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Utah Football: Updated game-by-game predictions for 2020

By Riley Platt

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: Samson Nacua #45 of the Utah Utes celebrates after scoring a touchdown and a two point conversion late in the third quarter during the Pac-12 Championship football game against the Oregon Ducks at Levi's Stadium on December 6, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Oregon Ducks won 37-15. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: Samson Nacua #45 of the Utah Utes celebrates after scoring a touchdown and a two point conversion late in the third quarter during the Pac-12 Championship football game against the Oregon Ducks at Levi's Stadium on December 6, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Oregon Ducks won 37-15. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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Utah football showed promise last season, becoming a legitimate playoff contender. These hopes were shot down in a blowout loss in the Pac-12 title.

Utah showed great promise last season, becoming a legitimate playoff contender. These hopes were shot down in a blowout loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game.

Despite some key losses, the Utes look to make another run at the conference title, but will face some challenges along the way.

The Utes are consistently one of college football’s most confusing teams. There seems to always be great expectations in Salt Lake City, but things typically don’t pan out. The 2019 season was a prime example of this, as things fell apart towards the end of the year.

The Utes suffered their first loss of the year in a road game against USC, playing a rough contest to say the least. Following this, Utah would work their way back into playoff talks, only to get embarrassed by Oregon in the conference title game, losing 37-15.

Following this, the Utes would face off against an under-performing Texas team in the Alamo Bowl only to lose by 28 points. In just a matter of weeks, Utah’s season went up in flames. Make no mistake, this was still a 11-win team. The Utes had a great season, but they once again fell short of expectations.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham enters his 16th season at the helm in Salt Lake City. Despite being the third-longest tenured FBS coach, he often flies under the radar. Taking over in 2005 after Urban Meyer’s departure, Whittingham has posted a .672 winning percentage, along with guiding the Utes through their jump up to the Pac-12.

While Utah looks to have a promising 2020 season, they’re going have to do it without some veterans. The Utes lose stars such as quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zack Moss to the NFL. However, they do gain former South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley via the transfer portal. While Bentley has been shaky at times, he has also shown great promise.

The Pac-12 recently released a 10-game conference-only schedule for the 2020 season. Let’s take a look at Utah’s schedule to see how great of a chance it has to do some damage out west this year.

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