Tag: Utah Utes football

Which is the better Pac-12 team: Arizona or Utah?

We did not expect to ask this question before the season began. Right now, though, it’s an interesting query.

We didn’t expect to ask this question to our Pac-12 football panel at any point in the 2023 season, but we have to ask it now, based on everything we have seen: Is Arizona better than Utah?

Matt Zemek: Yes. Utah with Bryson Barnes would not do much against an Arizona defense which is playing inspired, physical football this season. Noah Fifita continues to deliver for Arizona behind an offensive line which played really well in the fourth quarter against Oregon State with the game on the line. I would take Arizona over Utah on a neutral field. Salt Lake City would be 50-50. Arizona wins comfortably in Tucson.

Zachary Neel: Arizona is better than Utah offensively, for sure, but I don’t know how good that offense would be versus Utah’s defense. That would be a close game where I’d look at the coaching matchup for an edge. Give me Kyle Whittingham.

Matt Wadleigh: Arizona has come on strong lately, and I have them beating UCLA this weekend. So, the answer is yes.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Pac-12 football experts offer an early read on Oregon-Utah game

See what our Pac-12 panelists are saying about Ducks-Utes.

What are the odds of Utah beating Oregon? Good question. We asked our Pac-12 football panel for perspectives.

Matt Zemek: 30 percent. Without Cam Rising, Utah has little chance, even in Salt Lake City. Oregon’s defense, which I was skeptical of, actually held up okay against Washington — not magnificently, but not a total implosion, either. Holding Washington to 36 isn’t all that bad. Arizona held UW to 31. Oregon might struggle for 30 to 40 minutes against the Utah defense, but the Utes’ offense would simply not be able to do enough to win. The Ducks would need just three or four big plays to prevail even if their offense is stuck in the mud for most of the day.

Zachary Neel: The fact that the game is in Salt Lake City makes me think that Utah has a semblance of a chance to win this game, but in general, I don’t think Oregon will be tested too much against the Utes. They are too good on defense for Utah’s offense to get anything going.

Matt Wadleigh: Without Cam Rising, it’s not good for Utah. I’ll put these odds at 20%.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt updates his top 10 after Week 8; Where are the Sooners?

Where did the Oklahoma Sooners land in Joel Klatt’s top 10 after week 8?

Week 8 has come and gone, and we’ve passed the halfway point of the 2023 college football season. It’s been a wild season, but this week, several top 10 teams got away with a win.

Only two teams in Joel Klatt’s top 10 from a week ago suffered a loss. One was Penn State, which took on another top 10 team, Ohio State. The other was North Carolina, which was beaten by a Virginia team that came into the game with just one win.

After another incredible weekend of college football, let’s take a look at Joel Klatt’s top 10 after Week 8’s action.

Almost made the cut

Alabama, Oregon State, Notre Dame and Ole Miss.

Utah, USC have to prove they still belong in the top tier of the Pac-12

USC and Utah are a tier below Oregon and Washington right now.

Utah and USC both need to win on Saturday. Beyond that, they both need to show they still belong in the top tier of the Pac-12. It really does seem that Oregon and Washington have separated themselves from the rest of the conference.

No members of our Pac-12 football panel think USC has a realistic shot of beating Washington. Similarly, no one on our panel thinks Utah has a realistic chance of taking down the Huskies in a few weeks (in November):

Matt Zemek: “20 percent. Utah’s defense could stand on its head and have the game of the year. Kyle Whittingham’s defenses can do special things. That would be Utah’s one hope if Cam Rising can’t play. Utah would draw U-Dub into the slop and try to win a 17-16 type of game. However, the Utah offense would simply be unable to create enough separation from Washington over the course of 60 minutes.

Zachary Neel: Washington is too good on offense for the Utes to slow them down, and Washington’s defense is solid enough to stop a bad Utah offense.

Matt Wadleigh: Washington looks like the best team in the Pac-12, and Utah doesn’t have the offensive firepower it had last year. I got these odds at just 10%.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

Pac-12 football experts assess Utah’s ability to beat USC

Can Utah actually win in Los Angeles without Cam Rising?

We asked our Pac-12 football panel about the odds of Utah beating USC this weekend.

Here are the panel’s responses:

Matt Zemek: “45 percent, even without Cam Rising. We all saw Notre Dame’s defensive line dominate USC’s offensive line. If Notre Dame can win by 28 points on a day when its offense managed only 253 yards, Utah can certainly win outright in the Coliseum — not by 28, but by three or four points. Utah can and probably will muck this game up, making it ugly and rugged. USC is unlikely to win in a blowout. Yet, not having Rising will make it hard for Utah to actually win the game. Still: It’s close to a toss-up. Only a slight lean to the Trojans here.”

Zachary Neel: “This is more of a coin-flip game to me, but I currently have USC beating Utah. I think that the Utes’ offense is weak enough that the Trojans’ defense will actually be able to look serviceable this week. I expect a bounce-back from Caleb Williams against a solid Utah defense.”

Matt Wadleigh: “I had Utah beating USC at the start of the year, but without Cam Rising, this team is much different. I’ll give Utah a 20% chance to beat USC.”

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

Utah tight end Thomas Yassmin out for the season

An already-shorthanded Utah offense will be missing at least one player other than Cam Rising against USC.

The USC Trojans are preparing to face the Utah Utes in a massive showdown this weekend and a Pac-12 title game rematch. However, the status of Cam Rising remains up in the air. The Utah QB hasn’t played all season long.

On top of that, Utah also lost tight end Thomas Yassmin for the season due to season-ending surgery, via Porter Larsen of ESPN.

Yassmin had just eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown this season, but he had his best game of the year against Oregon State, catching three passes for 59 yards and a score.

Last year, Yassmin had 12 catches for 300 yards and five touchdowns. The Utah offense in 2023 has taken a giant step back, partly because of Rising’s absence.

Utah won both meetings against USC last season, including the Pac-12 title game, but this time the Utes come to Los Angeles to face the Trojans, who themselves are coming off a brutal loss to Notre Dame in South Bend.

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

Even without Cam Rising, Utah’s lack of offense in 2023 has been jarring

Of course Utah’s offense won’t be as good without Cam Rising, but just one score in two straight games? That’s really bad.

Of course the Utah offense won’t function as well without Cam Rising at quarterback. Rising is the Utes’ best quarterback and their preferred option at the most important position on the field. Not having Rising was always going to limit what Utah could achieve. The Utes desperately need Rising to get back on the field. We know this. There’s nothing new in that basic observation. However, the story goes deeper than that.

Even without Cam Rising, one wasn’t necessarily ready to expect Utah to hit rock bottom the way it has in its last two games. The Utes scored 14 points against UCLA, but seven were on a pick-six, so their offense scored just seven points versus the Bruins. Then Utah scored just seven points last Friday in a 21-7 loss to Oregon State.

One score. Seven points. Two straight games. The Utah offense should at least be able to cobble together 14 to 17 points and be moderately competitive with their offensive line and their other players.

They’re not. Bryson Barnes and — on Friday in Corvallis — Nate Johnson aren’t getting the job done.

Utah fans are not having a good time. See the ugly details below:

College Football Power Rankings: Washington on the move, Tennessee drops after week 3

Washington impresses in win over Michigan State and Tennessee suffers huge drop in this week’s College Football Power Rankings.

Three weeks into the season, we’re getting a better idea of who teams are in the 2023 college football season.

Some still have a great deal to prove, even some in the top 10 of our power rankings. Others are showing they’re a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the College Football Playoff race.

Across the college football landscape, the contenders are beginning to emerge while the pretenders step to the side.

With another week in the books, here’s a look at this week’s college football power rankings.

Dropped Out

Kansas State: Lost to Missouri

College Football Power Rankings: Longhorns, Fighting Irish make big jumps after week 2

The Texas Longhorns experienced the biggest jump of the week after their win over Alabama in this week’s College Football Power Rankings.

The 2023 college football season has already provided some fantastic games just a few weeks in. In week one, Florida State and LSU provided the entertainment in their top 10 matchup. In week two, Texas and Alabama took center stage.

Texas beat the Crimson Tide 34-24 in Tuscaloosa, giving Steve Sarkisian his biggest win since taking over as head coach in Austin, and perhaps in his career.

If the Texas hype hadn’t already reached the stratosphere, it’s jumping into hyperspace after their 10-point win over the Tide.

It sets up the potential for an undefeated collision course when the Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners make the I-35 trek to Dallas to meet in the Cotton Bowl in a few weeks.

They’ll each have challenges to navigate, but Texas’ win gave the Red River Rivalry a little more juice.

Here’s a look at the College Football Power Rankings after week 2.

Dropped Out:

Texas A&M Aggies: Lost to Miami

Wisconsin Badgers: Lost to Washington State

Is Texas back after rolling the Tide? Big 12 power rankings after Week 2

Texas Longhorns beat Alabama Crimson Tide and Big 12 goes 1-2 vs. Pac-12. Who’s on the move in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings?

Week 2 had several fantastic matchups. Three Big 12 teams played Pac-12 opponents. The Texas Longhorns provided an SEC preview in its win over Alabama.

Big 12 teams matched up with the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC and SEC on Saturday, providing an intriguing group of games for fans to dive into. The conference went 10-4.

Here are this week’s Big 12 power rankings after Week 2.