Throughout a wild 2024 season in Big 12 football, there were numerous surprises, from projected last-place Arizona State winning the league to perennial power Oklahoma State landing at the bottom.
Few predicted the struggles of the Utah Utes, either.
A top team for several years in the Pac-12, Utah came into its first season in the Big 12 as the projected champion. Instead, after a 4-0 start, the Utes went 1-7 the rest of the way. That included a seven-game losing streak, the longest for the program since 1986.
This summer, BuffZone is previewing each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2025 season and in this installment we look at Utah, which is aiming to get back track and hosts the Buffs on Oct. 25 in Salt Lake City.
Entering his 21st season as head coach at Utah, Kyle Whittingham has built a reputation as one of the best coaches in the country. The 2024 season didn’t go well, but he’s never stayed down for long. Last year was just his third losing season, and with four one-score losses, the Utes weren’t far from landing in yet another bowl game.
There will be a lot of new faces for the Utes this year, but that may be a good thing.
Most notably, the Utes aren’t pinning their hopes on quarterback Cam Rising any longer. Rising may forever be a Utes legend after leading them to back-to-back Pac-12 titles and Rose Bowl appearances in 2021 and 2022, but he missed the entire 2023 season with an injury. A seventh-year senior in 2024, he played three games before another season-ending injury that changed Utah’s outlook once again.
Without Rising, Utah’s offense has struggled mightily the past two years, including ranking 102nd in scoring (23.6 per game) and 115th in yards (329.8 per game) last year.
Former BYU quarterback Jason Beck is the new offensive coordinator after directing an explosive offense at New Mexico last year. The Lobos averaged 33.5 points per game (24th nationally) and 484.3 yards (fourth), with sophomore quarterback Devon Dampier leading the way.
Utah plucked not only Beck, but Dampier and running back NaQuari Rogers from the Lobos.
The Utes’ top five rushers and top six receivers from last year are gone, but Dampier, Rogers and Washington State transfer running back Wayshawn Parker will inject some life into the run game.
Utah also retooled the receiver room with numerous transfers, including Larry Simmons from Southern Miss and Justin Stevenson from Wyoming, both who flashed star potential as freshmen last year. Otto Tia caught 44 passes up the road at Utah State, while the Utes hope returning senior Dallen Bentley is the latest in a long line of strong tight ends.
The offense will be anchored by a line that returns all five starters, including right tackle Spencer Fano, an Associated Press second-team All-American last year, and left tackle Caleb Lomu, who started all 12 games as a redshirt freshman.
Defense wasn’t to blame for the Utes’ troubles last year. Utah was 25th nationally in points allowed (20.7) and 29th in yards allowed (329.7) – ranking top three in the Big 12 in both categories.
Although several key players are gone, Whittingham and longtime coordinator Morgan Scalley (entering his 19th year on the staff, 10th as coordinator) have always had a stout defense. Scalley’s defense has allowed more than 23.2 points per game just once in his nine years, during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign (26.0 in five games).
Linebacker Lander Barton, safety Tao Johnson, nickel Smith Snowden and defensive end Logan Fano were among Utah’s top defenders last year, and all return. Linebacker Levani Damuni, who led the team in tackles in 2023, is also back after missing 2024 with an injury.
While the passing attack has a whole new look, Whittingham has often relied on a tough defense and strong run game behind a powerful line, and those tools are there. If Dampier can play as well as he did at New Mexico, the Utes could be a factor in the Big 12 race.
Utah Utes
Head coach: Kyle Whittingham, 21st season (167-86)
2024 season: 5-7, 2-7 Big 12
Series with CU: Utah leads 35-33-3
Matchup with the Buffs: Saturday, Oct. 25 (TBA), at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City
5 Guys to Watch
LB Lander Barton: Returns after leading the team with 72 tackles last season. He also had five tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions and four pass breakups. He has made 22 starts in his career, posting 152 tackles.
QB Devon Dampier: The starter at New Mexico last year, he completed 57.9% of his passes for 2,768 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while rushing for 1,166 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was the first-ever QB from New Mexico to be named first-team All-Mountain West.
RT Spencer Fano: One of the best linemen in the country. He has started 24 of his 25 games at Utah. As a true freshman in 2023, he started 11 games at left tackle and earned freshman All-American honors. Last year, he started all 12 games at right tackle, earning first-team All-Big 12 and second-team All-American honors.
RB Wayshawn Parker: As a true freshman last year at Washington State, he rushed for 735 yards and four touchdowns on 137 carries, averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
DB Smith Snowden: Versatile nickel back posted 48 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions and eight pass breakups last year as a sophomore. He also averaged 26.7 yards on seven kickoff returns.
Good to know
• CU and Utah have met 71 times, making the Utes one of the most common opponents in Buffs history. CU has played just three other teams more often than Utah: Colorado State (93 times), Missouri (75) and Nebraska (73). The Buffs have also played Kansas 71 times.
• Utah enters this season having sold out 89 consecutive games at Rice-Eccles Stadium, a streak that dates back to 2010, when it still played in the Mountain West Conference.
• Among the 27 players that had at least 70 rushing attempts in the Mountain West last year, Dampier had the best yards-per-carry average, at 7.52 – even ahead of Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty of Boise State (6.95). Jeanty was the only player in the league with more rushing touchdowns than Dampier.
• Whittingham has led the Utes to 16 bowl games. Utah was 10-1 in the first 11 of those bowls but has lost five in a row.
• The Utes will have a revamped kicking game this year. True freshman Dillon Curtis is expected to take over placekicking duties. He was rated a six-star kicker (and five-star punter) in high school and hit a 63-yard field goal. Orion Phillips is the new punter. He averaged 43.1 yards on 54 punts at Murray State in 2023 and did not see any game action last year after transferring to Missouri.
Portal movement
It’s been a very active offseason for the Utes, who lost 31 players to the transfer portal and gained 21, per 247Sports.com. The departures include tight end Carsen Ryan and defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa both going to rival BYU. Punter Jack Bouwmeester, who was second-team All-Big 12 last year, is now at Texas. Cornerback Cameron Calhoun (Alabama), running back Mike Mitchell (Arizona), tight end Landen King (Duke) and receiver Zacharyus Williams (USC) are among the other key departures. The Utes reloaded, though, with several transfers projected to start, including Dampier, Parker, Simmons and Stevenson, as well as Phillips. Cornerbacks Blake Cotton (UC Davis), JC Hart (Auburn) and Don Saunders (Texas A&M) will battle for starting jobs, as will defensive lineman Dilan Battle (LSU), receivers Tobias Merriweather (California) and Otto Tia (Utah State) and Rogers at running back. Of the 21 incoming transfers, 13 are on the offensive side of the ball.
