2018 Utah Utes Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football

2017 Record: 7-6

2018 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 7.0

2018 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Over'

If you are looking for an X-factor in the Pac-12 this season then you should cast your gaze to Salt Lake City. Kyle Whittingham has a squad full of 23-year-olds that are lurking as a potential spoiler for a lot of the big-name players in the conference. And anyone that's not careful will get smacked by this rugged, veteran squad.

The Utes have posted four straight winning seasons. Considering they made the jump to Big Boy Football only back in 2011, it has been an impressively short learning curve for Whittingham. The Utah coach, entering his 14 ^th season at the helm, has quietly built a Stanford-lite style football team that can compete with anyone in this league. It is a testament to this program that last year's 7-6 season was considered a down year after winning 28 games between 2014-2016.

Utah was actually a lot closer to a 10-win team last year than people realize. They lost to Stanford and at USC in back-to-back weeks by a combined four points. They then lost to Washington State by eight in a game in which they had seven turnovers. And the Utes followed that up with a tight three-point loss at Washington the next week.

If junior quarterback Tyler Huntley can make some strides this year then this offense will be in business. They were mediocre last year, finishing in the 50s and 60s nationally in most major rankings. But Huntley's dual-threat ability really gave Whittingham's offense a new look.

The Utes have four starters back on the offensive line and their two top running backs returning. They will need to find a replacement for top receiver Darren Carrington, who caught more passes than the next two leading receivers combined. But Huntley will be working with three receivers that caught at least 20 balls last year.

Defensively, Utah was No. 25 in the country in yards allowed. They have six starters back, with almost all of them in the back seven. The key position group for Utah's team is the defensive line. They need some young guys to step up at the point of attack.

Utah has to play a roster of difficult opponents this year. But the Utes do have a favorable schedule, drawing all of their toughest opponents at home. And that is why they are going to be a major factor, for good or ill, in the Pac-12 race.

The Utes open with Weber State, a team they beat 70-7 back in 2013. They then travel to face one of the MAC's best teams, a Northern Illinois squad that beat Nebraska just last year.

Sept. 15 the Utes welcome North favorite Washington to SLC. Utah also gets Arizona (Oct. 12), USC (Oct. 20), Oregon (Nov. 10) and rival BYU (Nov. 24) all at home this season. This is a Utah program that has gone a rock solid 45-18 at home over the last 10 years.

Utah does have to travel to Stanford (Oct. 6). But the rest of the road games will be winnable, albeit challenging.

Utah is going to upset one or two of those top-tier teams that have to come to Rice-Eccles. But Utah's season might be defined by how well they avoid upsets as opposed to dishing them out. I think that this team will be able to get to nine wins. And there is a lot of wiggle room if I am wrong. But I like Whittingham and I like this team, and I can see them going 'over'.

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