Utes Will Face Three Teams In Top 30 Of ESPN Preseason FPI Rankings
Feb 17, 2020, 12:45 PM
Utah Utes tight end Brant Kuithe (80) runs the ball in for a touchdown, putting the Utes up 7-0 over the Arizona Wildcats after the PAT, at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – ESPN released their 2020 preseason College Football Power Index rankings and the University of Utah received a favorable ranking.
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The Utes come in at No. 24 in the nation and are the third-highest rated Pac-12 school in the preseason FPI. They are behind USC at No. 13 and Oregon at No. 14.
In the upcoming 2020 season, Utah will face three teams that are among the top 30 which includes USC, Washington at No. 29 and California at No. 30.
Utah will face the Trojans in their first Pac-12 home game of the season on Friday, October 2. The Utes lost to USC last season, 30-23 in Los Angeles. Trojans head coach Clay Helton will have their hands full with their quarterback competition during the off-season with original starter J.T. Daniels returning from a season-ending injury that he suffered early last season along with Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Kedon Slovis.
The Utes will host Washington on Saturday, October 17. Utah took down the Huskies in Seattle last season. Washington will be searching for a new quarterback after Jacob Eason declared for the NFL Draft, forgoing his senior season. But, they have the top recruiting class in the Pac-12 coming in along with defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake taking over the program after Chris Petersen stepped down after the season.
Clemson might have fallen short in the national championship game, but the Tigers enter the 2020 season as the top team according to ESPN's Football Power Index. https://t.co/UIF8DQKchS pic.twitter.com/24bgQVBCgf
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) February 17, 2020
Finally, Utah will square off with the Cal Bears in Berkeley in the Pac-12 opener on Saturday, September 26. The Bears bring back quarterback Chase Garbers along with play makers on offense. They did lose star linebacker Evan Weaver who led the nation in tackles.
The rest of Utah’s opponents for the 2020 season were ranked lower than 30.
- Arizona State (road, Nov. 21) – No. 41
- UCLA (road, Oct. 29) – No. 49
- Washington State (road, Oct. 10) – No. 54
- Colorado (road, Nov. 28) – No. 56
- BYU (home, Sept. 3) – No. 62
- Arizona (home, Nov. 7) – No. 63
- Oregon State (home, Nov. 14) – No. 67
- Wyoming (road, Sept. 19) – No. 77
