Utah Football’s Remaining Schedule According To ESPN FPI

Oct 2, 2024, 4:52 PM

Kyle Whittingham - Utah Utes vs. Arizona State...

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham looks at the scoreboard near the end of the game in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Utah won 35-21.

BY STEVE BARTLE

Utah Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Football is 4-1 after five games- a record many predicted with the schedule before the season. How the win-loss count came to be is different than what many believed before the season kicked off though.

Assessing Utah Football after five games provides a good idea of the program. There is a lot we still won’t know until star quarterback Cam Rising returns to the field but we have five games to work with.

It’s also important to assess how others on the remaining schedule have faired. Let’s take a look at ESPN FPI projections from before the season and now.

Details of the injury recovery process have not been clearly stated. However, head coach Kyle Whittingham made one thing quite clear in his media availability on Tuesday… “Cam Rising wants to play.” #GoUtes
https://t.co/CQyeMUMGUZ

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 2, 2024

Utah vs Arizona State

Preseason

FPI Ranking: 63

Projected Win/Loss: 4.7-7.3

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 68% chance of winning for Utah

Week Six

FPI Ranking: 54

Projected Win/Loss: 6.3-5.8

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 57.1% chance of winning for Utah

Takeaway: Arizona State has looked much improved compared to last season. Head coach Kenny Dillingham and his staff did a good job of addressing the trenches and it’s paid off. ASU has one of the top rushing attacks with Cam Skatteboo and a capable quarterback- which they did not have last season- in Sam Leavitt.

TCU vs Utah

Preseason

FPI Ranking: 30

Projected Win/Loss: 7.0-5.1

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 55.8% chance of winning for Utah

Week Six

FPI Ranking: 37

Projected Win/Loss: 7.2-4.9

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 56% chance of winning for Utah

Takeaway: Utah has not lived up to expectations through five games and neither have the Horned Frogs. They’ve already dropped two games, one to crosstown rival SMU and the other to UCF. Sonny Dykes team has hurt themselves with sloppy play and costly turnovers.

Utah vs Houston

Preseason

FPI Ranking: 78

Projected Win/Loss: 4.0-8.0

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 69.3% chance of winning for Utah

Week Six

FPI Ranking: 93

Projected Win/Loss: 2.3-9.7

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 76.5% chance of winning for Utah

Takeaway: Houston is simply not a program that is capable of competing at a consistent level. The program lacks the depth and top-end talent to put up much of a fight. They scored 0 points combined against Cincinnati and Iowa State.

BYU vs Utah

Preseason

FPI Ranking: 73

Projected Win/Loss: 4.8-7.2

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 76% chance of winning for Utah

Week Six

FPI Ranking: 34

Projected Win/Loss: 9.2-3.1

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 54.4% chance of winning for Utah

Takeaway: No team has exceeded preseason expectations like BYU has. They’ve already surpassed their reason projected win total and have a good shot at making it six straight after their bye week against Arizona at home. The Cougars defense has been stingy and particularly good at forcing takeaways. This game will be much tougher, even with Cam Rising.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Week 6

BYU: #️⃣1️⃣
Utah: 📉
Kansas State: 📈#Big12FB #GoCougs #GoUtes https://t.co/H8gXNrX1Is

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 2, 2024

Utah vs Colorado

Preseason

FPI Ranking: 36

Projected Win/Loss: 6.3-5.8

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 50.1% chance of winning for Utah

Week Six

FPI Ranking: 28

Projected Win/Loss: 8.1-4.2

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 41% chance of winning for Utah

Takeaway: Another team that has exceeded expectations through five games. Colorado squeaked past Baylor but parlayed that momentum into a dominant road win against UCF. Travis Hunter is arguably the single best player in college football this season, that alone makes them dangerous in every game he plays.

Iowa State vs Utah

Preseason

FPI Ranking: 47

Projected Win/Loss: 6.6-5.5

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 66% chance of winning for Utah

Week Six

FPI Ranking: 22

Projected Win/Loss: 9.3-3.1

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 49.1% chance of winning for Utah

Takeaway: The Cyclones got the big rivalry game win over the Hawkeyes and have taken care of business in all other games. This is a team that isn’t going to beat itself. They play a fundamentally sound brand of football and are particularly tough on the defensive side of the ball.

Utah vs UCF

Preseason

FPI Ranking: 32

Projected Win/Loss: 7.4-4.7

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 43% chance of winning for Utah

Week Six

FPI Ranking: 31

Projected Win/Loss: 7.5-4.6

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 37.9% chance of winning for Utah

Takeaway: The UCF has always been viewed as a tough one for the Utes given its placement on the schedule. Given the projected increase in difficulty of the three previous games, that only adds to the difficulty of this one. UCF has roughly performed to preseason expectations, not much has changed from their previous projections. Still, this will be a tough one, especially given UCF’s stong ground game.