2018 College Football Team Previews: Utah Utes
Utah Utes
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Coach: Kyle Whittingham (111-86) 13th Season
Stadium: Rice-Eccles Stadium (Capacity: 45,807)
CSJ Projections:
5th: Pac-12 (2nd in South Division)
1st: Utah
34th: FBS
35th: Division I
2017 In A Sentence: The Utes finished the season at 7-6 overall but were just 3-6 in Pas-12 play with three of the losses by three points or less but did salvage what would be the Pac-12’s only bowl victory in their win over West Virginia in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Biggest Shoes to Fill: DE Kylie Fitts (along with two other defensive linemen) used up their eligibility so this is the biggest unit to fill. Fitts was injured early in his junior season and was hampered by injuries but when he was healthy, he wrecked havoc on opposing offenses. He did record 3 sacks and 23 tackles during his senior year and was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.
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Key Player: QB Tyler Huntley is a dual-threat signal callers that claimed the starting job last year in his sophomore season. He passed for 2,411 yards and rushed for another 537 despite missing three games because of injury. His health will be key to a successful offense.
Fearless Prediction: Given the other teams in the Pac-12 South Division are transitioning somewhat and that USC comes to Salt Lake City this year, this gives the Utes hope to challenge for the division title. If Utah can sure-up the defensive line, look for the Utes to be sent to a high bowl game if not be in the Pac-12 title game.
Originally from LaMoure, North Dakota, Kent is a 1996 graduate of North Dakota State University. His prior writing experience is over 15 years having previously worked with D2football.com, I-AA.org, and College Sporting News before coming to College Sports Journal in 2016. His main focus is college football is the Missouri Valley Football Conference within the Division I FCS. And in 2017, he began also to look at the FBS Group of Five conferences of the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.
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