Estimated read time: 8-9 minutes
Editor's note: Read the schedule preview of UCLA and Cal Poly in Part 1 here.
SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah football goes into Week 3 and 4 of the season — wrapping up the nonconference slate and beginning Big 12 play with a tough opponent — much more will be known about this year's team.
It'll still be early enough in the season that not all is lost if there are problems, but enough on tape to reinforce a strong start.
This week, we take a look at Utah's road contest to Wyoming — reigniting a passionate rivalry from the Mountain West days — and a home bout against a Texas Tech team that has spent more in the transfer portal than almost any other school in the country.
As a reminder, ESPN's Bill Connelly, who recently updated his SP+ rankings after spring, sees Utah as the 31st best team in the country with the 55th hardest schedule.
If Utah can go 4-0 in this opening stretch of the season, especially with a win over Texas Tech, a chance at a Big 12 title because a real possibility. It will still be early in the season, but it will be a signal that Utah may be back.
Conversely, anything worse than 3-1 (with a real possibility of a 2-2 record) will leave many wondering if Utah has lost its way after its recent successes in the Pac-12 era. That's why these next two games on the schedule will serve as a major inflection point for the program.
Wyoming Cowboys
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13 (6 p.m. MDT, CBS Sports Network)
Location: War Memorial Stadium; Laramie, WY
2024 record: 3-9 (2-5 MWC)
Final AP ranking: N/A
Last meeting: Oct. 16, 2010, Laramie, WY; Utah won 30-6
Preseason win projection: 5.5 wins
Oh Wyoming, how Utah has missed you — maybe not. At least Utah doesn't have to travel to Laramie in the frigid cold in November.
This is a game that was originally scheduled in 2017 by former Utah athletic director Chris Hill, and has been lurking on the schedule for some time. The first game of this home-and-home series was supposed to be played in 2020, but a COVID-19 outbreak derailed the scheduling for the season.
Utah and Wyoming pushed the series back to 2025, with the Wyoming return trip coming in 2027.
Going to Wyoming is no small feat for opposing teams, who often find themselves on the losing end of a trip to War Memorial Stadium. As such, Utah can't just roll into Laramie expecting to get a win as a Power conference team.
While Wyoming has struggled mightily as of late, the Cowboys continue to be a tough opponent — especially on defense — and will take a focused effort by Utah to wrap up the nonconference slate with a win.
Wyoming's clear problem was its offense in Jay Sawvel's first season as head coach. The team's starting quarterback, Evan Svoboda, was inconsistent and was eventually replaced by freshman Kaden Anderson for a few games.
Svoboda — who managed just 1,318 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions on 49.1% passing — has moved to tight end this season. Anderson, who is the odds-on favorite to win the starting job this season, had his best outing against New Mexico when he threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-45 win.
Though Anderson appears to be the favorite to win the starting nod, freshman Mason Drube had a strong showing in spring and will likely be the biggest challenger to the position. Regardless, anything better than last season's performance will mean good things for the Cowboys.
Wyoming does return star tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, who was the team's second-leading receiver last year, and receivers Jaylen Sargent and Chris Durr Jr., while also welcoming Arizona receiver Jackson Holman.
The group had good enough production to be competitive, but the passing game will largely be dependent on who is under center.
Wyoming also brings back senior running back Sam Scott, who led the team in rushing with 435 yards and three touchdowns. He'll be joined by Charlotte transfer Terron Kellman in the backfield as the two split time. They'll get help from returning offensive linemen Caden Barnett and Jack Walsh, though the group will need more production.
Barnett led the team in offensive grades from Pro Football Focus, with Walsh as the sixth-highest graded player.
The Cowboys have made some upgrades, but the team will need more consistency on offense to be a real threat on that side of the ball.
Defense is where Wyoming kept games close — or closer than what they could have been with poor offensive play. This sounding familiar?
The Cowboys defense did see a big drop in production from the 2023 season, which was a top-50 defense, but has the talent to make some noise and be a thorn in opponents' side.
With defensive end Tyce Westland and defensive lineman Ben Florentine back leading the charge, Wyoming looks to continue its disruptive ways. Last season, Wyoming led the country in opponent third-down conversions at just 25.9% (Utah was third at 27.4%) but 131st (out of 134 FBS teams) in opponent red zone conversions (94.7%).
The defense is tough, but it folded when it mattered most in the red zone.
The Cowboys add linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz from Lindenwood, where he was the team's second-best defender, according to PFF. He's joined by Wisconsin transfer
safety Justin Taylor as the two look to improve different facets of the defense.
Wyoming is far from a contender in the Mountain West, but they'll be disruptive enough to keep Utah on its toes on the first trip back to Laramie in 15 years. The key here — outside of a win — is staying healthy and not overlooking Wyoming before a tough bout against Texas Tech.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Date: Saturday, Sept. 20 (TBA)
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium; Salt Lake City
2024 record: 8-5 (6-3 Big 12)
Final AP ranking: N/A
Last meeting: Sept. 15, 1973, Lubbock, TX; Texas Tech won 29-22
Preseason win projection: 8.5 wins
The good news is Utah gets Texas Tech at home. The bad news is Texas Tech will be one of the toughest opponents on the schedule after spending what seemed like an unlimited amount of money in the transfer portal to attract top-tier talent.
From top to bottom, this is an extremely balanced and talented team on paper. Either the Red Raiders are the favorite to win the Big 12 or their transfer portal saga blows up its face. After going 8-5 last season, there's not a lot of in between here.
If Texas Tech isn't considered a contender for the Big 12, it will be a major disappointment to the people in Lubbock, Texas.
With that said, Utah will get the first crack at the Red Raiders after they come off a three-game nonconference schedule that should have the team 3-0 when they come into Salt Lake City. Their toughest test before Utah will be the week before when they welcome Oregon State to Lubbock.
Both teams can't overlook their Week 3 opponent for what should be an entertaining game in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Texas Tech was good last season but not great, largely being disappointed by a defense that couldn't keep its high-powered offense in the game. The Red Raiders still won eight games, but it wasn't good enough for a Big 12 title.
The program is fully invested in the 2025 season being that year to compete.
While the transfer portal is certainly worthy of a conversation — and we'll get there — let's start with returning starting quarterback Behren Morton, who finished last season with the third most passing yards per game in the Big 12 and eighth in the country.
Morton managed 3,335 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 63.3% passing, and will have even better targets this year around him, with an Air Raid friendly offensive coordinator in newcomer Mack Leftwich, who was a leading candidate to be Utah's offensive coordinator before settling on Texas Tech.
Surrounding him will be a trio of veteran receivers in Caleb Douglas (877 yards, 6 TDs), Coy Eakin (652 yards, 7 TDs) and Miami-Ohio transfer Reggie Virgin (816 yards, 9 TDs). He also adds a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield with returning running back J'Koby Williams (236 yards, 2 TDs) and USC transfer Quinten Joyner (478 yards, 3 TDs).
Oh, and he'll have another talented tight end transfer from Louisiana in Terrance Carter Jr. (689 yards, 4 TDs) to add to the arsenal in what is expected to be a high-powered offense built on stretching the defenses vertically.
But Leftwich isn't just a one-trick pony. While at Texas State last season, he also had the 15th best rushing attack in the country. So which part of the game are teams going to stop?
Defensively, Texas Tech hit the portal hard to upgrade a roster that ranked 122nd in scoring defense and 133rd in passing defense. This side of the ball hasn't been the major focus over the last five seasons, but with new defensive coordinator Shiel Wood in charge, there's hope for a turnaround.
The defense will feature at least six players from the transfer portal that are expected to get the starting nod, with former Stanford defensive end David Bailey leading the charge. Bailey is the No. 1 returning defensive end in the country, according to PFF.
Add to that returning linebackers Jacob Rodriguez and Ben Roberts, and Texas Tech may be much better on defense this season — at least it appears that way on paper.
The biggest question surrounding this roster is whether that many newcomers — approximately 12 of the 21 incoming transfers are projected starters — can come together with chemistry and win more games than last season.
Will the team have that all figured out when it travels to Salt Lake City in the Red Raiders' first road test of the year? That remains to be seen. To that point, Utah is in a very similar position on the offensive side of the ball, so it's a relatively unknown going into the game — even with three games under the belt for each team.
For now, though, the Utes may need to borrow some of the tape it used to beat a high-powered USC offense multiple times with Caleb Williams under center; it's the closest experience to that type of roster that Utah will see this season.
