Utah, BYU Named Dark Horse College Football Playoff Teams
Apr 28, 2022, 9:52 AM
Kyle Whittingham head coach of the Utah Utes talks with Kalani Sitake head coach of the BYU Cougars before their game September 11, 2021 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Logan, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Spring football is done for nearly every college football program, so that means it is time to look ahead at the actual season that gets underway in four months.
Predictions have already started rolling in with many likely to be complete misses that no one will remember, but also it is a time to be bold and take stabs at what could be.
Trying to predict what four teams will be in the College Football Playoff before Halloween is tough enough but to do so in April is absurd but also fun.
ESPN put together a list of dark horse teams that could make a run at being one of the four teams invited to the College Football Playoff. The list starts off talking about USC because an early preseason list would not be complete without saying that the Trojans – or the Texas Longhorns – have a shot at a great season.
USC truly fits the mold of a dark horse playoff team, because no one see’s Southern Cal as a team that will turn it around from a 4-8 team to one that will be in the College Football Playoff.
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The University of Utah is on this list as a dark horse team. On the surface that doesn’t seem to be accurate as the Utes are coming off of a Pac-12 title. However, it may have to do more with the league than Utah. The Pac-12 has not had a team in the College Football Playoff since Washington was a four-seed back in 2017.
The Utes are considered a top-10 and even a top-five team in some of the early season top 25 rankings this year. So, saying Utah is a dark horse comes from name and history only, and not really how good this team could be.
The schedule is not overly difficult as it is ranked in the triple-digits according to Phil Steele’s rankings. However, they go to Florida on the opening weekend, and while the Gators are a brand name team within college football, they have a new head coach with Billy Napier taking over in Gainesville. A win over an SEC team on the road at a historic venue in The Swamp would give the Utes a ton of credit and a boost in the rankings.
There are some tricky games but the best teams they play all year have a new head coach which includes Oregon, USC, and Washington State. UCLA on the road might just be the toughest game and decide the Pac-12 South.
A lot of things are lining up for the Utes to make its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. They return an offense that features all-Pac-12 talent in Cam Rising, Tavion Thomas, Dalton Kincaid, and Brant Kuithe. Plus, the traditionally strong Utah defense led by Kyle Whittingham.
In name only it seems that the Utes are considered a dark horse for the College Football Playoff.
Can BYU Really Make The Playoff?
BYU making the list is more shocking than Utah and that is because the Cougars are not in a power conference and that is a big strike against any team that is trying to make it to the College Football Playoff.
Unrivaled’s Alex Kirry thinks that based on BYU’s tough schedule, the Cougars have a realistic shot to be in the College Football Playoff conversation. Their schedule is made for a run but only if BYU can get the wins.
“The thing about BYU schedule is if it was set the way that it’s set up, you would just have to give them some love,” Kirry said. “You’d have to make them a part of that conversation just based off of if they were able to win the games that are on their schedule.”
Utah and #BYU getting some early pub as possible #CollegeFootballPlayoff teams.
How cool would it be if this happened for both teams! pic.twitter.com/K2gnU9KR3l
— Unrivaled w/Alex Kirry & Scott Mitchell (@KSLunrivaled) April 28, 2022
BYU’s schedule is considered one of the best in the country as it includes five Power 5 teams and nine that went to a bowl game. In 2021, the Cougars’ 2022 opponents combined to win 60.8% of their games. The schedule is there for BYU to make a playoff run. Cincinnati made it last year and that included a multi-year run-up to get there. BYU has the name recognition, they are going into the Big 12 next year, had a No. 2 overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft, and have back-to-back double-digit winning seasons.
Scott Mitchell sees this schedule as an opportunity to make an even bigger name for the Cougars on the national scene.
“You’re talking Baylor, you’re talking Arkansas, you’re talking at Oregon, and then Notre Dame. I mean, you win those four games, everybody has to pay that you are the conversation,” Mitchell said. “I mean, at that point, you’re just flat out the conversation. You’re not the dark horse.
“Then it becomes, you can’t slip up against Utah State, Boise State, and you go to Liberty [which] is a team you can’t slip up on. That’s another tough team that BYU placed this year.”
The Cougars have another issue and that is they can not afford to slip up and lose any games. Going 12-0 is a must for them to be on the playoff committee’s radar. They also don’t have a conference title game to boost their strength of schedule or give another data point.
“The thing that jumped off at me is the fact that you have two teams here in the state of Utah, BYU and Utah that are in this conversation in April, that you’re having a conversation about that you’re preparing for the college football season and they’re in the discussion.” — Scott Mitchell.
It is only April and both Utah and BYU are being discussed as potential College Football Playoff teams for this upcoming 2022 season one of a kind if both can prove it and win on the field.
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