Football Hosts Washington in Annual Blackout Game

Saturday, September 15

Salt Lake City, UT

8:00 PM

University of Utah

Washington

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

Football Hosts Washington in Annual Blackout Game

9/10/2018 11:41 AM | Football

Game Notes Press Conference Quotes

The Game
Utah (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12) hosts No. 10/12 Washington (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. Mountain Time. The game will be televised on ESPN. Search #UWvsUTAH for conversation.

Stadium Blackout
> Fans are encouraged to wear black attire to Saturday's game and black out Rice-Eccles Stadium.
> Ute insignia attire for the 11th-annual blackout game can be purchased at UtahUtes.com or at any Redzone location.
> The Utes will wear black uniforms and helmets.
> Utah is 8-2 in Rice-Eccles Stadium blackouts, beating TCU (2008), Wyoming (2009), Oregon State (2011), Cal (2012), USC (2014 and 2016), Oregon State (2015) and UCLA (2017), while losing to TCU (2010) and UCLA (2013).

Quick Hits
> In his 14th year 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 nation (NCAA FBS).
> In his 25th year on the staff, Whittingham has participated in more wins (198) than any football coach in Utah history and he is 113-56 as the head coach.
> Utah leads the nation in total defense (143.5 ypg) and passing defense (62.0 ypg). See pages 2-3 for more Utah rankings.
> The Utes have won three-straight Pac-12 openers—beating Oregon, USC and Arizona from 2015-17—to improve to 3-4 since joining the conference.
> Saturday's game marks the first time Utah and Washington have opened their Pac-12 seasons against each other.
> Washington leads the series with Utah 10-1, including a 2-0 mark in Salt Lake City (2011, 2016). Utah's win was in Seattle in 2015. Utah is 1-4 against UW in conference games.
> Utah is 0-3 against ranked Washington teams, losing to the No. 14 (1979), No. 4 (2016) and No. 16 (2017) Huskies.
> Against AP ranked opponents, Utah is 6-14 in the Pac-12 era, 19-25 since 1994 and 21-64 all-time.
> There have been 52-consecutive sellouts in Rice-Eccles Stadium dating back to the 2010 season opener, including 49 standing room-only crowds.

Statchat
> Utah leads the nation in total defense (143.5).
> Utah leads the nation in passing yards allowed (62.0).
> Utah ranks second in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (57.12).
> Utah is tied for fifth in the nation and second in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (8.0).
> Utah is tied for fifth in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in first down defense (18).
> Utah is tied for 10th in the nation and is second in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss (9.5).
> Utah leads the Pac-12 in red zone defense (66.7%).
> Utah is tied for the Pac-12 lead in red zone offense (100%).
> Utah is second in the Pac-12 in opponent third-down conversion percentage (22.9).
> Utah is second in the Pac-12 in fewest penalties per game (5.0), penalty yards (80) and penalty yards per game (40.0).
> Utah is third in the Pac-12 in net punting (43.8).
> Utah is third in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (81.5).
> Utah is tied for third in the Pac-12 in kickoff return average (24.0).
See sidebar on page 3 for more Utah rankings.

In the Huddle
True freshman Solomon Enis has officially joined the depth chart this week at X receiver … Sophomore Chayden Johnston, already the backup kicker, has won the No. 2 position at punter … Eight true freshmen have played: Devin Brumfield, Braeden E. Daniels, Solomon Enis, Cole Fotheringham, Maddie Golden, R.J. Hubert, Brant Kuithe and Malone Mataele … Utah has 41 players of Polynesian descent on its roster.

Two Minute Drill
With last week's win at Northern Illinois, Utah is 28-1 in non-conference games (including five bowl games) since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. The Utes have won 21-straight non-conference games … The win at NIU marked the sixth straight year Utah won its first road game of the season … Utah has 44 first downs to just 18 by its opponents … Utah has scored on all five trips inside the red zone, including three touchdowns … Utah's best offensive quarters are the third (21 points) and fourth (20 points). Opponents have failed to score on the Utes in the second and third quarters.

Outside the Lines
Former Utah and NFL running back Mike Anderson is among six former Ute greats who will be inducted into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame at a banquet in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Friday. Anderson, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years before college, was a two-time first-team all-conference pick and the 2000 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with the Denver Broncos. See Game Day Activities for more … The historical video series commemorating 125 seasons of Utah football will highlight the 1970s at this Saturday's game … The ESPN 700 Smith's Coach's Show with Kyle Whittingham can be heard every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. on ESPN 700 and the ESPN 700 app. The show is also streamed live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/uathletics ... Use the hashtag #UWvsUTAH all week to follow the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram … Rice-Eccles Stadium is enforcing a clear bag policy. For more information, visit https://stadium.utah.edu/clearbag/ … 22 former Utes are on NFL rosters this week (see page 10 for current list).

Game Day Activities
The 2018 Crimson Club Hall of Fame class will be introduced at halftime. The inductees include Mike Anderson (football), Amanda Feigt (soccer), Ashley Postell (gymnastics), Kim Smith (women's basketball), Mike Sojourner (men's basketball) and Ron Steele (skiing) ... Utah Athletics and the Pac-12 will present a check to Whittier Elementary in conjunction with the College Football Playoff Extra Yard for Teachers program … The Ute Walk starts at 5:30 p.m. on the corner of 500 S. and Guardsman Way. Utah Utes' eye black will be distributed to fans at the Ute walk … In advance of POW/MIA recognition day on Sept. 21, there will be a moment of silence prior to the anthem. Immediately after the anthem, Hill Air Force Base will conduct a flyover … The 2018-19 Utah men's basketball team will be recognized during a break … For the full list of 2018 home game promotions, visit UtahUtes.com/Promotions… The Utah ROTC's Ute Thunder blasts a pre-game cannon call to notify fans outside the stadium that kickoff is 30 minutes away.