Utah didn't make Big 12 championship game but pulled off biggest turnaround in Kyle Whittingham era

Utes' conference title hopes died out Friday, but their 2025 season marked the largest year-over-year turnaround in the Whittingham era

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham and his team pulled off a 31-21 win over the Kansas Jayhawks to end the 2025 regular season. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

No one would've blamed Kyle Whittingham if he decided to step away after a disappointing end to his 20th season as the head coach of the Utah football team.

Whittingham had enjoyed a level of success no one in his position ever had before with the Utes; 11 bowl game wins, three conference championship titles, three national coach of the year awards and back-to-back appearances in the Rose Bowl highlighted his résumé after an unusual 5-7 finish to the 2024 season.

The San Luis Obispo, California, native could've retired and moved to a sandy beach near his hometown. Or, if he wanted to stay around the game, follow his son, Alex, and his escapades as an assistant defensive line coach with the Kansas City Chiefs.

But Whittingham couldn't simply walk away from the game he'd been involved with as a coach for the past 40 years, including the past three decades with Utah.

His reward? The biggest turnaround from a year-to-year standpoint he's ever enjoyed in his 20 years as a head coach.

With Friday's 31-21 victory over Kansas, the Utes improved to 10-2 and doubled their win total from the year prior, marking the program's largest win increase from the season prior since Whittingham took over full-time head coaching duties in 2005 (excluding the shortened COVID-19 2020 season).

It didn't result in a Big 12 championship game berth — Arizona's 23-7 win over Arizona State killed Utah's chances of making the conference title game — but it was the kind of turnaround Whittingham and his staff envisioned as they retooled their roster with 22 transfers, 23 freshman in their 2025 high school recruiting class and one coordinator who revived an offense that lied dormant in 2024.

Utah's 2025 Regular Season by the Numbers

• Utah rushed for 3,237 yards over the course of its 12-game regular season (269.8 yards per contest), which would be the second-most in program history. The Utes' single-game average would also be the most since the 1984 team put up 271.9 per game, pending its bowl game.

• Devon Dampier, a transfer from New Mexico, followed his electric 2024 campaign with a quarterback rating of 82.0, checking in at No. 9 in the country in that category. That would also be the third-highest among Utah quarterbacks since ESPN kept track of that stat in 2004, trailing only Alex Smith (84.5 in 2005) and Cam Rising (84.2 in 2021). Dampier ended the regular season with 2,180 passing yards, a career-high 22 passing touchdowns and only 5 interceptions after throwing 12 picks in 2024. He also had 687 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.

• The Utes put up 41.1 points per game in the regular season. It would be just the third time since 1930 that Utah averaged over 40 points per game, pending its eventual bowl game.

• Utah's 10 wins marked a five-win improvement from its 5-7 finish to 2024 — the largest year-over-year win improvement in the Whittingham era.

• Utah scored 40 or more points in games in eight games, the most since 2004 (nine).

• The Utes ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak, their longest such streak since going 13-0 in 2008

Clearly, those impressive numbers can be attributed to the impact of first-year offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who joined the program after steering New Mexico in the right direction the season prior.

Meanwhile, the Utes' defense — despite a couple of lackluster performances down the stretch of the regular season — embodied the archetypal Utah defense, allowing just 19.5 points per game through 12 games while ranking near the top of the league in pass defense (177.5 yards allowed through the air entering Friday). It would be the 11th time Utah allowed fewer than 20 points per game since 2000.

Given what they accomplished on the offensive side of the ball — while holding onto their defensive identity — it almost sounds crazy that the Utes didn't qualify for the Big 12 conference championship game. But that was the reality for Whittingham and company, and one that might've sat well with them anyway, considering the way their 2024 campaign played out.

"I thought about maybe last year being the last go around, but I couldn't — as I've said many times — I just couldn't stomach ending on that," Whittingham said after the Kansas game. "We needed to right the ship, get things headed back in the right direction and I believe we've certainly done that this year."

As expected, everyone wanted to know what the 66-year-old Whittingham planned to do after his final regular-season game. It had been a topic he swerved away from for a couple of weeks leading up to the Utes' 31-21 win over the Jayhawks, and one that came up yet again as he and Utah left David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium with a win.

Rather than share any insight into his contract situation, though, Whittingham gave a humorous and evasive response.

“Well, tomorrow I'm gonna be spread eagle on the couch laying there just watching college football and seeing what happens — maybe clothed, maybe not, I don't know, but I'll just, you know, take some time to decompress and to reflect," Whittingham said. "I'm having a heck of a time coaching this team. Was a fun year and not quite over yet. Got a little more football left coach."

Utah, which ranked No. 13 in the most recent CFP rankings, would find out more about its College Football Playoff chances on Dec. 2 with the next CFP rankings reveal on ESPN. Selection Sunday is set for Dec. 7, after the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 6.