Pac-12 South Champs Face BYU in Deseret First Duel

Saturday, November 24

Salt Lake City, UT

8:00 PM

University of Utah

Brigham Young

Pac-12 South Champs Face BYU in Deseret First Duel

11/19/2018 11:38 AM | Football

GAME NOTES Press Conference Quotes

The Game
No. 18/17 Utah (8-3, 6-3 Pac-12) hosts BYU (6-5) on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. in the Deseret First Duel in Rice-Eccles Stadium. FS1 will televise the game. The game will be a "red out" and Ute fans are encouraged to wear red attire. Search #BYUvsUTAH for conversation and follow @utahathletics for live updates.

South Division Champs!
> Utah has won the Pac-12 South Division outright for the first time and will play in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. Pacific time (6 p.m. MT) in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
> Utah's opponent in the Pac-12 Championship game will be the winner of this Friday's Washington-Washington State game.
> To purchase tickets to the game, call 801-581-UTIX or order online at https://utahtickets.com/football/#pac-12-championship-game

Bowls and Polls
> The Pac-12 champion will play against a team from the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl presented by Northwest Mutual on Tuesday, Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif.
> Utah will play in a bowl game for the 13th time under coach Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham has the best bowl win percentage in NCAA history (92%) and his 11 bowl wins (11-1) is tied for second among active coaches.
> Utah improved two places to No. 17 in the Coaches' poll and three places to No. 18 in the AP poll. Utah's highest ranking this season was No. 16 in the AP and Coaches' polls on Oct. 28.
> The new College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday. Utah was No. 19 in last week's CFP rankings—its second time this season in the CFP top 25 (the Utes were No. 15 in the first CFP ranking of 2018). The Utes appeared in every CFP ranking from 2014-16.

Quick Hits
> Utah has won six of its last seven games—all against Pac-12 opponents. Utah's 6-3 Pac-12 record matches its best league mark. The Utes were also 6-3 in 2015, when they were co-champs in the Pac-12 South with USC.
> Including five bowl games, the Utes are 27-1 in non-conference games since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. Utah has won 22 straight non-conference games since an overtime loss at Utah State in 2012.
> Kyle Whittingham's next victory will be his 120th as Utah's head coach. He is 119-59 in 14 seasons at the helm.
> Saturday's game is the annual Senior Night and 14 Utah seniors will suit up for their final home game. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats early for a pre-game ceremony for the seniors and their families. For a complete list of Utah's 2018 seniors, see 'Senior Night.'

The Series
> Utah leads the series with BYU 60-34-4, although the Cougars don't recognize six games (split 3-3) when it was known as the Brigham Young Academy.
> Utah has won the last seven games against BYU. As the head coach, Whittingham is 9-3 against the Cougars.
> The Utes lead the Cougars 39-17-3 in Salt Lake City, including the last four meetings in Rice-Eccles Stadium. See page 2 for complete information on the series.

Statchat
> Utah is No. 1 in the nation in red zone defense (59.4, 19-of-32).
> Utah is No. 2 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in field goals made (23).
> Utah is No. 5 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in rushing defense (95.5).
> Utah is No. 6T in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in tackles for loss per game (8.1).
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 (No. 14 nationally) in total defense (312.1).
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 (No. 17 nationally) in red zone offense (0.905, 38-of-42).
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 (No. 19 nationally) in opponent third-down conversion percentage (32.5).
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 in rushing offense (201.7).
> Utah is No. 1T in the Pac-12 in turnovers gained (18).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 15 nationally) in net punting (40.49).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 17 nationally) in first down defense (185).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 16 nationally) in scoring defense (18.5).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (114.67).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in sacks per game (2.82).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in interceptions (12).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in time of possession (31:07).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in punt return defense (6.09).
> Utah is No. 3T in the Pac-12 in defensive touchdowns (2).
See sidebar on page 3 for more Utah rankings.

Connections
Head coaches Kyle Whittingham and Kalani Sitake both played at BYU and coached at Utah. Whittingham has been an assistant or head coach at Utah since 1994, while Sitake was a Ute assistant from 2005-14 … Utah assistants Justin Ena and Freddie Whittingham played for the Cougars and Guy Holliday coached at BYU from 2013-15 … Cougar assistants Ilaisa Tuiki and Aaron Roderick are former Ute assistant coaches … Ute linebacker Francis Bernard and scout team defensive back Anthony Armstrong are BYU transfers.

Senior Night
Over the last four seasons, the 2018 senior class has recorded a 34-16 record and a 3-0 bowl record. This year's senior class includes the winners of two major national awards (2016 Ray Guy Award winner Mitch Wishnowsky and 2017 Lou Groza Award winner Matt Gay). They are among nine senior starters, joining linebackers Chase Hansen and Cody Barton (Utah's leading tacklers), offensive linemen Jackson Barton, Jordan Agasiva and Lo Falemaka, and safeties Corrion Ballard and Marquise Blair. The remaining seniors are Aaron Amaama, OL; Anthony Armstrong, DB; Jameson Field, WR; Alani Havili-Katoa, OL and Derrick Vickers, WR.

Two Minute Drill
Utah has never played in a conference championship game. The 2015 Utes shared the South division title with USC but the Trojans owned the tiebreaker into the title game. The Western Athletic Conference held a conference championship game during Utah's final three years in the league (1996-98), but the Utes never qualified … Utah's seven-game win streak against BYU is tied for the second-longest stretch of consecutive wins against the Cougars in school history (also accomplished from 1951-57). Utah's record against its instate rival is nine straight wins (1929-37) … The Deseret First Duel is in its 12th season as a rivalry series and Utah leads 6-5, including the last two years … Saturday's game is Utah's first on FS1 this season. The Utes are 9-8 all-time in games televised on FS1.

In the Huddle
Seniors who have spent their entire college career at Utah include Chase Hansen, Cody Barton, Jackson Barton, Lo Falemaka, Jameson Field, Aaron Amaama and Alani Havili-Katoa … Sophomore receiver Britain Covey was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District football first team and is now on the ballot for Academic All-America honors … Sophomore quarterback Drew Lisk saw his first action of the season in last week's win at CU … 10 true freshmen have played: Jackson Cravens, Solomon Enis, Cole Fotheringham, Brant Kuithe, Devin Brumfield, Braeden E. Daniels, Maddie Golden, R.J. Hubert, Malone Mataele and Terrell Perriman … Six true or redshirt freshmen have started: Enis, Fotheringham, Kuithe, Bronson Boyd, Jaylen Dixon and Nick Ford … Utah has 41 players of Polynesian descent on its roster.

Game Day Activities
Fans are encouraged to wear red to Saturday's game vs. BYU. Red merchandise, including red Utah blankets, is available at Red Zone locations and online at the official store of Utah Athletics (https://www.uredzone.com/home) … CR England Food Drive: University of Utah students will be collecting donations for the Utah Food Bank on the concourse of Rice-Eccles Stadium before the game. People may also donate non-perishable food at the Alumni House during normal business hours through November 30. Visit alumni.utah.edu/fooddrive for more information … The Ute Walk starts at 5:30 p.m. on the corner of 500 S. and Guardsman Way. The first 1,000 fans at the Ute Walk will receive a Utah Football Legends trading card pack.