Utah Utes Ranked Yet Again in AP Top 25

With only 11 days standing between ravenous fans and the kickoff of college football, the predictions and estimations for who will stand among the college football elite are ramping up.

None of these estimates hold as much power as the Associated Press and their Top 25 preseason poll.

Since 1936, the AP poll has shaped college football as the fans know it, providing a list of the top 25 FBS teams on a weekly basis.

Not every team will win a national title, or even a conference championship, for some teams, making it into the Top 25, and staying there can be a sign of a successful season.

With 60 plus of the sports biggest media personalities chipping in, the poll is a great representation of how the media sees your favorite football team.

That much anticipated poll dropped today, teasing fans with whom they expect to be the big dogs of the newest college football season.

Speaking of big dogs, Georgia clocked in at #1, and the rest followed as such:

For the Utah Utes, this poll marked year #6 in which Utah has appeared in the preseason top 25 with their 12^th place landing spot.

The last time Utah wasn't featured in the preseason poll was the year 2018, a season in which Utah would finish ranked #17 with a 9-4 record.

Since then the Utes and the Top 25 have been very familiar with one another.

The preseason polls have tabbed the Utes in the following position the past handful of years:

2019- 14^th

2020- 22^nd

2021- 24^th

2022- 7^th

2023- 14^th

Enter 2024, and the 12^th overall spot and Ute fans yet again have another reason to be excited about the new season.

In the new iteration of the Big 12, the newly minted Utes sit atop conference foes Oklahoma State (#17), Kansas State (#18), Arizona (#21) and Kansas (#22).

With 5 teams representing the Big 12, the conference itself is the third most represented of any conference in college football only behind the SEC (8 teams) and Big Ten (6 Teams) in the preseason Top 25.

The Big 12 looks to be wide open in terms of competitive balance with other members like Iowa State receiving 33 votes, West Virginia getting 17 and Colorado getting 1.

And yet despite multiple Big 12 teams getting shown some love, none have received more than Utah, especially when considering their 13^th place standing in the recently released coaches poll.

Both the press and coaches view Utah as the team to top in their new conference and those votes of confidence have never seemed to weigh so much.

With the 12 team playoff format debuting this season, Utah’s best chance to appear in the postseason relies heavily on winning the conference.

With the additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC and the Big Ten welcoming Oregon and USC among others these conferences are more top heavy than ever before.

Anticipating multiple playoff bids for the SEC and Big Ten, a possible independent (Notre Dame) and a guaranteed group of 5 school, not many spots remain for multiple Big 12 teams.

Not to say the Big 12 wont send multiple teams dancing, but it would be best if Utah lives up to expectations and leaves zero room for debate.

Per the college football network website, Utah has been given the 7^th easiest schedule in the Big 12 avoiding match ups with #18 Kansas State and #22 Kansas.

The Utes do get #17 Oklahoma State on the road and #21 Arizona in Salt Lake to make things intriguing.

Especially considering both the Cowboys and Wildcats have easier schedules than Utah with Arizona having the easiest Big 12 schedule according to collegefootballnetwork.com.

Despite the faith, expectations and belief behind the Utes within the last couple of weeks it will all boil down to their on field capabilities.

Yet, although the game isn't played on paper, it is nice to see the vote of confidence regardless for the sixth straight year that the Utes should be in the midst of the college football hierarchy.

#12 Utah kicks off the season August 29^th at home VS Southern Utah.