{"id":53419,"date":"2022-08-23T02:51:22","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T02:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-espns-sp-preseason-rankings-say-about-utah-byu-utah-state\/"},"modified":"2022-08-23T02:51:22","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T02:51:22","slug":"what-espns-sp-preseason-rankings-say-about-utah-byu-utah-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-espns-sp-preseason-rankings-say-about-utah-byu-utah-state\/","title":{"rendered":"What ESPN&#8217;s SP+ preseason rankings say about Utah, BYU, Utah State"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>From preseason polls to All-America teams to watch lists, there&#8217;s an endless supply of content to indulge in leading up to the start of the college football season.<\/p>\n<p>Add advanced metrics into that mix, too.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, ESPN&#8217;s Bill Connelly released his final SP+ preseason rankings for the 2022 season \u2014 the third version of the highly popular rankings this offseason, with the others released in May and February.<\/p>\n<p>The SP+ rankings are weighed on three different factors: returning production, recent recruiting and recent history. <\/p>\n<p>Connelly explains the rankings further, saying, \u201cAs 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 r\u00e9sum\u00e9 ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren&#8217;t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what the SP+ rankings project for the three Utah FBS schools this year.<\/p>\n<h3>Where does Utah football rank in the final SP+ preseason rankings?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"snTXyy\">The Utes rank No.  12 overall in the SP+ rankings, the same spot they occupied in May&#8217;s version.  By comparison, Utah is ranked No.  7 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll and No.  8 in the coaches poll.<\/li>\n<li id=\"QGsAC0\">The SP+ metric ranks Utah&#8217;s offense No.  9 in the country \u2014 moving up one spot from May \u2014 and the 38th-best defense, down seven spots. <\/li>\n<li id=\"9lij1Q\">The Utes are projected to win nine games, a bit underwhelming considering many see Utah as a College Football Playoff contender this season.<\/li>\n<li id=\"M9tcLM\">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).<\/li>\n<li id=\"f5Gpq5\">The Utes&#8217; season opening opponent, Florida, is ranked No.  26. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Where does BYU football rank in the final SP+ preseason rankings?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"xNYtKT\">The Cougars sneak into the Top 25 at No.  25, the same place they were ranked in May&#8217;s version of the SP+.  BYU is ranked No.  25 in the preseason AP poll but not the coaches poll.<\/li>\n<li id=\"51F5p8\">There has been a significant shift for BYU&#8217;s offense and defense in the metric.  While the Cougars&#8217; offense ranked 13th and the defense 49th back in May, they are both now at 28th nationally.<\/li>\n<li id=\"Gz7j91\">BYU is projected to win eight games in its final season as an independent, before joining the Big 12 in 2023.<\/li>\n<li id=\"ZJ55Tt\">The Cougars are rated below three of their opponents this season \u2014 No.  7 Notre Dame, No.  14 Arkansas and Oregon.<\/li>\n<li id=\"GvB4hI\">BYU sits behind four teams that will be a part of the Big 12 in 2023 \u2014 behind No.  4 Oklahoma, No.  16 Cincinnati, No.  19 Oklahoma State and No.  22 Texas \u2014 though Oklahoma and Texas are leaving for the SEC in a couple years.  Defending Big 12 champion Baylor, also on BYU&#8217;s schedule this year, is No.  30.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Where does Utah State football rank in the final SP+ preseason rankings?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"2NYRwN\">The Aggies rank 77th overall in the SP+, a 15-spot jump from their ranking back in May.<\/li>\n<li id=\"4m8pmP\">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.<\/li>\n<li id=\"1aUJVL\">The Aggies are projected to win just under seven games (at 6.9), after winning the Mountain West Conference championship last year.<\/li>\n<li id=\"K7pMCq\">Utah State faces two teams in the Top 25, No.  1 Alabama and BYU.<\/li>\n<li id=\"TL0bGe\">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.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><script><\/p>\n<p>  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({<\/p>\n<p>              appId : '528443600593200',<\/p>\n<p>          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };<\/p>\n<p>  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From preseason polls to All-America teams to watch lists, there&#8217;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&#8217;s Bill Connelly released his final SP+ preseason rankings for the 2022 season \u2014 the third version of &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-espns-sp-preseason-rankings-say-about-utah-byu-utah-state\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What ESPN&#8217;s SP+ preseason rankings say about Utah, BYU, Utah State<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64725,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/national-media-made-week-1-picks-for-utah-byu-utah-state\/","url_meta":{"origin":53419,"position":0},"title":"National media made Week 1 picks for Utah, BYU, Utah State","date":"September 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The experts agree: Utah football is in for a tough one when the Utes open their season at Florida on Saturday.Several national media outlets have released their predictions for Week 1 of the college football season, and while No. 7 Utah is favored going into the matchup at \u201cThe Swamp,\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46213,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/no-1-alabama-tops-preseason-ap-top-25-ohio-st-dawgs-next\/","url_meta":{"origin":53419,"position":1},"title":"no.  1 Alabama tops preseason AP Top 25;  Ohio St, &#8216;Dawgs next","date":"August 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"With two of the best players in the country leading the way \u2014 and a championship game loss as motivation \u2014 Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight season and ninth time overall.Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, national defensive player of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46541,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/no-1-alabama-tops-preseason-college-football-ap-top-25-for-9th-time-ohio-state-georgia-clemson-notre-dame-round-out-top-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":53419,"position":2},"title":"no.  1 Alabama tops preseason college football AP Top 25 for 9th time;  Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, Notre Dame round out top 5","date":"August 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"With two of the best players in the country leading the way -- and a championship-game loss as motivation -- Alabama is No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason college football poll for the second straight season and ninth time overall.Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, national defensive player of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51288,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/alabama-note-no-1-georgia-outside-top-10-in-colin-cowherds-preseason-top-25-rankings\/","url_meta":{"origin":53419,"position":3},"title":"Alabama note No.  1, Georgia outside top 10 in Colin Cowherd&#8217;s preseason top 25 rankings","date":"August 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Colin Cowherd is no stranger to releasing bold takes. Among his latest are his top-25 college football rankings, which do n't have Alabama at No. 1 and don't have the team that just won a national title even cracking the top 10. There are several questionable teams ahead of Georgia\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/deseret.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/ed0a2e2\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x1713%200%200\/resize\/1461x834!\/quality\/90\/?url=https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/7Xclsu0iddo6FGqWTS1YwVc8u84=\/0x0:3000x2000\/3000x2000\/filters:focal(1943x610:1944x611)\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_asset\/file\/22843857\/merlin_2883771.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}