2013 Pre-Season Preview: Utah Utes

2012 Record: 5-7 (3-6 in Pac-12)

Head Coach: Kyle Whittingham (71-32 at Utah, 7-11 in Pac-12)

Last Bowl Game: 2011 Sun Bowl: beat Georgia Tech 30-27

Stadium: Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT (capacity = 45,634)

Home Field Advantage: ranked 28th out of 69 BCS teams

Schedule Glimpse:

2013 Schedule Link

Out of Conference: 8/29 vs Utah State, 9/7 vs Weber State, 9/21 at BYU

Toughest Home Game: 9/14 vs Oregon State, 10/3 vs UCLA, 10/12 vs Stanford

Toughest Road Game: 10/26 at USC, 11/16 at Oregon

Statistical Snapshot:

2012 Statistics Link

Stats to Fear: converted on just 33.53% of third downs (10th in Pac-12), had just 37 plays of 20 or more yards in 2012 (11th in Pac-12)

Stat to Cheer: only had 18 turnovers in 2012 (tied for 1st in Pac-12)

Advanced Stats (Football Outsiders 2012 FEI Ranking): 58th out of 124 teams

Personnel:

Phil Steele's Returning Starters: Offense: 6, Defense: 6, Special Teams: 0

Key Defensive Returnees: DE/LB Trevor Reilly (69 tackles, 4.5 sacks), S Eric Rowe (64 tackles), LB/DB Brian Blechen (58 tackles)

Key Offensive Returnees: QB Travis Wilson (1311 yds pass, 62.7% completions, 7 TD, 6 INT), RB Kelvin York (273 yds rush, 4.5 ypc), WR Dres Anderson (36 rec), TE Jake Murphy (33 rec), WR Kenneth Scott (32 rec)

Top 2013 Recruits: WR Andre Lewis, RB Dre'Vian Young, DE Gaius Vaenuku, S Tevin Carter

Verdict:

In the MWC, Kyle Whittingham had turned Utah into a perennial ten game winner. Since they've been in the Pac-12 they've found it a bit tougher as they won eight games in the first year but just five last season winning only 1/3 of their conference games.

The offense improved slightly last year but they need to be much more explosive if they want to compete in the Pac-12. QB Travis Wilson stepped up as a freshman last year for the Utes but there are still plenty of questions as to whether he's the long-term answer for the Utes. The running game takes a hit with the loss of John White. Can senior Kelvin York step up and fill that void? The Utes return their three leading receivers so we should see consistency, if not a bit of improvement, from the passing game. The OL loses their three most experienced starters. They return three players with six or more starts and four players with starting experience so they hope that the senior leadership on the line will help.

The defense was where Utah really took a step back last season. They went from giving up a league leading 20.2 ppg in 2011 to 25.1 in 2012 (in conference they gave up 28.1). While those aren't horrible numbers, the offense didn't improve enough to compensate. The DL will need some rebuilding as they lose Star Lotulelei (5 sacks) and Joe Kruger (6 sacks). The DE position should be in good shape as they return three players with experience (with two LBs moving to the position) but the DTs are a huge concern for the Utes. Last year, the run defense was a strength for the Utes (3.71 ypc) but that could flip flop this season. Safety Brian Blechen moves to LB and that's one of the moves the Utes have made to make this is a quicker defense. That move paying off will be a big tell for whether or not this Utes defense can get back to 2011 form. The secondary loses three CBs so that, along with DT, is the biggest void that needs to be filled on this defense. The defense wasn't exactly bad last year but because the offense has been stagnant, this unit needs to be lights out for the Utes to compete in the conference.

The Utes have a tough schedule as they pick up Utah State and BYU out of conference and they play Oregon, Stanford and Oregon State from the North. I expect the Utes to get out of the gate pretty roughly this season. The back-half of the schedule will decide whether or not this is a bowl team.

Prediction: 6-6

Previous 2013 Pre-Season Previews: