Editor's note: Read the schedule preview of UCLA and Cal Poly in Part 1 here, Wyoming and Texas Tech in Part 2 here, West Virginia and Arizona State in Part 3 here, BYU and Colorado in Part 4 here, and Cincinnati and Baylor in Part 5 here.
SALT LAKE CITY — We've come to the final installment of the Utah football schedule breakdown.
Is Utah good enough to be in Big 12 title contention? That remains to be seen, obviously, but there's an expectation that the Utes will be much better than their 2024 season. But that also depends on the teams they'll have to compete with on the field.
In this final schedule preview, we'll take a look at the final home game at Rice-Eccles Stadium against a Kansas State team that's expected to be a contender for the title, as well as a road game finale on Black Friday against a Kansas team with a lot of unknowns going into the season.
As a reminder, ESPN's Bill Connelly, who recently updated his SP+ rankings after spring, sees Utah as the 31st best team in the country with the 55th hardest schedule.
Kansas State Wildcats
Date: Saturday, Nov. 22 (TBA)
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium; Salt Lake City, UT
2024 record: 9-4 (5-4 Big 12)
Final AP ranking: N/A
Last meeting: None
Preseason win projection: 8.5 wins
Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson came into his sophomore season with incredible expectation place upon him; and though he was easily the best player on offense for the Wildcats, he didn't quite live up to the lofty praise.
That's not to say Johnson was bad, but he couldn't lead his team to a Big 12 title. The dynamic dual-threat player threw for 2,712 yards and 25 touchdowns, but managed 10 interceptions on a 58.3% completion percentage.
He was a great asset in the run game, too, finishing with 605 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Wildcats, though, finished the regular season losing three of their last four games and fell out of contention for a Big 12 title. The offense was good but not elite and other teams were simply better.
In his return, Johnson will be tasked with improving while going through a bit of a transition with offensive coordinator Conor Riley leaving to the Dallas Cowboys. Former Utah State head coach Matt Wells was promoted to the position and should continue an emphasis on the run game while trying to be aggressive with a downfield passing attack.
While the offensive success won't solely be on Johnson's shoulders, it's a heavy burden with a team that needs to replace leading rusher DJ Giddens, who left to the NFL. The team's third-leading rusher last season, Dylan Edwards, has potential to be that guy after 546 yards and five touchdowns, with an average run of 7.4 yards.
The offense, though, returns leading receiver Jayce Brown, who had 823 yards and five touchdowns. He'll be the focal point of the passing attack as a proven weapon, and will have Boston College transfer Jerand Bradley and Purdue transfer Jaron Tibbs to add to the arsenal. Additionally, tight end Gerrett Oakley, who had 236 yards and five TDs, returns.
The offensive line returns two starters — center Sam Hecht and guard Taylor Poitier — while getting help from two returning depth pieces and Ohio State transfer George Fitzpatrick. With at least four returning players, Kansas State has potential for consistency to help run the offense.
Linebackers Austin Romaine and Desmond Purnell return to lead the defense that will rely heavily on depth pieces moving into starter roles and players from the transfer portal filling the gap. Romaine and Purnell are more than capable of being a stabilizing force, but there's still questions that need to be answered to see if there's an improvement from last season.
The defense finished 28th in run defense last year, and there's reasons to believe it will continue to be a force, but improvement will need to come in a secondary that gave up 224.7 yards per game.
At the very least, Kansas State should be on par with last season's performance, but there's enough questions to leave some doubts. But don't count out a Wildcats team that is not satisfied with last year's results.
In Utah's final home game of the season, it could provide a fun setting for a game that could have conference title implications for either or both teams. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Kansas Jayhawks
Date: Friday, Nov. 28 (10 a.m. MST, ABC or ESPN)
Location: David Boone Kansas Memorial Stadium; Lawrence, KS
2024 record: 5-7 (4-5 Big 12)
Final AP ranking: N/A
Last meeting: Sept. 28, 1996 (Utah W, 45-42; SLC)
Preseason win projection: 7.5 wins
After making so much progress following a long run as one of the worst teams in the Power Four, Kansas was hoping to make another jump last season. But following a Week 1 win against an FCS team, the Jayhawks experienced an unfortunate five-game losing skid.
More frustrating was that Kansas lost by one possession in four of the five games and just by 11 in the fifth game. They were close, but it wasn't good enough.
The season flipped at the midway point and the Jayhawks went on to win four of their last six games, including wins over top Big 12 teams BYU, Colorado and Iowa State. But can that momentum carry over to the next season?
That's a big if in a year of major transition.
Head coach Lance Leipold promoted Jim Zebrowski to offensive coordinator (formerly QB coach and co-OC) and DK McDonald to defensive coordinator (formerly CB coach and co-DC), so there will be changes on both sides of the ball, even though there should be some holdover from last season.
One of the biggest changes, though, is the loss of running back Devin Neal (1,266 yards and 16 TDs), who was a major contributor and driver of the offense. Kansas will try to come close to that with senior back Daniel Hishaw Jr., who contributed 376 yards and three touchdowns as the team's third-leading rusher.
But getting Hishaw anywhere near Neal's numbers will be a tall task.
Add to that, the top nine receivers at Kansas are gone, leaving a wide open room and little known production for starting quarterback Jalon Daniels to throw to this season. The Jayhawks will hope transfers Bryson Canty (Columbia), Cam Pickett (Ball State) and Emmanuel Henderson (Alabama), among others, will be able to factor into the offense.
Daniels finished last season throwing for 2,454 yards and 14 touchdowns but threw 12 interceptions. He added 439 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He'll be tasked with leading the offense for another season, but in a more precarious situation.
On defense, Kansas only returns two starters — defensive end Dean Miller and defensive tackle DJ Withers — who are proven commodities and should help provide consistency in the trenches to a defense that was average last season.
Behind the duo, though, is a lot more unknowns. Kansas will have new starters in almost every position, pulling from last year's depth and the transfer portal. There's certainly talent that's coming into Lawrence, but it's just unknown how it will all work together this season.
The Jayhawks ranked 75th in run defense and 104th in pass defense, and were 108th in opponent third-down conversions last year, so there's definitely room for improvement.
Kansas could be a surprise team and factor into the Big 12 title race, but there's far more unknowns about this team that make it a challenge to predict. The margin for error is thin, especially with the loss of Neal in the backfield.
This Black Friday morning game will be intriguing to say the least.
