Utah quarterback Cam Rising drops again to move throughout fall camp on the College of Utah in Salt Lake Metropolis. The Utes open the 2022 season at Florida on Sept. 3, 2022. Hunter Dyke, Utah Athletics
The Utes are placing within the work throughout fall camp on the College of Utah in Salt Lake Metropolis, hoping to construct on the momentum from their profitable 2021 marketing campaign. Hunter Dyke, Utah Athletics
Wrongly or rightly, it’s a reasonably large deal that the College of Utah has been ranked No. 7 within the lately launched AP preseason school soccer rankings.
Why? As a result of it supplies them with a head begin.
A fast have a look at the final eight nationwide playoffs reveals that solely six of the 32 berths had been crammed by groups NOT included within the prime 10 of the preseason rankings. Both the sports activities writers/voters had been prescient or they only plain made up their minds.
For that matter, 15 of the 32 playoff berths had been crammed by groups that appeared within the prime 4 of the preseason rankings.
So, a workforce that's awarded a excessive preseason rating has an inside edge to the playoffs.
The preseason rankings are unfair. They're prejudicial and, as talked about above, they offer groups a bonus, one that's based mostly on nothing however offseason hypothesis. However they’re a focal point for followers, they usually aren’t going away any time quickly, so …
For the Utes, that is by far their highest preseason rating — by seven locations — and there appears to be a sure stage of settlement about their standing; they're No. 8 within the coaches ballot.
The Utes return nearly all of their key gamers, together with quarterback Cam Rising and operating again Tavion Thomas, who accounted for 47 touchdowns final season. They gained 9 of their final 11 video games final season, claimed their first Pac-12 championship and performed within the Rose Bowl, the place they misplaced an in depth, high-scoring shootout. They completed No. 12 within the remaining ballot.
The best way the voters see it, the 2022 iteration of the Utes is just about the identical workforce they had been a yr in the past and, since many of the competitors is dealing with commencement losses, why not a good higher efficiency this season?
This can be a golden alternative for the Utes to win a berth within the nationwide playoff, which, heaven is aware of, wants some new blood. The playoff has turn into very boring, with the identical faces there each January (particularly the perpetually irritated-looking face of Nick Saban, the Alabama coach who all the time seems like he has heartburn). Twenty-one of the 32 berths within the playoffs have been awarded to 5 groups — Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Clemson and Georgia.
Not surprisingly, the preseason ballot is identical outdated crowd, too. Solely six groups have appeared within the prime 5 of AP’s preseason ballot the final 5 years — Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma and Notre Dame (can somebody clarify why Notre Dame continues to obtain such excessive rankings yearly?).
The Utes are difficult the standard powers. Their status has grown tremendously within the final couple of a long time. They’ve been taking part in soccer for practically 130 years and have completed within the prime 25 solely a dozen occasions — however 10 of them have been within the final 17 years, three of which had been top-10 rankings.
Confronted with raised expectations, now all of the Utes must do is, you understand, win. As typical, they signed up one respected nonconference opponent and one FCS pushover on the lookout for a payday.
The Utes open on the street in opposition to Florida, which isn't the juggernaut it as soon as was (6-7 final season). Then they return for a house sport in opposition to Southern Utah, adopted by video games in opposition to San Diego State (dwelling), Arizona State (street), Oregon State (dwelling), UCLA (street), USC (dwelling), Washington State (street), Arizona (dwelling), Stanford (dwelling), Oregon (street), and Colorado (street), however not BYU, which is ranked No. 25 within the preseason ballot. The Utes face solely two opponents ranked among the many preseason prime 25 — No. 11 Oregon and No. 14 USC.
That’s what stands between Utah and the opportunity of taking part in within the nationwide playoffs in January.
The Utes are placing within the work throughout fall camp on the College of Utah in Salt Lake Metropolis, hoping to construct on the momentum from their profitable 2021 marketing campaign.
Hunter Dyke, Utah Athletics