CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Utah

8–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Pac-12), coached by Kyle Whittingham.

Schedule and results

Utah in 2023, game by game: won vs. Florida 24–11; won at Baylor 20–13; won vs. Weber State 31–7; won vs. No. 22 UCLA 14–7; lost at No. 19 Oregon State 7–21; won vs. California 34–14; won at No. 18 USC 34–32; lost vs. No. 8 Oregon 6–35; won vs. Arizona State 55–3; lost at No. 5 Washington 28–35; lost at No. 19 Arizona 18–42; won vs. Colorado 23–17; lost vs. Northwestern 7–14+52−29Won 24–11 vs. Florida+13FloridaWon 20–13 at Baylor+7BaylorWon 31–7 vs. Weber State+24Weber StateWon 14–7 vs. No. 22 UCLA+7No. 22 UCLALost 7–21 at No. 19 Oregon State-14No. 19 Oregon StateWon 34–14 vs. California+20CaliforniaWon 34–32 at No. 18 USC+2No. 18 USCLost 6–35 vs. No. 8 Oregon-29No. 8 OregonWon 55–3 vs. Arizona State+52Arizona StateLost 28–35 at No. 5 Washington-7No. 5 WashingtonLost 18–42 at No. 19 Arizona-24No. 19 ArizonaWon 23–17 vs. Colorado+6ColoradoLost 7–14 vs. Northwestern-7Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsFloridaW 24–⁠1173%
Sep 9atBaylorW 20–⁠1361%
Sep 16vsWeber StateW 31–⁠781%
Sep 23vs22UCLAW 14–⁠763%
Sep 29at19Oregon StateL 7–⁠2149%
Oct 14vsCaliforniaW 34–⁠1480%
Oct 21at18USCW 34–⁠3247%
Oct 28vs8OregonL 6–⁠3558%
Nov 4vsArizona StateW 55–⁠384%
Nov 11at5WashingtonL 28–⁠3530%
Nov 18at19ArizonaL 18–⁠4251%
Nov 25vsColoradoW 23–⁠1785%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsNorthwesternLas Vegas BowlL 7–⁠1467%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 14–⁠7 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 14
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 18
  7. Wk 7: 16
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 13
  10. Wk 10: 18
  11. Wk 11: 13
  12. Wk 12: 16

Consensus All-AmericanJonah Elliss, DL

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 4th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
301–⁠251
Coach
Kyle Whittingham
Elo
1583 −47 this season
SP+ rating
8.5 No. 32 of 133; offense No. 65, defense No. 24, special teams No. 31
SRS
7.1 No. 33 of 133 in FBS
Returning
72% of last season’s EPA, No. 27 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 20 roster talent No. 33 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Andy Ludwig
Defensive coordinator
Morgan Scalley
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense106th of 133
  • Defense34th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted18th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0140%1.13106th of 133
Defense0.0436%1.3734th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.01 def		41% off
34% def		—103rd off
18th 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
Offense3.3own 3015% allowed
Defense3.5own 2818% caused

CORE rating 1.1, 56th of 133 (offense -7.3, defense -8.4).

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 yardsBryson Barnes QB1,572 yds
Passing touchdownsBryson Barnes QB12 TD
Rushing yardsJa’Quinden Jackson RB797 yds
Rushing touchdownsJa’Quinden Jackson RB4 TD
Receiving yardsDevaughn Vele WR593 yds
Receiving touchdownsDevaughn Vele WR3 TD
TacklesLevani Damuni LB88 tkl
SacksJonah Elliss DE11.5 sacks
InterceptionsCole Bishop S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Spencer Fano OT★★★★No. 95
Caleb Lomu OT★★★★No. 119
C.J. Blocker CB★★★★No. 237
Mikey Matthews WR★★★★No. 272
John Randle Jr. RB★★★★No. 331
Smith Snowden CB★★★★No. 356
Dijon Stanley ATH★★★★No. 430

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Running backs23.50.894
Receivers43.30.869
Offensive line33.70.928
Defensive line23.00.856
Linebackers33.00.853
Defensive backs33.70.898
Athletes and specialists23.50.878
Whole class203.40.882

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 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 2Cole Bishop SBuffalo Bills
Rd 3Jonah Elliss DEDenver Broncos
Rd 4Sione Vaki SDetroit Lions
Rd 6Sataoa Laumea OGSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Devaughn Vele WRDenver Broncos

Roster 122

The 2023 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 8

The 2023 portal
Miles Battle CB★★★★from Ole Miss
Levani Damuni LB★★★★from Stanford
Logan Fano DE★★★★from BYU
Landen King TE★★★from Auburn
Mycah Pittman WR★★★from Florida State
Emery Simmons WR★★★from Indiana
Briton Allen S★★★from USC
Cole Becker K★★from Colorado

Transfers out 18

Paul Maile OL★★★to BYU
Mason Tufaga LB★★★to Oregon State
Tyler Knaak OT★★★to Nebraska
Ethan Calvert LB★★★★to Cal Poly
Ricky Parks RB★★★★no new school on file
Andrew Mata’afa LB★★★to South Florida
Caine Savage CB★★★no new school on file
Chris Reed WR★★★no new school on file
Jadon Pearson S★★★returned to Utah
Landon Morris TE★★★to Temple
Lolani Langi LB★★★no new school on file
Malone Mataele CB★★★to Utah State

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington9–⁠014–⁠12
Oregon8–⁠112–⁠26
Arizona7–⁠210–⁠311
Utah5–⁠48–⁠5
USC5–⁠48–⁠5
Oregon State5–⁠48–⁠5
UCLA4–⁠58–⁠5
California4–⁠56–⁠7
Washington State2–⁠75–⁠7
Arizona State2–⁠73–⁠9
Stanford2–⁠73–⁠9
Colorado1–⁠84–⁠8

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