3:20 AM.
Utah's Kyle Whittingham stood on a stage and looked out at his team and the thousands of Utah fans who stayed to watch the trophy presentation after the team's 38-10 victory over Oregon in the conference title game.
"This is for the two of them," Whittingham said.
The Utah football player was killed during a shooting at a house party in Salt Lake City. The death of Ty Jordan on Christmas Day last year was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot.
"This is as satisfying as it gets, honestly just to know that we did honor them the right way, that's what it's all about," said Utah's Devin Lloyd, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player. We did everything we could for them.
The motto for the season was "They wouldn't get over it, but they would get through it."
Whittingham said he believed his guys did that. We love those two young men, they were with us tonight. I'm positive that they were here with us.
The Utah win came just two weeks after a similar performance against the Oregon in Salt Lake City, and the conference title game was played in Las Vegas for the first time, but it might as well have been another home game for the Utes. The most electric atmosphere in the 11-year history of the conference title game was provided by a near sellout crowd of 56,511.
The crowd at Rice-Eccles 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 They're going to travel to the Rose Bowl. I guarantee that.
If the Big Ten title is decided on Saturday, Utah's opponent for the Rose Bowl will be announced on Sunday. If Iowa beats Michigan, the Hawkeyes will play Ohio State in Pasadena.
The Utes are the poster child for how a team can improve over the course of the season. After starting the season 1-2, Whittingham made a quarterback change and the Utes went 9-1 since.
The Utes were left wondering what could have been after George Kliavkoff said the conference wanted an expanded playoff field.
"I would like to see the playoffs expand a little bit, have more teams in there," Rising said. That would be nice.
Rising completed 15 of 24 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown and a pair of picks, while the Utes ran for 191 yards and three scores. The win was about the Utah defense and how well they played. Oregon was held out of the end zone until after the game's outcome had been decided.
