Why Joel Klatt thinks Utah will win the Big 12

Former college football quarterback and current lead Fox college football analyst Joel Klatt came out of the gates high on Utah in his post-spring Top 25 rankings, slotting Kyle Whittingham’s program at No. 6, one spot ahead of Alabama and one spot behind No. 5 Ole Miss.

Klatt dialed it back a bit in his fall preseason Top 25 rankings on “The Joel Klatt Show” but still has a very positive outlook on the Utes, picking them to win the Big 12 Conference.

Klatt ranked Utah No. 9 in the country, which is three spots ahead of the Utes’ preseason Associated Press ranking at No. 12, one spot ahead of No. 10 Penn State and one spot behind No. 8 Alabama.

Alabama (8), Michigan (7) and Notre Dame (6) all jumped ahead of Utah compared to Klatt’s spring rankings.

“Death, taxes, Utah football. This is my pick in the Big 12,” Klatt said. “Utah is really good, really tough.”

Klatt touted Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Utes are 18-1 over the last three years (the lone loss coming to then-No. 6 Oregon), as the new toughest venue in the Big 12.

“I know the Big 12 teams are not going to want to hear this, and I understand that some of those places are tough to play in, but Salt Lake City — and Utah — is now the toughest place to play in the Big 12. Period. Period,” Klatt said. “That home-field advantage is real. They are incredible at home. This is one of the best teams in the country.”

It all starts with quarterback Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe at tight end. Rising, who has thrown for 5,572 yards and 46 touchdowns over his Utes career, led Utah to two Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022, and while Kuithe had a season-ending injury in 2022, he was a big part of the success in 2021, with 611 yards on 50 catches.

“These guys, when they’re on the field, what do they do? Win the conference. That’s what they’ve done each of the last two times that they’ve been on the field and healthy. They’ve won the Pac-12 and gone to the Rose Bowl,” Klatt said.

“What should make us think that this will be anything different in the Big 12? It won’t. It won’t.”

Klatt considers Whittingham — who has compiled a 162-79 record as the coach of the Utes, including three conference championships and a 2009 Sugar Bowl win — as one of the top three or four best coaches in college football.

The one thing Whittingham hasn’t accomplished as he enters his 20th season as the head coach of Utah? Making the College Football Playoff.

Klatt thinks the Utes will do just that.

“This could be a swan song for a guy that has been as good as any in the country. You think that team’s not going to play hard for him? You think that defense is not going to play hard? They’re aggressive. They’ve got a great home field. They got a veteran quarterback. Watch out for Utah,” Klatt said.

The Utes open up the season against Southern Utah on Aug. 29 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and their Big 12 Conference opener comes on Sept. 21 at Oklahoma State.