Utah Utes

Date Opponent

Aug. 30 at Oregon St.

Sept. 8 Air Force

Sept. 15 UCLA

Sept. 22 at UNLV

Sept. 29 Utah St.

Oct. 5 at Louisville

Oct. 13 San Diego St.

Oct. 18 at TCU

Oct. 27 at Colorado St.

Nov. 10 Wyoming

Nov. 17 New Mexico

Nov. 24 at BYU

2006 record: 8-5, 5-3 (T-3rd)

Starters returning: 15 (10 offense, 5 defense)

Starters lost: 7 (1 offense, 6 defense)

Key defensive players: Senior free safety Steve Tate, junior cornerback Brice McCain, senior defensive end Martail Burnett, senior linebacker Joe Jiannoni, senior defensive tackle Gabe Long.

Top newcomers: Junior running back Matt Asiata, junior strong safety Deshawn Richard.

Best-case scenario for 2007: The Utes mesh a difficult schedule with perfection in MWC play to earn a berth in the Bowl Championship Series, as they did in Urban Meyer's final season at the helm. Road games at Oregon State, Louisville, BYU and TCU will make such an accomplishment extremely difficult. A home date with UCLA won't help, either. Best scenario? An MWC title.

Worst-case scenario for 2007: A lopsided setback at Oregon State could be difficult to overcome — especially with a difficult schedule. Injuries, as is the case with most teams, may also spell doom. Johnson's ability to resume his career where he left off is of extreme importance. So, too, is his health. Utah's worst-case scenario is another season without Johnson.

What we learned from MWC media days: Quiet confidence. The Utes didn't speak about a lack of respect after being picked to finish third. They spoke of using it as additional motivation. Utah's offense appears to be the league's best. The defense, however, has a lot of unknown components with just five starters returning. As is the case each year, the Utes have two main goals — win their opener and finish on top of the Mountain West.