The Athletic's bold prediction about Utah football's preseason AP Top 25 Poll ranking

The preseason AP Top 25 poll was released on Monday. As you can imagine, opinions were flying about if the voters got it right or wrong. The Athletic's David Ubben revealed his feelings about the Utah Utes being in the rankings at No. 21. He claimed the Utes were overrated for a few reasons. This will be a different team from years past, but new head coach Morgan Scalley is ready to go to work. Utah has been voted into the AP Preseason Top 25 in six of the last seven seasons. Ubben applauded the Utes for keeping quarterback Devon Dampier and running back Wayshawn Parker. He also pointed out that Kyle Whittingham, offensive coordinator Jason Beck and edge rusher John Henry Daley are at Michigan. "The defense had to rebuild with transfers, but it’s hard to imagine the talent level is the same as it was a season ago," Ubben wrote. Utah enters the season with some unknowns. Whittingham tried to stay competitive in the Big 12, winning 10 of the 11 games last year. Even with a coaching change, the Utes are right where they belong with the opportunity to turn some heads. As for the rest of the rankings, Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas make up the top five. Indiana, the defending national champions, was at No. 6. The highest-ranked Big 12 team is Texas Tech at No. 12. Could this be the Red Raiders' chance to repeat as conference champs? BYU isn't far behind at No. 14 overall. The Holy War between Utah and BYU on Nov. 7 will have some expected fireworks. But there will also be some changes in the rankings when all is said and done. Either team could put themselves in a great position for the Big 12 title race. As it stands currently, Utah wll face two ranked opponents in three weeks in the second half of the upcoming season. The Utes will face No. 23 Houston on Oct. 24. We'll see where Scalley's squad stands after hitting a difficult stretch. One of the biggest advantages is a friendly schedule that features one road trip in the first five weeks of the season. While Utah can celebratg in the AP poll to start the season, the Clemson Tigers are out. This is the first Dabo Swinney-led team to enter the season unranked. However, one of the biggest underrated teams is Texas. Arch Manning and a new cast of talented players could make up one of the best rosters in college football. Utah opens the 2026 college football season at home against Idaho on Thursday, Sept. 3. More Utah Utes News: Where Utah ranked in Phil Steele’s College Football preseason poll Utah football is all over social media after film session catches attention of NFL veteran Joe D'Orazio sends strong message to recruits: 'Utah puts people in the NFL