Usually, the day after a loss to Brigham Young University, the Utes are subdued if not angry.
Why then, were coach Ron McBride and his players going bonkers on McBride's football show with Bill Marcroft Sunday afternoon?Answer: The Utes just two hours earlier had received the kind of news that comes once every 28 years - they had been invited to a bowl.
On Dec. 29 in Tucson, Ariz., the Utes will extend their season by playing No. 21-ranked Washington State in the Weiser Lock Copper Bowl, Utah's first postseason game since the 1964 Liberty Bowl.
And, according to athletic director Chris Hill, this is an important milestone in Ute athletic history, because, "We're part of the bowl picture now."
It's critical, Hill believes, for Utah fans to support the team (meaning he wants them to get in their cars, trucks, planes, whatever and head to Tucson in late December) now so that in future years when bowl committees are looking at available teams they'll say, `Hey, remember all those fans Utah brought when it went to the Copper Bowl in '92?'
Still, it's an intriguing story that the Utes at 6-5 are going bowling.
How did it happen?
Well, a lot of credit needs to go to WAC Commissioner Joe Kearney and his staff for putting together a bowl alliance that basically committed the Jeep Eagle Aloha Bowl and the Copper Bowl to taking WAC teams after the Thrifty Car Rental Holiday Bowl berth was filled by the WAC champion.
And a big assist goes to the man whose conduct was far from exemplary during his team's 41-15 victory over Utah two weeks ago - Jim Sweeney. Actually, his team gets the credit.
By stunning favored San Diego State 45-41 Saturday, Fresno State sent previous bowl plans from the table to the floor. Had San Diego State won, the Aztecs would have gone to the Holiday Bowl, Hawaii to the Aloha Bowl and BYU to the Copper Bowl.
Copper Bowl representative Al O'Brien was at Rice Stadium Saturday and had already issued an invitation to Utah's favorite rival to appear in the Copper Bowl. He said Saturday he had waited four years to land the Cougars in his bowl. He left the stadium and got on a flight home without knowing the final score of the Bulldog-Aztec game. He asked the pilot if he could radio and get some information on the outcome of the game.
"We were flying over the Grand Canyon at the time. He handed me a piece of paper. It read `Fresno won.' Had I been near a door, I might have kicked it open and jumped out," O'Brien said.
But bowl people are resilient. With the Copper Bowl losing BYU because of Fresno State's victory and Iowa because of the Hawkeyes' loss to Minnesota Saturday night, that bowl's officials were on the phone Saturday night and met through the morning and early afternoon Sunday to come up with their new matchup.
Though local favorite Arizona State defeated Arizona, 7-6, to get its sixth victory and qualify for a bowl, Washington State's 42-23 hammering over No. 5 Washington was too impressive to pass up. The WSU Cougars improved to 8-3 and moved up to No. 20 in the CNN/USA TODAY poll and No. 21 in the AP poll. They also have perhaps the nation's top quarterback and the one being touted to go No. 1 in the NFL draft - Drew Bledsoe.
Early Sunday, O'Brien reported from Tucson, "Washington State's got a bid. We're still working on the other one. Utah's on the table for discussion."
Though the Utes had lost to the Cougars, both O'Brien and Freedom Bowl representative Jim Murray said late Saturday afternoon at Rice Stadium that the Utes were still candidates for their bowls - providing Fresno State lost in the Copper Bowl's case.
A major thing that worked in Utah's favor for the Copper Bowl bid is McBride's association with the University of Arizona, which just happens to play its home games in Wildcat Stadium, home of the Copper Bowl. He has a lot of ties in Tucson and participated in the first Copper Bowl in 1989 as an assistant coach for Arizona.
What about Fresno State? By beating UTEP next week, the Bulldogs would finish as a WAC co-champion with an overall 8-4 record.
By committing to Washington State, however, the Copper Bowl virtually eliminated Fresno State from its bowl, as Washington State and Fresno State had already played each other during the regular season, the WSU Cougars edging the Bulldogs, 39-37, in Fresno in late September.
Ute officials were busy Sunday morning making their pitch to Copper Bowl officials. "I've heard from Chris Hill," O'Brien reported at midmorning, plus the bowl also had received a fax from an influential Ute booster. What O'Brien wanted to know at 10 a.m. was this: "How many people will Utah bring?"
The Copper Bowl was being lobbied by a number of teams in addition to Utah. Shortly after noon O'Brien reported, "The U. of Virginia athletic director Jim Copeland just called us. They're interested in our bowl and are now on the table. We're still having conversations with Utah."
In the afternoon The Associated Press quoted bowl official Burt Kinerk as saying, "We have a whole laundry list of teams - Kansas, Oklahoma, Fresno State, Utah, Virginia, Rutgers, Baylor, Southern Mississippi, Auburn, Rice or Texas" were being considered to oppose Washington State and that the bowl might wait a week to decide on its second berth.
O'Brien discounted parts of that account, saying the bowl definitely wanted to come up with the second team by the end of the day.
By midafternoon the decision was made: Go with Utah.
Then came the call to Hill and McBride.
"The excitement was overwhelming. They practically jumped through the telephone," O'Brien said.
Utah was picked because Copper Bowl officials believe the Utes will get excellent fan support and that they'll provide an entertaining matchup.
"It's liable to be a Fresno State-San Diego State type of game," O'Brien said. Also, "Both teams really wanted to come,"
Washington State brings a Utah connection to the bowl as well. Coach Mike Price, of course, coached at Weber State for a number of years before taking the head job in Pullman.
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5 WAC teams in bowls
Aloha Bowl (Dec. 25 Honolulu) BYU (8-4) vs. Kansas (7-4) or Oklahoma (5-3-2)
Copper Bowl (Dec. 29 Tucson) Utah (6-5) vs. Washington State (8-3)
Freedom Bowl (Dec. 29 Anaheim) Fresno State (7-4) vs. USC (6-3-1)
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 30 San Diego) Hawaii (8-2) vs. Illinois (6-4-1)
Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31 Memphis) Air Force (7-4) vs. Mississippi (7-4)