Utes Left Off USA Today’s Post-Spring Top 25 Rankings

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – We have just a hair over three months until the beginning of the 2019 college football season in the state of Utah. Many national media outlets have released their post spring or early preseason rankings.

The University of Utah has appeared on nearly all of them except for one.

USA Today updated their recent post-spring Top 25 rankings and did not include the University of Utah.

It’s confusing how six other major outlets have Utah ranked in the Top 20 in their rankings, but the USA Today doesn’t have them in their Top 25.

Here is where other media outlets have Utah ranked in their preseason projections:

• Athlon Sports – No. 13
• Bleacher Report – No. 13 (back in February)
• CBSSports.com – No. 12
• ESPN – No. 18 (back in February)
• SI.com – No. 16
• Sporting News – No. 18

Returning Talent

The Utes will bring back 15 starters from last season, 8 on offense and 7 on defense. They will also have four players back for their senior seasons after deciding to not leave early for the NFL Draft, which includes defensive end Bradlee Anae, defensive tackle Leki Fotu, cornerback Julian Blackmon, who has now switched to safety and running back Zack Moss.

Utah lost linebackers Chase Hansen and Cody Barton, as well as four offensive lineman, but through transfers, have been able to not lose much ground at those positions. Blackmon has already settled in to safety just fine after they switched him from cornerback after Corrion Ballard and Marquise Blair departed. Utah looks to have a lot of depth at cornerback with Jaylon Johnson and Javelin Guidry leading the charge.

Utah’s defensive line with Anae, Fotu, John Penisini and company have national experts ranking them in the Top 5 in the nation.

With quarterback Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss returning along with wide receivers Britain Covey, Solomon Enis and Samson Nacua, Utah looks to be in good shape on the offensive side of the football, even with a new offensive coordinator. Andy Ludwig is back for his second stint as OC, but it’s been over 11 years since he was the play caller for Utah.

How Utah Stacks Among Pac-12

The Utes took a big step during the 2018 season in winning the south division and playing in the Pac-12 Championship game. The next step is winning the Pac-12 and playing in the Rose Bowl.

Among the seven media outlets with their preseason projections, they have the following Pac-12 schools included:

• Athlon Sports: Washington – No. 12, Oregon – No. 15
• Bleacher Report: Washington – No. 6, Oregon – No. 14
• CBSSports.com: Oregon – No. 10, Washington – No. 15
• ESPN: Washinton State – No. 13, Washington – No. 17, Stanford – No. 20
• SI.com: Oregon – No. 11, Washington – No. 12
• Sporting News: Oregon – No. 11, Washington – No. 13, Washington State – No. 20, Stanford – No. 25
• USA Today: Oregon – No. 9, Washington – No. 12, Stanford – No. 18

It’s clear who the national media thinks will contend for a Pac-12 title. Utah is the only team from the south division to be projected in any Top 25 ranking.

Many ask how Washington is still a Top 25 team after losing starting quarterback Jake Browning, running back Myles Gaskin and most of their defensive starters? They signed the 16th best recruiting class in the country according to 247 Sports.

Regardless, Utah will roll out an extremely talented team in 2019 and will have a lot of depth to go with it. They will have question marks with a couple of positions, but who doesn’t?

For reference, here is who USA Today put into their preseason Top 25:

25. Wisconsin

24. Baylor

23. Syracuse

22. Boise State

21. Penn State

20. Army

19. Nebraska

18. Stanford

17. Northwestern

16. Auburn

15. Iowa State

14. UCF

13. Florida

12. Washington

11. Notre Dame

10. Texas

9. Oregon

8. Texas A&M

7. LSU

6. Michigan

5. Ohio State

4. Oklahoma

3. Georgia

2. Alabama

1. Clemson