College football analyst has Utah set to make even more history in 2022

Maybe start budgeting for a trip to the Peach Bowl.

That’s where 247Sports’ Brad Crawford has the Utes headed in a summer update of his 2022 bowl projections. Crawford has USC headed to the Rose Bowl, but he has Utah winning the Pac-12 for a second consecutive season and taking one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff.

Crawford is projecting Utah to earn a No. 4 seed and face Alabama in the CFP semifinal at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Here’s what he wrote on the matchup:

In this projection, the two highest seeds — Alabama and Ohio State as potential unbeatens — should be satisfied with their respective destinations. The Crimson Tide get the preferred pick as the top seed in their second home (Atlanta) while the Buckeyes head West to the Fiesta. Go ahead and Sharpie the Crimson Tide as a Playoff team with Bryce Young and Will Anderson back. As always, projected the No. 4 seed this time of year is always the most difficult. Utah, USC, Notre Dame, N.C. State or Clemson — those are the programs that will likely be vying for that final bid.

The Utes went 10-4 last season, won the Pac-12 with a 38-10 thrashing of the Oregon Ducks in the league’s title game, and then nearly took down the Ohio State Buckeyes in a Rose Bowl for the ages. Prior to that bowl game, Utah had won nine of its previous 10 games, coinciding with a change at quarterback.

Cameron Rising is back in 2022, along with a host of other high-level contributors from last year’s team. After claiming the first Pac-12 title in program history, the Utes have their eyes on even greater heights moving forward. A CFP appearance would be just that.

And Utah will get a chance to solidify itself as a worthy CFP contender right out of the gates. It’ll play Florida in Gainesville on Sept. 3 to open the season.