Utes back in the top ten. Do we deserve to be there?

I’d say that what backs us up is the fact the Florida is currently ranked after their win yesterday and realistically could win their next 4

FWIW, Florida cracked the AP’s Top-25, so in that regard, we HAD beaten a ranked opponent.

Now it remains to be seen if the Gators manage to REMAIN in that poll. And it’s not likely they’ll be challenged very much next week when they host UNC-Charlotte Saturday evening, so I wouldn’t expect them to lose their spot in next week’s poll.

Like you, I don’t know yet, if we’re a “bonafide” Top-10 team, but we’ve definitely made a case for it. Especially considering the fact that we have yet to field a team with fewer than 9 starters out.

My thoughts mirror yours almost exactly. I think if Rising comes back, the Utes have a shot to be top 10. Add the injured DL players and i’d say it’s a lock. Had FL been blown out by TN, I’d say the Utes do not deserve to be there, but now it appears to be an even better win for the Utes, regardless of what DJ has to say about it.

FWIW, the AP has the Utes at 11 while the coaches are 10

Utah pretty much dominated Florida at home. That is the reason Utah is being raised up.
It is ranking logic.

I don’t think so. This is one of those weird cases where despite having impressive wins, we aren’t a top team at the moment. It’s incredibly impressive that we bullied Florida with so many missing starters. It was impressive to beat a P5 team on the road on a 130 degree field with a 3rd and 4th string QB. However, we still have to judge a team by how good they are at the moment. Even if we beat UCLA and OSU without Cam Rising, I would be hesitant to say Utah is a top 10 team, because those would probably be ugly wins.

Hopefully we get Cam Rising back at near 100% health soon, because we can be a top 10 or even top 6 team with him and Kuithe.

I think we deserve the ranking we currently have.

Do I think we’ll stay where we are if Cam never comes back? I sure don’t. But if Cam does come back sooner than later and is playing healthy, I think we’re a team that will hang with any other top 10 team, and my fingers are crossed we’ll do more than just hang.

Our defense alone makes us Top-20. And we have a solid enough offense with Johnson coming along. Honestly, I look at those teams just behind us in the rankings and there aren’t many that I think are better, maybe on par, but not better. I’d say probably Alabama and maybe Oregon, but Bama doesn’t deserve to be higher with the way they’ve played. So I’m very comfortable with the Utes at 10.

Probably. Ratings are largely based on the previous season and at this point in the year, that’s about all you can do. The FL win over Tenn. Was a nice boost and our defense is solid so far. I think it’s deserved as of now but don’t expect it to last unless we find some offense. Even if our defense holds the top offenses in the p12 to 70% of their average, which historically is excellent, we’d still be giving up approx.350yrs passing and 2.8 TD and 125 yrds rushing with 1.2 TD. Throw in a couple FGs here and there and giving up 31 points would be a really good defensive showing against UW, USC, OU, OSU. Hard to see this offense putting up 32+ against those teams. This week will show were we really are.

My question is why/how come Oregon jumps the Utes in the polls. They have not played anyone and just put a bunch of style points up on high school teams I guess that means a lot for the voters.

being Xth ranked != being Xth best.

We deserve the ranking probably even higher given SOS.

No idea where we fit in terms of being the best. AP/Coaches don’t really measure that anyway.

Only the playoff rankings that don’t come out until later in the year when teams are a little more known really even try to do it and it’s still a lot of a beauty pageant.

After 3 weeks with few notable games, polls are based more on conjecture than fact. There are always a handful of teams that start off highly ranked and end up unranked.
With that, Utah has as good of an argument as anyone to be in the top ten in week 3. I see the ranking as a confirmation that the Ute football program is gaining consistent nation respect.