Big 12 Expansion: What Would Utah Bring?
College football is about matchups. Power against power, speed versus speed, and may the best team win. Those matchups are often best when two programs are equally matched.
If the Big 12 adds Utah, that would be a situation where Baylor Bears fans would be able to see two programs that mirror one another. The Utes’ physical style of play also resembles old-school college football in the state of Texas.
Tough, hard-nosed football, with top-notch coaching.
Here’s a look at what Utah would bring to the Big 12, as well as what Baylor would be facing if the Utes do indeed end up being a part of the league.
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Utah has been quite successful with Head Coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes are coming off a Rose Bowl appearance against Ohio State that it nearly won, coming up short by the score of 48-45. Utah went 10-4 in 2021.
Utah has gone 21-7 during the last two full seasons of college football, 2019 and 2021 respectively. Utah was 3-2 during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.
In six of the last seven full seasons (again, 2020 being the exception), Utah has won nine or more games six times, highlighted by the 2019 team going 11-3. During that stretch from 2014-2021, Utah is a combined 68-31, for a 68.7 winning percentage.
During Whittingham’s tenure in 2005, he guided a Utah program that has won nine or more games 10 times. Prior to Whittingham arriving, Utah won nine or more games just four times from 1970-2004, and he was the defensive coordinator for the 2003 and 2004 Utah teams that finished 10-2 and 12-0 when then Head Coach Urban Meyer roamed the sidelines in Salt Lake City. Here’s another way to look at it.
Under Whittingham’s watchful eye, the Utes have not been under .500 since 2013 when they went 5-7, while traditional Pac 12 power USC has finished below .500 twice – 2018 at 5-7 and 2021 at 4-8 – during that same time span.
Utes in the NFL
The NFL has also come calling on Utah, with 13 Utes drafted since the start of the 2019 NFL Draft. From that list, seven of the 13 Utah players went in the first three rounds, highlighted by linebacker Devin Lloyd going No. 27 in the 2022 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Since Whittingham took over as head coach in 2005, Utah has had three first-round draft picks: defensive tackle Star Lotulelei went No. 14 to the Carolina Panthers in 2013; offensive tackle Garrett Bolles went 20th overall to the Denver Broncos in 2016; plus the aforementioned Lloyd to the Jaguars in 2022.
Since 2006 with Whittingham at the controls, Utah has seen 10 more football players drafted into the second round of the NFL Draft.
Utah Recruiting as a Big 12 Member
The Utes have commonly raided prime recruiting states like California, Texas and Florida for top talent, and this past recruiting class was no exception. California (four), Texas (three), and Florida (three) combined to provide 11 of the 20 total prospects signing with Utah.
By joining the Big 12, Utah would play games in the state of Texas much like it used to play games in the Golden State as a member of the Pac 12. Based on coaching connections and its history as a Pac 12 member, Utah is likely to still recruit out West.
What’s interesting about joining the Big 12 is adding even more inroads to the Lone Star state as that will provide the Utes with more overall talent and depth. It would not be surprising if Utah ended up signing five or more Texans per year.
Utah is a program that definitely has a firm footing with its football program, and it will add value to the Big 12. Now can the Big 12 bring the Utes into the conference?
That’s the next question to be answered before actually previewing Utah versus Baylor football games that would be a lot of fun for the Bears faithful.
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