SALT LAKE CITY — The Pac-12 opened up the 2018 football season with its annual media day Wednesday in Los Angeles, and there was a lot of talk about expectations and season projections from each team.

Adversity hasn’t quite struck teams yet and everyone has a perfect record, so optimism was fully in the air. Still, there were a few takeaways from the event that should get Utah fans excited about the upcoming season.

The following are just a few points from the annual media day:

Is Utah ready for a South title?

Utah was picked to finish second in the South division Wednesday behind perennial favorite USC, which is where the two programs were slated to finish last season. But the clear takeaway was the 14 first-place votes the Utes received from the media — the most since Utah joined the conference.

There’s a clear sense that Utah football is on the rise and closer to their goal of winning the South title. Even Pac-12 Networks TV analyst Yogi Roth said he was tempted to pick Utah over USC to win the division based on their progress and what the program has built the last few years. Mike Yam, studio host for the Pac-12 Networks, added that Utah may actually have a better chance in 2019, but liked Utah’s chances this year, too.

Regardless, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said he is hoping to finally put that question to rest.

“I've heard it over and over that we're the only team in the South since we joined the league that hasn't gotten there,” he told media. “But we own up to that. We're not trying to hide from that. It's just something that needs to happen. Like I said, it's the next step for us as a program.”

Utah center Lo Falemaka said he wants to be a part of the team that finally brings home the South title. “It really would be the best feeling and give bragging rights to all the alumni that we got it done.”

Whittingham believes the team has "a lot going for us coming this fall" and that there are "some positives." But until a South title becomes a reality, there is always something to worry about, including a relatively inexperienced receiver corps "that's got to step up.

"But we've got a lot of guys that are very focused and I really like the attitude and just the demeanor of this football team," Whittingham said.

The rules are changing

Whittingham discussed a couple of the changes made by the NCAA over the summer, including the new eligibility rule, which allows a player to still redshirt a season after playing in four games; and the fair catch rule, which allows a player to fair catch a ball anywhere inside the 25-yard line, with the ball starting on the 25-yard line.

He said he believes the redshirt rule is “a huge positive for the players” and “a great decision by the NCAA.” Each team will have to sort out how it wants to utilize redshirt players during the season, but Whittingham said he believes it will come down to position group depth for Utah and giving younger players experience.

“If you get a position group that is loaded and you don't think you're necessarily going to get to one of those freshmen, you might put him in a game where it gets out of hand where you can get him some experience; whereas if you've got a position group that's thin and you need to rely on that guy at some point, you want every bullet that you can to be able to utilize him to help your team win.”

As for the fair catch rule, Whittingham believes it’s a “precursor to doing away with kickoffs altogether.” Much has been made about the dangers of kickoffs over the last few years as many contend that players can get injured more easily in special teams situations. Whittingham, though, said he’s not entirely a fan of the change unless player safety is legitimately at risk.

For the love of Whittingham

Whether Utah can bring home the South title remains to be seen, but it was clear Wednesday that head coaches around the league have tremendous respect for Whittingham and what he’s done at Utah. Several coaches paid respect to the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12, including two South division rivals.

Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre said Whittingham is a “phenomenal coach and really well respected in our profession,” while USC’s Clay Helton said he believes Whittingham is “not only one of the better coaches in our league but in the country.”

“I have so much respect for his coaching ability, the kids he's signed and develops,” Helton added. “It's always been a challenging game for us.”

MacIntyre said he wished he didn’t have to play against Utah each year because Whittingham is “an excellent coach.”

“The thing that amazes me about Kyle is people come and go, and he keeps steady, keeps them (Utah) winning,” MacIntyre added. “They made him the head coach, and he's kept it at a level I don't think they've ever seen in this long a period for the history of the program.”

Is Colorado Utah’s rival?

Ah, the age-old question: Is it a rivalry game?

The two programs have been on seemingly different tracks since the two joined the conference together in 2011, but MacIntyre believes a rivalry has started to develop between the two programs as of late. “It is becoming a bigger and bigger game because the last two years we both played for something,” he said.

Colorado robbed Utah of a South title in 2011 in the final game of the regular season, and the two have since traded winning barbs over the years as something was on the line for either team in the final game. But with Utah scheduling BYU the final week of the season, MacIntyre said the rivalry has changed “a little bit” for this year.

Related topics