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Big 12 media days: Utah football introduces itself to new conference

By Jared Lloyd - | Jul 11, 2024
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Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham speaks during the Big 12 NCAA college football media days in Las Vegas, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)
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Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman speaks during the Big 12 NCAA college football media days in Las Vegas, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)
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Baylor head coach Dave Aranda speaks during Big 12 NCAA college football media days in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

Each of the 16 football teams in the Big 12 got the chance to speak to reporters at the Big 12 media days at Allegient Stadium in Las Vegas this week.

The most pertinent information for BYU fans came from Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake and the BYU players in attendance, but also of interest is what was said by the nine opponents the Cougars will face this fall.

Here is the first in a three-part series looking at what three of BYU’s opponents focused on, starting with every Cougar’s favorite rival: Utah.

Utah Utes

While there were plenty of questions about how the Utes will fit into their new conference, the biggest buzz might have been when head coach Kyle Whittingham appeared to make a definitive statement about his future.

“We’re going to open here in 2027 against the Miami Hurricanes,” Whittingham said on Tuesday when asked about playing in Las Vegas. “I probably won’t be sitting here, but somebody will be, and that’s going to be a great opportunity again to come to Vegas and play a game.”

It may not have been a retirement announcement, but it did indicate that Whittingham sees himself nearing the end of his tenure at Utah.

His next challenge, though, is the transition to the Big 12 and what the Utes need to do to be successful.

“This is actually the fourth conference I’ve been in since I’ve been at Utah,” Whittingham said. “We were in the WAC, the Mountain West, the Pac-12, and now the Big 12. So it’s nothing new for

me personally as far as changing leagues.

“But we feel like we’ve got a roster that’s equipped to compete right away. Obviously the media feels the same way as far as being picked the favorite. I think that’s a show of respect to our players and coaches that have done a great job competing through the years. But in the final analysis, that doesn’t mean anything. Obviously you’ve got to play the games, and our players are fully aware of that.”

He said the bottom line is that Utah is “ecstatic to be in the Big 12 and can’t wait to get going. This signifies that the season is right around the corner when you get to media days.”

Utah starts the season hosting Southern Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Aug. 29. The Utes will welcome BYU to Salt Lake City on Nov. 9.

Kansas State Wildcats

The Cougars may not face the team the media crowned as favorites in the preseason poll until November, but they will get a chance to make a statement when they host the No. 2-ranked team, Kansas State, to start Big 12 play on Sept. 21.

Wildcat head coach Chris Klieman said on Tuesday that his team isn’t going to be too worried about preseason accolades (the team poll) or snubs (no KSU players were on the preseason All-Conference team).

“I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to it, to be honest with you,” Klieman said. “Everybody sees it, but it’s not something that we talk about an awful lot. I hope it shows people the overall depth and value of our roster and how important our role players are. If you’re a successful team, individual honors at the end of the season are going to come.”

He was asked about the challenge of facing five teams in the Big 12 that the Wildcats have never played before (although the game against Arizona doesn’t count as a conference game).

“It gave us a lot more work in the summer,” Klieman said. “We don’t have a database like you’d have with a Texas Tech or a Baylor or a TCU. We’ve got five new schools, with BYU and Cincinnati having been in our league, but we didn’t play them last year so we don’t have much data on them. Then

we’ve got the two Arizona schools and Colorado.

“While that means extra work, I think there is excitement, though, for the fans. Whether it’s us going to Provo and seeing a great environment — because I’ve been there and I know it’s a phenomenal environment — or going to Boulder and seeing a great environment or those

other schools potentially coming to our place and seeing a great environment in Manhattan. I think the fan base of all the schools are going to be excited because they’re going to see really good football, and they’re going to see some different teams that they haven’t seen throughout the years.”

Baylor Bears

Baylor has gone through some hard times since they defeated BYU in Waco in 2021 on their way to a Big 12 title, a Sugar Bowl win and a Top 5 finish, going 6-7 in 2022 and 3-9 in 2023.

Head coach Dave Aranda needs to get things headed the right direction, so he has made some significant changes.

“I’m excited about this group of players and the staff that we’ve put around them,” Aranda said on Wednesday. “There has been an edge in our building since January, and it’s been healthy. It’s been way evident. There’s a belief that we’re going to win, and that’s cool to see.”

He felt like the struggles of last fall forced him to look at his approach to the program and go a different direction.

“I look at the lessons from last year showing up in the moves that we made this year,” Aranda said. “We’re fully invested now in the transfer portal. We’re fully invested with name, image, and likeness. I’m fully invested in football, which I think is probably the No. 1 thing.

“I think offensive line-wise, we were really able to bring in some people who can contribute and can help shore up a group that really shouldn’t have been playing. They were too young to play and we should have used the portal the year before.”

After playing BYU and Utah in non-conference games in the past three years, Baylor will split the difference in 2024. The Bears will play the Utes in Salt Lake City on Sept. 7 in a previously scheduled matchup that will not count in the conference standings, then host the Cougars again in Waco in a league matchup on Sept. 28.