By Marc Lawrence, PlaybookSports.com — From this week’s PLAYBOOK Football Newsletter:
For the second year in a row, Utah was busy planting seeds last season as only five other FBS squads had a higher percentage of underclassmen starts (they led the nation in 2021).
And despite the acne breakout, each season occasioned 10 wins and a Pac-12 championship for Kyle Whittingham’s troops.
Thus, returning as the nation’s No. 16 ranked team in Returning Production, will be all Kyle Whittingham can do to keep the reins on his young upstarts.
Coupled with a roster that ranks No. 118 in the land (out of 133 teams) in overall Returning Production, it’s no wonder Florida’s Billy Napier hit the Transfer Portal hard during the offseason.
The Gators edged the Utes, 29-26, as a 5.5-point home dog in last year’s season opener, and the Well-Oiled Machine chips in noting that Whittingham is 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in his career when seeking revenge from a non-conference loss.
He’s also 15-0 outright in home openers against non-conference opponents, with an average winning score of 38-14. With it, Utah looks so loaded that there’s only one way to go here
