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The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Continue To Prep For Holiday Bowl
12/10/2018 9:27 AM | Football
"Just a regular team", said an opposing player about the 2018 Utes shortly after losing to them. This "regular team" would make history by winning the Pac-12 South Division title and playing in its first Pac-12 Championship game. Now, it's playing in the Holiday Bowl—a bowl Ute fans have dreamed of since the early 1980s.
The Utes maybe looked like a "regular team" after starting 0-2 in conference play with losses to North division foes Washington and Washington State. But with their backs against the wall, the Utes won four straight games to take the reins in the Pac-12 South race.
They again defied the "regular team" moniker after losing their starting quarterback and running back—who were accounting for 84-percent of the team's total offense—by winning three straight games and clinching the Pac-12 South.
This "regular team" felt heartbreak when a student-athlete on the Utah track and field team was killed, but the players carried her name on their helmets and her legacy with them for the remainder of the season.
The mantra of Coach Kyle Whittingham's football teams is "next man up." Whether it was injuries, hardship on and off the field or adversity, the team continued to step up and look forward, advancing to a bowl for the 13th time under Whittingham. Â
The conference coaches certainly found the Utes exceptional: They voted more players from Utah to the first team (nine) than any other team. Utah had 17 total players win all-conference accolades, including 10 defensive starters.
First-team punter Mitch Wishnowsky, a finalist for the Ray Guy Award and a Walter Camp All-American, was the only three-time first-team honoree on the list while kicker Matt Gay repeated as a first-team selection for the second year. Gay was a four-time Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week this fall, breaking the school record for consecutive field goals made (21) and field goals made in a game (6).
The Utes are 9-4 as they enter the Holiday Bowl against Northwestern and will play a 14th game for the first time in Utah football history. Whittingham sports the best bowl win percentage in NCAA history (92%) and his 11 bowl wins (11-1) is tied for second among active coaches.
Utah started the season 2-0 in non-conference play, beating Weber State and Northern Illinois before starting Pac-12 play against No. 10 Washington.
The Utah offense sputtered against the Huskies in a 21-7 loss and admitted to a "lack of identity." Back at the drawing board, the game plan changed, with a heavier emphasis on the run-pass option. It worked with Zack Moss rushing for 106 yards in a 28-24 loss at Pullman in a game decided on a late fourth quarter 89-yard touchdown bomb from Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Gardner Minshew.
No coach wants to start conference play with two losses, especially in the Pac-12 where the teams are balanced, but that didn't deter Whittingham. Resiliency was the name of the game and Utah had a lot of it.
Heading into the game against No. 14 Stanford, it was like a light switch went on. The Utes went on to win four straight, ranking as high as No. 16 in the polls with quarterback Tyler Huntley completing 71-percent of his passes for 879 yards and seven touchdowns during the streak.
It wasn't just the Utah offense that was firing away during the four-game run, the Ute defense was relentless and smothering, holding those opponents to an average of 78.5 yards rushing and below 300 yards of total offense.
The Utes headed into the game against Arizona State with a firm hold on the Pac-12 South and loads of confidence, ready to take on the world. It was a slow start for the Utes on offense as the Sun Devils took an early lead in Tempe, but Huntley and the Utes stormed back, making it a one-point game in the third quarter.
But it was during that scoring drive that it happened. On an awkward tackle, Huntley broke his collarbone and was taken to the locker room. Redshirt freshman Jason Shelley took over the drive and finished the game, but Arizona State scored back-to-back touchdowns for the 38-20 win.
As fans and the program rallied around and supported Huntley, that "next man up" mentality became even more real for Shelley. He would enter the game against Oregon, a team Utah had only beaten nine times in program history, as the starter.
Ask Whittingham if he was nervous, and his response was as cool as it comes. He had faith in Shelley, a dual-threat quarterback with an infectious calmness about him that was easy to follow and easy to like. His teammates took notice too, resulting in a great week of practice.
Fans of college athletics know things never go as planned and the Wednesday before the game against Oregon, Utah's plan went out the window when Moss was lost for the season after sustaining a non-football related injury to his knee. "Next man up" Armand Shyne would be the starting running back against the Ducks.
Shyne was familiar with injuries after only playing in five games in the two previous seasons due to injuries. What fans might not have remembered about Shyne though was that he led the Utes in rushing yards and touchdowns prior to his injury in 2016, and let's just say, he picked up where he left off.
In a complete team win over Oregon, Shelley and Shyne put up a spectacular performance, with Shyne rushing for a career-high 176 yards to propel the Utes to a 32-25 victory. Shelley finished the game 18-of-31 passing for 262 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. Gay set a school record for field goals made in a game at six.
It was another turning points for the Utes. The excitement at the games and around the team was electric, the feeling that something special was happening was upon them.
The Utes closed out the season with three straight wins, including beating conference rival Colorado in a snow storm and rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to beat BYU.
Utah was full steam ahead into the Pac-12 Championship game and a rematch with Washington. Unfortunately for the Utes, it was like a flashback to the game against the Huskies on Sep. 15. Utah was only able to muster three points in the game, falling 10-3 in its first Pac-12 Championship game appearance.
While most would look at a loss as a setback, the Utes didn't go into the game with a "happy to be there" attitude. They wanted to win, and they were hungry for more.
That hunger comes from a senior leadership that has been unrelenting this season in getting the Utes to where they are now. Small but mighty, the 13-member senior class includes major national award winners in Gay (2017 Lou Groza Award) and Wishnowsky (2016 Ray Guy Award, three-time Ray Guy finalist), along All-Pac-12 players Chase Hansen, Jackson Barton, Jordan Agasiva, Marquise Blair, Cody Barton, Lo Falemaka and Corrion Ballard.
Names like Hansen and the Barton have been a constant for the Utes. Heading into their fourth straight bowl game, they have helped the Utes win 35 games in the last four years.
The journey has been long, the road twisting and turning to new and different directions. But it isn't over yet, the hunt is on, and the Utes want one more.
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The Utes maybe looked like a "regular team" after starting 0-2 in conference play with losses to North division foes Washington and Washington State. But with their backs against the wall, the Utes won four straight games to take the reins in the Pac-12 South race.
They again defied the "regular team" moniker after losing their starting quarterback and running back—who were accounting for 84-percent of the team's total offense—by winning three straight games and clinching the Pac-12 South.
This "regular team" felt heartbreak when a student-athlete on the Utah track and field team was killed, but the players carried her name on their helmets and her legacy with them for the remainder of the season.
The mantra of Coach Kyle Whittingham's football teams is "next man up." Whether it was injuries, hardship on and off the field or adversity, the team continued to step up and look forward, advancing to a bowl for the 13th time under Whittingham. Â
The conference coaches certainly found the Utes exceptional: They voted more players from Utah to the first team (nine) than any other team. Utah had 17 total players win all-conference accolades, including 10 defensive starters.
First-team punter Mitch Wishnowsky, a finalist for the Ray Guy Award and a Walter Camp All-American, was the only three-time first-team honoree on the list while kicker Matt Gay repeated as a first-team selection for the second year. Gay was a four-time Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week this fall, breaking the school record for consecutive field goals made (21) and field goals made in a game (6).
The Utes are 9-4 as they enter the Holiday Bowl against Northwestern and will play a 14th game for the first time in Utah football history. Whittingham sports the best bowl win percentage in NCAA history (92%) and his 11 bowl wins (11-1) is tied for second among active coaches.
Utah started the season 2-0 in non-conference play, beating Weber State and Northern Illinois before starting Pac-12 play against No. 10 Washington.
The Utah offense sputtered against the Huskies in a 21-7 loss and admitted to a "lack of identity." Back at the drawing board, the game plan changed, with a heavier emphasis on the run-pass option. It worked with Zack Moss rushing for 106 yards in a 28-24 loss at Pullman in a game decided on a late fourth quarter 89-yard touchdown bomb from Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Gardner Minshew.
No coach wants to start conference play with two losses, especially in the Pac-12 where the teams are balanced, but that didn't deter Whittingham. Resiliency was the name of the game and Utah had a lot of it.
Heading into the game against No. 14 Stanford, it was like a light switch went on. The Utes went on to win four straight, ranking as high as No. 16 in the polls with quarterback Tyler Huntley completing 71-percent of his passes for 879 yards and seven touchdowns during the streak.
It wasn't just the Utah offense that was firing away during the four-game run, the Ute defense was relentless and smothering, holding those opponents to an average of 78.5 yards rushing and below 300 yards of total offense.
The Utes headed into the game against Arizona State with a firm hold on the Pac-12 South and loads of confidence, ready to take on the world. It was a slow start for the Utes on offense as the Sun Devils took an early lead in Tempe, but Huntley and the Utes stormed back, making it a one-point game in the third quarter.
But it was during that scoring drive that it happened. On an awkward tackle, Huntley broke his collarbone and was taken to the locker room. Redshirt freshman Jason Shelley took over the drive and finished the game, but Arizona State scored back-to-back touchdowns for the 38-20 win.
As fans and the program rallied around and supported Huntley, that "next man up" mentality became even more real for Shelley. He would enter the game against Oregon, a team Utah had only beaten nine times in program history, as the starter.
Ask Whittingham if he was nervous, and his response was as cool as it comes. He had faith in Shelley, a dual-threat quarterback with an infectious calmness about him that was easy to follow and easy to like. His teammates took notice too, resulting in a great week of practice.
Fans of college athletics know things never go as planned and the Wednesday before the game against Oregon, Utah's plan went out the window when Moss was lost for the season after sustaining a non-football related injury to his knee. "Next man up" Armand Shyne would be the starting running back against the Ducks.
Shyne was familiar with injuries after only playing in five games in the two previous seasons due to injuries. What fans might not have remembered about Shyne though was that he led the Utes in rushing yards and touchdowns prior to his injury in 2016, and let's just say, he picked up where he left off.
In a complete team win over Oregon, Shelley and Shyne put up a spectacular performance, with Shyne rushing for a career-high 176 yards to propel the Utes to a 32-25 victory. Shelley finished the game 18-of-31 passing for 262 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. Gay set a school record for field goals made in a game at six.
It was another turning points for the Utes. The excitement at the games and around the team was electric, the feeling that something special was happening was upon them.
The Utes closed out the season with three straight wins, including beating conference rival Colorado in a snow storm and rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to beat BYU.
Utah was full steam ahead into the Pac-12 Championship game and a rematch with Washington. Unfortunately for the Utes, it was like a flashback to the game against the Huskies on Sep. 15. Utah was only able to muster three points in the game, falling 10-3 in its first Pac-12 Championship game appearance.
While most would look at a loss as a setback, the Utes didn't go into the game with a "happy to be there" attitude. They wanted to win, and they were hungry for more.
That hunger comes from a senior leadership that has been unrelenting this season in getting the Utes to where they are now. Small but mighty, the 13-member senior class includes major national award winners in Gay (2017 Lou Groza Award) and Wishnowsky (2016 Ray Guy Award, three-time Ray Guy finalist), along All-Pac-12 players Chase Hansen, Jackson Barton, Jordan Agasiva, Marquise Blair, Cody Barton, Lo Falemaka and Corrion Ballard.
Names like Hansen and the Barton have been a constant for the Utes. Heading into their fourth straight bowl game, they have helped the Utes win 35 games in the last four years.
The journey has been long, the road twisting and turning to new and different directions. But it isn't over yet, the hunt is on, and the Utes want one more.
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Players Mentioned
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