Utah football the odds-on favorite to win Big 12 after win over Oklahoma State
While the Utah football team knows there’s a lot of season to go, the Utes are now in the driver’s seat. Specifically, they are now the odds-on favorite to win the Big 12. At least according to one of the top analysts in the sport.
On Sunday morning, ESPN’s Bill Connelly released his ratings after a Saturday that saw some shakeups. Especially thanks to the Utes knocking off Oklahoma State and BYU obliterating Kansas State.
The Utah football team was always one of the favorites to win their new conference. Entering the season, if there were four teams thought to be frontrunners it would have been the Utes, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Kansas. Only Kyle Whittingham’s team is still undefeated.
Being the last one standing of those four has the Utes sitting with a 36 percent chance of winning the Big 12, according to SP+ at the moment. Obviously, there are still many, many games to go but the fact that Cam Rising, Isaac Wilson and company have a relatively easy next eight games certainly doesn’t hurt.
P4 conference title odds per SP+ (via @tfgridiron)
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 22, 2024
ACC: Miami 39%, Louisville 22%, Cleson 14%, SMU 7%
B12: Utah 36%, Iowa State 13%, UCF 12%, K-State 12%, OSU 6%
B1G: Ohio State 45%, Penn State 19%, Oregon 18%
SEC: Texas 23%, Ole Miss 21%, Bama 21%, UGA 15%, Tennessee 10%
Utah football the Big 12 front runners
The SP+ ratings also show that there are some new contenders emerging from the pack. While Utah is far and away the favorite, Iowa State (3-0) now has a 13 percent chance.
Meanwhile, Central Florida has a 12 percent chance to win the conference thanks to a 3-0 start that includes a 35-34 win over TCU. Kansas State and Oklahoma State are both still in the running, with the Wildcats at 12 percent and the Cowboys at 6 percent.
The Utah football team looks like it can control its own destiny, considering it finishes the season with back-to-back games against ISU and UCF