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SALT LAKE CITY — One Pac-12 football game.
It’s what stands between Utah and Arizona State in the final standings to determine the South Division champ. The scenario, though, is simple on paper for both programs. If Utah beats Colorado Saturday in a pre-afternoon kickoff and Arizona State drops a game on the road to either Oregon or Arizona, the Utes will finally claim the elusive division title.
But if Arizona State wins out, regardless of what Utah does, the Sun Devils become the rightful heir to the title. For the Sun Devils, there’s a 5.8 percent chance they win out and a 9.0 percent chance they win the conference, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The Utes, though, have a 77.5 percent chance of beating the Buffaloes and a 32.3 percent chance of winning the conference. And while odds are never perfect, it’s an interesting position for Utah to be in with one final conference game left in the regular season. It’s a position that head coach Kyle Whittingham wants to be in to close out the conference slate.
“I think our team plays best when there's a chip on their shoulder,” Whittingham said Monday at his weekly press conference. “I think that's been evident to me. When they feel that they've got something to prove or their backs are against the wall or whatever the case may be, our guys seem to handle that very well.
“I kind of like being in the position we're in, where we've got to come through.”
There’s no question Saturday’s tilt against Colorado is important for the Utes; it’s arguably the most important game in Whittingham’s tenure as a head coach. Other games have had an impact on Utah’s overall success, but winning the South is the final box needing to be checked for Utah to claim full partnership in the Pac-12.
There’s no question that opposing teams respect the gritty play of Utah and fear a defensive line that wreaks havoc on the run game, but it’s more a badge of honor for Utah; a so-called rite of passage to finally be in a position to play in the Pac-12 Championship game.
“This whole group, we're a bunch of fighters,” senior linebacker Cody Barton said. “Like coach Whitt said, we've got a chip on our shoulder, we've got something to prove. At this program, they teach us a lot of mental toughness and so when our back’s against the wall or we have adversity in the game or throughout the season, we want to prove people wrong and come out on top.”
“We've got a very mature group there. They're mature, they're cerebral, and so they were well aware, as much as I was, that we just didn't play up to our capabilities,” he said. “They knew that they had a blown a great opportunity and didn't want to repeat it.”
And despite Utah coming into the game as a favored road opponent, one does not simply walk into Boulder and come away with a win. The Buffaloes are in the midst of a five-game losing skid, but they’ll be fighting for bowl eligibility in the program’s senior night. And given Utah’s history against the Buffaloes with the South on the line, it’s going to take all Utah can give to squash any opportunity of giving Colorado hope.
Barring a rare letdown on defense, Utah’s physical defenders should be able to limit a Colorado team that averages 419.7 yards on offense. But Utah needs another strong performance from redshirt freshman Jason Shelley and running back Armand Shyne, who put up solid numbers in their first start on the season.
Shelley threw for 262 yards on 18-of-31 passing and rushed for two touchdowns in his starting debut, and Shyne rushed for 174 yards as the starting running back. In total, Utah nearly put up 500 yards of offense and the team responded after giving up a lead in the fourth quarter.
Opportunities will be there for the Utah offense, though, as Colorado gives up on average 148.3 yards rushing and 247.9 yards through the air. And based on Shelley’s success Saturday, Whittingham has again limited media access to his QB1 to keep him focused on the game ahead of him.
Still, Whittingham said Shelley has been dialed in with his game preparation and ability to handle the pressure as a freshman. He added that he was impressed with his first start as a freshman and knows he is capable of another solid performance against the Buffaloes.
Utah kicks off its finals conference game Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks and on ESPN 700.
