The No. 14 Utah Utes may be one of the most consistently underrated programs in college football. Head coach Kyle Whittingham is certainly one of the most slept-on top-tier head coaches in the country.
That's why fans and media from both coasts and everywhere in between should take notice of Thursday night's impressive 24-11 victory over the visitors from the SEC.
The Utes had eight different starters missing from the lineup during the course of the game, including star quarterback Cam Rising and outstanding tight end Brant Kuithe. But it didn't matter. They rode a stout-as-ever defense and back up QBs Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson to victory.
That's why they should move up in the next edition of the college football rankings.
Projected college football rankings after Utah beat Florida
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- LSU
- Penn State
- Florida State
- Clemson
- USC
- Notre Dame
- Utah
- Washington
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Oregon
- Kansas State
- TCU
- Oregon State
- Wisconsin
- Oklahoma
- North Carolina
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Tulane
- Iowa
In this rankings projection, I'm moving both Utah and Notre Dame up considerably. The Irish looked formidable against Navy in their Week 0 opener while Sam Hartman proved he's going to turn the Notre Dame offense into a problem for opposing defense.
Utah simply deserves a course correction. Beating Florida that comfortably without Rising proves they're the main challenger to USC in the Pac-12.
Meanwhile, USC takes a hit after their Week 0 win over San Jose State. Caleb Williams and the Trojan offense were outstanding as usual, but the much-maligned USC defense did not look improved. That will hurt them in the rankings, even if their quarterback keeps them ahead of the rest of the conference for now.
The CFB outcomes of the weekend will have to shape the rest of the rankings.
