Kyle Whittingham talks possibility of third-straight Pac-12 championship

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham knew the second Pac-12 Championship victory in a row was special. But a third title would mean history.

No team in the conference ever won three straight titles and the Utes certainly have a capable football team to do it. Standing in their way are plenty of worthy opponents, such as USC, Oregon and Washington.

As far as the notion of three straight titles entering their minds, Whittingham didn’t deny it.

“Oh it sure does,” Whittingham told On3. “And we talked about that. That’s not anything we hide from. We’re back to back champs nobody, since the (beginning) of the Pac-12 has ever won three in a row, so that would be something. That would be awesome if we can accomplish that and that certainly is one of our goals and given the personnel that we got coming back, it should be very realistic.”

Utah beat USC twice last season, including in the Pac-12 title game. The Trojans, along with UCLA, will vacate the conference for the Big Ten after the season.

As far as beating out USC, and UCLA for that matter, one more time before they leave, that’s not of top priority exactly for Whittingham and Utah.

“It’s not on our radar right now,” Whittingham said. “It hasn’t been talked about and you talk about the one game at a time (mantra), that does come into play when you’re talking about specific opponents. All we’re concerned with at this point is Florida. And, you know, obviously we know our big picture goals, but we haven’t gotten ahead of that and worried about any of the teams in particular at this point in time.”

Always a pleasure to talk to my man @UtahCoachWhitt about the Utes. Dove into spring practice standouts, QB Cam Rising and chasing history!@On3sports x @Utah_Football

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— Nick Kosko (@nickkosko59) April 18, 2023

Whittingham and Utah arguably have a better chance to win the conference this year than last. But the coach expected the talk to be about other contenders again.

“I’m pretty sure when the media days come, the talk is going to be about those other schools and we’ll once again be an afterthought,” Whittingham said. “When and if that occurs, we will definitely embrace that role (of the underdog).”

The Pac-12 in 2024 will look vastly different. There are questions of who will come into the conference and potentially who will also leave.

As far as Whittingham and Utah are concerned, they’re Pac-12, or whatever the number, through and through.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be different,” Whittingham said of a new-look Pac-12. “I mean, they were the mainstays of the Pac since its inception back, you know, whenever it was, you know, 100 years ago or whatever, whatever the history of it is. And so it’ll be a different look, without a doubt. You know, we as a conference are eagerly awaiting the, you know, the TV deal that should be coming up in the next one to three months. That’ll give us a lot of indication of where we are as a conference, but we’re looking forward to being strong members of the Pac-whatever, you know, when it’s all said and done.

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“I think we’re going to add a team or two so, whenever the dust settles, we’re excited to be in the Pac-12. And right now, that’s our mindset.”