From preseason polls to All-America teams to watch lists, there’s an endless supply of content to indulge in leading up to the start of the college football season.
Add advanced metrics into that mix, too.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Bill Connelly released his final SP+ preseason rankings for the 2022 season — the third version of the highly popular rankings this offseason, with the others released in May and February.
The SP+ rankings are weighed on three different factors: returning production, recent recruiting and recent history.
Connelly explains the rankings further, saying, “As always: SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year.
“These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.”
Here’s what the SP+ rankings project for the three Utah FBS schools this year.
Where does Utah football rank in the final SP+ preseason rankings?
- The Utes rank No. 12 overall in the SP+ rankings, the same spot they occupied in May’s version. By comparison, Utah is ranked No. 7 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 8 in the coaches poll.
- The SP+ metric ranks Utah’s offense No. 9 in the country — moving up one spot from May — and the 38th-best defense, down seven spots.
- The Utes are projected to win nine games, a bit underwhelming considering many see Utah as a College Football Playoff contender this season.
- Utah is the top Pac-12 team in the SP+ rankings, ahead of the only other conference team in the top 25, Oregon (24), as well as UCLA (36) and USC (46).
- The Utes’ season opening opponent, Florida, is ranked No. 26.
Where does BYU football rank in the final SP+ preseason rankings?
- The Cougars sneak into the Top 25 at No. 25, the same place they were ranked in May’s version of the SP+. BYU is ranked No. 25 in the preseason AP poll but not the coaches poll.
- There has been a significant shift for BYU’s offense and defense in the metric. While the Cougars’ offense ranked 13th and the defense 49th back in May, they are both now at 28th nationally.
- BYU is projected to win eight games in its final season as an independent, before joining the Big 12 in 2023.
- The Cougars are rated below three of their opponents this season — No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 14 Arkansas and Oregon.
- BYU sits behind four teams that will be a part of the Big 12 in 2023 — behind No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 16 Cincinnati, No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Texas — though Oklahoma and Texas are leaving for the SEC in a couple years. Defending Big 12 champion Baylor, also on BYU’s schedule this year, is No. 30.
Where does Utah State football rank in the final SP+ preseason rankings?
- The Aggies rank 77th overall in the SP+, a 15-spot jump from their ranking back in May.
- Utah State jumped in the metrics both on offense (from No. 73 to 55) and on defense (from No. 107 to 94) from their May standings.
- The Aggies are projected to win just under seven games (at 6.9), after winning the Mountain West Conference championship last year.
- Utah State faces two teams in the Top 25, No. 1 Alabama and BYU.
- The Aggies rank fifth among Mountain West schools, behind No. 35 Boise State, No. 45 Fresno State, No. 53 Air Force and No. 59 San Diego State.