Utes still hopeful for Pac-12 South title
For the first time since Utah’s initial season in the Pac-12 — in 2011 — the Utes are in the race for the Pac-12 South title until their last conference game.
If Utah (7-3, 5-3 Pac-12) beats Colorado (5-5, 2-5) on Saturday, the Utes would require help from one of Arizona State’s two remaining opponents to earn a berth in the Pac-12 title game because the Sun Devils (6-4, 4-3) have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
ASU would have to lose at Oregon this Saturday or at Arizona the following week.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham put a positive spin on the situation, saying he is proud of his team after starting 0-2 in conference play with losses against Washington and Washington State.
“It’s a credit to our players,” Whittingham said during his weekly news conference Monday.
“We haven’t been perfect; we’ve obviously stumbled along the way, but they’re resilient. They keep coming back. … That’s a trademark of this football team for certain, their ability to respond to adversity.”
Whittingham mentioned that overcoming adversity was evident in Utah’s fourth-quarter answer in last Saturday’s 32-25 win over Oregon. The Utes fell behind 25-22 after a blocked punt led to an Oregon touchdown.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jason Shelley, playing in place of injured starter Tyler Huntley, drove the Utes to a go-ahead touchdown on the next possession.
Matt Gay added his school-record sixth field goal of the game with 15 seconds remaining for the win.
Utah prevailed despite the absence of Huntley (broken collarbone) and running back Zack Moss (knee) because of season-ending injuries.
Colorado has lost five straight games after a 5-0 start and is playing for bowl eligibility on Senior Day.
Whittingham is preaching to his team that it has an uphill battle in Boulder.
“I think our team plays best when there’s a chip on their shoulder,” he said Monday. “That’s been evident to me, when they feel like they’ve got something to prove or their backs are against the wall … our guys seem to handle that very well. I kind of like being in the position we’re in.”
The Utes were in a similar spot to clinch the Pac-12 South title in 2011, when USC was ineligible because of probation to play in the title game. Utah went into a home game against last-place Colorado with a four-game winning streak and needing a victory, plus losses by ASU (to Arizona) and UCLA (to USC).
Those outcomes went in the Utes’ favor — but after they lost 17-14 to Colorado.