Can Utah Win the Pac-12 South?

When the Pac-12 expanded a few years back, there was talk that they could have lured Texas and Oklahoma to the conference. As attractive as that seemed at the time, I still was still thinking that they would get somebody else. The Texas/Oklahoma talk was pie in the sky thinking to me and when the conference finally invited Colorado and Utah I was a little disappointed, but that they were actually better fits for the conference than the other two.


Has it worked out the way the conference may have wanted, maybe, maybe not, but at least one of these two teams has started to make inroads in the Pac-12. Utah, yeah, remember them? The team that made it to the Sugar Bowl and smoked Alabama. After having some seasons that were not so great as they were stepping up in competition when joining the Pac-12, the Utes have become a threat to win the Pac-12 South division and even the conference. Here is one of the questions going into 2015, can Utah win the South division?


My answer to that is yes, however it is going to be a tough road for them because of some changes in the program. Lets discuss what is going to make it tough at least at this point. Nobody has played a game yet, injuries haven't happened, or anything else that typically happens during the course of the season.


First of all, their Defensive Coordinator Kalani Sitake left the program for Oregon State. Sitake is a guy that brings a very aggressive style to his defenses and Utah fans have to wonder how their defense will play without their leader on the sideline. Will their new DC John Pease keep the attacking style or be something different that the fans have to get used to. Lets talk about some of the players that need to be replaced or need to step up this year. Defensive end Nate Orchard is gone and so is his 18.5 sacks that he had in 2014. Who will take his spot in 2015? Hunter Dimick should be that guy on the defensive line, but he will be getting more attention this year, but he did have 10 sacks last season, so he is hoping to improve on that. 2014 for Utah's linebackers was a year of injury. The coaches managed to piece together enough with those linebackers to at least finish second in total defense in the Pac-12. The player to watch with their linebackers is their leading tackler from last season, Jared Norris, who had a team high 116 tackles, including 13 for a loss. He can cover space and make devastating hits. Watch Norris this year. The secondary will be something to watch as well and it may make them susceptible to getting passed on all game. The coaches converted quarterback Jason Thompson to safety and evidently he is competing very well for the position, but in the end if teams are passing all over the field on the Utes it will make for a very long season for them.


Moving over to the offense, quarterback is a little cloudy because you don't know how quarterback Travis Wilson will perform because he was very average last season. Seeing him play in person against the Sun Devils I wasn't that impressed. His 2014 season was so up and down that he lost his starting spot to back up Kendal Thompson twice. The major reason he got his spot back was that Kendal Thompson injured his knee. Wilson has to improve substantially for the Utes to get to the promised land of winning the South division. He did only throw 5 interceptions, but remember he did get replaced and only got back in because of injury to the other quarterback. The other aspect that people talk about with Wilson is that people around the program say he wasn't comfortable with former OC Dan Christensen, who left to become the O-Line Coach at Texas A&M. Aaron Roderick, Wilson's new OC is not changing that much with the offense, but he wants Wilson to complete a higher percentage of passes. "We're not trying to reinvent what we are doing. We just want to get better at it." says Roderick.


Devontae Booker. To me, the best running back in the Pac-12 will be back and hopefully have the same results as he did as junior college transfer in 2014. Booker runs hard or as I say "runs angry" and he ran all over the Pac-12 last season. He averaged 130 yards a game and ran for 1,512 yards. To get that many yards you have to have speed and as much tough running as he does, Booker does have explosive speed. What does he need to be successful? Rhetorical question obviously. He has a very solid offensive line.


Will this O-Line be as successful as they were last season? I believe so. They return most of this line for 2015.  They took a hit when junior, Jeremiah Poutasi, left early for the pro's. However, they do return Isaac Asiata and their center Siaosi Aiono who were probably the most consistent players on the offensive line. If the line plays to their 2014 season, Devontae Booker will be running wild again and Utah will be winning games.


The x-factor is always the special team play on a team. The Utes have one of the best kickers around the Pac-12. I did see him miss a field goal against the Sun Devils in overtime, but he didn't miss much last year. Andy Phillips made 23-28 field goals and was 12-15 from over 40 yards. Their punter is very good as well. Tom Hackett averaged 46 yards per punt and out of 80 total punts, he had 36 of them inside the 20 yard line. Great weapon to have if you can pin your opponent deep in their own territory.


All in all, most of the questions I have about this Utah team is the change in coaching. How will they respond to the change? That remains to be seen. Most of these players are returning, so you would think that they have a fairly veteran team who won't let it make a difference. Can they win the South. Yes, in fact, they are my sleeper pick to win the South. While Arizona State, USC, or Arizona get the majority of talk about winning the Pac-12 South, don't sleep on these Ute's. There is a monster brewing in the Great Salt Lake and they don't want you to overlook them. Many of you will, so you have been warned. Go Ute's!