Editor’s note: Read the schedule preview of UCLA and Cal Poly in Part 1 here, and Wyoming and Texas Tech in Part 2 here.
SALT LAKE CITY — Is Utah good or is Utah bad?
By Week 5 of the season, the Utes will have been tested on the road and at home, with no room for error in what the team hopes to be a bounce-back season. A week after a tough battle with Texas Tech, Utah will return on the road to Morgantown to take on an intriguing West Virginia team before a dance with the (Sun) Devil at home.
If things have gone wrong for Utah up to this point in the season, these next two games won’t be any easier (They won’t be easy even if the season has gone well).
A win at West Virginia is likely but far from predictable; and a battle with the perceived favorite of the Big 12 and reigning conference champion at home will be another battle at Rice-Eccles Stadium that Utah can’t miss on to compete for a title.
As a reminder, ESPN’s Bill Connelly, who recently updated his SP+ rankings after spring, sees Utah as the 31st best team in the country with the 55th hardest schedule.
Anything less than 4-2 after this stretch will feel like a disappointment for Utah, but 3-3 is more than a reasonable prediction. Anything better than 4-2 is gravy, and Utah is well on its way to contending for a Big 12 title.
West Virginia Mountaineers
Date: Saturday, Sept. 27 (TBA)
Location: Mountaineer Field; Morgantown, WV
2024 record: 6-7 (5-4 Big 12)
Final AP ranking: N/A
Last meeting: Dec. 26, 2017, Dallas, TX (Heart of Dallas Bowl); Utah won 30-14
Preseason win projection: 5.5 wins
West Virginia is quite possibly the biggest unknown factor on Utah’s schedule (or in all the Big 12) this season. No team in the country went through a roster turnover the way the Mountaineers did, but the rebuilt squad could be good enough to disrupt.
Newly-hired head coach Rich Rodriguez returns to West Virginia in an effort to turn the program around after middling seasons under former head coach Neal Brown. And though Rodriguez has had success in Morgantown before (and stops elsewhere), it’s tough to predict a major jump in his first season back, especially with the turnover.
In total, West Virginia had 51 players enter the transfer portal, while welcoming 52 new faces to the program in return — including nine wide receivers, 10 offensive linemen and 13 defensive backs, in addition to several other position groups.
The Mountaineers no longer have proven quarterback Garrett Greene under center and will be tasked with identifying a new starter this fall, though former backup Nicco Marchiol is the favorite to win the job. Pushing him, though, will be Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson and Charlotte transfer Max Brown.
A strong quarterback will certainly go a long way in helping the Mountaineers, but Rodriguez — who will also be offensive coordinator — returns leading rusher Jahiem White, who rushed last season for 844 yards and seven touchdowns.
With Rodriguez’s penchant for running the ball and using a no-huddle approach to speed up the offense, White will no doubt see more production this season.
He’ll be joined by Northern Iowa transfer Tye Edwards, who led his team in rushing with 1,012 yards and six touchdowns, with an average of 6.4 yards per carry; and SMU transfer Jaylan Knighton.
Rodney Gallagher III returns in the slot looking to have a bigger role this season, but he’ll be joined by Jacksonville State transfer Cam Vaughn, who led his team with 803 yards and five touchdowns as a deep-threat weapon.
Eastern Michigan transfer Oran Singleton and North Carolina transfer Christian Hamilton join the program as veteran receivers to add to the room.
Though Rodriguez seemingly has enough talent to compete, he’ll be doing it with a major unknown up front in the trenches. The offensive line will be completely rebuilt and will take time to gel as a unit. History says that’s a tall task in one season, but the projected starters are veteran players who could surprise — the margin is thin, though.
On the defensive end, Rodriguez has one holdover from last season in veteran defensive tackle Edward Vesterinen, and his presence should help a defensive unit that will need to gel quickly to have an impact this season.
West Virginia brought in several talented defenders — many of which were at the top of their former school’s defenses — but new defensive coordinator Zac Alley will have a lot of new bodies to work with. Alley, though, is known for his aggressive style and will work to put pressure on opposing offenses.
Alley most recently comes from Oklahoma, where he had the 19th best defense in the country with a smothering defense. It’s doubtful he’ll be able to have that same success in Year 1 at West Virginia, but the team could see improvement from the year prior after ranking 126th in passing defense and 111th in total defense.
West Virginia will welcome Utah to town after a heated rivalry game against Pittsburgh and a road game against Kansas — not an easy one-two punch before Utah.
In Week 5, there won’t be many surprises about who this year’s version of West Virginia will be, but a road game in a hostile environment will be a tall task for the Utes, especially coming off what will be an expected tough game against Texas Tech the week prior.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Date: Saturday, Oct. 11 (TBA)
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium; Salt Lake City, UT
2024 record: 11-3 (8-2 Big 12)
Final AP ranking: No. 7
Last meeting: Oct. 11, 2024, Tempe, AZ; ASU won 27-19
Preseason win projection: 8.5 wins
Take a deep breath after the first five games of the season.
Utah will get its first bye of the season the week after West Virginia, which should help before a battle against the reigning Big 12 champs. The bad news is Arizona State is also getting a bye the week before this matchup, too.
Starting with the Arizona State game, Utah will not leave the state for the next six weeks, which could prove beneficial, especially if the team is in contention for a Big 12 title. But the Sun Devils aren’t going to be an easy out, even at home.
Fortunately for the Utes, a broken Cam Rising will not be under center for this game. But it remains to be seen how good Utah’s offense will be up to this point in the season.
For all the success Arizona State had last season, they weren’t an overly elite team. That may sound crazy considering the season record, a Big 12 title and a close loss to Texas in the College Football Playoff. But running back Cam Skattebo was a big reason for the team’s success.
By all means, he wasn’t the only factor in the Sun Devils winning, but he was a big component to the team’s overall success.
With that being said, Arizona State welcomes back essentially its entire starting roster, while adding key pieces from the transfer portal to help fill some gaps and add to an already talented starting roster.
This roster is more than capable of competing for another Big 12 title, but they must do it as the hunted and not the hunters. This is no longer a team being supremely doubted, and it’s much tougher to get everyone’s best.
The Sun Devils will have a fighting chance with returning starter Sam Leavitt under center. The underclassman was a star in his own right, throwing for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns on 61.7% passing, while adding an additional 443 yards and five touchdowns rushing.
With a full season under his belt, Leavitt will only get better, especially as his chemistry with the team continues to improve. Add to that his primary target of veteran wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and the Sun Devils can do some serious damage.
Tyson finished the season with 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns, making him one of the best returning receivers in the Big 12 this season. He’s a bonafide weapon that will demand serious respect from opposing defenses.
Joining him is Fresno State transfer Jalen Moss, who was the Bulldogs’ second-leading receiver with 563 yards and four touchdowns, and Alabama transfer Jaren Hamilton.
In the backfield is a trio of backs that should add to Arizona State’s offensive attack. Backup Kyson Brown returns after 351 yards and two touchdowns last season, and he’ll be joined by Raleek Brown — he played in only two games after suffering an injury — and Army transfer Kanye Udoh, who rushed for 1,117 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
Add to that a veteran offensive line that returns four of its starters and there’s real potential to compete for a title. The offensive line has room for improvement — the unit got a 78.0 grade in PFF in pass blocking and a 58.4 grade in run blocking — but there’s reasons to believe in growth in the second year.
Defensively, the team’s run defense finished 21st in the country last season (112.9 yards per game) and will look to improve upon that with another solid unit. Though the team had success stopping the run, Arizona State finished 98th in opponent third down conversions (43%).
The unit returns veteran leaders at every level of the defense, including defensive end Clayton Smith, linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and star safety Xavion Alford, who led the team in defensive grades in PFF.
There’s not a lot to hate about this returning Arizona State team, but moving on from Skattebo will be a challenge. The roster can more than make up for his loss, though.
Welcome to being the hunted, Sun Devils.
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