Utah absolutely lives up to the preseason hype.
I posted this somewhere else:
Here is an annoying misconception about Utah: Utah doesn’t live up to preseason hype.
Utah was picked to win the PAC-12 in 2022. They won the PAC-12 in 2022.
Hell, since 2004, Utah finished ranked in the AP poll lower than their preseason rank three times…in 2019, 2022 and 2023. In 2019 they went from 14 to 15. OOOOOooooohhhhh. So disappointing. In 2022 they won the PAC-12. They were #7 preseason AP and finished #10. And last year when, at one point, they had 17 starters injured. Those were Utah’s biggest years of “not living up to preseason expectations”.
Season – Preseason Rank – Postseason Rank
04 – 20 – 4
05/06/07 – NR – NR
08 – 22 – 2
09 – 19 – 18
10 – 20 – 20
11/12/13 – NR – NR
14 – NR – 21
15 – NR – 17
16 – NR – 23
17/18 – NR – NR
19 – 14 – 15
21 – 24 – 12
22 – 7 – 10
23 – 14 – NR
If anything, think of what Utah’s preseason hype is…that is Utah’s floor. Because Utah is constantly underrated…even when rated well.
Utah @ 
Baylor 
.
