Utah's Kyle Whittingham Doesn't Care About Pac-12 Preseason Poll

After winning back-to-back Pac-12 south division titles, you'd expect that the Pac-12 media might show a little more faith, or have a little more respect, for Utah.

Apparently not, as the Utes were chosen to finish third in the south division. This would end their run of consecutive Pac-12 championship game appearances.

And surprise surprise, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham isn't "putting a lot of stock" into the preseason rankings. In fact, it doesn't really matter where Whittingham and the Utes are ranked to start the season, it's all about where they finish.

"All that really matters is what you do on the field and everyone will have their chance to prove their case as to where they belong, and how good they are," Whittingham said. "So we’re approaching it no differently than we do any other year. Whether we’re picked first or third, sixth doesn’t really matter to us, we’ve got to go out and play and, you know, prove ourselves on the field.”

Whittingham's comments come after he met with the conference in what is best described as a "Pac-12 Virtual Media Day." He was asked about the team being chosen to finish third, a selection that isn't completely out of the blue considering what the Utes must replace on both sides of the ball.

“We lost a lot of good players,” Whittingham said. “I would say that’s probably to be expected and about what we anticipated. And you’re right, we don’t put a lot of stock into that."

The Utes must replace nine defensive starters from last year's division-winning team, as well as two of the best position players in program history in quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zack Moss.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Utes are expecting to fill those departures with members of the 2020 recruiting class, which finished 29th in the country.

Returning starters are linebacker Devin Lloyd and defensive end Mika Tafua, two of the premier defensive players in the conference. Meanwhile Clark Phillips, a four-star cornerback, and four-star defensive ends Van Fillinger and Xavier Carlton are expected to step into production roles immediately.

Offensively, the expectation is that South Carolina graduate transfer Jake Bentley will take over for Huntley. However, replacing Moss will be difficult as the Utes are expected to take a committee approach between Devin Brumfield, Jordan Wilmore and T.J. Green.

Giving Utah hope for a potential three-peat is that the strengths of its offense reside in the offensive line and wide receivers, two positions that will help break in a new quarterback and running backs.

The Utes also have one of the top coaching staffs in the nation, especially in defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley — so there's reasonable expectations that the defense will stay atop the Pac-12's bests.

In Pac-12 media preseason poll history, the Utes have been chosen fifth and second twice, with this year also marking the second time the team was predicted to finish third. This is the first time Utah has been selected to finish third in the south division since 2016.

Preseason Media Poll History (South Division)
*2014 — Picked to finish 5th / Finished 5th
*2015 — Picked to finish 5th / Tied for 1st (lost tiebreaker to USC)
*2016 — Picked to finish 3rd / Finished 3rd
*2017 — Picked to finish 2nd / Finished 5th
*2018 — Picked to finish 2nd / Finished 1st
*2019 — Picked to finish 1st / Finished 1st

Want to share opinions or ask questions? We want to hear them! Making a profile is free and it only takes ~1 minute to set up. Also, be sure to like us on social media for future coverage:

Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka

Add us as a preferred source on Google