Utah
Big 12 football preview: Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas State the frontrunners in crowded race
The Big 12 has embraced its place as the Power Four conference with the greatest depth, where the difference between No. 1 and No. 16 is small and the potential for highly competitive games each week is high.
The Hotline generally agrees with this narrative. There are no blue-blood programs stocked with blue-chip talents in the Big 12. There are no equivalents of Ohio State or Georgia. No clear and obvious national title contenders.
That said, nuance is required when assessing the 16-team conference race.
There is a marked difference in roster quality between the top and bottom tiers. A handful of teams could win the conference, and a handful could finish last. But the gap is substantial. Not every game will be close. Not every week will be lined with upsets.
The Hotline was able to identify teams as contenders, pretenders and also-rans without much trouble. The complexity came when attempting to distinguish teams within each grouping.
We don’t pick ties. We hate picking ties. But there will be ties.
Oh yes, there will be ties.
1. Utah: The Hotline has been asked repeatedly how the Utes will adjust to life in the Big 12. We think the question should be flipped: How will the Big 12 adjust to the Utes? They are the team to beat thanks to the combination of coaching acumen, first-rate quarterback (Cam Rising) and stout offensive and defensive lines. Assuming injuries revert to the norm after a hellacious barrage last season, Utah is the best bet to represent the conference in the CFP.
2. Oklahoma State: We considered picking the Cowboys to win the Big 12 and would not be surprised if they emerge as the last team standing. Coach Mike Gundy has a veteran quarterback (Alan Bowman) and returning starters across all position groups. But every analysis by the Hotline supercomputer spit out the same conclusion: Utah’s offensive line will dominate the head-to-head meetings, in Stillwater and the conference championship.
3. Kansas State: The Wildcats warrant immense respect after winning 19 games over the past two seasons — don’t be surprised if they end up playing for the conference title. Chris Klieman must retool his offense, with sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson in the lead role, but KSU’s defense should be one of the Big 12’s best. (The secondary is stellar.) And not for nothing: The road schedule is entirely manageable.
4. Arizona: Once first-year coach Brent Brennan secured the core of his roster — only a few players followed Jedd Fisch to Seattle — the Wildcats vaulted onto the top tier of contenders. There’s plenty to like, starting with the elite aerial tandem of quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan. But could unprecedented expectations (both internal and external) change the dynamics and create unexpected potholes?
5. Kansas: The Jayhawks were picked fourth in the Big 12 preseason media poll, which probably pleased coach Lance Leipold. (Let other teams deal with the pressure and bake in the spotlight.) Assuming quarterback Jalon Daniels’ back holds up, KU has more to like than dislike across the two-deep. But we wonder about the front seven, which faces several of the best offensive lines in the conference.
6. Iowa State: After a regression in 2022, coach Matt Campbell re-established his program last season as the Cyclones went 6-3 in league play. Will the trajectory continue, or stall? They are stout throughout many of the key position groups, from quarterback to the lines of scrimmage to the defensive backfield. But the lineup of November opponents is brutal. We expect a fast start and slow finish in Ames.
7. Texas Tech: The Hotline has a slightly more optimistic view of the Red Raiders than other prognosticators, a view based partly on a schedule that does not include Utah, Kansas or Kansas State. That might not seem like much, but one additional victory could be the difference between seventh and 10th place, or eighth and 12th. Also, TTU has one of the top pass-catching groups in the conference.
8. West Virginia: The Mountaineers won five of their final six games last season, return starting quarterback Garrett Greene and possess a stellar offensive line. So why the modest outlook? Their non-conference schedule is challenging and could exact a toll during the early part of league play, when they face Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas State and Arizona in succession. Relief comes only in November.
9. UCF: The Knight’s first season in the Big 12 started poorly but ended with three wins in the final month. There’s good reason to believe the momentum will carry over for fourth-year coach Gus Malzahn. If quarterback KJ Jefferson plays to his potential after transferring from Arkansas, UCF could sneak into contention.
10. TCU: Sonny Dykes has spent six years as a head coach at the Power Five level, four at Cal and two at TCU. He has one winning season: The improbable, magical run to the national championship game in 2022. So forgive our unwillingness to take a leap of faith with the Horned Frogs, who drew one of the Big 12’s toughest conference schedules. This is a critical year for the Dykes regime.
11. Baylor: Coach Dave Aranda occupies arguably the hottest seat in the conference following two disappointing seasons. It’s difficult to envision a material change in the Bears’ trajectory despite all the returning starters at his disposal. Once momentum is lost and the dark clouds descend, the negativity tends to stick.
12. Cincinnati: The halcyon days of Luke Fickell, Desmond Ridder and Top 25 rankings seem like a decade ago for the Bearcats, who posted one conference victory last year during their inaugural Big 12 season. Will 2024 be any better? Yes, but only on the margins. UC isn’t ready to compete for a top-half finish, much less morph into a true contender.
13. Colorado: The Buffaloes didn’t have the proper personnel on the lines of scrimmage to compete in the Pac-12 last year. Those issues have been addressed by coach Deion Sanders, which should result in a better product each week. But the schedule is extremely difficult. CU plays all the top teams in the Big 12 and faces an arduous lineup of non-conference opponents. Five wins overall, and three in conference play, feels about right.
14. Arizona State: No team in the Big 12 has more uncertainty at quarterback than the Sun Devils. No team enters the season with more questions at the skill positions. And no team plays a tougher conference schedule. Add it up, and Kenny Dillingham faces challenges that make 2024 seem like it’s the first year of a massive rebuild, not the second. If any coach with just three wins to his name ever deserved a raise, it’s Dillingham.
15. Brigham Young: Year Two in the Big 12 will resemble the Cougars’ inaugural season in the conference, when they won just two games and often were beaten resoundingly. Kalani Sitake’s seat is warming rapidly as a result, and the roster doesn’t possess enough playmakers to cool the temperature. Also, the schedule is rigorous: If the Cougars don’t beat Baylor on Sept. 28, they might not collect their first conference victory until November.
16. Houston: The Cougars shrewdly hired Willie Fritz from Tulane to replace Dana Holgorsen but don’t have enough of anything to escape the bottom tier. They could very well lose ground relative to the competition as Fritz undertakes his renovation project. That said, if the Cougars finish last, they will probably have company.
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Originally Published:
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — The Rock Canyon Fire, burning in northern Arizona near the border with Utah, doubled in size overnight to 4,512 acres and was 5% contained.
The fire has caused firefighters to evacuate hikers and campers in the area, and some roads in the Kaibab National Forest are closed.
People in Jacob Lake — less than 20 miles from the Rock Canyon Fire — say the new fire is stirring up anxiety after last year’s devastating fire season. They say they’re confident in firefighters, but after the trauma, they’re still holding their breath.
Memories of last year’s fires
For over 100 years, Jacob Lake Inn has been serving cookies to guests who want to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon or explore the Kaibab National Forest. Melinda Rich Marshall’s family has owned the inn since 1923.
Last year, they were evacuated during the White Sage Fire that burned close to 60,000 acres, and then the Dragon Bravo Fire, which destroyed nearly 150,000 acres, shut down the North Rim.
Now the Rock Canyon Fire has already burned thousands of acres north of the inn.
“I mean, honestly, our reaction was not again,” Rich Marshall said. “I mean, that’s really what it was.”
Rich Marshall said last year was hard enough, so once they heard about this new fire, it brought back bad memories.
“I’d say we have a little PTSD from it, seeing smoke and smelling smoke and all those things,” she said.
Fire burning in old burn scar
The Rock Canyon Fire was sparked over the weekend by a lightning strike.
Parts of it are burning in the White Sage burn scar. Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Dolores Garcia said old burn scars will usually slow down a new fire, but this time it’s actually fueling the flames.
“In some of those areas, we’re seeing quite a bit of fuels,” Garcia said. “We’re not seeing that the burn scar is helping much, especially with the winds as strong as they’ve been in some days and as dry as it’s been, those fuels are just tender and cured and really flammable.”
She said firefighters are attacking it from the ground and the air, but the high winds are limiting their ability to make water drops.
Hikers and campers were evacuated from the area. Garcia said she knows how stressful this must be to the surrounding communities after last year’s fires.
“We still understand that, it’s still a very fresh wound to many of the people who live up there, who’ve recreated up there for years,” she said. “That’s definitely at the forefront of our minds.”
Rich Marshall said while it’s scary, they have full trust in the firefighters.
“We’re really just grateful to see them and know the work that they are doing,” she said.
Rich Marshall said this is usually their peak season, but they’ve seen a bit of a slowdown even after the North rim reopened. She said people can support them by staying there or even just stopping in and getting some of their famous cookies.
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The NBA Draft is less than a week away, and the Utah Jazz have a big decision to make. What’s difficult for the Jazz is that there isn’t an obvious choice between some incredible prospects at the top of the draft: AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer. Obviously, everything depends on what the Washington Wizards decide to do with their pick. But with all the smoke screens we’ve seen, it’s not clear who will be available to the Jazz.
That’s where you come in. If you were the Utah Jazz and you had the chance to choose between AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer, who would you choose?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is no stranger to discourse surrounding early child literacy.
While the Beehive State generally performs higher than other states in terms of proficiency measures, its leaders still recognize — especially post-COVID — that it’s a real issue that demands serious solutions.
A legislative audit released Tuesday said Utah school teachers and administrators should focus enhanced attention not only on third-graders, the traditional benchmark for early literacy, but also on first-graders, where data starts spotting early literacy challenges in young students.
Then, Utah first lady Abby Cox on Wednesday added to that discussion, speaking with Utah education and policy leaders about the need to meet the literacy crisis head-on and ways Utah has worked to do just that.
“We’re not in the best place that we can be, and we’re a little ahead of the national average; we always have been, but that still isn’t great. We’re in a moment where everybody’s starting to realize this … business community, educators, all of us coming together to realize there’s an issue here,” Cox said.
She mentioned the passage of SB241 during the 2026 legislative session, which committed $25.6 million to literacy coaching, increased the statewide goal to have 80% of third-graders reading at grade-level by 2030 and includes an intervention measure requiring struggling third-graders to repeat the grade — “except in cases of certain good cause exemption.”
“I know we can get 97-plus percent of our kiddos reading on grade level by third grade. We can do this,” Cox said.
She also emphasized the need to get “attention-sucking machines,” AKA cellphones, out of classrooms — something top lawmakers in the state have made strides to emphasize.
July 1 will mark the start of a new Utah law ushered in with the passage of SB69 that essentially places a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones at Utah’s K-12 public schools, unless a school or district opts for a looser policy.
The latest piece of legislation was built upon a similar bill passed during the 2025 session that set a default policy barring students from using their phones during class time.
Despite those restrictions, many lawmakers and educators argued they didn’t go far enough, which led to SB69.
“I don’t think we all know enough about how wonderful this is going to be,” Cox said, adding that data has shown library book checkouts have skyrocketed in schools that have instituted daylong cellphone ban policies.
“I talked to a principal who, after the first day of going bell-to-bell, walked into his high school lunch room, thinking there was a fight, because there was all this chaos and noise … and it was just (students) communicating with each other, playing cards, bringing little games,” Cox said. “It was just beautiful to see, and I think we’re going to see an incredible resurgence as we implement this statewide.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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