competition’s shortcomings. Every year, no matter the case, the conference sees several surprising outcomes.
And now teams will be gunning for the Utes. Opponents know Utah presents a tough, physical game each time. Unlike in prior seasons, nobody will overlook this team.
“There’s no sneaking up or sneaking into the stadium,” Petersen said.
On paper, Utah appears worthy of the high expectations even if the South Division is considered weak or strong. Going into the season, there are few question marks that need to be settled during the three weeks of training camp before the first game against Weber State on Aug. 30.
For the first time in several years, Utah has continuity on offense with returning players and coordinator Troy Taylor. The offense is stacked, with four returning linemen, quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zack Moss.
As usual, Utah has several candidates at receiver but no proven products. Since joining the conference, Utah’s offense has lacked big-time receivers. The lack of spectacular wideouts has contributed significantly to the program’s struggles on offense.
Defensively, with Whittingham at the helm, Utah always has been solid. This year will be no exception, particularly with a secondary that Whittingham touts as among the best in program history.
In the end, four months from now, preseason polls will be rendered meaningless. But whatever happens, the bar for Utah has been set.
