By: George Ahearn

In the history of the College Football Playoff, there have been a handful of unexpected teams who play their way into the top four come season’s end. Last year, TCU defied expectations and earned themselves a three seed entering the playoff. In 2022, Cincinnati broke the mold as they became the first non-Power Five team to make the playoff, and even deeper into the playoff’s history we saw Washington and Michigan State have “one-hit wonder” seasons that earned them a spot.

The point is: oftentimes the media and public like to chalk up the four playoff spots to something along the lines of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, and Michigan. While these assumptions are warranted, it seems with each year there is increasing opportunity for “the field” to make the playoff. Which begs the question of… who is this year’s sleeper playoff team? 

The answer? The Utah Utes. 

Despite winning the PAC-12 these past two seasons and reaching two consecutive Rose Bowls, Kyle Whittingham’s squad hasn’t received the credit they rightfully deserve. Maybe it’s due to the public’s general disinterest in the PAC-12, or simply because nobody can fathom Utah being in the upper echelon of college football. Either way, the Utes have put together back-to-back incredible seasons, but their most promising season yet may be on the horizon.

Utah received fantastic news when quarterback Cam Rising announced he was returning to school for his final year of eligibility. Rising has been the starter for the Utes over the past two seasons, winning two conference titles and competing in one of the games’ biggest stages – the Rose Bowl – twice. While Utah has come up just short in their past two Rose Bowls, losing to Ohio State and Penn State, both games have provided Rising with critical experience against top tier, out-of-conference opponents. 

Further, the Utes knocked Heisman winner Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans out of the playoff positioning in last year’s PAC-12 title game, which they won, 47-24. The success Utah has experienced over the last two seasons has prepared them to take the next leap, and that combination of experience and success could help see the Utes into this year’s playoff. 

Of the power five conferences, the PAC-12 is ultimately seen as the weakest in most years. This weakness has greatly contributed to the lack of teams we’ve seen from the Conference of Champions making the playoff over its nine-year history. In fact, there have only been two PAC-12 teams to ever make the playoffs – Oregon in 2015 and Washington in 2017 – marking six years since the PAC-12 saw their best compete on the game’s brightest stage.  

However, this year the stigma around the PAC-12 may drastically shift, as the conference is stacked at the quarterback position. There’s Heisman winner Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr. returned to Washington, Bo Nix is in his second year for the Ducks, former five-star and Clemson transfer D.J. Uiagalelei is playing for Oregon State, and Shadeur Sanders is under center for his pops at Colorado. 

This stockpile of talent at the most important position on the field should undoubtedly change the narrative for the PAC-12 this season, and that shift might reward us with our first PAC-12 playoff team since 2017.

The only question mark for the Utes lies in the health of quarterback Cam Rising. Rising suffered a torn ACL in the Rose Bowl against Penn State to conclude last season. Yet, Coach Whittingham expects the super senior to be ready come Week 1, and the Utes will certainly need him. 

Utah opens their season with a home rematch versus Florida, who narrowly defeated them last season on the Gators’ home turf. Now, the Utes are vying for revenge against an SEC squad with more questions than answers heading into the 2023 season.

Week 2, Utah travels to Waco, Texas to face Baylor, who is expecting an emphatic bounce back season after finishing 6-7 last season. 

If the Utes can start off the season 2-0, winning two impressive out of conference matchups, a playoff push should be expected out of Salt Lake City. The PAC-12 is talented enough where the winner of the conference unlikely comes out unscathed. A two-loss champion could garner a playoff spot, creating the perfect storm for the Utes to make their first playoff in program history.