Where Utah Ranks Among Best 1-Loss Teams In College Football

The Utah Utes are among the best teams in college football even with all of their injuries

Heading into the season, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham revealed that he felt the 2023 Utes squad was the 'most talented' team Utah's ever had.

When you look at the team on paper prior to the season you'd see one of the college game's best quarterbacks and tight ends, complimented by a stable of talented running backs and an elite defense to pair with it to back up Whittingham's claim. Utah is now seven games into the season and while they do have a 6-1 record, but it has been far from conventional. 

They have been without the aforementioned star quarterback and tight end for the whole season, as both Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe are done for the year. They've also lost a couple of running backs, a receiver, a reserve tight end, an elite pass rusher, and a stud linebacker along the way. Yet, they continue to put their heads down and work, as former pig farmer and walk-on Bryson Barnes has been a star at quarterback over the past few weeks for the Utes, and they possibly found their best offensive weapon on the team who happened to be starting at safety for them in Sione Vaki.

After their latest win over USC, many people have begun wondering just how good this team is. So, ESPN's Heather Dinich ranked the best 1-loss teams by their chance of making the College Football Playoff. The Utes found themselves as the No. 4 team behind teams like Texas, Oregon who they play this weekend, and Alabama. She broke down what they need to do to make the playoff citing the fact they have to exercise their demons of dropping multiple games in a season, and win out. 

Utah finishes as a one-loss conference champion. It's not a complicated formula, but the Utes still have to face both Oregon and Washington. The ideal scenario would be for Utah to beat Oregon State in the conference title game to avenge its regular-season loss. It will also help Utah if Florida finishes the season in the CFP top 25.

Utah ranks No. 21 in the country according to ESPN's FPI in terms of the remaining strength of schedule, with matchups against No. 8 Oregon and No. 5 Washington happening in the next few weeks. The FPI also gives Utah just a 0.9% chance of making it to the playoff.

These next three weeks will be pivotal for the Utes, who will need their defense to continue to decimate offenses and their offense to continue to improve. A little luck in the health department would be useful as well.