CU Buffs opponent preview: Experienced Utah team is preseason Big 12 favorite

There are very few reliable commodities in college football these days.

Nick Saban retired this offseason, ending a historic run at Alabama and lowering the number of coaches who have been in their current roles for at least a decade to just 14 (out of 133 FBS programs).

Down at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Troy Calhoun is one of them. Only three coaches in the country have been the head coach of their current program for longer.

Two of them are on the schedule for Colorado and Deion Sanders this season and will be covered in our final three opponent previews.

We’ll start with Utah, the preseason favorite in the Big 12 despite being one of four newcomers to the conference this season. With Oklahoma and Texas out of the picture, there’s an opportunity for several programs to jump to the top and define this next era for the new-look conference.

The Utes and coach Kyle Whittingham, who heads into his 20th season as the head man in Salt Lake City this fall, are as good of a bet as anyone.

Let’s take a look at why and what to expect from Utah when it visits Folsom Field in November:

Offseason storylines

Quiet offseasons are the norm in Salt Lake City.

Up until recently, that’s what was taking place on Utah’s campus. Then, the program made a big announcement.

Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who’s been with the Utes for 17 years and is entering his ninth season in his current role, is the “head coach in waiting” for whenever Whittingham decides to step down.

The 64-year-old said at Big 12 media days earlier this month that he has no immediate plans to retire, but is confident in Scalley’s ability to continue the success the program has had in recent years with back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021-22.

“He's a Utah guy, played high school ball in the state of Utah, played at Utah, jumped right into coaching at the University of Utah when he was done playing,” Whittingham said in Las Vegas. “He's invested in this program as much as anybody ever has been. He knows our culture inside and out. To me, it's very comforting for when that transition time does occur and it's time for new leadership to have a guy that's going to be able to carry on the values and the cultures that we've put in place.”

After a somewhat disappointing 8-5 campaign in 2023 that was defined by injuries from start to finish, Whittingham is focused on winning another conference title and earning an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff — which would be the first in Utah history — with his veteran roster.

On offense

Speaking of veteran talent, the Utes have plenty of it on the offensive side of the football.

Seventh-year quarterback Cameron Rising is back after missing the entire 2023 season recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the 2022 Rose Bowl.

So, too, is tight end Brant Kuithe, a preseason all-Big 12 honoree who also missed all of 2023, and running back Micah Bernard, who missed 11 games last fall.

Despite needing to replace a few starters on the offensive line, there’s little reason to doubt the players stepping into starting roles won’t be ready. It’s all Whittingham has done for the past 20 years.

Rising and Kuithe could be one of the best quarterback-pass catcher combinations in the conference and the Utes even added a dynamic, No. 1 wide receiver in USC transfer Dorian Singer, who had over 1,100 receiving yards at Arizona in 2022.

On defense

On the other side of the ball, Utah has plenty of productive veterans to replace.

Pass rusher Jonah Elliss and his 12 sacks from last season are now in Denver as a third round draft pick by the Broncos. The potent starting safety duo of Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki are also now in the NFL.

The secondary is where the majority of the questions for the defense lie, even if promising players like Tao Johnson and Zemaiah Vaughn return. Senior cornerback Kenan Johnson brings plenty of career starts with him from his days at Georgia Tech and should step in right away and be a starter.

The front seven is led by defensive tackle Junior Tafuna, another preseason all-conference player who had three tackles for loss last season. Also back are linebackers Karene Reid and Lander Barton, who both play a huge role in both the pass and run defenses.

The Utah Utes file

Head coach: Kyle Whittingham (19th season)

Offensive coordinator: Andy Ludwig (6th season of 2nd stint at UU)

Defensive coordinator: Morgan Scalley (17th at UU, 9th as DC)

2023 record: 8-5 (5-4 Pac-12)

Key returners: QB Cameron Rising, TE Brant Kuithe, OT Spencer Fano, DL Junior Tafuna, LB Karene Reid

Key newcomers: WR Dorian Singer, CB Kenan Johnson, DL Paul Fitzgerald