The Utah Utes football program has received plenty of pre-season recognition and praise as they prepare for a crucial season in program history. Despite season-ending injuries to quarterback Tyler Huntley and star running back Zack Moss a little more than halfway through the season, Utah is coming off a 2018 season that included their first outright South Division title and trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game. Unfortunately, the season ended in two-straight losses that included a 10-3 loss to the Washington Huskies in the championship game and a brutal 30-21 loss to Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl. Those two games may have left a sour taste on an otherwise remarkably good year.

A new season offers new promise for the Utes, who return a number of starters on both sides of the ball, and in a wide-open Pac-12 South, Kyle Whittingham’s team should easily contend for the division and will also have a good shot at earning their first Pac-12 championship as well.

The Utes have been ranked as high as No. 12 by Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com. Athlon Sports recently released their annual pre-season publication and have the Utes ranked No. 13 in their college football top 25 ranking. A panel of 14 college football experts at ESPN.com voted and ranked the Utah program No. 16 in their post-spring college football power rankings. Needless to say, the Utah Utes have earned the respect of many and should be positioned favorably in college football rankings when the season begins in August.

However, not every publication recognizes Utah in that manner. USA Today recently updated their post-spring top 25 rankings and did not include Utah. That's right, the same Utah football program coming off a 9-5 season that included a South Division crown and Pac-12 Championship game; the same program that returns 16 starters on both sides of the ball, which includes eight All Pac-12 team members of those 16 returning starters. USA Today does not recognize that same team as a top 25 program heading into the 2019 season.

Here is USA Today's post-spring college football ranking:

25. Wisconsin

24. Baylor

23. Syracuse

22. Boise State

21. Penn State

20. Army

19. Nebraska

18. Stanford

17. Northwestern

16. Auburn

15.Iowa State

14. UCF

13. Florida

12. Washington

11. Notre Dame

10. Texas

9. Oregon

8. Texas A&M

7. LSU

6. Michigan

5. Ohio State

4. Oklahoma

3. Georgia

2. Alabama

1. Clemson

What do you make of their pre-season ranking?

Is it right or wrong to not recognize Utah as a top 25 program?

Do you prefer to see Utah named in pre-season rankings or not?

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