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Utah Football Set To Kick Off 2019 Season At BYU Thursday
8/26/2019 10:52 AM | Football
THE GAME
The University of Utah Utes (0-0) will take on the BYU Cougars (0-0) on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah with an 8:15 p.m. MT kick time. The game will be televised on ESPN. Search #UTAHvsBYU on social media for conversation.
UTES ON THE ROAD
Utah is currently 245-253-12 (.492) all-time when playing on the road after going 4-2 last season in games away from Salt Lake City. The Utes hold a 20-17-1 record when playing at BYU, including wins in the last three games in Provo. Utah's last trip to Provo ended with a 19-13 victory in 2017 in which Tyler Huntley threw for 300 yards (27-of-36), adding 89 yards rushing and a touchdown. The last time Utah opened the season against BYU was in 1896 when the Cougars were known as Brigham Young Academy. Even though BYU doesn't recognize its years as Brigham Young Academy, Utah walked away with a 12-4 win that year.
NUMBERS TALK
QUICK HITS
TEAM LEADERS
Utah's team captains are elected during preseason camp each year by the team. This year the offensive captains are seniors Tyler Huntley and Darrin Paulo. For defense, the captains are seniors Bradlee Anae and Leki Fotu while the special teams captain is newcomer punter Ben Lennon. The Utes also named their leadership council for the season which includes Huntley, Anae, Paulo, Fotu, Lennon, Jaylon Johnson, Zack Moss, Demari Simpkins, Francis Bernard, Britain Covey, Julian Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, John Penisini and Cole Fotheringham.
IN THE HUDDLE
CONNECTIONS
TWO-MINUTE DRILL
UTAH GAME DAY
IN THE CLASSROOM
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The University of Utah Utes (0-0) will take on the BYU Cougars (0-0) on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah with an 8:15 p.m. MT kick time. The game will be televised on ESPN. Search #UTAHvsBYU on social media for conversation.
UTES ON THE ROAD
Utah is currently 245-253-12 (.492) all-time when playing on the road after going 4-2 last season in games away from Salt Lake City. The Utes hold a 20-17-1 record when playing at BYU, including wins in the last three games in Provo. Utah's last trip to Provo ended with a 19-13 victory in 2017 in which Tyler Huntley threw for 300 yards (27-of-36), adding 89 yards rushing and a touchdown. The last time Utah opened the season against BYU was in 1896 when the Cougars were known as Brigham Young Academy. Even though BYU doesn't recognize its years as Brigham Young Academy, Utah walked away with a 12-4 win that year.
NUMBERS TALK
- Utah's game against BYU will be the 100th all-time meeting between the two teams.
- With a win, Utah will have won 12-straight season openers, dating back to 2008.
- With a win, Utah will have won nine-straight against BYU, dating back to 2010.
- With a win, head coach Kyle Whittingham will improve to 13-2 in season openers.
- Utah's game against BYU will be Whittingham's 182nd game as the head coach at Utah
QUICK HITS
- Utah is 75-49-1 all-time in season openers. Utah last lost a season opener against Oregon State in 2007.
- The last time the Utes opened a season on the road was the undefeated 2008 season when they started the year with a 25-23 win in Ann Arbor against Michigan.
- Utah is 23-1 in regular-season non-conference games since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. Utah's last regular-season non-conference loss was in overtime at Utah State in 2012.
- Utah landed at No. 14 in the preseason AP Top 25, the highest preseason ranking for the Utes in program history. The last time the Utes were ranked in the preseason AP Poll was in 2009 (#19). The Utes also landed at No. 15 in the preseason Coaches Poll, the highest preseason Coaches poll ranking for the Utes in school history.
- Utah was picked by the media to win the Pac-12 Conference title game and the South Division. Utah also had a team-high five players earn first-team preseason All-Pac-12 (Zack Moss, Bradlee Anae, Leki Fotu, Julian Blackmon, Jaylon Johnson).
- The Utes have sold out 57-straight games in Rice-Eccles Stadium since the 2010 season opener, including 53 standing room only crowds. The school record for season attendance average is 46,533 (2015) and Utah has averaged more than 46,000 fans per game in four of the past five seasons.
TEAM LEADERS
Utah's team captains are elected during preseason camp each year by the team. This year the offensive captains are seniors Tyler Huntley and Darrin Paulo. For defense, the captains are seniors Bradlee Anae and Leki Fotu while the special teams captain is newcomer punter Ben Lennon. The Utes also named their leadership council for the season which includes Huntley, Anae, Paulo, Fotu, Lennon, Jaylon Johnson, Zack Moss, Demari Simpkins, Francis Bernard, Britain Covey, Julian Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, John Penisini and Cole Fotheringham.
IN THE HUDDLE
- Players changing numbers during the offseason include Bronson Boyd (#8), Devin Brumfield (#6) and Nygel King (#16). Position changes include Jayden Clemons going from quarterback to defensive back and Falcon Kaumatule moving from defensive end to offensive line.
- Utah added three new staff members during the offseason with Andy Ludwig returning to the Utes as offensive coordinator after serving in the same role from 2005-08, including Utah's 2008 undefeated Sugar Bowl season. Former Utah player Sione Po'uha returns to coach the defensive tackles after serving in the same role at Navy last year while Colton Swan joined the Utes as linebackers coach from Weber State.
- Scholarships awarded to walk ons during the offseason include senior offensive lineman Kyle Lanterman, junior tight end Ali'I Niumatalolo, senior defensive end Malik Haynes and senior running back Mason Woodward.
- Javelin Guidry is one of the fastest players in NCAA football, clocking a season-best time of 6.59 seconds in the 2018-19 indoor track season and competing at the USATF Indoor Championships.
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 assistant 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 while Steve Clark worked as Director of Operations (2002) and as a defensive assistant (2004). Player Personnel Coordinator Alema Fitisemanu worked in recruiting at Utah from 2015-18
- Ute linebacker Francis Bernard is a transfer from BYU.
TWO-MINUTE DRILL
- Utah leads the Pac-12 and ranks sixth nationally in weeks ranked in the College Football Playoff Poll, entering 2019 with 24 weeks, trailing only Alabama (31), Clemson (31), Ohio State (31), Oklahoma (29) and LSU (27).
- The Utes rank first in the Pac-12 in turnovers forced (133) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (12) in the last five years.
- Utah ranks second among Pac-12 teams in opponent touchdowns allowed in the last 10 years (356), sitting behind only Stanford (336).
- Utah is one of just five college football programs whose 2018 attendance represented 100% or higher than capacity of its stadium, claiming the fourth-highest capacity percentage of 101.1%. Nebraska (104.2%), Oklahoma (103.9%) and Michigan (102.9%) were the only schools ahead of Utah, while Georgia (100.0%) rounded out the top five.
- Utah kickers have made 182 PATs in a row, dating back to Nov. 29, 2014. Andy Phillips (7-of-7 in 2014, 47-of-47 in 2015, 43-of-43 in 2016) and Matt Gay (40-of-40 in 2017, 45-of-45 in 2018) were Utah's kickers during that streak. The streak is the third longest in the nation behind Auburn (274) and Georgia (245).
UTAH GAME DAY
- The alumni association is holding a watch party for the Utah vs. BYU game beginning at 6:00 p.m. on the A. Ray Olpin Union lawn.
- University of Utah faculty and staff can receive a discounted ticket to the first two home games (Northern Illinois, Idaho State) by going to UtahTickets.com. All state and federal employees can receive a discounted ticket to the Idaho State game.
- The clear bag policy will continue to be enforced at Utah athletic events held at Rice-Eccles Stadium and the Huntsman Center this season.
- Fans can purchase unique experiences, including pregame and in-game sideline access, tailgate experiences, coin-toss participation, autographed memorabilia and the opportunity to lead the team out of the tunnel with the flag. To learn more about the game-day experiences please visit utahutes.com/experiences.
- The Ute Walk begins two-and-a-half hours before kickoff at the corner of Guardsman Way and 500 South. Fans are invited to cheer on the Utes as they make their walk into Rice-Eccles Stadium, sponsored by doTERRA.
- The cannon will blast at a new time, 45 minutes before kickoff, alerting fans to begin their transition into the stadium.
IN THE CLASSROOM
- The Utes currently have seven student-athletes that have already received their degrees, including four graduate transfers who are pursuing Masters degree, and 16 who are on track to graduate in December.
- Already have degrees: John Penisini (family communications & human development), Josh Nurse (sociology) and Darrin Paulo (economics).
- Graduating in December: Francis Bernard (sociology), Julian Blackmon (sociology), Terrell Burgess (kinesiology), Bapa Falemaka (sociology), Leki Fotu (human development & family studies), Tyler Huntley (sociology), Jaylon Johnson (pre-business), Nygel King (sociology), Kyle Lanterman (communications), Tareke Lewis (sociology), Zack Moss (communications), Hauati Pututau (health, society & policy), Demari Simpkins (communications), Tyrone Young-Smith (sociology), Paul Toala (communications) and Derrick Vickers(sociology).
- Pursuing a Masters: Hunter Thedford (international affairs and global enterprise), Noah Reneau-Myers (education, culture and society), Alex Locklear (human development and social policy) and Andrew Strauch (real estate development).
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