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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 good amount of hype coming into the 2024 season as one of the favorites to win the Big 12, and they also have quarterback Cam Rising healthy again.
We're almost there. Another long college football offseason is almost over as the calendar now reads August, and the first games will begin on the 24th. 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 this offseason was a bit easier than others because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July.
First off, there are going to be some rules changes this year in college football, and some fans aren’t going to like them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning, like in the NFL. If you are like most college football fans, you're getting sick of the amount of commercials that we see during games. Well, the two-minute warning is just another way for TV Networks to pack another break into the action.
There are more changes, however, and these are ones that more fans in favor of, but some still don't like them. College football is going to look completely different next year because of expansion to the College Football Playoff to 12 teams and conference realignment. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has made things look a lot different. 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, but they aren't actually in the conference.
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 some think that things could be heading in the direction of two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff instead of just four. 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 has their eyes on the College Football Playoff
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.
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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 Utah, 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.
The expectation for Utah this season is a trip to the College Football Playoff. As the Big 12 favorite, the Utes are very much a threat to make a trip to the CFP. It seems like they have a good chance to do it, but here is one thing that could end up stopping them from achieving their goals.
Lack of offensive weapons
Cam Rising is healthy again, but the offense remains a concern for Utah football after the way things went on that side of the ball last season. Rising is a very capable QB, but he has to have enough weapons alongside him. The defense should be good, but there are some still some question marks surrounding this offense as the regular season quickly approaches.
If you take a look at some of Utah's biggest games last year, you will see that the offense just didn't perform, and it made it nearly impossible to win. Some of those big contests were against Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona State and then let's also talk about their bowl game against Northwestern. In those games, the Utes scored seven, six, 18 and seven points. With a very good defense, you can win games scoring 18 points, but seven and six… it's extremely tough to do.
There is a lot of potential for this offense to improve because of Cam Rising. The Utes were much more explosive on offense when Rising was starting, but there are still question marks. Rising just missed an entire season. We haven't seen him play yet since returning from his injury, and that is something to keep in mind.
This Utah football team should be good this season and they should compete for a College Football Playoff spot. However, if the Utes end up missing out on the playoff, the issue will more than likely be with their offense, and not their defense. If their defense is as good as last year and Cam Rising didn't skip a beat after missing an entire season, the Utes should have a successful year.
