The 2024 season has been one to forget for the Utah Utes. The Utes sit at 4-7 (1-7 in conference) with a crushing loss to archrival BYU and have had a fan arrested for assault, the athletic director fined, games stolen (or just plain lost, depending on which side you’re on), and much more. But one interesting stat was shared on X by a BYU fan and stands out above all of the lows and is mildly redemptive for poor Utah fans.
Are the Utah Utes “Breaking” Opponents?
While the Utes sit in the cellar of the Big 12, a trend has emerged that shows that when an opponent plays Utah, they are almost always losing their next game. Yes, a trend. It’s not here and there, it’s a common occurrence, even amongst the best teams in the Big 12. At least, that’s what they say. Let’s take a look.
Southern Utah and Baylor
Southern Utah and Baylor are the exception here, as both teams lost to Utah (maybe that has something to do with it). Southern Utah went on to beat UTEP while Baylor took on Air Force and won.
Utah’s record: 2-0
Opponents record the following week: 2-0
Utah State
Utah went into this matchup ranked #12 and beat Utah State handily with a final score of 38-21. The Aggies then went on to be dismantled by Temple 45-29.
Utah’s record: 3-0
Opponents record the following week: 2-1
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State was expected to be quite competitive in the conference, just as Arizona and Utah were. In the first game of conference play, Utah won 22-19. Oklahoma State went on to play Kansas State and lost, bringing us to .500 for teams the week following their matchup against Utah. If you haven’t been following OK State, they’ve lost every conference game and sit at 3-9 overall.
Utah’s record: 4-0
Opponents record the following week: 2-2
Arizona
Utah’s first loss came against Arizona. At the time the Utes were ranked #10 in the nation and both teams only had one loss. It looked like it would be a critical game between two teams that might be competing for the Big 12 championship at the end of the season. Arizona won by two touchdowns with a final score of 23-10. That loss certainly broke Utah, as they haven’t won a game since. But Arizona? They lost the very next week to Texas Tech. Since then, they’ve followed Utah into the basement of the conference.
Utah’s record: 4-1
Opponents record the following week: 2-3
Arizona State
Utah dropped to #16 after the loss to Arizona but hopes were high that they could turn it around against another opponent from the desert. But Utah lost again, 27-19. To this point, ASU had only lost one game but the next week they dropped another L to Cincinnati. To this point, it’s the last loss they’ve experience.
Utah’s record: 4-2
Opponents record the following week: 2-4
TCU
TCU beat Utah 13-7 in a strong defensive game. The next week, TCU defeated Texas Tech.
Utah’s record: 4-3
Opponents record the following week: 3-4
Houston
Houston is another exception, apparently, as they beat Utah 17-14 (a very low point for Utah fans) but also went on to beat Kansas State the next week.
Utah’s record: 4-4
Opponents record the following week: 4-4
BYU
At this point, this theory doesn’t seem to be holding much water. But here is where it starts to get interesting. This is the point where Utah seemed to be at it’s lowest point. Utah was dominating the Holy War for the entire first half, but couldn’t do anything in the second.
The AD was fined for criticizing the refs after the game for “stealing the game” from the Utes. Things got ugly in numerous ways. BYU came out of the Holy War at 9-0. But the next week they dropped their first game to a Kansas team that had only won a handful of games on the year. BYU also lost their next game. A bit of redemption for Utah.
Utah’s record: 4-5
Opponents record the following week: 4-5
Colorado
Colorado- you love them or hate them. They talk big and occasionally back it up. This was one of those cases. The shellacking ended with Colorado standing above the bloodied Utes and a score of 49-24. But then Colorado also went on to lose to Kansas.
Utah’s record: 4-6
Opponents record the following week: 4-6
Iowa State
Last week Utah dropped another loss, this time to Iowa State. Iowa State takes on Kansas State this week. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues.
Utah’s record: 4-7
Opponents record the following week: TBD
Conclusion
All in all, it’s the Utah Utes that are broken, not their opponents. Although, the the Utes did seem to break BYU. But the trend is not really a trend at all. The original X post stated that the opponents record after facing Utah was 2-9 (later corrected in the comments) but that’s not true. If there is a pattern, it’s that opponents records after their matchup against Utah mirrors Utah’s record. If that continues, Iowa State loses to Kansas tomorrow, which actually helps BYU. Dang, sorry Utes fans. I don’t make the rules.
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