CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Utah

7–⁠6 (3–⁠6 Pac-12), coached by Kyle Whittingham.

Schedule and results

Utah in 2017, game by game: won vs. North Dakota 37–16; won at BYU 19–13; won vs. San José State 54–16; won at Arizona 30–24; lost vs. Stanford 20–23; lost at No. 13 USC 27–28; lost vs. Arizona State 10–30; lost at Oregon 20–41; won vs. UCLA 48–17; lost vs. No. 19 Washington State 25–33; lost at No. 16 Washington 30–33; won vs. Colorado 34–13; won vs. West Virginia 30–14+38−21Won 37–16 vs. North Dakota+21North DakotaWon 19–13 at BYU+6BYUWon 54–16 vs. San José State+38San José StateWon 30–24 at Arizona+6ArizonaLost 20–23 vs. Stanford-3StanfordLost 27–28 at No. 13 USC-1No. 13 USCLost 10–30 vs. Arizona State-20Arizona StateLost 20–41 at Oregon-21OregonWon 48–17 vs. UCLA+31UCLALost 25–33 vs. No. 19 Washington State-8No. 19 Washington StateLost 30–33 at No. 16 Washington-3No. 16 WashingtonWon 34–13 vs. Colorado+21ColoradoWon 30–14 vs. West Virginia+16West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsNorth DakotaW 37–⁠1682%
Sep 9atBYUW 19–⁠1345%
Sep 16vsSan José StateW 54–⁠1685%
Sep 22atArizonaW 30–⁠2464%
Oct 7vsStanfordL 20–⁠2358%
Oct 14at13USCL 27–⁠2830%
Oct 21vsArizona StateL 10–⁠3076%
Oct 28atOregonL 20–⁠4153%
Nov 3vsUCLAW 48–⁠1763%
Nov 11vs19Washington StateL 25–⁠3352%
Nov 18at16WashingtonL 30–⁠3322%
Nov 25vsColoradoW 34–⁠1362%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsWest VirginiaHeart of Dallas BowlW 30–⁠1450%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 30–⁠14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 9th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 23
  2. Wk 5: 20
  3. Wk 6: 20

Lou Groza AwardMatt Gay, K

Consensus All-AmericanMatt Gay, K

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠6 9th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 20
Points
384–⁠301
Coach
Kyle Whittingham
Elo
1596 −3 this season
SP+ rating
12.0 No. 25 of 128; offense No. 53, defense No. 26, special teams No. 9
SRS
5.7 No. 42 of 130 in FBS
Returning
55% of last season’s EPA, No. 81 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 33 roster talent No. 39 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Troy Taylor
Defensive coordinator
Morgan Scalley
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense81st of 130
  • Defense41st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted83rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted35th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0646%1.0381st of 130
Defense0.0341%1.1641st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.03 def		46% off
40% def		—83rd off
35th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.7own 3116% allowed
Defense3.1own 3215% caused

CORE rating 1.3, 57th of 130 (offense -4.3, defense -5.6).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsTyler Huntley QB2,411 yds
Passing touchdownsTyler Huntley QB15 TD
Rushing yardsZack Moss RB1,173 yds
Rushing touchdownsZack Moss RB10 TD
Receiving yardsDarren Carrington II WR980 yds
Receiving touchdownsDarren Carrington II WR6 TD
TacklesKavika Luafatasaga LB75 tkl
SacksBradlee Anae DE6 sacks
InterceptionsJulian Blackmon DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Jaylon Johnson CB★★★★No. 81
Tyquez Hampton WR★★★No. 394
Bryan Thompson WR★★★No. 411
Javelin Guidry CB★★★No. 473
Michael Richardson OT★★★No. 622

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.855
Running backs13.00.849
Receivers53.00.864
Offensive line43.00.850
Defensive line23.00.857
Defensive backs43.00.853
Whole class173.00.856

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 6Kylie Fitts DEChicago Bears

Roster 126

The 2017 roster

126 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠111–⁠312
Washington7–⁠210–⁠316
Stanford7–⁠29–⁠520
Washington State6–⁠39–⁠4
Arizona State6–⁠37–⁠6
Arizona5–⁠47–⁠6
Oregon4–⁠57–⁠6
UCLA4–⁠56–⁠7
Utah3–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado2–⁠75–⁠7
California2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon State0–⁠91–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.