Utah Football: Way-Too-Early Look At 2022 Schedule
Jan 7, 2022, 4:56 PM
Cameron Rising #7 of the Utah Utes rushes during the second quarter of the Rose Bowl game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2022 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – After a historic season, the Utah football program is geared up for another strong season in 2022 and could make another run to Pasadena.
Utah won their first ever Pac-12 title by beating Oregon, which clinched their first appearance in the Rose Bowl, where they fell to Ohio State, 48-45.
Here is a way-too-early look at Utah football’s 2022 schedule:
@ Florida, September 3
The Gators are in somewhat of a rebuild. They fired former Utah assistant Dan Mullen before the regular season ended. Now, they give the reigns to Billy Napier, who hopes to bring Gator Nation the same success that he brought to Louisiana.
The Utes and Gators met once before and that was in 1977 when Florida beat Utah 38-29 in the Sunshine State. Fun little side note that developed recently for this game is the addition of linebacker Mohamoud Diabate for Utah, who spent three seasons with Florida before transferring to Salt Lake City.
Should be a great atmosphere as The Swamp is one of the top college football environments in the country. Utah will make their fifth appearance in SEC country. The other four times came in 1975 at Tennessee, 1977 at Florida, 1979 and 1984 at Tennessee.
𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚.#GoGators pic.twitter.com/bcJidSpeDc
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 7, 2021
vs. Southern Utah, September 10
A new era will begin for the Southern Utah Thunderbirds for more than one reason. SUU will start their first season in the Western Athletic Conference in 2022. They also hired a new head football coach, bringing in DeLane Fitzgerald from Frostburg State.
"I don't think about anything but football" – Coach @delanefitz
The new ERA has begun! #StormTheSky pic.twitter.com/Fv7zSWoqtl
— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) December 17, 2021
vs. San Diego State, September 17
Some players from the 2021 team could have this game circled on their calendar as a revenge game. Last season, SDSU held off Utah in triple overtime in Carson, California. That was the game that officially started the Cam Rising era. Charlie Brewer was benched in the third quarter and Rising nearly led Utah to a massive comeback victory.
The Aztecs finished the 2021 season with a 12-2 record. They lost to Utah State in the Mountain West Championship Game, while beating UTSA in the Frisco Bowl.
How sweet it is! The Aztecs secure their record 12th victory of the season after defeating UTSA in the @FriscoBowlGame on Tuesday. Looking forward to continuing our winning in our new home next year!#GoAztecs | #JustBeatUTSA pic.twitter.com/fubtCoeo53
— San Diego State Football (@AztecFB) December 22, 2021
@ Arizona State, September 24
It’s been a tough year for Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils. They started the season with a 5-1 record and was ranked before they faced Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in October. The Utes beat ASU 35-21. Arizona State went 3-2 the rest of the way before losing to Wisconsin in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Good news for Edwards and ASU is that quarterback Jayden Daniels is coming back for the 2022 season. Bad news is that some of their top talent left the program, including wide receiver Johnny Wilson (Florida State), cornerback Tommi Hill (Nebraska), DE Jordan Banks and RB DeaMonte Trayanum (Ohio State). Offensive lineman Dohnovan West declared for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Edwards will need to reload the roster with the transfer portal and recruiting but it might not be ASU’s season to win the south division.
Jayden’s back. pic.twitter.com/Ep4hVTnFip
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) December 2, 2021
vs. Oregon State, October 1
Things were good for Jonathan Smith and Oregon State in 2021. They went to a bowl game for the first time since 2013 with a 7-5 record. The rebuild process in Corvallis is on schedule as Smith has done a great job making OSU competitive again, even though they lost to Utah State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.
The Beavers were the only Pac-12 team to beat Utah last year when they defeated the Utes 42-34 at Reeser Stadium. As far as players returning in 2022, quarterback Chance Nolan will be back and is expected to improve his game. OSU will need to find another star running back with B.J. Baylor heading to the NFL, along with tight end Teagan Quitoriano and linebacker Avery Roberts.
Good news is that their defense will still be full of talent with safety Jaydon Grant announcing that he is returning for one more season.
out with the old… pic.twitter.com/b3OtuRJzH6
— Oregon State Football (@BeaverFootball) January 7, 2022
@ UCLA, October 8
The Bruins had their best season under Chip Kelly in 2021, finishing with an 8-4 record. They couldn’t finish their season in a bowl game after the Holiday Bowl was canceled hours before kickoff. As of right now, tight end Greg Dulcich, wide receiver Kyle Philips, offensive lineman Alec Anderson, defensive back Cam Johnson, linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath and cornerback Qwuantrezz Knight have all declared for the NFL Draft.
Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has yet to make an announcement on his future with the Bruins. They do get stud running back Zach Charbonnet back after a breakout season in 2021.
Utah beat UCLA at Rice-Eccles Stadium, 44-24 on October 30.
A statement from @MartinJarmond. pic.twitter.com/PRwYMgzmUU
— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics) December 28, 2021
vs. USC, October 15
A new era has begun in Los Angeles after Lincoln Riley was named the head coach after leaving Oklahoma. He brought some big time recruits with him, including a five-star safety, quarterback and running back.
Kedon Slovis entered the transfer portal, while wide receiver Drake London, DE Drake Jackson, cornerback Chris Steele, defensive back Isaac Taylor-Stuart and linebacker Kana’i Mauga have all declared for the NFL Draft.
Riley will have former Corner Canyon star Jaxson Dart, along with stud offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees back for the 2022 season. He also picked up Utah’s running back coach Kiel McDonald for the same position at USC.
It will be interesting to see how quick Riley and his staff can turnaround the program.
The numbers speak for themselves.#FightOn✌️ pic.twitter.com/FFqrvRDUi9
— USC Football (@USC_FB) December 2, 2021
@ Washington State, October 29
A new coaching staff in Pullman after Nick Rolovich was fired for not complying with the state vaccine mandate. Jake Dickert took over as the interim head coach and led the Cougars to a solid end of the season before being named the permanent head coach.
Washington State ended the season with a 7-6 record, losing to Central Michigan in the Sun Bowl.
Former Lehi star quarterback Cammon Cooper has entered the portal and in surprising news, Jayden de Laura entered the portal on January 7. Running back Max Borghi will not be returning as well. The Cougars picked up some talented players in the transfer portal from Nevada and Virginia.
Utah beat Wazzu 24-13 at home on September 25.
The man with the plan…Washington State's 34th Head Coach,@CoachDickert 🤝#GoCougs | #BackHome pic.twitter.com/rJ4wlZ2YY4
— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) December 3, 2021
vs. Arizona, November 5
Jedd Fisch knew what he was getting himself into by taking the head coaching job at Arizona last off-season. Arizona finished the season with a 1-11 record, with their only win coming against a Cal team that was depleted due to COVID-19 cases and contact tracing.
WR Stanley Berryhill III is the only player to declare for the NFL Draft. The quarterback room is returning Gunner Cruz, Jordan McCloud, Will Plummer and company for the 2022 season.
Their lead running back Michael Wiley will be back for the Wildcats as well. Coach Fisch did get a tremendous pickup in the transfer portal from Michigan LB Anthony Solomon.
Utah beat Arizona 38-29 in Tucson on November 13.
As we close out 2021, we look back on some of the best moments from this season.
A special thank you to everyone involved in the program and our fans for all their support throughout the year. We look forward to seeing you all in 2022.#ItsPersonal #BearDown pic.twitter.com/qMnHAmAVzb
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) December 31, 2021
vs. Stanford, November 12
The 2021 season was the worst under David Shaw with a 3-9 record. Despite the record, they have found their quarterback of the future in Tanner McKee. Running back trio Nathaniel Peat, Austin Jones and E.J. Smith are back for the 2022 season.
They added Oklahoma safety Patrick Fields to their program.
Star defensive lineman Thomas Booker is off to the NFL, while two key players left the program in linebacker Gabe Reid and fullback Houston Heimuli (BYU).
Utah knocked off Stanford 52-7 in Palo Alto on November 5.
Thank you, Stanford. 🤘🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/nMVQNWFBhW
— Thomas Booker (@TheThomasBooker) December 22, 2021
@ Oregon, November 19
It was one eventful season for the Oregon Ducks. They started with a big win over Ohio State in Columbus in the second week of the season. They were ranked in the top 10 after starting the year 4-0. The Ducks hit a minor bump after losing to Stanford but bounced back with five straight wins and was set up to go to the College Football Playoff if they ran the table.
That was until the No. 3 Ducks came to Salt Lake City and suffered a 38-7 loss to the Utes. They beat their rival Oregon State in the regular season finale and would have a rematch with Utah in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 title. Utah beat Oregon 38-10. Days later, Mario Cristobal left the program to become the head coach of his alma mater Miami.
The Ducks made an out-of-the-box hire by bringing in Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. Meanwhile, they lost to Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl to finish the season with a 10-4 record, losing three of their last four games.
Anthony Brown won’t return at quarterback, which many thought the job would go to rising star Ty Thompson but a QB competition will take place in the fall after Auburn signal caller Bo Nix transferred to Oregon.
Other key players returning include, C.J. Verdell, Travis Dye, Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe, Kris Hutson among others. It’s not a bad spot for Lanning to be in as he begins his first season as a college football head coach.
Safety Verone McKinley III, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, wide receiver Devon Williams and cornerback MyKael Wright all have declared for the NFL Draft.
Got our guy. @CoachDanLanning is the 35th head coach in Oregon football history! #GoDucks
More: https://t.co/LDBKp2iOgh pic.twitter.com/6AAZAkVz0N
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) December 12, 2021
@ Colorado, November 26
After a surprisingly successful season in 2020, Colorado struggled in 2021 with a 4-8 record. Now, as the Buffs were looking to start the rebuild, they had some key players go into the transfer portal, including wide receiver Brenden Rice, safeties Christian Gonzalez and Mark Perry, and wide receiver La’Vontae Shenault.
Utah beat Colorado 28-13 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
It’s safe to say that it will be another down year for the Buffs in Boulder.
New Buffs on campus 🦬 pic.twitter.com/I7RLbAor2A
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) January 6, 2022
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
