With Jake Retzlaff’s withdrawal from BYU, the Cougars and the Utah Utes are on different trajectories heading into the 2025 college football season, according to the pundits.
The Cougars are now expected to finish more toward the middle of the Big 12 pack as they try to sort through their now-open quarterback competition where there’s little Division I experience among the contenders.
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This comes one year after BYU, with Retzlaff leading the offense and Jay Hill’s defense often shutting down the opposition at critical moments, finished the 2024 campaign with an 11-2 record, including a 7-2 mark in Big 12 play, and ended the year with a dominant victory over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.
For the Utes, meanwhile, oddsmakers are increasingly becoming more favorable towards their chances at a conference title in their second year in the Big 12.
That comes after they went 5-7 last season, struggled to a 2-7 record in league play and missed a bowl for the first time in over a decade.
A good portion of that optimism comes from an incoming transfer class headlined by quarterback Devon Dampier, a transfer from New Mexico who followed his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, to Salt Lake City.
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Dampier expected to be one of the more dynamic playmakers in the Big 12, and the Utes also bring back a lot of talent on an always tough defense while also returning all five starters on their offensive line, including two — Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu — who are projected as potential first-round picks next year.
It’s unsurprising, then, that when Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt discussed five teams to “buy” on and five others to “sell” on in taking stock of the 2025 season, both BYU and Utah were mentioned — on opposite sides of the debate.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, right, speaks as teammate offensive lineman Spencer Fano looks on during the Big 12 football media days in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. | LM Otero, Associated Press
Why does Joel Klatt say to ‘buy’ on Utah football in 2025?
Along with Utah, Klatt identified Clemson, Michigan, Washington and North Carolina as teams to “buy” in on for the upcoming season during a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast.
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Klatt noted the Utes’ injury troubles that severely hampered the team last season.
“This is a team that I think is primed for a bounce back — ‘buy’ list, here we go, stock up — Year 21 from my man, Kyle Whittingham, at Utah,” Klatt said during the podcast.
“Rare losing season. You know they’re going to bounce back. The season got absolutely wrecked by injuries last year. It might be Kyle’s last, so you’re going to have the sentimental aspect of that with all of his players.”
Klatt discussed what having Dampier join the Utes could mean to the program, if Dampier increases his efficiency and matches it with his well-known commodity of being a dangerous runner.
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“They’ve got a new coordinator on offense, Jason Beck. He brought in his quarterback with him, Devon Dampier, and from all the reports I’ve been hearing, Dampier is big. He’s physical. He can run. He ran for over 1,100 yards last year in New Mexico, first-team All-Mountain West. He does need to improve his ability to throw the football. He was under 60% completion percentage,” Klatt said.
“… If he brings them any amount of stability at that position — in particular, not turning the football over — they should be fine. Why? Because the defense is always fine. Morgan Scalley is one of the best defensive coordinators in the country. They were a top 25 defense a year ago, and with a running quarterback, what should you be able to do? Run the football.”
Klatt is a believer that Utah can turn around its fortunes in close games as well — last year, the Utes were 1-5 in one-score games — and finish the regular season with anywhere from 8-10 wins.
“If you tell me that they’re not going to turn the football over, they’re going to get back to running the football with that experienced offensive line, lean on their defense, rush the quarterback, the 1-5 in one-score games will turn into 5-1,” Klatt said, “and now all of a sudden, what are you? You’re 10-2, and you’re probably playing for the Big 12 title.”
BYU quarterbacks, from left, Treyson Bourguet (10), Jake Retzlaff (12) and McCae Hillstead (3) talk as they walk off the field after the opening day of BYU football spring camp held at the Zions Bank Practice Fields of the Student Athlete Building on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
What does Joel Klatt say to ‘sell’ on BYU football in 2025?
Multiple times during the podcast, Klatt emphasized that this stock watch was merely for the 2025 season and not an opinion on the overall health of the programs he mentioned.
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BYU’s uncertainty at quarterback heading into the season served as the primary reason behind why the Cougars were alongside programs like Tennessee, Wisconsin, Syracuse and California in landing on Klatt’s list of teams to “sell” on.
“This is an easy sell. Unfortunate for this program, but this is just what happens right now. This sell is BYU,” Klatt said. “With everything that’s gone on this summer, you look back and it’s like they start 9-0 last year, they’ve got CFP in their sights.
“They lose two of their last three in the regular season, they beat Colorado in the bowl game. A lot of people are high on them in the offseason, but part of that was the fact that they felt like with Jake Retzlaff back on offense, they could handle some of the losses on the defensive side.
“I love Kalani Sitake. Again, this is not indicative of an overall program decline, it’s just an indicative of terrible timing at the most important position on the field.”
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Retzlaff is transferring to Tulane after facing a seven-game suspension for violating the BYU honor code. Last year was Retzlaff’s first as the Cougars’ full-time starter, and while he faded near the end of the season statistically, he also proved clutch several times in critical moments during an 11-win season.
“This is a guy that on the field was steady. He was a good leader for them from last year, they believed in him and now all of a sudden, you lose your quarterback, and the three-man battle has had no time to develop,” Klatt said.
Now, BYU is looking at having to start a quarterback who wasn’t the expected starter at the end of spring ball — with McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourget and Bear Bachmeier in the mix.
“They have 12 total quarterback starts at the college level, zero at the Power Four level. That’s tough. It’s really tough to overcome that,” Klatt said. “They’re replacing eight starters on defense. That was a defense that was excellent last year.
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“The schedule isn’t bad, but it’s, again, just like all the other Big 12 schedules, you’re facing a bunch of teams with similar talent. You’re probably going to be in a one-score game with a quarterback that has no experience.”
