Pac-12 Releases 2023 Football Schedule, Utes Have Tough Road To Three-Peat
Jan 18, 2023, 11:23 AM | Updated: Jan 19, 2023, 12:00 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – After several delays, the Pac-12 announced the 2023 football schedule for all conference members, including the defending back-to-back champion Utes who will not have an easy path to three-peat.
To kick-off non-conference play, Utah will host Florida at Rice-Eccles Stadium on either Thursday, August 31 or Saturday September 2 in the much-anticipated re-match. They will then hit the road to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor on Saturday, September 9 before wrapping things up against Weber State at home in Week 3 on September 16.
The conference schedule does not appear to ease up anymore for the defending champs who have to play USC, Washington and Oregon State on the road while playing host to Oregon. The one thing Utah has going for them in 2023 is seven home games.
We have a schedule! #GoUtes https://t.co/Dd5LXghdsi
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) January 18, 2023
A Deeper Dive Into The Utes’ 2023 Pac-12 Schedule
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Utah will open up Pac-12 play on September 23 hosting UCLA at Rice-Eccles Stadium and will wrap things up with Colorado at home on November 25. The Utes will enjoy a week six BYE week on October 7 to rest up after going up to Oregon State and before hosting Cal.
Utah’s 2023 Pac-12 Schedule:
- September 23- UCLA vs. UTAH
- September 29- UTAH vs. Oregon State
- October 7- BYE WEEK
- October 14- CAL vs. UTAH
- October 21- UTAH vs. USC
- October 28- OREGON vs. UTAH
- November 4- Arizona State vs. UTAH
- November 11- UTAH vs. Washington
- November 18- UTAH vs. Arizona
- November 25- Colorado vs. UTAH
Utah does not have the easiest schedule in 2023 having to play every ranked Pac-12 opponent from 2022 (UCLA, USC, Oregon State, Oregon, Washington) that will presumably pick back up where they left off. They also will have to play three of them on the road (Oregon State, USC, Washington) plus Baylor who will also most likely be ranked in the preseason.
The one area of good news for the Utes is it does appear the tougher opponents have been spread throughout their season instead of having to have back-to-back gauntlets every couple of weeks. Still, anyone that has watched Pac-12 football over the years knows even the “easy” teams can take down the “best” teams any given Saturday. If Utah wishes to three-peat it will require their very best effort in 2023.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports
