Can't Wait For Saturday After hiring one of its own, Utah figures to keep on rolling
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Jul. 24—
Once again, I will represent the state of Illinois on The Associated Press AP Top 25 panel. It is an honor and one of my favorite parts of the job I have been doing for 38 years.
Of course, some of you won't like how I rank the teams each week and that's cool. We are all entitled to our opinions. I will take any criticism you want to deliver. If you make a convincing argument, I will change my mind.
The poll starts with a preseason Top 25 that will be released Aug. 17. To get the poll talk going, I'm going to use this space over the next month and a half to count down my Top 40.
Why 40? Because that is number of teams I usually track
closely during the year, give or take a team or two.
Who is unveiled today …
— Don't know about the rest of you, but I am going to be weirded out when I see Kyle Whittingham on the Michigan sidelines. To me, he is Utah football.
But he has been replaced by a guy, Morgan Scalley, with just as long of a tenure with the Utes. He joined the staff in 2007 as a graduate assistant and held multiple positions at the Salt Lake City school.
A former Utes defensive back, Scalley became defensive coordinator in 2016. Following what turned out to be a very temporary retirement for Whittingham, Scalley coached the team in the Las Vegas Bowl. He is 1-0 after a lopsided win against Nebraska.
The 46-year-old Salt Lake City native has only worked for his alma mater. Based on his debut, it figures to be a smooth transition.
— Scalley found help in the transfer portal with as many 11 starting spots filled by guys from other teams. The best of the bunch might be receiver Braden Pegan, who had 60 catches for rival Utah State.
— Former New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier returns after a big first season in Salt Lake City. Dampier earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors i 2025 after throwing for 2.490 yards and 24 touchdowns with only five interceptions. He ran for another 835 yards with 10 more scores.
Nov. 7 vs. BYU. Big 12 favorite Texas Tech isn't on the schedule, so this could decide who plays for the league title. Like their "friends" in Provo, the Utes are thinking big in 2026.
22. SMU ACC
23. Louisville ACC
24. Iowa Big Ten
25. Tennessee SEC
26. Boise State Pac-12
27. TCU Big 12
28. Clemson ACC
29. Florida SEC
30. Illinois Big Ten
31. South Carolina SEC
32. Arizona Big 12
33. Virginia Tech ACC
34. Auburn SEC
35. Kansaas State Big 12
36. Georgia Tech ACC
37. Pitt ACC
38. Arizona State Big 12
39. Virginia ACC
40. UCLA Big Ten
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