Led by 18th-year head coach Kyle Whittingham the Utes played their home games at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

Due to tiebreaking rules, Utah received the bid to the Pac 12 Championship Game.

4-ranked USC for the second time on the season to win the conference championship.

As a result, for the second consecutive year they received a bid to the Rose Bowl, where they lost to Penn State.

In the preseason polls released on July 28, Utah was picked to finish the season as the top team in the conference.