The college football offseason is almost over as we are into July. The season will get going in about a month and a half, and college football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but also because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that will be coming out in mid July. All in all, it's an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Utah football fans. The Utes have a big season ahead of them.
This college football season is going to be a big one for a number of reasons. The sport is going through big changes, and some of those changes are going to be seen for the first time this season. Let's take a look at what some of them are.
First off, there are going to be some new rules seen this year in college football, and some fans aren't really in favor of them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning. Fans have already started getting sick at all of the commercials that are happening in today's era of college football, and the two-minute warning is another way for tv networks to get more commercial times in.
The bigger changes, however, come with conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff. College football is going to look completely different next year because of those two things. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has shaken things up big time in college football. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams and seem on the verge of forming two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren't in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it's hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
Utah football is making their Big 12 debut
Utah football is one of those Pac-12 teams that has found a new home, and they are going to the Big 12. The Utes are newcomers in the Big 12, and they are already the favorite to win the conference. Now that Texas and Oklahoma are gone, a lot of the fire power is out of the conference. It is pretty open in 2024, and Utah seems to have a good chance to win it with quarterback Cam Rising leading the way.
One interesting thing to keep an eye on heading into this season for Utah football is head coach Kyle Whittingham. The current situation with him is one that is not often seen in sports. He is still the head coach of the Utes, but he has made it clear that he could retire before the season ends, or before it starts. When it inevitably happens, defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will take over.
The head coaching situation is certainly something to keep an eye on for the Utes, but they should be in good hands no matter what. They have a lot of talent on the team, and having Cam Rising back from injury is huge.
Utah football has a lot of potential for the 2024 season. Here are three reasons why they will end up winning the Big 12 this season.
Cam Rising
Having Cam Rising back is going to be the difference this year. The Utes had a championship-caliber defense last season, but without good QB play, they just couldn't get it done on offense, and that plagued them. Rising is going to be one of the most experienced QBs in college football, and the Utes should be much better on offense with him leading the way. He threw for over 3,000 yards and tossed 26 touchdowns and just eight picks in 2022. It was a good year, and he should be able to find success this season in the Big 12, which is a weaker conference than others.
Defense
Defense was the strength of this Utah football team last year, and they should have a solid unit again in 2024. You know what they say, defense wins championships. If this unit is even as close to as good as it was last year, the Utes should be able to take care of business in the Big 12 if they get just decent QB play out of Rising.
Schedule
No offense to the Big 12, but it is not a good conference. It wasn't that strong before, and now that Texas and Oklahoma are gone, it's really just not very good. Utah football has an incredibly easy schedule. The only team that they play that will for sure be ranked in the preseason top-25 is Oklahoma State, and Arizona likely will be too. However, who knows how the Wildcats will be without Jedd Fisch. He seemed to be the reason for their rapid turnaround.
All in all, the Utes have an incredibly easy schedule. If your toughest games are Oklahoma State and Arizona, there's a good chance that you can be successful. Utah football could very well end up going 12-0 in the regular season.
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