Utah HC Kyle Whittingham makes his opinion clear on the 12-team College Football Playoff format
Utah Utes coach Kyle Whittingham, who was recently named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List which honors the best college football coach, showed the optimism surrounding the program during the Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
The Utes coach was not daunted by being one of the favorites for the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, instead exuding confidence that his team could make it in.
One of the reasons is the return of experienced quarterback Cam Rising, who was injured last season.
"The state that our program is at, we're playing for championships," Whittingham said. "That's our objective each and every year, and as long as I'm here, that's not going to change. And the beauty of this now is, if you win your conference championship, you're in the playoffs, you don't have to have some committee vote you in. You're in.
“That’s the biggest factor for us this season is to have Cam back at quarterback. His overall health is as good as it could be right now. He’s the alpha dog of the football team, the unquestioned leader, and we’ve got to keep him upright this year. If we keep him upright, we got a really good chance.”
Kyle Whittingham addresses future at Big 12 Media Days
A week ago, Utah Utes athletic director Mark Harlan named defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley as the successor to Kyle Whittingham when he finally decides to retire.
During the Big 12 Media Days, Whittingham addressed his future after the news of his successor broke last week.
“Yeah, I feel like it,” Kyle Whittingham said. “I feel good. The excitement of going into a new conference is much like when we went to the Pac-12,; that was exciting stuff. I feel the same way this time around.
“Morgan is an exceptional football coach. He’s a he’s a proven commodity. He’s a Utah guy, played high school ball in the state of Utah, played at Utah, jumped right into coaching. To me, it’s very comforting for when that transition time does occur and it’s time for new leadership.”
Kyle Whittingham also said that influential quarterback Cam Rising and experienced tight end Brant Kuithe are fully healthy heading into the season which should come as a huge boost to the Utes and make Utah one of the favorites for the Big 12 championship.
Should 2024 be his last year as coach of Utah, Whittingham will hope to go out with a bang with all the signs pointing towards a successful season.