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Deseret News
Preseason bowl projections: Will Utah break into the College Football Playoff? Are BYU and Utah State staying home for the holidays?
By Brandon Judd,
1 day ago
Utah quarterback Cameron Rising gestures a first down while playing the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 109th Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. Can Rising, who's led the Utes to two Rose Bowl appearances, help Utah make its first appearance in the College Football Playoff? | Ben B. Braun, Deseret News
Only one of Utah’s three FBS schools has much hype surrounding it heading into the 2024 season.
Utah is projected by many to be the favorite in the Utes’ new league, the Big 12, and as such are seen as the conference’s best bet to represent the league in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
In this expanded format, five conference champions will be awarded automatic bids to the CFP, while the rest of the field will be filled by the next seven highest-ranked teams in the CFP rankings.
The top four ranked conference champions will earn a first-round bye.
In the latest preseason bowl projections, the Utes are favored to make their CFP debut complete with a top-four seed and first-round bye.
With the season kicking off this weekend with Week 0 games, bowl projections were recently released from five media members — two at ESPN , as well as writers at Action Network , CBS Sports and 247 Sports — for every bowl in the 2024 season, including the playoff.
Here’s where Utah, BYU and Utah State show up in those predictions.
What are Utah’s preseason bowl projections heading into 2024?
It’s a clean sweep — Utah is projected by all five writers to make its playoff debut and get a first-round bye in the process, with the Fiesta Bowl the Utes’ destination in the CFP quarterfinals.
One year after the Utes went 8-5 during an injury-plagued season, Utah has stars like Cam Rising and Lander Barton, among others, back and primed to make a run at the CFP.
As for the projections, a rematch of Utah and Alabama after they played in the 2008 Sugar Bowl would be pretty sweet.
Facing Ole Miss would match the Utes against former Roy and Corner Canyon High star quarterback Jaxson Dart, a dark horse Heisman candidate this season.
A couple of the other projections would also give Utah a chance to get some revenge against Ohio State or Oregon.
What are BYU’s preseason bowl projections heading into 2024?
There’s at least a little hope from the national media that BYU can return to the postseason after missing bowl season last year at the end of a 5-7 campaign in their first year in the Big 12.
Brad Crawford pegs the Cougars to play in the Boca Raton Bowl — BYU played in that bowl in 2020, beating UCF 49-23.
Their projected opponent is Appalachian State, who is favored to win the Sun Belt Conference.
First things first, though: BYU needs to become bowl eligible, which appears to be a tough task as the Cougars continue to transition to the Power Four level.
What are Utah State’s preseason bowl projections heading into 2024?
Utah State is not projected by any of the five writers to make a bowl game for the fourth season in a row and the 12th time in 14 years.
The Aggies are coming off a 6-7 season that ended with a loss in the Potato Bowl and are predicted to finish seventh in the Mountain West in the league’s preseason media poll.
Utah State is also coming into the year under a cloud of turmoil , with Blake Anderson and several former Aggie athletic department personnel fired this summer. Interim coach Nate Dreiling has the task of trying to get Utah State ready for the season under adverse circumstances.
Other notable Big 12 predictions
Two other Big 12 teams earned projections to make the CFP as an at-large team.
Kyle Bonagura had Arizona, another one of the new Big 12 programs, making the CFP first round as a No. 10 seed and playing No. 7 seed Texas.
Jerry Palm, meanwhile, had Kansas State in the CFP first round as a No. 11 seed matching up with No. 6 seed Oregon.
Oklahoma State was a popular choice to fill the Big 12′s tie-in with the Pop-Tarts Bowl, with four writers slotting them into that spot.
In one of the Big 12′s other high-profile tie-ins, Kansas State was projected to face USC in the Alamo Bowl by three different writers.
Other notable Mountain West predictions
Two projections had Boise State representing the MWC in the playoff by earning the fifth conference champion automatic berth.
Bonagura had Boise State as a No. 12 seed in the CFP first round playing No. 5 seed Oregon.
Palm had the Broncos in the CFP first round as a No. 12 seed playing No. 5 seed Texas.
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