Utah Football Hosts Michigan To Open 2015 Season

Aug. 31, 2015

The Game

> Utah (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) hosts Michigan (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten).
> Thursday, Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m. MT, Rice-Eccles Stadium.
> Televised on FOX Sports 1.
> Search #MICHvsUTAH for conversation and information.

SOON. pic.twitter.com/IYQizegn8f
-- FOX Sports 1 (@FOXSports1) August 31, 2015

Seeing Red

> Utah fans are encouraged to wear red to the season opener.
> The team will debut its new satin red helmets against Michigan. It's the second-straight season the Utes have unveiled a new helmet against the Wolverines. Last year, they wore white helmets in a win in Ann Arbor.

Season Openers

> Utah has won its last seven season openers in a streak that started with a 2008 victory at Michigan. The Utes have won 10 straight season openers played at home, dating back to a 2001 win over Utah State in Salt Lake City.
>The Utes are 71-49-1 all-time in season openers and 53-19-1 when the season opener was at home.

It's a First

> Thursday's game marks the first time Michigan has played Utah in Salt Lake City. All three previous games between the two teams were played in Ann Arbor, where Utah leads 2-1. See page 2 for complete series notes.
> Utah is 8-12 all-time against the Big Ten Conference--with 19 of the 20 previous games played away from home (18 road games, one neutral). The only Big Ten school to visit Rice-Eccles Stadium prior to this season was Indiana in 2002 (a Utah victory).

#BookerForHeisman

Running back Devontae Booker (5-11, 212, Sr.) is Utah's first Heisman Trophy hopeful since quarterback Alex Smith was a Heisman finalist in 2004. A first-team All-Pac-12 Conference running back in 2014, Booker averaged 116.3 yards per game (130.1 in conference games) as a junior college transfer, even while playing sparingly in the first three games behind the incumbent. His 1,512 net yards included a Pac-12-best 815 yards after contact--almost 200 more than his closest contender. Booker, who was also a first-team Academic All-Pac-12 selection in 2014, tied for second on the team in receptions with 43.

The decibel level just might reach "insane" in this place come Sept. 3rd! Just how loud can it get? We'll find out!! pic.twitter.com/3JwmyPDkoJ
-- Morgan Scalley (@SafetyPride) August 30, 2015

Statchat

Utah led the nation a year ago in both sacks (55) and sacks per game (4.23), giving rise to the moniker "Sack Lake City." Players on the current team accounted for 34.5 of those sacks ... 20 players who started in at least four games last year are expected to be in Utah's starting lineup for Michigan, including eight on offense and nine on defense, as well as the punter, kicker and snapper ... Senior linebacker Gionni Paul's first game in a Utah uniform was last year at Michigan, when he was named the Athlon Sports National Defensive Player of the Week and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after leading Utah with 14 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in a 26-10 win.

Record Check

In 20 total years on the coaching staff (as a head and assistant coach), Kyle Whittingham has participated in more Utah victories than any football coach in school history (170). His record as Utah's head coach is 85-43 in 10 seasons. Whittingham's 88.9% bowl win percentage is tied for the best in NCAA FBS history. He is 8-1 in bowl games (the NCAA minimum to qualify for the record is seven wins) ... Senior Travis Wilson is bidding to become the first true four-year starting quarterback in school history. After three seasons, he ranks second in school history in both starts (27) and games played (34). The school record-holder is Brian Johnson, who started 33 games in three seasons (2005, 2007 and 2008) and played in 44 games (2004-08). Two past Utah quarterbacks started parts of four seasons: Jordan Wynn (21 starts from 2009-12) and Darnell Arceneaux (19 starts from 1997-2000).

Ute fans are the #bestfans! Thanks to all who came out to #UtahFanFest! pic.twitter.com/EdA0rkaSTw
-- Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 30, 2015

Two-Minute Drill

The Utes received votes in both the AP (36 votes) and USA Today/Coaches (40 votes) polls. The Utes finished the 2014 season ranked No. 21 in the AP and No. 20 in the coaches' poll ... Utah boasts three returning first-team All-Pac-12 selections: senior running back Devontae Booker, senior punter Tom Hackett and junior kicker Andy Phillip. Hackett, a consensus All-American last year, was also the first Ray Guy Award winner in school and Pac-12 history. This fall, he has been named to five preseason All-America teams (first team ESPN.com, CBSSports.com and Phil Steele; second team SI.com, Sporting News and Lindy's) ... Kyle Whittingham is 2-0 against the Big Ten as a head coach--with wins over Michigan in 2008 and 2014. Including his tenure as a Utah assistant coach from 1994-2004, Whittingham has a 4-2 track record against the Big Ten (2-1 against UM).

In the Huddle

Utah's roster includes 33 players of Polynesian descent ... Team captains are kicker Andy Phillips, running back Devontae Booker, receiver Kenneth Scott, and linebackers Gionni Paul and Jared Norris. Phillips, a junior, is in his second season as a team captain ... Senior backup kicker Jon Halliday has been awarded a scholarship ... Two true freshman receivers could potentially start for the Utes in the opener: slotback Britain Covey (Provo, Utah/Timpview HS) and Z receiver Tyrone Smith (Fresno, Calif./Edison HS). Covey is listed as the co-starter with senior Bubba Poole.

A photo posted by Utah Football (@utahfootball) on Aug 28, 2015 at 11:41am PDT

Outside the Lines

The first Kyle Whittingham radio show is Tuesday at 6 p.m. MDT on ESPN700. The show will be broadcast live from the Desert Edge Brewery at Trolley Square and is free to the public ... The first 100 fans at the pre-game Ute Walk to text UtahFB to 53535 will receive an 18 x 24 inch Alex Smith big head. The Ute walk begins at 4 p.m. on the corner of Guardsman Way and 500 South ... Free posters will be distributed to the first 2,000 fans at the promotional tables located in the southeast plaza and at the top of the west stadium stairs ... The 2015 NCAA runner-up and Pac-12 champion Utah gymnastics team and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen men's basketball team will be recognized on the field during the first media timeout in the first and second quarter, respectively ... 29 former Utes are on current NFL rosters this week, including 2015 NFL Draft picks Nate Orchard, Eric Rowe, Jeremiah Poutasi and Kaelin Clay. See page 9 for a complete list of current Utes in the NFL ... FOX Sports 1 will host its studio show live from Rice-Eccles Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday. Hosts of the show on site will be Collin Cowherd, Dave Wannstedt, Rob Stone and Matt Leinart.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results