UCF opponent previews: Big 12 favorite Utah closes season on Black Friday in Bounce House

• Nickname: Utes
• Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Enrollment: 34,705
• Home field: Rice-Eccles Stadium (Capacity: 51,444)
• Conference: Big 12
• 2023 record: 8-5, 5-4 Pac-12
• All-time record vs. UCF: First meeting

Editor's note: This is the final installment in a 12-part series highlighting UCF's 2024 football opponents.

Everywhere they have gone across the ever-changing college football landscape, the Utah Utes have managed to rise to the top.

They captured at least a share of a league title in the Western Athletic Conference, the Mountain West Conference and, most recently, the Pac-12. Along the way, the Utes went undefeated twice, appeared in four New Year's Six bowls and cracked the top-10 within the major national polls on nine separate occasions.

Utah exited the eroding Pac-12 and officially joined the Big 12 in August with fellow defectors Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado. And it is favored to achieve another championship conquest in its debut season.

The Utes picked up 20 of the 61 first-place votes in the Big 12's preseason media poll , edging Kansas State by 17 points for the top spot. By the time they make a first trip to the Bounce House, a nationally televised 8 p.m. kickoff against UCF on Friday, Nov. 29, the Utes could be gunning for a spot in the Big 12 title game — and the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

Of course, the Knights — projected to finish eighth — will not simply envision playing spoiler the night after Thanksgiving. They hope to have similar stakes riding on their regular-season finale.

All-time wins leader Kyle Whittingham hits 20 years as Utah head coach

Currently, only three coaches have spent more than two decades in charge of their respective college football programs. Kirk Ferentz leads the way, entering his 25th year at Iowa, followed by a pair of Big 12 bosses beginning their 20th seasons: Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy and Utah's Kyle Whittingham.

Then-defensive coordinator Whittingham was named the successor to Urban Meyer in 2004, and he has become the school's all-time wins leader. His 162 victories are good for 12th among active FBS coaches and 56th all-time. Bobby Dodd (165) and Mark Richt (171) are among those Whittingham could conceivably pass on the list this fall.

Utah has finished with a winning record in 17 of Whittingham's 19 previous seasons, including each of the last 10. The California native has 11 bowl wins and 11 head-to-head victories against the Utes' arch nemesis, BYU, where Whittingham was a linebacker from 1978-81 and once the WAC's Defensive Player of the Year.

Whittingham's contract runs through 2027, but Utah already has selected his eventual successor. Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will take over when Whittingham, who turns 65 in November, departs, the school announced on July 1.

Scalley, 44, has worked on Whittingham's staff for the last 17 years and is entering his ninth season as the team's DC. A former second-team All-American safety for the Utes, Scalley was a finalist for the Broyles Award in 2019, given to the nation's top assistant.

Cameron Rising, Brant Kuithe return after missing 2023 season to injury

Top Offensive Returners: RB Micah Bernard, OL Spencer Fano, RB Jaylon Glover, TE Landen King, TE Brant Kuithe, OL Jaren Kump, WR Munir McClain, OL Michael Mokofisi, WR Money Parks, QB Cameron Rising, TE Miki Suguturaga, OL Tanoa Togiai

Top Defensive Returners: LB Lander Barton, LB Levani Damuni, EDGE Logan Fano, EDGE Van Fillinger, DB Tao Johnson, EDGE Connor O'Toole, LB Karene Reid, DL Junior Tafuna, DL Keanu Tanuvasa, DB Zemaiah Vaughn, DL Aliki Vimahi

Utah gets back two of its most important offensive players after significant knee injuries sidelined them for the entirety of the 2023 season: quarterback Cameron Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe.

Rising made 24 consecutive starts for the Utes from 2021-22, leading them twice to the Rose Bowl. He has thrown for 5,572 career yards with 46 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, adding 953 yards and 12 TDs on the ground.

Kuithe earned three consecutive All-Pac-12 second-team nods, recording 148 receptions — the most for a Utah tight end since at least 1996. In the 2022 season, he caught 17 balls for 204 yards and three touchdowns before missing the final nine games due to injury.

Utah will run the football by committee with Micah Bernard and Lake Gibson grad Jaylon Glover sharing the bulk of the workload. The Utes must be better in front of Rising. Their offensive line had the fifth-worst pass blocking grade (46.0) in the country, per Pro Football Focus' metrics.

Eight starters return to a defense that was among the nation's best, allowing just 19.3 points (19th in FBS) and 307.2 yards (13th) per game. Defensive lineman Junior Tafuna earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big 12 team, top tacklers Levani Damuni and Karene Reid are back in the heart of defense and Zemaiah Vaughn registered six pass breakups with one interception last season.

Former 1,000-yard receiver Dorian Singer gets fresh start at Utah

Transfer Portal Additions: WR Damien Alford (Syracuse), DB Cameron Calhoun (Michigan), EDGE John Henry Daley (BYU), EDGE Paul Fitzgerald (Utah State), DB Alaka'i Gilman (Stanford), QB Sam Huard (Cal Poly), P Elliot Janish (Troy), DB Kenan Johnson (Georgia Tech), WR Taeshaun Lyons (Washington), TE Carsen Ryan (UCLA), WR Dorian Singer (USC), RB Anthony Woods (Idaho)

Transfer Portal Losses: DB Briton Allen, QB Bryson Barnes (Utah State), LB Owen Chambliss (San Diego State), K Joey Cheek, WR Makai Cope (Sacramento State), RB Chris Curry, OL Hunter Deuel (Weber State), TE Hayden Erickson (South Dakota), OL Kolinu'u Faaiu (Texas A&M), QB Mack Howard (Samford), RB Ja'Quinden Jackson (Arkansas), QB Nate Johnson (Vanderbilt), EDGE Chase Kennedy (Arizona), DB Kenzel Lawler (Montana), DB Jocelyn Malaska (Oklahoma), DB Faybian Marks (Rice), WR Mikey Matthews (California), WR Sidney Mbanasor (Tulane), DB JaTravis McCloud (TCU), LB Justin Medlock (SMU), DB Jadon Pearson (Utah State), RB Hunter Schroeder, DB Bleu Stewart (BYU), EDGE Kanious Vaughn

No returning receiver topped 300 yards for Utah in 2023, granting a huge opportunity to Dorian Singer after a down year at USC. Singer had 66 receptions for 1,105 yards and six scores two seasons ago at Arizona.

Damien Alford set career-high receiving marks (33 catches, 610 yards, three TDs) as a team captain for Syracuse, and Taeshaun Lyons was the No. 33 ranked receiver in the portal with four years of eligibility remaining after departing Washington.

Anthony Woods adds an extra weapon in the backfield after a huge season for Idaho in which he gained 1,155 yards, topped the century mark eight times and scored 16 touchdowns.

Kenan Johnson, a Lake Minneola grad and winter portal target of UCF, is expected to win the starting job opposite Vaughn at cornerback. He started 11 of his 45 career games at Georgia Tech, recording 29 tackles, four pass breakups and one pick last year.

True freshman Isaac Wilson wins Utah's QB2 job in fall camp

Top Incoming Freshmen: LB Hunter Andrews (Magnolia, Texas), OL Isaiah Garcia (Draper, Utah), QB Isaac Wilson (Draper, Utah), WR David Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.), WR Zacharyus Williams (Gardena, Calif.)

Whittingham's staff managed to keep quite a bit of the Beehive State's premium talent at home. Five of Utah's top 10 high school athletes in the 2024 recruiting cycle signed with the Utes, including three players from the same school — Corner Canyon in Draper.

Isaac Wilson is the headline name, the younger brother of former BYU star and No. 2 overall draft pick Zach Wilson. Named Gatorade Player of the Year in Utah, Wilson guided the Chargers to the 6A state title by throwing for 4,595 yards, 49 touchdowns and nine interceptions and rushing for a team-high 1,304 yards and 13 scores.

Whittingham declared on Aug. 12 that Wilson was the No. 2 quarterback on Utah's roster "without much debate."

In addition, the Utes brought along Wilson's primary protector in four-star tackle Isaiah Garcia and 6-foot-5, 220-pound pass rusher Kash Dillon, who tallied 13 TFLs and 10 sacks.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF opponent previews: Big 12 favorite Utah closes season on Black Friday in Bounce House