Well deserved.... Hackett is a game changer.
Printable View
Well deserved.... Hackett is a game changer.
Uh oh... What is your prediction?
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
No. 22 Utah vs. Colorado State, Dec. 20 (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Why to watch: Florida fans can get a peek at the offense new coach Jim McElwain helped produce at Colorado State. Spoiler alert: It's much better than what the Gators have been putting on the field recently. Quarterback Garrett Grayson threw for 3,779 yards with 32 touchdowns and six interceptions, and Rashard Higgins was a Biletnikoff Award finalist with 89 catches for 1,640 yards with 17 touchdowns.
Who to watch: Utah's Nate Orchard won the Ted Hendricks Award as the country's top defensive end, finishing with 80 tackles, 17.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss. The Rams might have a difficult time protecting Grayson; the Utes led FBS teams with 52 sacks.
Motivation for Utah: After playing in nine consecutive bowl games from 2003 to '11, the Utes missed the postseason in each of the past two years. They also have a chance to win at least nine games for the first time since going 10-3 in 2010.
Motivation for Colorado State: Offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin, a 35-year coaching veteran who has worked at 11 schools, is a candidate to replace McElwain after helping him produce record-setting offenses at CSU the past three seasons. A win in a bowl game might help him land the job.
Prediction: Colorado State 34, Utah 31
http://espn.go.com/college-football/...-39-bowl-games
Travis Wilson’s first bowl start may be last of his career with Utes.
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/dfCfJ?u...-utes-football
Utah’s most successful football season in the school’s Pac-12 era will end Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl vs. Colorado State, with one more chance for the Utes to make a favorable impression and secure a Top 25 ranking in the final polls.
"It’s the last thing that people are going to remember," said junior quarterback Travis Wilson.
He’s speaking of the 2014 Utes overall, but those words may apply to Wilson himself. After everything he has gone through this season, he’s promised only one more turn as a starting quarterback. And then who knows how his college football future will play itself out.
QB issues have driven the story lines in all three of Utah’s FBS programs this season, so why should anything be different in December — and beyond? BYU’s Christian Stewart is a senior, so he knows the Miami Beach Bowl is his last shot. Utah State redshirt freshman Kent Myers could end up almost anywhere on the Aggies’ depth chart next spring, following the New Mexico Bowl. As for Wilson, the Las Vegas Bowl will mark his 27th and conceivably final start for the Utes, with some variables in play.
Graduating from the school in 2015 will give him options. Wilson is not saying he’s among the "one or two or maybe even three" quarterbacks who could transfer, by coach Kyle Whittingham’s count. If he stays for his senior year, Wilson would go into spring drills as Utah’s No. 1 quarterback.
But how long he would maintain that status is a big question.
What’s clear is that Wilson deserves some credit for playing through two demotions this year, beating USC with a last-minute touchdown and overcoming Colorado in the regular-season finale with a 311-yard passing performance.
Wilson returned to the lineup for good when Kendal Thompson injured his knee in the first quarter against Oregon on Nov. 8, after Wilson twice lost his starting job. "I didn’t really let that affect me. … I tried to prove myself every time I’d go back in," he said.
He sort of succeeded, following each benching. Wilson helped the Utes win double-overtime games at Oregon State and Stanford after the offense struggled in regulation, in addition to keeping Utah close against Oregon for three-plus quarters. Everybody involved with Utah’s offense regressed in the loss to Arizona, but Wilson responded well against Colorado
"It was good to see him playing with confidence," Whittingham said.
"I’m just happy he kept a level head, [not] get too down on himself," said Ute receiver Kenneth Scott. "The thing I try to preach to Travis is stay confident. … Any quarterback that’s on a leash, or whatever, is not that confident. If he gets his spot taken, his confidence goes down."
The Utes went 7-3 this season in the games Wilson started, including a 4-3 mark in Pac-12 play. He’s 14-12 in three years as a starter, boosted by a 6-0 record in nonconference games with wins over Utah State and BYU in 2013.
Mix in the intracranial artery condition that threatened to end his career, and Wilson has experienced a Ute tenure unlike any quarterback’s. Now comes the Las Vegas Bowl, during which Wilson is almost certain to move into the top five of Utah’s all-time passing-yards list.
So where will his career go from here?
Thompson’s brief, second stint as Utah’s No. 1 quarterback offered some clues about the future. In that first quarter vs. Oregon, the offense "looked about the way it’s supposed to look," offensive coordinator Dave Christensen said recently, responding to a question about his scheme.
The same could be said of Wilson’s showing at Colorado, an opponent that now accounts for two of his eight Pac-12 wins. Coming off the loss to Arizona, Christensen reminded Wilson of his clutch performance against USC, telling him, "I know it’s in there, and we expect you to play that way."
Wilson delivered a 38-34 victory in Boulder, and now he gets another turn against another Colorado school in his first bowl appearance.
This is Wilson’s opportunity to make a lasting impression in 2014. Whether it’s his last start for the Utes is up to him — to some degree, anyway.
Utah wins by 10+. They are going to dominate both lines of scrimmage and that is where games are won and lost.
This will be an interesting game... the MWC has a habit of beating up the mid-tier PAC teams in this bowl game. I find it even more interesting now that Utah is on the other side of the equation.
I believe the record is currently:
8 wins for the MWC
6 wins for the PAC 12
Merry Christmas
Attachment 77117
I thought Colorado State was supposed to be good?
This is a blowout!
Today the Utes are one good looking football team.
Great ending to a season that should have been mediocre at best. Hopefully the momentum will carry into the 2015 season...though the losses of Orchard, Clay and probably Booker will hurt.
Whitt said this was his most fulfilling year coaching next to 2008.
http://youtu.be/fW9eRiBxViw
Nice article: Utah poised to move up in Pac-12 pecking order
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_...-pecking-order
One of my pictures from the game.
https://fbcdn-photos-b-a.akamaihd.ne...345ca42b906e02
What a year!
http://vimeo.com/114714105
Great highlight video!
http://youtu.be/GVaPLCfAG0Q
For the seniors...
http://youtu.be/Kq2c2EMZmAY