Category: Utah Utes

Best nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season

The best 20 nonconference games of the 2023 season.

We are under 100 days to the college football season but who is counting anyway? Well, just about everyone is. Teams are gearing up to make a run at the College Football Playoffs and end Georgia’s run of dominance. The Bulldogs are 29-1 over the last two seasons where they won the title in both.

Can anyone step up and prevent them from joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers in college football immortality? Minnesota won three straight titles in the early to mid-1930s. A feat that has seems impossible to repeat, until now. Almost a century later, we could be witnessing history.

Before we get to the CFP, there is plenty more that needs to be addressed. Teams have fall camps, nonconference games, and the run to their respective conference championship games.

In their 100 storylines to follow, CBS Sports ranked the best 20 nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season. Plenty of eyes will be on the likes of Alabama, Colorado, Texas, and Texas A&M, but who else should we be paying attention to ahead of conference play?

One notable matchup missing is the opening game of the season in Dublin, Ireland, where Notre Dame and Navy are set to meet on the gridiron. That game was among our must-see games in each week of the 2023 college football season.

Check out the list from CBS Sports:

Isaac Wilson, brother of former BYU star, commits to Utah

The Holy War between BYU and Utah just saw another layer added to the historic rivalry.

The Holy War Rivalry between BYU and Utah just added another layer.

On Wednesday evening, four-star quarterback Isaac Wilson, the younger brother of former BYU star quarterback and first-round draft pick Zach Wilson committed to the Utah Utes.

Wilson is ranked as a four-star prospect by most of the recruiting industry but is highest ranked by Rivals which ranks him as the No. 13 quarterback in the country and the No. 239 player overall. He committed to the Utes over Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Oklahoma State, and UCLA.

Zach Wilson during his three years with BYU completed 566 of 837 pass attempts for 7,652 yards and 56 touchdowns. He would go on to be drafted second overall by the New York Jets in the 2021 NFL Draft.

In The Holy War, the two sides have met 101 times with Utah leading the series though by how much is still debated by both Utah and BYU. According to Utah, the Utes have gone 62-35-4 in their series history while BYU claims the Utes are only 59-32-4. Either way, the Utes have been dominant in this battle for the Beehive Boot. Winsipedia sides with the Cougars on this one.

From 1946 through 2013, the two programs met for 67 consecutive years. Over the last 10 matchups, the Utes are 9-1 and have largely dominated the series since 1993 which came on the heels of BYU winning 19 of 21 games from 1972 through 1992.

However, it remains a question if Wilson will get to face the Cougars at some point in his career. The series is currently on hiatus as Utah played Florida last season and is set to host the Gators this season. BYU is of course, also joining the Big 12 starting this fall which could muddy the waters when it comes to the Cougars being able to schedule the Utes.

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Former Florida State, Oregon wide receiver Mycah Pittman headed back to Pac-12

A former Florida State and Oregon wide receiver is heading back west for the next stop in his college career.

Wide receiver Mycah Pittman has announced his new college destination. The 22-year-old wide receiver out of Tampa Bay, Florida, announced over the weekend that he will be playing the next part of his college career at Utah. He announced his decision via Twitter on Sunday. 

Utah will be the third college that Pittman suits up for in his career. The former four-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class has previously spent three years at Oregon and one year at Florida State.

The younger brother of former USC star and current Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr, the younger Pittman brother has recorded 70 receptions for 877 yards and five touchdowns over his four seasons.

This past season, Pittman had his best year yet while with the Seminoles. In 13 games, he posted 32 receptions for 330 yards and three touchdowns. He also was a primary punt returner for the Seminoles with 18 punt returns for 169 yards. He would earn All-ACC honorable mention honors as a specialist.

Pittman will join a Utah program that is coming off their third straight  10+ win season, not counting the COVID shortened 2020 season. The Utes, entering year 20 under head coach Kyle Whittingham were 10-4 last season and made their second-straight Rose Bowl appearance.

Notably, the Utes are set to return star quarterback Cameron Rising this upcoming fall. Rising is returning after suffering a torn ACL against Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

Post spring composite rankings have Georgia, Michigan at the top

Check out where your favorite team ranks in the composite spring rankings.

Heading into the 2023 college football season, most of the headlines will involve the Big Ten and SEC conferences. In our composite rankings, those two conferences make up the top five. Overall, the Pac-12 had the second most teams appear.

Here is the full breakdown of teams by conference:

SEC 8
Pac-12 6
Big Ten 5
Big 12 5
ACC 3
G5/Independents 4

The four polls that make up the post-spring football composite rankings:

Using the four polls we had ties at the No. 3, No. 12, No. 21, No. 27, and No. 30 spots among the teams listed. The full post-spring rankings are listed below, ties listed in alphabetical order.

Best leotards from the 2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics championship

From blinged out rhinestones accents to ombre patterns the attire left you thinking what would these athletes wear for competition?

The 2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics championship kicked off Wednesday with podium training practice sessions. Each of the eight teams along with the four all-around competitors, and 16 event specialists who were not members of a qualifying team, were broken up into two practice sessions.

Each athlete had time to practice on each of the four events in a rotation.

While the skills were nothing short of extraordinary, the leotards were breathtaking. From blinged out rhinestones accents to ombre patterns the attire left you thinking what would these athletes wear for competition?

Team semifinal and individual competition will be conducted in two sessions on April 13 at 2 and 8 p.m. CT. The top two teams from each semifinal advance to the championship on April 15 at 3 p.m. CT. The semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN 2 and the championship final will be live on ABC.

Here are the four best leotards from the practice sessions today.

2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics championships: Everything you need to know

See which eight teams are fighting for the 2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics championship

The 2023 NCAA women’s gymnastics championships will be held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, from Apr. 13-15. The women’s gymnastics championships consist of eight teams, four all-around competitors, and 16 event specialists who were not members of a qualifying team.

The eight teams competing are the California Golden Bears, Oklahoma Sooners, Utah Utes, UCLA Bruins, Denver Pioneers, Kentucky Wildcats, Florida Gators, and LSU Tigers. The Golden Bears finished the regular season at the top of the rankings amongst all schools with a 198.075 regional final score.

Denver is the lowest-ranked seed at No. 14 while the Sooners are the highest-ranked at No. 1. LSU advanced via a tiebreaker against Michigan, after a season full of injuries. Oklahoma is looking to defend its 2022 title and win its sixth national title in women’s gymnastics.

Team semifinal and individual competition will be conducted in two sessions on April 13 at 2 and 8 p.m. CT. The top two teams from each semifinal advance to the championship on April 15 at 3 p.m. CT. The semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN 2 and the championship final will be live on ABC.

Women’s Sweet 16: game predictions, who advances to the Elite Eight?

Only two No. 1 seeds remain in the women’s tournament and this is the first time since 1998 that the Sweet 16 will be without two of its No. 1 seeds.

Only two No. 1 seeds remain in the women’s tournament and this is the first time since 1998 that the Sweet 16 will be without two of its No. 1 seeds. We have a No. 8 seed in Ole Miss and a No. 9 seed in Miami matched up against No. 5 and No. 4 seeds respectively. This tournament is about to heat up and it feels like upsets are on the brink.

Sweet 16 games begin Friday, March 24 with four matchups on Friday and four matchups on Saturday. The frontrunners in the tournament are still the top-seeded teams, but lower-seeded teams are peaking at just the right time and anything can happen in March.

Here’s everything you need ahead of this weekend’s Sweet 16.

2023 NCAA women’s Sweet 16: Latest bracket, schedule, and how to watch

There are few surprises with Miami, Colorado, and Ole Miss in the mix of teams, but stalwarts are also accounted for in South Carolina, Iowa, and UConn.

The Sweet 16 is upon us and games begin Friday, March 24. There are four matchups on Friday and four matchups on Saturday. There are few surprises with Miami, Colorado, and Ole Miss in the mix of teams, but stalwarts are also accounted for in South Carolina, Iowa, and UConn.

Sweet 16 Schedule: (All game times are eastern)

Friday, March 24 — Sweet 16

  • No. 4 Villanova vs. No. 9 Miami | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 2 Utah vs. No. 3 LSU | 5 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 6 Colorado | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 8 Ole Miss | 10 p.m. | ESPN

Saturday, March 25 — Sweet 16

  • No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN
  • No.1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 UCLA | 2:00 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Ohio State | 4 p.m. | ABC
  • No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 4 Tennessee | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Only two No. 1 seeds remain in the tournament and this is the first time since 1998 that the Sweet 16 will be without two of its No. 1 seeds.

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Power ranking the 16 remaining teams in the women’s tournament

The frontrunners in the tournament are still the top-seeded teams, but lower-seeded teams are peaking at just the right time and anything can happen in March.

The tournament’s second round has come and gone with upsets galore busting everyone’s brackets. Ole Miss’s upset of No. 1 seeded Stanford shattered the last bracket.

The team field is a bit diverse with only two No. 1 seeds remaining in the tournament, South Carolina and Virginia Tech, respectively. Ole Miss, Miami, and Colorado shocked viewers when they took down their opponents and made it into the Sweet 16.

The frontrunners in the tournament are still the top-seeded teams, but lower-seeded teams are peaking at just the right time and anything can happen in March.

With that said College Sports Wire tried to rank the remaining teams in the Sweet 16.

Utah’s Cam Rising continues to be on schedule in rehab from ACL tear

Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham offers an update on quarterback Cam Rising.

In a recent interview with Josh Newman of The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham offered an update on Utes start quarterback Cam Rising.

“Whittingham told The Salt Lake Tribune last week in a wide-ranging interview that Rising is on, if not ahead of schedule in his recovery,” Newman said in his article regarding Rising’s return. He suffered an ACL tear in the first half of Utah’s Rose Bowl 35-21 defeat to Penn State on January 2.

However, while he remains on schedule, it still is unclear if he will be ready for week one of the Utes season when they host the Florida Gators on August 31. Newman notes that for Rising to play in their season opener he would likely have to be available to practice at least by the mid-way point of the Utes fall camp.

“If he’s not ready until a few days before the game, it’s unlikely he would play in that game because he just wouldn’t be completely sharp in all other areas,” Whittingham also said in the interview.

For Rising, the ACL injury marked the second-straight season he suffered an injury in the Rose Bowl which kept him from finishing the game. In the 2022 Rose Bowl, Rising suffered a concussion early in the fourth quarter against Ohio State. The Utes would eventually go on to lose 48-45 on a field goal as time expired.

Rising, entering his sixth year of college football completed 64.7% of his passes in the 2022 season for 3,034 yards and 26 touchdowns while also adding 465 yards and six additional touchdowns on the ground.

If Rising is unavailable for the Utes’ season opener on August 31, the Utes will decide between fourth-year quarterback Bryson Barnes and a pair of second-year quarterbacks, Brandon Rose and Nate Johnson.

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