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The University of Utah Athletics
Photo by: Steve C. Wilson
Utah Football Faces Washington in Pac-12 Championship
11/26/2018 10:49 AM | Football
The Game
No. 17 Utah (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) plays No. 10/11 Washington (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. PT (6 p.m. MT) in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. FOX will televise the game. Search #UTAHVSUW for conversation and follow @utahathletics for live updates.
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Quick Hits
> Utah, the outright champion of the South Division, is playing in the Pac-12 Championship game for the first time.
> Washington, the co-champion of the North, won its only previous Pac-12 Championship game against Colorado in 2016.
> Utah lost to Washington 21-7 in Salt Lake City on Sept. 15. See page 2 for complete series results.
> Jason Shelley, who became the starting quarterback after Tyler Huntley's injury on Nov. 3, did not play in the earlier game against Washington.
> Utah has won seven of its last eight games since losses on back-to-back weeks against the Washington schools in September.
> 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.
> Utah is 1-0 in Levi's Stadium with a win over Indiana in the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl.
> In his 14th season as Utah's head coach, Kyle Whittingham is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the third-longest tenured coach at the same school in the NCAA FBS.
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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 is No. 17 in both the AP and Coaches' polls this week, moving up one spot 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. 17 in last week's CFP rankings—its third appearance this season (No. 15 on Oct. 30 and No. 19 on Nov. 13). Utah appeared in every CFP ranking from 2014-16.
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Statchat
> Utah is No. 2 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in red zone defense (62.9, 22-of-35)
> Utah is No. 3T 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 (100.3)
> Utah is No. 5 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in tackles for loss per game (8.2)
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 (No. 11 nationally) in red zone offense (0.911, 41-of-45)
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 in opponent third-down conversion percentage (33.2)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 14 nationally) in net punting (40.60)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 15 nationally) in total defense (315.8)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 16 nationally) in first down defense (202)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 17 nationally) in scoring defense (19.3)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in rushing offense (197.8)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in fewest passes intercepted (7)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in sacks per game (2.83)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (116.75)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in interceptions (13)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in defensive touchdowns (3)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in fewest penalties per game (5.42).
See sidebar on page 3 for more Utah rankings
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Season of Firsts
Utah will play 14 games in a season for the first time in program history … The Utes are playing the same opponent twice in a season for the first time since 1945, when they met Denver twice … This is Utah's first appearance 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.
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Two Minute Drill
Utah has been designated as the visitor for the Pac-12 Championship game … The Utes went 4-0 in October and 3-1 in November … Utah was 3-0 in non-conference games to improve to 27-1 in non-conference games (including bowls) since joining the Pac-12 in 2011 … Kyle Whittingham is one of 18 semifinalists for the George Munger Coach of the Year … Washington leads the series with Utah 11-1. Utah's only win was in Seattle in 2015 and the Utes are 1-5 against UW as Pac-12 members. This is the first neutral site contest between the two teams … Against AP-ranked opponents, Utah is 7-15 in the Pac-12 era and 1-1 this season (lost to No. 10 Washington, beat No. 14 Stanford) … In addition to the broadcast on Utah's flagship radio station ESPN 700, the game will be aired live nationally on ESPN Radio with the broadcast team of Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons.
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North Star
A Pac-12 North Division team has captured six of the seven conference championships: Oregon (2011, 2014), Stanford (2012, 2013, 2015) and Washington (2016). Utah is the sixth South Division team to qualify into the championship game. USC, the only South Division team with more than one appearance in the championship game, also has its only win (2017).
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No. 17 Utah (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) plays No. 10/11 Washington (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. PT (6 p.m. MT) in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. FOX will televise the game. Search #UTAHVSUW for conversation and follow @utahathletics for live updates.
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Quick Hits
> Utah, the outright champion of the South Division, is playing in the Pac-12 Championship game for the first time.
> Washington, the co-champion of the North, won its only previous Pac-12 Championship game against Colorado in 2016.
> Utah lost to Washington 21-7 in Salt Lake City on Sept. 15. See page 2 for complete series results.
> Jason Shelley, who became the starting quarterback after Tyler Huntley's injury on Nov. 3, did not play in the earlier game against Washington.
> Utah has won seven of its last eight games since losses on back-to-back weeks against the Washington schools in September.
> 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.
> Utah is 1-0 in Levi's Stadium with a win over Indiana in the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl.
> In his 14th season as Utah's head coach, Kyle Whittingham is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the third-longest tenured coach at the same school in the NCAA FBS.
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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 is No. 17 in both the AP and Coaches' polls this week, moving up one spot 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. 17 in last week's CFP rankings—its third appearance this season (No. 15 on Oct. 30 and No. 19 on Nov. 13). Utah appeared in every CFP ranking from 2014-16.
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Statchat
> Utah is No. 2 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in red zone defense (62.9, 22-of-35)
> Utah is No. 3T 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 (100.3)
> Utah is No. 5 in the nation (No. 1 Pac-12) in tackles for loss per game (8.2)
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 (No. 11 nationally) in red zone offense (0.911, 41-of-45)
> Utah is No. 1 in the Pac-12 in opponent third-down conversion percentage (33.2)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 14 nationally) in net punting (40.60)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 15 nationally) in total defense (315.8)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 16 nationally) in first down defense (202)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 (No. 17 nationally) in scoring defense (19.3)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in rushing offense (197.8)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in fewest passes intercepted (7)
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in sacks per game (2.83)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (116.75)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in interceptions (13)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in defensive touchdowns (3)
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in fewest penalties per game (5.42).
See sidebar on page 3 for more Utah rankings
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Season of Firsts
Utah will play 14 games in a season for the first time in program history … The Utes are playing the same opponent twice in a season for the first time since 1945, when they met Denver twice … This is Utah's first appearance 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.
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Two Minute Drill
Utah has been designated as the visitor for the Pac-12 Championship game … The Utes went 4-0 in October and 3-1 in November … Utah was 3-0 in non-conference games to improve to 27-1 in non-conference games (including bowls) since joining the Pac-12 in 2011 … Kyle Whittingham is one of 18 semifinalists for the George Munger Coach of the Year … Washington leads the series with Utah 11-1. Utah's only win was in Seattle in 2015 and the Utes are 1-5 against UW as Pac-12 members. This is the first neutral site contest between the two teams … Against AP-ranked opponents, Utah is 7-15 in the Pac-12 era and 1-1 this season (lost to No. 10 Washington, beat No. 14 Stanford) … In addition to the broadcast on Utah's flagship radio station ESPN 700, the game will be aired live nationally on ESPN Radio with the broadcast team of Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons.
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North Star
A Pac-12 North Division team has captured six of the seven conference championships: Oregon (2011, 2014), Stanford (2012, 2013, 2015) and Washington (2016). Utah is the sixth South Division team to qualify into the championship game. USC, the only South Division team with more than one appearance in the championship game, also has its only win (2017).
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