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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah to Face West Virginia in Heart of Dallas Bowl
12/11/2017 3:19 PM | Football
The Game
Utah (6-6, 3-6 Pac-12) will play West Virginia (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 12:30 p.m. CT (11:30 a.m. MT) in the Cotton Bowl. The game will be televised on ESPN. Radio is ESPN700 and Tunein.com.
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Utah Bowl Highlights
> Utah is playing in a bowl game for the fourth-straight year and the 12th time under head coach Kyle Whittingham.
> With his 10-1 bowl record, Whittingham owns the best bowl win percentage (91%) in NCAA history.
> Whittingham's 10 bowl wins ties him for second among active coaches (one behind Alabama's Nick Saban). Including ties, he is ranked in the top 10 all-time in bowl victories.
> Whittingham's postseason victories include a 2-0 mark in College Football Playoff bowls (2005 Fiesta Bowl vs. Pittsburgh as co-head coach and 2009 Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama).
> Utah is 4-0 in bowl games since joining the Pac-12 Conference in 2011 and 16-4 all time. See sidebar on this page for Utah's bowl history.
> Utah won all nine of the bowl games it played in from 1999-2009 to tie for the second-longest bowl win streak in NCAA history.
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Quick Hits
> Utah's only previous game against West Virginia was in the 1964 Liberty Bowl in Atlantic City, N.J., won by the Utes, 32-6. Utah, which would not play in another bowl game for 28 years, is now 16-4 in postseason bowls.
> The Mountaineers are the only Big 12 team Utah has played in the postseason.
> Whittingham is 4-3 vs. current Big 12 schools as Utah's head coach (3-3 vs. TCU and 1-0 vs. Iowa State). The Utes are 9-14 all-time against the Big 12.
> The Utes will fly to Dallas on Dec. 21 and will hold closed practices on Dec. 22, 23 and 25 at SMU.
> The Cotton Bowl Stadium has a capacity of 92,100 seats 42,000 for the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Utes have played in the Cotton Bowl once, defeating SMU in 1996.
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Statchat
> Utah leads the nation in field goals made (27).
> Utah ranks second in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation in net punting (42.20).
> Utah ranks second in the Pac-12 and tied for 14th in the nation in fumbles recovered (11).
> Utah ranks second in the Pac-12 in time of possession (32.01).Â
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in total defense (353.8).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (139.8).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (23.9).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (116.91).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in fewest opponent first downs (221).
See sidebar on page 4 for more Utah rankings.
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Kicker U
Junior kicker Matt Gay became the first Lou Groza Award winner in school history this season and junior punter Mitch Wishnowsky was one of three finalists for the 2017 Ray Guy Award. Both have made several All-America teams as well. Gay, in his first season of NCAA football, leads the nation in most major kicking categories, including field goals made (a school-record 27), field goals per game (2.25), field goal attempts (31) and 50-yard field goals (5, tie). He has made 87-percent of his field goal attempts, which leads the Pac-12. Wishnowsky ranks second in the nation in percentage of punts inside the 10 (21.74%) and sixth in the country in net punting (42.20). Wishnowsky was the 2016 Ray Guy Award winner and a unanimous consensus All-American as a sophomore. Under head coach Kyle Whittingham, who also coaches the kickers and punters, Utah has had a winner at the Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards four years running. Punters Tom Hackett (2014-15) and Wishnowsky (2016) took home the Ray Guy Award prior to Gay winning the Lou Groza Award. For a complete list of Utah's 2017 honors and awards, please see page 2.
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Connections
There are 11 Texas natives on Utah's roster, including three starters: left guard Salesi Uhatafe (Euless), wide receiver Raelon Singleton (Crosby) and free safety Corrion Ballard (Houston) … Utah senior associate athletics director for development Manny Hendrix played cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys for six seasons from 1986-91 … Ute tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham played for the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football in 1991 and was a member of the Team Dallas practice squad.
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Two-Minute Drill
Utah has been designated as the visiting team at the Heart of Dallas Bowl and will wear white jerseys … 22 Utah seniors will suit up for their final college game on Dec. 26 in the Cotton Bowl Stadium … Defensive end Kylie Fitts and receiver Darren Carrington II have accepted invitations to play in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 27 in Mobile, Ala. … Eight true freshmen have played for the Utes this season: Javelin Guidry, Tyquez Hampton, Jaylon Johnson, Chayden Johnston, Ali'i Niumatalolo, Noah Rodriguez-Trammell, Bryan Thompson and Orlando Umana.
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Utah (6-6, 3-6 Pac-12) will play West Virginia (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 12:30 p.m. CT (11:30 a.m. MT) in the Cotton Bowl. The game will be televised on ESPN. Radio is ESPN700 and Tunein.com.
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Utah Bowl Highlights
> Utah is playing in a bowl game for the fourth-straight year and the 12th time under head coach Kyle Whittingham.
> With his 10-1 bowl record, Whittingham owns the best bowl win percentage (91%) in NCAA history.
> Whittingham's 10 bowl wins ties him for second among active coaches (one behind Alabama's Nick Saban). Including ties, he is ranked in the top 10 all-time in bowl victories.
> Whittingham's postseason victories include a 2-0 mark in College Football Playoff bowls (2005 Fiesta Bowl vs. Pittsburgh as co-head coach and 2009 Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama).
> Utah is 4-0 in bowl games since joining the Pac-12 Conference in 2011 and 16-4 all time. See sidebar on this page for Utah's bowl history.
> Utah won all nine of the bowl games it played in from 1999-2009 to tie for the second-longest bowl win streak in NCAA history.
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Quick Hits
> Utah's only previous game against West Virginia was in the 1964 Liberty Bowl in Atlantic City, N.J., won by the Utes, 32-6. Utah, which would not play in another bowl game for 28 years, is now 16-4 in postseason bowls.
> The Mountaineers are the only Big 12 team Utah has played in the postseason.
> Whittingham is 4-3 vs. current Big 12 schools as Utah's head coach (3-3 vs. TCU and 1-0 vs. Iowa State). The Utes are 9-14 all-time against the Big 12.
> The Utes will fly to Dallas on Dec. 21 and will hold closed practices on Dec. 22, 23 and 25 at SMU.
> The Cotton Bowl Stadium has a capacity of 92,100 seats 42,000 for the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Utes have played in the Cotton Bowl once, defeating SMU in 1996.
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Statchat
> Utah leads the nation in field goals made (27).
> Utah ranks second in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation in net punting (42.20).
> Utah ranks second in the Pac-12 and tied for 14th in the nation in fumbles recovered (11).
> Utah ranks second in the Pac-12 in time of possession (32.01).Â
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in total defense (353.8).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (139.8).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (23.9).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (116.91).
> Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in fewest opponent first downs (221).
See sidebar on page 4 for more Utah rankings.
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Kicker U
Junior kicker Matt Gay became the first Lou Groza Award winner in school history this season and junior punter Mitch Wishnowsky was one of three finalists for the 2017 Ray Guy Award. Both have made several All-America teams as well. Gay, in his first season of NCAA football, leads the nation in most major kicking categories, including field goals made (a school-record 27), field goals per game (2.25), field goal attempts (31) and 50-yard field goals (5, tie). He has made 87-percent of his field goal attempts, which leads the Pac-12. Wishnowsky ranks second in the nation in percentage of punts inside the 10 (21.74%) and sixth in the country in net punting (42.20). Wishnowsky was the 2016 Ray Guy Award winner and a unanimous consensus All-American as a sophomore. Under head coach Kyle Whittingham, who also coaches the kickers and punters, Utah has had a winner at the Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards four years running. Punters Tom Hackett (2014-15) and Wishnowsky (2016) took home the Ray Guy Award prior to Gay winning the Lou Groza Award. For a complete list of Utah's 2017 honors and awards, please see page 2.
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Connections
There are 11 Texas natives on Utah's roster, including three starters: left guard Salesi Uhatafe (Euless), wide receiver Raelon Singleton (Crosby) and free safety Corrion Ballard (Houston) … Utah senior associate athletics director for development Manny Hendrix played cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys for six seasons from 1986-91 … Ute tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham played for the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football in 1991 and was a member of the Team Dallas practice squad.
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Two-Minute Drill
Utah has been designated as the visiting team at the Heart of Dallas Bowl and will wear white jerseys … 22 Utah seniors will suit up for their final college game on Dec. 26 in the Cotton Bowl Stadium … Defensive end Kylie Fitts and receiver Darren Carrington II have accepted invitations to play in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 27 in Mobile, Ala. … Eight true freshmen have played for the Utes this season: Javelin Guidry, Tyquez Hampton, Jaylon Johnson, Chayden Johnston, Ali'i Niumatalolo, Noah Rodriguez-Trammell, Bryan Thompson and Orlando Umana.
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Players Mentioned
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