Both teams have the inside track to the championship game heading down November’s home stretch
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Utah is sitting in the proverbial driver’s seat.
The Utes’ Pac-12 South Championship hopes increased significantly with a dominating 44-24 victory over UCLA last Saturday.
Utah is 4-1 in the Pac-12 South, ahead of Arizona State (3-2), which lost at home to Washington State last weekend. They’re also leading UCLA (3-3) and USC (3-3). The Utes are seeking their third Pac-12 South title in four years.
Deseret News columnist Doug Robinson takes a deep dive into how Utah has performed since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
Now that we’re in November, the Utes have four games remaining on their regular-season schedule — Nov. 5 at Stanford, Nov. 13 at Arizona, Nov. 20 at home against Oregon and Nov. 26 at home against Colorado.
It’s likely that Utah could face No. 7 Oregon again in the Pac-12 Championship game on Dec. 3 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. From there, the Utes could play in either the Rose Bowl or the Alamo Bowl.
Considering all that the Utes have been through so far this season, that would be quite an accomplishment.
Utah’s offense and defense rose to the occasion against UCLA.
“For the most part, it’s just guys doing their job and making plays. The O-line did a terrific job blocking. Everybody did a terrific job,” tight end Brant Kuithe said. “Our offense is coming in full form. We’re not there yet but we’re getting there. We’ve got to keep it rolling and keep getting better.”
Numbers game
50: A victory Friday would give Utah its 50th win as a member of the Pac-12, dating back to 2011.
5-1: The Utes’ Pac-12 record this season if they can win Friday, marking the first 5-1 Pac-12 start for Utah since 2019.
17: Scoring drives by Utah’s offense of 75 yards or more in the last three games.
From the archives
Extra points
- What Kyle Whittingham thinks about being 2nd-longest tenured coach in FBS (Deseret News)
- 3 takeaways from Utah’s 44-24 win over UCLA (Deseret News)
- Utah football officially retires No. 22 in honor of Ty Jordan, Aaron Lowe (Deseret News)
- Pac-12 home teams honor Ty Jordan, Aaron Lowe by painting 22-yard line red (Deseret News)
Fanalyst
Comments from Deseret News readers
“Happy to be eating crow. Thought DTR and Charrboneau would gash Utah D. Cam Rising was outstanding and it was Utah that did the gashing. Fortunately for Utah no DTR in this one. Special athlete there. Utes usually match up well with Stanford so not near as concerned about next week.”
— 96 U
“Love Coach Whit and what he brings every year. He cares about his players and the Utah family at large, including the fans.”
— wwookie
Up next
Nov. 5 | 7 p.m. | Women’s volleyball | vs. UCLA | @Salt Lake City | Pac-12 Network
Nov. 5 | 8:30 p.m. | Football | vs. Stanford| @Stanford, California | FS1
Nov. 5 | 3 p.m. | Soccer | vs. Colorado | @Salt Lake City | Pac-12 Network
Nov. 7 | Noon | Women’s volleyball | vs. USC | @Salt Lake City | OSU Live Stream
Could another Utah-Oregon Pac-12 title tilt be in the cards?
Source: Gabriella Pinoys
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