Utah

What ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings say about expectations for BYU, Utah and Utah State

Published

8 months ago

May 31, 2025

What ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings say about expectations for BYU, Utah and Utah State

There are widespread expectations for the three FBS programs in the state of Utah this fall.

For BYU, the Cougars are hoping to use an 11-2 season last year to springboard to further success in 2025 and are viewed as one of the favorites to win the Big 12.

For Utah, the Utes are looking to overcome a rare losing campaign and regain their footing as one of college football’s top 25 programs — all with a new offensive identity.

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For Utah State, the Aggies are trying to forge ahead and regain some stability under a familiar face — first-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was the coach at BYU from 2005-2015.

Those expectations are reflected in the post-spring ESPN SP+ rankings from Bill Connelly, which were updated last week.

There are three main factors that go into Connelly’s rankings — the returning production for a team, its recent recruiting efforts and the program’s recent history.

Connelly explained that his SP+ rankings “aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.”

What do these post-spring rankings — with the transfer portal closed — say about the 2025 prospects for BYU, Utah and Utah State?

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake pauses on the sideline during game against Arizona State Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz. | AP

Where does BYU football rank in ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings?

BYU is ranked No. 27 overall in the SP+ rankings with a 11.5 rating, including No. 29 on offense, No. 30 on defense and No. 10 on special teams.
The Cougars are ranked fourth among Big 12 teams, behind only Kansas State (No. 18), defending league champion Arizona State (No. 22) and Texas Tech (No. 26).
BYU is ranked No. 64 nationally in strength of schedule, with nonconference matchups against the ACC’s Stanford (No. 88), the American Athletic Conference’s East Carolina (No. 90) and FCS opponent Portland State (not ranked).
Connelly said the SP+ rating gives BYU a 7% chance of going 11-1 or better, tied for second in the Big 12 — Kansas State is at 17% and Texas Tech is tied with BYU at 7%, with Arizona State next at 5%.
The Cougars are 52nd in returning production at 59%, including 38th on offense at 65% and 72nd on defense at 52%.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, center, comes onto the field with his team before an NCAA college football game against Houston Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) | AP

Where does Utah football rank in ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings?

Utah is ranked No. 31 overall in the SP+ rankings with an 11.0 rating, including No. 54 on offense, No. 16 on defense and No. 36 on special teams.
The Utes are ranked sixth among Big 12 teams, behind only Kansas State (No. 18), defending league champion Arizona State (No. 22), Texas Tech (No. 26), BYU (No. 27) and TCU (No. 29).
Utah is ranked No. 55 nationally in strength of schedule, with nonconference matchups against the Big Ten’s UCLA (No. 51), the Mountain West’s Wyoming (No. 105) and FCS opponent Cal Poly (not ranked).
The Utes are 17th in returning production at 65%, including 11th on offense at 75% and 60th on defense at 56%.

Big 12 teams in the ESPN post-spring SP+ rankings

No. 18: Kansas State
No. 22: Arizona State
No. 26: Texas Tech
No. 27: BYU
No. 29: TCU
No. 31: Utah
No. 32: Iowa State
No. 35: Baylor
No. 50: Kansas
No. 52: Colorado
No. 57: West Virginia
No. 58: Oklahoma State
No. 59: Houston
No. 60: Arizona
No. 61: UCF
No. 66: Cincinnati

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) runs past Iowa State defenders during the second half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game, in Arlington, Texas, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. | Josh McSwain, Associated Press

Big 12 observations from ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings

The Big 12’s highest-ranked team in the SP+ rankings — Kansas State at No. 18 — is lower than the highest-ranked program from each of the other power conferences, with the SEC having 10 teams ahead of the first Big 12 team, the Big Ten four and the ACC two.
Half of the the Big 12’s 16 teams are ranked in the top 35. That’s behind the SEC (12 in the top 35) and the Big Ten (nine).
The Big 12’s lowest-ranked team in the SP+ rankings — Cincinnati at No. 66 — is higher than the lowest-ranked program from each of the other power conferences, including the SEC (Mississippi State, No. 71), Big Ten (Purdue, No. 101) and ACC (Stanford, No. 88).

The average ranking of Big 12 teams in the SP+ rankings is 42.7, with an average rating of 6.3. By comparison, the SEC has an average ranking of 22.4, with an average rating of 15.3, the Big Ten with averages of a 38.2 ranking and a 9.5 rating and the ACC with a 47.3 ranking and a 5.0 rating.
The Big 12 has the highest average returning production amongst all FBS conferences, at 61.8%, per Connelly’s numbers.
The Big 12 is fourth in average strength of schedule rating by conference (0.902), just below the ACC (0.891).

Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes (16) celebrates after defeating San Diego State in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Logan, Utah. | Eli Lucero, The Herald Journal via AP

Where does Utah State football rank in ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings?

Utah State is ranked No. 119 overall in the SP+ rankings with a minus-14.8 rating, including No. 88 on offense, No. 132 on defense and No. 76 on special teams.
The Aggies are ranked 10th among Mountain West teams, ahead of only Nevada (No. 124) and New Mexico (No. 130).
Utah State is ranked No. 82 nationally in strength of schedule, with nonconference matchups against the SEC’s Texas A&M (No. 15) and Vanderbilt (No. 55), Conference USA’s UTEP (No. 123) and FCS opponent McNeese State (not ranked).
The Aggies are 133rd in returning production at 31%, including 135th on offense at 19% and 98th on defense at 43%.

Mountain West teams in the ESPN post-spring SP+ rankings

No. 33: Boise State
No. 75: UNLV
No. 83: San Jose State
No. 89: Fresno State
No. 94: Air Force
No. 97: Colorado State
No. 102: San Diego State
No. 105: Wyoming
No. 108: Hawaii
No. 119: Utah State
No. 124: Nevada
No. 130: New Mexico

Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen (4) runs through the UNLV defense on a touchdown run in the first half of the Mountain West Championship NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. | Steve Conner, Associated Press

Mountain West observations from ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings

Boise State, at No. 33, is the highest-ranked Group of 6 conference team in the SP+ rankings. The Broncos are 15 spots ahead of the next-highest Group of 6 team, No. 48 Tulane of the American Athletic Conference.
The AAC has five teams — Tulane, Memphis (No. 53), UTSA (No. 62), Army (No. 67) and Navy (No. 68) — before the second-highest ranked MWC team, UNLV at No. 75.
Half of the Mountain West’s 12 teams are ranked in the 100s in the SP+ rankings.
The average ranking of MWC teams in the SP+ rankings is 96.6, with an average rating of minus-8.6.
The Mountain West’s average rating per school of minus-8.6 is third among Group of 6 conferences, behind the AAC (minus-7.8) and Sun Belt (minus-8.1).
The MWC has an average returning production of 46.5%, per Connelly’s numbers.
The Mountain West is seventh in the nation in average strength of schedule rating by conference (0.959) and third among Group of 6 conferences.

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Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival

Published

11 hours ago

January 28, 2026

Press Room

Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival

Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.

Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival

Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:

Photo Credit: Nina Dobrev Instagram

The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.

The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.

Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea

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State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.

Published

23 hours ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.

The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.

In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.

The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.

The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.

(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.

Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.

“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.

Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.

Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.

Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.

During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.

Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.

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Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia

Published

1 day ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Family members of four Utah children who disappeared with their mother in November are speaking out after the children were located in Croatia.

Now, the family is working through international legal channels to bring the children back home.

The children were last seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a flight with their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Seymour. Authorities say Seymour took the children without the permission of their fathers after posting what family members describe as “doomsday” claims on social media.

MORE | Missing Children

Seymour was arrested in Dubrovnik on January 15 after the family says news articles alerted people she was talking to in Croatia about the accused kidnapping. She now faces four felony counts of custodial interference. Since her arrest, the four children have been placed in a government-run children’s center in Croatia.

Jill Seymour, the children’s aunt, has been in Croatia for nine days with her brother Kendall Seymour, who is three of the children’s fathers. They are trying to secure their release.

“We’re just kind of in limbo waiting to get them out,” Seymour said. “These are our kids, and we can’t get custody of them.”

She says the family is only allowed to see the children for two hours a day. Despite providing the requested documentation, the family has not yet been given a clear timeline for when the children can return home.

“They are most definitely trapped there, and they feel trapped,” Seymour said. “We don’t have a clear-cut answer. We’ve provided all the documents we’ve been asked to provide.”

The family has hired Croatian attorneys and is working with the U.S. Embassy to navigate the legal process. Utah-based attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience with international custody cases, says Croatia’s participation in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction could ultimately help the family.

“In this case, it’s a good thing and a benefit that they are part of this Hague Convention,” Lazaro said.

However, Lazaro explained that the process can be slow due to translation requirements and court procedures in the foreign country.

“It requires retaining an attorney in that country who can translate the documents into Croatian and provide all the necessary information to a court,” Lazaro said. “That stuff just takes time.”

If local legal efforts stall, the family can formally petition under the Hague Convention, which may speed up the process, though it could still take several weeks.

“To have to continually say goodbye every day is very hard,” Seymour said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster.”

As the legal battle continues, the family is also facing mounting expenses, including short-term housing in Croatia and international legal fees. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover costs and pay for the children’s flight home.

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