Kyle Whittingham expresses excitement for Utah to control its playoff destiny

Utah has as clear a path as ever to the College Football Playoff in 2024. In the Big 12 and with a 12-team format, the Utes are expected to contend for the leagues automatic bid into the postseason.

It’s a position that head coach Kyle Whittingham is happy to be in, after years of trying to break a glass ceiling in the Pac-12. In years past, just winning the league title game was not enough; now, it is.

“We’re excited about that, knowing that we control our own destiny, we don’t have to rely on some committee saying, ‘Hey, yeah, you get to go play in the playoffs,'” Whittingham. “And so being able to control our own destiny and prove it on the field is something that is a huge motivational factor for our team. Because you’re right, we would have been in under this current format several times in the not too distant future.”

In 2021 and 2022, Utah won the Pac-12 championship. Neither time did the Utes appear in the CFP, ranked too low and carrying too many losses relative to other contenders. But under the new model, they’d get an auto-bid and a bye.

So it’s only understandable that Whittingham is excited about the chance for Utah to have full control over its path to the CFP.

Whittingham compared the Utes to one of their new Big 12 rivals

The Utes are entering the Big 12 for 2024. For Whittingham, it’s his third conference as the head coach of the Utes but he already is finding some similarities to other teams in the Big 12.

In particular, at Big 12 Media Days, Whittingham pointed out that he sees similarities between his Utah program and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

“Oklahoma State,” Kyle Whittingham said. “I think that their physical brand of football, Coach [Mike] Gundy‘s committed to the run game. We’ve been at our respective schools within days of each other. I mean, we — there’s a lot of parallels between those two programs.”

At one point, the Big 12 was a conference known for its high-flying offenses and passing attacks. However, that’s a trend that has started to change in recent years. A lot more teams have become power running teams and Utah fits into that mold well as the Utes move into the conference. Certainly, the Cowboys behind Ollie Gordon, are one of those teams.

Utah comes into the Big 12 as one of the favorites to win the conference. The Utes are the favorite in the preseason media poll, with Oklahoma State sitting at third in the same poll.