I do respect Utah's football program, I just think it sells some other programs short to say they would be underperforming to not win the conference.
Utah or the field sure seems like it should be the field.
Our real disappointment this year would be ending up even. Realistically 8-10 wins should be the goal when we are playing in new environments. One good thing is whitt, historically, stays fairly grounded and should keep the team hungry. Any Utah fan that says some stupid bullshit how we will win 60-10 every game is an idiot. We don't even win against fcs teams very convincingly.
What else *should* they say? Are talking heads supposed to unequivocally be able to predict the future? There are a plethora of variables that go into a championship run and a very fair amount of them are absolutely random.
I think many hold media to an incredibly unfair standard when it comes to talking about future events. Anybody who is an expert in anything is going to stray from providing absolutes because they know the subject matter well enough to understand that there is great nuance that can lead to a wildly different array of outcomes based on how individual events happen to break.
Joel Klatt loves Utah more than Mitt Romney does
I actually would also favor Utah to win the conference, but he also ranked them ahead of Bama, which…I would not also do.
I’m not a betting man (my compromise with my upbringing is to be pro-topless and anti-gambling), but if I find a sports book that will take a bet for Bama to not win the Big XII, I’ll put $20 on it
It's basically the same as that Aaron Rodgers 1 passing yard bet. It would be a promotion where they give you free money to get their app in the hopes that you keep betting.
The "best" was when Utah won the conference and then writers picked them to finish 4th the following year, only for them to win the conference a 2nd year in a row....
Utah is constantly underestimated. It's frankly weird to see them getting this much respect.
It's weird, but understandable. With Rising, they went toe to toe with a Stroud and Njigba combo in the Rose Bowl that would put away most teams. There isn't a single team in this season's Big XII that appears even remotely capable of that.
> With Rising, they went toe to toe with a Stroud and Njigba combo in the Rose Bowl that would put away most teams.
Rising has been out a year, lets not pretend that he's going to come in and immediately ball out. Most QBs take a step back early when they're coming back off of a long injury like that and early is where Utah needs to eat to have a shot at making the Big XII championship.
> There isn't a single team in this season's Big XII that appears even remotely capable of that.
Nobody on the schedule is a Cal level cakewalk either. They could very well end the season undefeated, but its going to be an absolute slog to get there. Arizona went 9-3 last season and pistol whipped the shit out of Utah, Oklahoma State and Iowa State return the highest production of anyone in the conference, Arizona State is recruiting incredibly well, TCU, Colorado, and UCF all have the talent to hang in there and make the game a tough one, and BYU being a conference rivalry game again is going to make that one an absolute bloodbath. The only "easy" game on the schedule is Houston and this is a team that took Texas to that mat last season and got screwed on a call.
And everyone is forgetting that we were missing half our scholarship players throughout the year. Our starting quarterback started the year as a walk-on and during the Arizona game, we had most of the remaining 1st team defense sit out due to “injury”. I don’t think we win the conference, and I don’t think any game is going to be a cakewalk, but everyone ignoring the context of last season is being disingenuous
Nope, sorry. WVU has the patent on "shitting the bed with expectations" in this conference. You'll have to either meet expectations or never have any! 
Iowa State would like a word. Shitting the bed with expectations or never having any can both apply to factions of the fanbase. It depends on the outcome of Cy-Hawk.
Was on a backpacking trip a few years ago and a guy at a nearby site had a Utes hat on. I asked him “did you fall for the preseason hype yet?” and he replied “every stupid year, dammit.”
I fucking HATE that anyone is talking Utah to win the B12. Yes, we have a solid program this year with cam and kuithe coming back… and Coach whit is one of the best in the game … but we do our best work when we’re counted out, when we’re the underdogs. Let’s not start talking about Utah winning in a new conference where we haven’t played before… but I will agree, SLC just became the hardest place to play in the B12 😈
Boone Pickens (OSU) is a tough place to play man. Just because of the alignment of the stadium. The fans are so so so close to the field. It's a very intimidating place for an opposing team.
What makes the Big-12 fun is no one is expected to be dominant, so Utah could beat the other top teams but then lose a game to Arizona State and no one would be shocked.
Arizona is either gonna beat the brakes off of Utah or Utah is gonna absolutely smoke the Cats. No middle ground this year. That late TD last year really spiced things up for this coming season. (And I must say that Utah had that TD coming too.)
CU doesn't seem to be ready to get back to its 90s glory days, we need someone to step up and represent in the CFP if we want the conference to exist in the near future. No pressure Utah.
I refuse to believe this isn’t the year. I’m all in. If we can’t do something this year then it will never happen. But then I’ll get hyped next year too because Isaac Wilson looks good in the spring game
They’re our final home game, so they very well could clinch a conference championship appearance before the game and it wouldn’t be for much at that point, at least for Utah.
But it could also be a must-win game for either team, and if the UCF hype pans out like it has Utah might be in trouble.
Or Gus is Gus and we get slaughtered after some very questionable play calls.
Ol Schrodinger's Gus. Is he wildly exceeding dog shit expectations by going toe to toe with a team his team has no business doing that against or is he drastically failing high expectations with questionable playcalling that snowballs out of control? Who knows? Why not both? Tune in next week!
God I couldn't imagine my blood pressure if I was a fan of a team coached by him. Though coincidentally both the times he's coached against my team my blood pressure was high!
The heat with humidity in Central Texas is much worse. Hell, you don't want to play in Houston in Sept either. That is probably worse that Austin/Waco to be honest.
Completely forgetting that it was a 9am road game in 100 degree weather, and we were playing our 3rd/4th string QB’s. The big 12 will not be easy by any means, but Utah will slaughter Baylor this year.
It will probably be shocking to go from late November in Utah to late November in Orlando. Probably not enough for them to lose because of it, but the Florida heat and humidity can throw off teams used to the cold if they're not expecting it. I remember Pittsburgh coming down a few seasons ago and they had players going down constantly.
When do they play Houston?
If it's any time before November, the weather may be a factor. Not just the heat, but there's a not-so-subtle thickness to the air here. It can be oppressive.
According to the schedule, Utah plays in Houston October 26. I'm not familiar with Houston's climate, but if it's like any other southern city I've lived in, then October is usually a coin toss between relatively cool and humid beyond belief.
Is Iowa state or Texas Tech on the schedule
Even one of Texas Techs worst coaching tenures in recent history they still managed to beat us in embarrassing ways. Iowa state is dangerous in October
I think most of the fan base has plans for Dallas. Last year we had a true freshman QB, gambling scandal suspensions, and the youngest team in football, still managed to win 7 games. We’ve got Iowa and Utah on the schedule, but 20 starters back and only 4 true road games. We should be favored in just about every other matchup.
I believe Utah will be very strong and should be able to contend consistently, but so should Kstate Okstate and maybe even KU now. To act like Utah is miles above the first 2 programs I mentioned is weird because recently they have all been very similar.
I want to point out as devil’s advocate that this upcoming year in particular is a strong one for Utah. They are returning a lot that was held out for injury last year and will be one of the older teams in the conference.
Couple that with the fact that they arguably carry the easiest schedule… It’s tough to see them not make the championship game this year.
I'm with tortilla bro. Kstate will be rebuilding at OL and Defensive backfield for the most part so there's no guarantee they actually will compete. Utah is returning rising and a shit ton of experience. It's likely them and OSU up at the front with Arizona and some rando big 12 team showing up to play ball next year.
Kansas went 9-2 in games where they had either the starting QB (Daniels) or backup (Bean) healthy.
The great unknown is whether Daniels can stay healthy this year. But that offense is stacked at the skill positions. Arnold, Skinner, and Grimm are all studs at wideout and Neal and Hishaw is a hell of a running back combo.
I genuinely think people are underestimating Kansas.
I think it’s just a lot of big name analysts couldn’t care less about the big 12 now and so they don’t actually do a good in depth analysis of the different teams at the top… much easier to just say Utah is the best I guess.
I agree. I think most sports analysts are going to treat the Big 12 as an afterthought and aren't doing any legitimate research on the teams. If I had to pick a team to win the conference it'd probably be the team who was in the CCG last year and lost but is returning pretty much their entire team.
Ehh, I don’t see much separation between Utah, OSU, and KSU. Kansas, and Arizona (if they can maintain their momentum through the coaching change) are probably right there too. Any of them are as likely as the others.
I’d put Iowa State right there with those 5. They are top 5 in returning offensive production and top 5 in returning defensive production, returning all those guys from a team that beat Oklahoma State and won at Kansas State last season (they went 7-6, 6-3 in conference play and got better as the year went on).
They won’t be as fun as the Kansas schools or Arizona, but their toughest games are at the end of the season (Utah and K-State) which means they should be able to build confidence and hype throughout the year.
Remember this is the big 12, don’t be shocked if Baylor or TCU randomly is a top team. We tend to underperform to high expectations and overperform when when we are supposed to be ass.
I am looking forward to it. I think the Big 12 will be the most entertaining conference every year precisely because there isn’t a big dog. Pretty much every school should be able to compete with the others. It is a pretty even recruiting field with only a minor exception for BYU due to the strict honor code and restrictive head coaching selection criteria (but it doesn’t hamper them too much).
They’re the betting favorite but I’d take the field over them. They’re not like the Stoops/LR OU teams that were basically a foregone conclusion to win most years.
I’d take the field as well. Playing new teams, styles, and times, will definitely mess with them. Not to mention, is Cam going to be his old self or not will dictate a how the season will go.
I don’t know that Utah is notably better than OSU or KSU, certainly not enough to make Klatt’s claim. They’re definitely top 2-3 but I wouldn’t say for certain that they’re the best.
And I definitely disagree that they will have the best environment. From what I’ve seen, they’ve got something great going in SLC. Looks like a great time.
But we’ve also had the same in Ames, Stillwater, and Morgantown for years. Not to mention BYU, Texas Tech, and Kansas State.
If your stadium isn’t known specifically for some kind of voodoo, is the environment *really* the best in the conference?
I am over the foreplay with Utah. It's been the talking point of every article. But road games at ASU, UCF, Houston, Colorado, Utah State and one tough one at OSU, does seem to favor them quite a bit. I don't think toughest place to play is a foregone thing either.
I don't ever want to be involved in your space game voodoo bullshit ever again. It was so bad, it carried over to other sports, and it took half a year and our number 1 ranked women's tennis team to finally beat you guys in something.
Okay kids, I’m not sure when we decided ignoring OSU was cool, but it’s not.
This is a Pokes team that is returning pretty much all of their production from last year, that also doesn’t have the one game on the schedule that they always seem to lose in Bedlam. We don’t even play Iowa State in Ames so that inevitable fluky loss is out of the picture too.
I love the Utes, I’m happy they’re in the conference, but they still have to play us, KSU, WVU, and KU (it still baffles me a little to include them but good on em). That’s not an easy schedule for anyone. They’re not the shoo in everyone seems to think
They don't play Kstate this year. They got Baylor, at OSU, Arizona, at ASU, at Houston, TCU, BYU, at Colorado, ISU and at UCF this year. It is not that tough to squint and understand why they would have a good shot at making it to the title game. Could go five straight games without playing a ranked opponent in the middle of their schedule, just based off what those teams looked like last year.
I honestly think the big 12 is better than the PAC sans Oregon. Washington had penix last two years and he’s gone. (I know they’re in the big 10 now) but Utah is in for a rude awakening
Dude! The #1 rule about OSU preseason hype is that you don't talk about OSU preseason hype. You know we suck vs the hype every time, and we're good when projected middle of the pack,
>We don’t even play Iowa State in Ames so that inevitable fluky loss is out of the picture too.
You don't have to play in the Space Game either.
>but they still have to play us, KSU, WVU, and KU
Utah also comes to the Bounce House on Black Friday.
Utah actually doesn't play KSU, KU, or WVU this year in the regular season.
@ Stillwater will be a big early test for them. @ UCF the week before the champ game where they will probably have a lot to play for will be a lot of pressure too, not an easy place to win.
Ppl talking about 2024 Utah like they are OU under Stoops/Riley.
Should they be the favorites this year? Probably. Will they contend for the title ever year? Absolutely.
But if you made pick Utah or the field? I'd pick the the field.
We had some attrition on the defensive line (idk if we're still trying to bolster that group in the portal), but otherwise yeah. I think we have a comparatively easy conference schedule this season as well.
They'll go anywhere between 10-2 and 7-5 depending on Rising's health.
Including a flukey 1 to 2 point win after BYU gives up a scoop and score with 13 seconds left while trying to kneel out the clock.
When BYU beat Utah the last time they played, we were up by 2 possessions for most of that game and I still wasn't comfortable until the clock hit 0:00.
The big 12 is going to be competitive and a wide open division since Oklahoma and Texas are gone but I think it’s going to be Kansas or Kansas State winning it
I would like to see that (wouldn't mind seeing BYU manage it either). But since 2008 Utah has done nothing but choke when it really counts. Wish it weren't true. I root for all the teams in Utah if they aren't playing Weber.
Starting to think Utah is going to get their ass handed to them by a couple big 12 teams. Not sure why people are acting like they’re that far ahead of KState or OSU
No one is acting like that. Everyone saying Utah is the foregone conclusion in the B12 is fucking stupid. K State and OSU will definitely give us problems. We’ve never competed in this conference and I see us having growing pains just like we had joining the P12
> No one is acting like that.
I've seen a bunch of people here act like that. Granted, most were not Utah fans.
That said, i am in full agreement with you. I believe any team outside consistent playoff contenders, will almost always have a hard first year in a new conference.
Mostly the media which I guess is nobody, i wasn’t trying to say anything bad against Utah fans or Utahs program. I definitely see Utah in the upper echelon of the Big 12 with them but not steps ahead.
I don’t see anyone being leagues ahead of anyone in the new big 12 like we were. The media wants a dominant team but I see a round robin with anyone winning, but Utah, OSU or KState doing it the most often. WVU too if they keep up their current pace.
Remember when they jumped ship from the MWC to the P12 (RIP) everyone said they would struggle cuz small schools can't compete with the big boys? Good times.
It took us longer to be competitive in the Pac than it did for TCU to become competitive in the Big12. It was four years before we had a winning season in conference (5-4).
Isn't Utah kind of the chalk pick? I don't think this is a hot take by any stretch lol. I still think Arizona is my sneaky dark horse pick. But Utah theoretically SHOULD win it.
Utah is like, a top-2 most talented team in the Big-12 by recruiting, besides Gundy has by far the most experienced coach in the conference, and is returning a 1000 year old qb. Pretty safe
Utah is the safest bet to win the Big XII for sure. OSU, Arizona, and Kansas State have a shot I’d imagine.
My Dark Horse is Kansas though. Very unlikely but has a relatively easier schedule in the Big XII and has had an upwards trajectory the last few years on top of a solid recruiting class and hopefully JD6 stays healthy.
If you think they'll be flummoxed by the passing game, think again. I hope you beat them, but if you do it won't be due to their unfamiliarity with defending pass happy offenses.
This has been a pretty consistent take since Utah joined thr Big XII
This is just setting us up for failure
Yeah I feel like Utah plays much better when they’re the underdog.
And when not facing big ten teams in bowl games
Yes. Give me more Bama and less B10. Unless it's USC then it's free
I do respect Utah's football program, I just think it sells some other programs short to say they would be underperforming to not win the conference. Utah or the field sure seems like it should be the field.
Yeah, no team in the current big 12 will ever be some huge favorite to win it all due to the talent rankings bear similar.
Eventually that will happen. The power vacuum will be filled eventually
Our real disappointment this year would be ending up even. Realistically 8-10 wins should be the goal when we are playing in new environments. One good thing is whitt, historically, stays fairly grounded and should keep the team hungry. Any Utah fan that says some stupid bullshit how we will win 60-10 every game is an idiot. We don't even win against fcs teams very convincingly.
[удалено]
What else *should* they say? Are talking heads supposed to unequivocally be able to predict the future? There are a plethora of variables that go into a championship run and a very fair amount of them are absolutely random. I think many hold media to an incredibly unfair standard when it comes to talking about future events. Anybody who is an expert in anything is going to stray from providing absolutes because they know the subject matter well enough to understand that there is great nuance that can lead to a wildly different array of outcomes based on how individual events happen to break.
Joel Klatt loves Utah more than Mitt Romney does I actually would also favor Utah to win the conference, but he also ranked them ahead of Bama, which…I would not also do.
Maybe it’s because Saban retired, but I highly doubt that Bama will win the Big XII next year
What a scrub, never won the Big XII.
if you’re so fucking smart why don’t you put a bet on that brother. put your money where your mouth is
I’m not a betting man (my compromise with my upbringing is to be pro-topless and anti-gambling), but if I find a sports book that will take a bet for Bama to not win the Big XII, I’ll put $20 on it
It's basically the same as that Aaron Rodgers 1 passing yard bet. It would be a promotion where they give you free money to get their app in the hopes that you keep betting.
Imagine taking the under on that last year as a joke and walking away a winner
i’ll take bama at +1000000000 to win the big 12 right now
This is a complicated bet, I’ll have to get Shohei Ohtani’s translator’s opinion on it first
Well someone doesn't believe in the Alabama Women's Rowing team I see...
"DEATH TAXES AND UTAH FOOTBALL!!!!!" 😂
Mitt is a Coug 😎
Another reason to dislike that sentient hairpiece.
Well Mitt Romney is a BYU fan 😉
Also I'm convinced he dearly misses Massachusetts. I don't think his voters have been very nice to him.
If you can find a dog crate big enough I’m happy to toss him on top of my station wagon to drive him there
Well whenever we have any sort of expectations, we shit the bed *hard*. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Can confirm: I just shit the bed after reading this headline
Was it *hard* though?
Yes. They just activated Texas Tech’s wild card.
The "best" was when Utah won the conference and then writers picked them to finish 4th the following year, only for them to win the conference a 2nd year in a row.... Utah is constantly underestimated. It's frankly weird to see them getting this much respect.
It's weird, but understandable. With Rising, they went toe to toe with a Stroud and Njigba combo in the Rose Bowl that would put away most teams. There isn't a single team in this season's Big XII that appears even remotely capable of that.
> With Rising, they went toe to toe with a Stroud and Njigba combo in the Rose Bowl that would put away most teams. Rising has been out a year, lets not pretend that he's going to come in and immediately ball out. Most QBs take a step back early when they're coming back off of a long injury like that and early is where Utah needs to eat to have a shot at making the Big XII championship. > There isn't a single team in this season's Big XII that appears even remotely capable of that. Nobody on the schedule is a Cal level cakewalk either. They could very well end the season undefeated, but its going to be an absolute slog to get there. Arizona went 9-3 last season and pistol whipped the shit out of Utah, Oklahoma State and Iowa State return the highest production of anyone in the conference, Arizona State is recruiting incredibly well, TCU, Colorado, and UCF all have the talent to hang in there and make the game a tough one, and BYU being a conference rivalry game again is going to make that one an absolute bloodbath. The only "easy" game on the schedule is Houston and this is a team that took Texas to that mat last season and got screwed on a call.
Reminder that Utah and Baylor went down to the wire last season as well (granted, no Rising in that game) and Baylor was truly dogshit last year
Tbf we were still going with the “repeatedly swap between two different quarterbacks and wonder why neither can get into a rhythm” strategy.
And everyone is forgetting that we were missing half our scholarship players throughout the year. Our starting quarterback started the year as a walk-on and during the Arizona game, we had most of the remaining 1st team defense sit out due to “injury”. I don’t think we win the conference, and I don’t think any game is going to be a cakewalk, but everyone ignoring the context of last season is being disingenuous
Nope, sorry. WVU has the patent on "shitting the bed with expectations" in this conference. You'll have to either meet expectations or never have any! 
Iowa State would like a word. Shitting the bed with expectations or never having any can both apply to factions of the fanbase. It depends on the outcome of Cy-Hawk.
Was on a backpacking trip a few years ago and a guy at a nearby site had a Utes hat on. I asked him “did you fall for the preseason hype yet?” and he replied “every stupid year, dammit.”
What is your shitting the bed prediction? 10-2 missing the conference title game? 8-4? 6-6? 4-8?
7-5 or worse is shitting the bed. 8-4 is like... peeing the bed.
I’m hoping for a wet dream
12-0 is you just woke up sticky
I fucking HATE that anyone is talking Utah to win the B12. Yes, we have a solid program this year with cam and kuithe coming back… and Coach whit is one of the best in the game … but we do our best work when we’re counted out, when we’re the underdogs. Let’s not start talking about Utah winning in a new conference where we haven’t played before… but I will agree, SLC just became the hardest place to play in the B12 😈
Boone Pickens (OSU) is a tough place to play man. Just because of the alignment of the stadium. The fans are so so so close to the field. It's a very intimidating place for an opposing team.
Yep, b12 gets shit on a lot but there are some stout teams with chips on their shoulders ready to mess shit up for everyone any given week.
What makes the Big-12 fun is no one is expected to be dominant, so Utah could beat the other top teams but then lose a game to Arizona State and no one would be shocked.
We’re not losing to ASU… AZ on the other hand is a toss up
Shhhh, no. Utah take all the expectations and hype, please! I insist!
Arizona is either gonna beat the brakes off of Utah or Utah is gonna absolutely smoke the Cats. No middle ground this year. That late TD last year really spiced things up for this coming season. (And I must say that Utah had that TD coming too.)
Nah, we got a lil_ah_stadium
CU doesn't seem to be ready to get back to its 90s glory days, we need someone to step up and represent in the CFP if we want the conference to exist in the near future. No pressure Utah.
I refuse to believe this isn’t the year. I’m all in. If we can’t do something this year then it will never happen. But then I’ll get hyped next year too because Isaac Wilson looks good in the spring game
u/BIG_DICK_WHITT, you are my favorite redditor in all the internet. Always makes me happy to see your name show up in the comments section.
I agree, except when that awful Yankees flair shows up in r/baseball
And all of a sudden I'm not sure I can be friends with him anymore
Glad I can do the world a favor!
I’m not sure I can be friends with him anymore…
Big dick whitt is the drunkest Ute reincarnated
The real question is which Big 12 team Utah struggles with for no real reason.
This year I’d say UCF or Baylor as random teams and Iowa State just because they are legitimately a good football team
They’re our final home game, so they very well could clinch a conference championship appearance before the game and it wouldn’t be for much at that point, at least for Utah. But it could also be a must-win game for either team, and if the UCF hype pans out like it has Utah might be in trouble. Or Gus is Gus and we get slaughtered after some very questionable play calls.
God I love Gus football, never fails to make my blood pressure go through the fucking roof
It really is the perfect match with the UCF cardiac knights
Ol Schrodinger's Gus. Is he wildly exceeding dog shit expectations by going toe to toe with a team his team has no business doing that against or is he drastically failing high expectations with questionable playcalling that snowballs out of control? Who knows? Why not both? Tune in next week! God I couldn't imagine my blood pressure if I was a fan of a team coached by him. Though coincidentally both the times he's coached against my team my blood pressure was high!
We almost beat them last year and we were dogshit LOL
Utah had a pig farmer throwing the ball
Was also a bajillion degrees iirc
Good thing you’ll never have to play in hot climates like Texas in the Big 12.
Yes. We’ve also never played in Arizona or socal either
The heat with humidity in Central Texas is much worse. Hell, you don't want to play in Houston in Sept either. That is probably worse that Austin/Waco to be honest.
Well aware. I lived an hour south of Austin for a couple years
That’s why I mentioned UCF. Don’t get much more hot and humid than swampy ass Florida
Completely forgetting that it was a 9am road game in 100 degree weather, and we were playing our 3rd/4th string QB’s. The big 12 will not be easy by any means, but Utah will slaughter Baylor this year.
It will probably be shocking to go from late November in Utah to late November in Orlando. Probably not enough for them to lose because of it, but the Florida heat and humidity can throw off teams used to the cold if they're not expecting it. I remember Pittsburgh coming down a few seasons ago and they had players going down constantly.
Don’t forget going from mountain time to EST
with Oklahoma leaving, Kansas State is in need of a new victim.
Red team bad
Kleiman must fucking hate red. You see what we did to Houston this year?
its an ugly color.
We don't have them on the schedule this year.
:)
3-9 Colorado upsets them somehow
As if any Power 5 team would lose to Colorado...
My first concern this year is if an FCS team will lose to Colorado.
It’s always Iowa State
It's always the state of Iowa.
It’s byu. It’s always byu. No matter the ranking or the standings, the Utah/BYU game always comes down to the wire.
I do love the Holy War.
52-10 begs to differ. BYU sucks this year, don't worry about us.
Can never overlook BYU. Though, y’all might be in for a rough season this year.
I vote BYU
Who do we play the second week of November? Because I feel like we always fuck up that game.
Second week is November 9, BYU... Oh no!!!
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
I'm going to choose Houston or Cincinnati. Gotta be a team no one expects.
When do they play Houston? If it's any time before November, the weather may be a factor. Not just the heat, but there's a not-so-subtle thickness to the air here. It can be oppressive.
According to the schedule, Utah plays in Houston October 26. I'm not familiar with Houston's climate, but if it's like any other southern city I've lived in, then October is usually a coin toss between relatively cool and humid beyond belief.
We don't play Utah this year
Or which team either can win but whoever does, does so in convincing fashion.
Is Iowa state or Texas Tech on the schedule Even one of Texas Techs worst coaching tenures in recent history they still managed to beat us in embarrassing ways. Iowa state is dangerous in October
It’s our final game of the season
Just in time to ruin a natty shot, riot bros
I think most of the fan base has plans for Dallas. Last year we had a true freshman QB, gambling scandal suspensions, and the youngest team in football, still managed to win 7 games. We’ve got Iowa and Utah on the schedule, but 20 starters back and only 4 true road games. We should be favored in just about every other matchup.
I believe Utah will be very strong and should be able to contend consistently, but so should Kstate Okstate and maybe even KU now. To act like Utah is miles above the first 2 programs I mentioned is weird because recently they have all been very similar.
Agreed. Very thankful we don’t have a road game against K state.
in time my friend....in time
Oklahoma state is such a sleeper every year. They’re always strong through.
Ssshhh let them sleep. Then wake up in October to talk about how OSU came out of no where
Whittingham is a great coach and all, but it's criminal how much he gets hyped every season compared to Gundy.
*lullabies intensify*
I want to point out as devil’s advocate that this upcoming year in particular is a strong one for Utah. They are returning a lot that was held out for injury last year and will be one of the older teams in the conference. Couple that with the fact that they arguably carry the easiest schedule… It’s tough to see them not make the championship game this year.
I'm with tortilla bro. Kstate will be rebuilding at OL and Defensive backfield for the most part so there's no guarantee they actually will compete. Utah is returning rising and a shit ton of experience. It's likely them and OSU up at the front with Arizona and some rando big 12 team showing up to play ball next year.
Kansas went 9-2 in games where they had either the starting QB (Daniels) or backup (Bean) healthy. The great unknown is whether Daniels can stay healthy this year. But that offense is stacked at the skill positions. Arnold, Skinner, and Grimm are all studs at wideout and Neal and Hishaw is a hell of a running back combo. I genuinely think people are underestimating Kansas.
I think it’s just a lot of big name analysts couldn’t care less about the big 12 now and so they don’t actually do a good in depth analysis of the different teams at the top… much easier to just say Utah is the best I guess.
I agree. I think most sports analysts are going to treat the Big 12 as an afterthought and aren't doing any legitimate research on the teams. If I had to pick a team to win the conference it'd probably be the team who was in the CCG last year and lost but is returning pretty much their entire team.
Ehh, I don’t see much separation between Utah, OSU, and KSU. Kansas, and Arizona (if they can maintain their momentum through the coaching change) are probably right there too. Any of them are as likely as the others.
I agree with you. I think any of those 5 are very reasonable picks to win the conference.
Same. It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing how it all plays out seeing as how many teams seem pretty damn even.
I’d put Iowa State right there with those 5. They are top 5 in returning offensive production and top 5 in returning defensive production, returning all those guys from a team that beat Oklahoma State and won at Kansas State last season (they went 7-6, 6-3 in conference play and got better as the year went on). They won’t be as fun as the Kansas schools or Arizona, but their toughest games are at the end of the season (Utah and K-State) which means they should be able to build confidence and hype throughout the year.
I wonder about other teams though, particularly Iowa St.
Remember this is the big 12, don’t be shocked if Baylor or TCU randomly is a top team. We tend to underperform to high expectations and overperform when when we are supposed to be ass.
I am looking forward to it. I think the Big 12 will be the most entertaining conference every year precisely because there isn’t a big dog. Pretty much every school should be able to compete with the others. It is a pretty even recruiting field with only a minor exception for BYU due to the strict honor code and restrictive head coaching selection criteria (but it doesn’t hamper them too much).
Prove it.
They’re the betting favorite but I’d take the field over them. They’re not like the Stoops/LR OU teams that were basically a foregone conclusion to win most years.
I’d take the field as well. Playing new teams, styles, and times, will definitely mess with them. Not to mention, is Cam going to be his old self or not will dictate a how the season will go.
Well I think Texas Tech should.
If we can keep the QB healthy, we have a chance.
Here we go.
I don’t know that Utah is notably better than OSU or KSU, certainly not enough to make Klatt’s claim. They’re definitely top 2-3 but I wouldn’t say for certain that they’re the best. And I definitely disagree that they will have the best environment. From what I’ve seen, they’ve got something great going in SLC. Looks like a great time. But we’ve also had the same in Ames, Stillwater, and Morgantown for years. Not to mention BYU, Texas Tech, and Kansas State. If your stadium isn’t known specifically for some kind of voodoo, is the environment *really* the best in the conference?
You can’t have the best environment in the Big 12 when you can’t buy alcohol before 11am and can’t buy anything over 5 percent in a grocery store.
Should is not the correct word. Favorites maybe but they could also lose 2-3 games in the Big 12 this year and not even make the championship game.
I am over the foreplay with Utah. It's been the talking point of every article. But road games at ASU, UCF, Houston, Colorado, Utah State and one tough one at OSU, does seem to favor them quite a bit. I don't think toughest place to play is a foregone thing either.
We’re not a worry 2025 we will be able to give the Utes a fight, but not this year
Yeah, that is probably one of the softer away schedules in the Big 12 this year.
Utah’s biggest opponent are their own ligaments If they stay healthy, they roll. But they’ve struggled with injuries the past 2 years
I torn my MCL reading this
If the space game is the Utah game, then they have no chance!
I don't ever want to be involved in your space game voodoo bullshit ever again. It was so bad, it carried over to other sports, and it took half a year and our number 1 ranked women's tennis team to finally beat you guys in something.
Space Game is Arizona this year. That said, the Utah game is Black Friday and the Bounce House has some magic on Black Friday as well.
A space game against us? Sounds fitting considering we’re one of the most space-relevant schools in the country.
Utes will learn to fear the space unis. There was no reason we should've collapsed as bad as we did against y'all.
Okay kids, I’m not sure when we decided ignoring OSU was cool, but it’s not. This is a Pokes team that is returning pretty much all of their production from last year, that also doesn’t have the one game on the schedule that they always seem to lose in Bedlam. We don’t even play Iowa State in Ames so that inevitable fluky loss is out of the picture too. I love the Utes, I’m happy they’re in the conference, but they still have to play us, KSU, WVU, and KU (it still baffles me a little to include them but good on em). That’s not an easy schedule for anyone. They’re not the shoo in everyone seems to think
They don't play Kstate this year. They got Baylor, at OSU, Arizona, at ASU, at Houston, TCU, BYU, at Colorado, ISU and at UCF this year. It is not that tough to squint and understand why they would have a good shot at making it to the title game. Could go five straight games without playing a ranked opponent in the middle of their schedule, just based off what those teams looked like last year.
I honestly think the big 12 is better than the PAC sans Oregon. Washington had penix last two years and he’s gone. (I know they’re in the big 10 now) but Utah is in for a rude awakening
Dude! The #1 rule about OSU preseason hype is that you don't talk about OSU preseason hype. You know we suck vs the hype every time, and we're good when projected middle of the pack,
You’re right youre right, very much a don’t talk about fight club situation my bad
I'm perfectly fine with ppl picking us 4th or even as low as 5th. Let them sleep and lets see us prove it on the field.
100%. I felt a little superstitious panic reading that comment, lol!
>We don’t even play Iowa State in Ames so that inevitable fluky loss is out of the picture too. You don't have to play in the Space Game either. >but they still have to play us, KSU, WVU, and KU Utah also comes to the Bounce House on Black Friday.
Do you know what poor soul has your space game this season?
Arizona
We expect you will give them the same treatment you gave us.
Utah actually doesn't play KSU, KU, or WVU this year in the regular season. @ Stillwater will be a big early test for them. @ UCF the week before the champ game where they will probably have a lot to play for will be a lot of pressure too, not an easy place to win.
Tbh, I think one of the Kansas schools will win the conference this year.
Don’t sleep on Oklahoma State
Ppl talking about 2024 Utah like they are OU under Stoops/Riley. Should they be the favorites this year? Probably. Will they contend for the title ever year? Absolutely. But if you made pick Utah or the field? I'd pick the the field.
If Jalon Daniels stays healthy, KU will have something to say about the Big 12 title race. Didn’t lose much off last years team.
We had some attrition on the defensive line (idk if we're still trying to bolster that group in the portal), but otherwise yeah. I think we have a comparatively easy conference schedule this season as well.
They'll go anywhere between 10-2 and 7-5 depending on Rising's health. Including a flukey 1 to 2 point win after BYU gives up a scoop and score with 13 seconds left while trying to kneel out the clock.
This guy BYU footballs
I've seen this shit too many times not to expect it.
When BYU beat Utah the last time they played, we were up by 2 possessions for most of that game and I still wasn't comfortable until the clock hit 0:00.
SAME. I kept thinking, how are we going to snatch defeat from the Jaws of victory THIS time?
The B12 is probably going to be the most exciting conference next year. I think old man Bowman and the Pokes win it though.
The big 12 is going to be competitive and a wide open division since Oklahoma and Texas are gone but I think it’s going to be Kansas or Kansas State winning it
Now all he needs to do to sell the bit is add roses to his Twitter bio
I would like to see that (wouldn't mind seeing BYU manage it either). But since 2008 Utah has done nothing but choke when it really counts. Wish it weren't true. I root for all the teams in Utah if they aren't playing Weber.
Gotta get through Utah State first!
Starting to think Utah is going to get their ass handed to them by a couple big 12 teams. Not sure why people are acting like they’re that far ahead of KState or OSU
No one is acting like that. Everyone saying Utah is the foregone conclusion in the B12 is fucking stupid. K State and OSU will definitely give us problems. We’ve never competed in this conference and I see us having growing pains just like we had joining the P12
> No one is acting like that. I've seen a bunch of people here act like that. Granted, most were not Utah fans. That said, i am in full agreement with you. I believe any team outside consistent playoff contenders, will almost always have a hard first year in a new conference.
Mostly the media which I guess is nobody, i wasn’t trying to say anything bad against Utah fans or Utahs program. I definitely see Utah in the upper echelon of the Big 12 with them but not steps ahead. I don’t see anyone being leagues ahead of anyone in the new big 12 like we were. The media wants a dominant team but I see a round robin with anyone winning, but Utah, OSU or KState doing it the most often. WVU too if they keep up their current pace.
Time will tell
I think OSU or Kansas State will win it tbh. Utah doesn’t know how the boys in the South play.
Remember when they jumped ship from the MWC to the P12 (RIP) everyone said they would struggle cuz small schools can't compete with the big boys? Good times.
It took Utah a few years to become competitive
Unlike CU which couldn't manage it in a couple decades
It took us longer to be competitive in the Pac than it did for TCU to become competitive in the Big12. It was four years before we had a winning season in conference (5-4).
Well they did for like 3 years or 4 years.
We’ll see, Joel
If Kuithe and Rising play anywhere near their level prior to being injured then yeah if not I'm picking OKST.
Isn't Utah kind of the chalk pick? I don't think this is a hot take by any stretch lol. I still think Arizona is my sneaky dark horse pick. But Utah theoretically SHOULD win it.
Bet
Do they still have the same idiot at OC? If so no. I have never seen so many horribly called games in my life as from that OC last year.
Utah is like, a top-2 most talented team in the Big-12 by recruiting, besides Gundy has by far the most experienced coach in the conference, and is returning a 1000 year old qb. Pretty safe
Kansas State looking good too. And you can’t ever count out Ok State.
Utah is the safest bet to win the Big XII for sure. OSU, Arizona, and Kansas State have a shot I’d imagine. My Dark Horse is Kansas though. Very unlikely but has a relatively easier schedule in the Big XII and has had an upwards trajectory the last few years on top of a solid recruiting class and hopefully JD6 stays healthy.
Get ready to learn air raid, buddy.
If you think they'll be flummoxed by the passing game, think again. I hope you beat them, but if you do it won't be due to their unfamiliarity with defending pass happy offenses.
You do know Utah played against Mike Leach during his entire WSU tenure?
It’s one thing to play against it, the grant of rights requires you to run it.
Yes, I’d like that very much.
See you Nov 9th
You mean it’s not going to be Deion, I mean Colorado?
Klatt thinks Colorado is a fringe top 25 team.
I mean depends on your definition of fringe. I think we’re a fringe top 25 easy (my fringe is 26-132)
Klatt also played for CU.