Were Utah Utes snubbed in college football coaches poll?

While some in the media are bullish on the new-look Utes, college football coaches aren't as much

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham and his program weren't ranked in the top 25 of the coaches preseason poll. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Utah football program won't start the 2025 regular season ranked in the top 25 of the coaches poll.

The Utes were among the 26 teams that just missed out on a spot in Monday's preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.

Utah checked in just on the outside of the top 25 with 86 total points in the first poll of the season, slotting the Utes in as the unofficial No. 30-ranked team in the country going into its season opener against UCLA on Aug. 30.

While some sportsbooks have tabbed Utah as the preseason favorites to win the Big 12, the 67 Football Bowl Subdivision coaches who voted on the US LBM poll had four of the Utes' conference rivals ahead of them in the preseason ballot: No. 11 Arizona State, No. 20 Kansas State, No. 21 Iowa State (tied with Texas A&M) and No. 23 BYU.

Utah's omission from the first top 25 of 2025 snaps a three-year streak of appearing in the coaches preseason poll. The Utes were No. 13 in last year's preseason poll and the favorite to win the Big 12, though losing seven of the final eight conference games in 2024 and finishing 5-7 appears to have scared off some coaches from giving Utah their stamp of approval going into 2025.

Some in the media, though, aren't as wary of the Utes going into their second season as Big 12 constituents. Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt had Utah in his preseason top 25 and named the Utes as one of the teams he's "buying stock" into following their injury-riddled 2024 campaign.

The additions of New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier and his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, in the offseason are major reasons why some fans and experts are bullish on the Utes in 2025. New Mexico finished the 2024 campaign ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West in red zone efficiency and total offense, checking in at No. 4 in the FBS with 484.3 yards per game, while Dampier led the conference in points responsible for (188) and total yards (3,934).

Coaches Poll Preseason Top 25

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Texas (28)
2. Ohio State (20)
3. Penn State (14)
4. Georgia (3)
5. Notre Dame
6. Clemson (2)
7. Oregon
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Ole Miss
16. SMU
17. Florida
18. Tennessee
19. Indiana
20. Kansas State
21. Texas A&M
22. Iowa State
23. BYU
24. Texas Tech
25. Boise State

Others Receiving Votes

Oklahoma 221; Missouri 142; Louisville 126; USC 116; Utah 86; Baylor 76; Auburn 50; Iowa 49; Memphis 34; Army West Point 33; Tulane 31; Georgia Tech 27; TCU 24; Nebraska 19; Syracuse 16; Washington 15; Navy 14; Arkansas 14; Duke 12; Colorado 12; Minnesota 11; UNLV 8; Florida State 8; Kansas 6; Vanderbilt 3; Buffalo 1