Utah Football Paces Big 12 in Preseason Coaches Poll

In approximately 18 days, Division One college football is officially back.

Week “Zero” as its lovingly dubbed will give fans a taste of football with 4 match ups on August 24^th, a full five days prior to the official kick off of week one on August 29^th.

While fans anxiously wait for Florida State @ Georgia Tech or Montana State @ New Mexico, the season still has not quite arrived, resulting in more preseason predictions.

You can have your Heisman hopefuls or your conference standings predictions but few preseason rankings have as much weight as the top 25 poll.

This comes in two forms, the coaches poll, and the AP Top 25 poll.

As the terminology implies, the AP poll is based on a panel of college football media personalities, sportswriters and the like who determine the toughest 25 teams in college football on a weekly basis.

The coaches poll, which is a bit more inviting for smaller schools looking for recognition, is voted on by…. you guessed it, coaches themselves.

The Associated Press will not release their Top 25 until this upcoming Monday, the 12^th of August, but for starved college football fans, the coaches poll dropped yesterday:

For those faithful to the Utes of Utah, it was a fulfilling day.

Utah was expected to be in the mix, and will expect to see their name in the AP Top 25 as well, but its still good as a fan to get that confirmation that your bias isn't in the way.

It’s affirming to know others validate your opinion, and for Ute fans they were informed via the preseason coaches poll, that Utah is expected to be among the big dogs.

It may be lower than Ute fans wanted, but considering a few topics, its an early ranking one can be proud of.

For starters, in terms of bragging rights, BYU nor Utah State made the cut, to the surprise of not even Cougar or Aggie fans.

Nevertheless, that’s major ammo for some trash talking between fanbases.

In Utah’s new conference, the Big 12, Utah is the highest ranked member making the coaches top 25.

Sitting at #13 overall, Utah outpaces Kansas State (#17), Oklahoma State (#18), Arizona (#21) and Kansas (#24).

The Big 12 may not have put up SEC or Big Ten numbers in the polls, but having 5 teams make the cut shows the strength of a conference.

Utah being the first of 5 shows that the Utes are expected to be the strongest of them all, which is a big time talking point for a team entering it’s first year in unfamiliar territory.

Even if Utah’s old conference, the Pac-12, had stayed intact as it was a year ago, Utah would have been the 2^nd highest ranked team in it.

Only #3 Oregon would have surpassed Utah’s spot on the list.

Utah also just so happens to be the first team on the poll to appear with only singe digit wins the previous season.

Every team ahead of the Utes finished with ten or more wins last year and ended the season ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.

Utah is also the first team on the coaches poll to have not finished last season in the AP Top 25.

Why does this matter? It seems like a dig.

I assure you, it is no dig, as it likely proves the FBS coaches making the selections this year viewed last season as an injury riddled mess that is not reflective of what Utah actually brings to the table.

For those in charge of listing selections, it would seem as if Utah will face no deductions for last years shortcomings.

Utah will face off against two of these teams ranked in the coaches top 25.

Both games will be against conference foes starting with a trip to Stillwater to play the Cowboys of Oklahoma State on September 21^st for their “official” Big 12 debut.

No rest in between for Utah as they battle Arizona the following week, the 28^th, in front of the MUSS at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

Ute fans had high expectations for this team in the inaugural year of the new college football playoff format, and with the coaches poll seating them at #13, they may have just gotten higher.