» 2005 FIESTA BOWL
UTAH 35, PITTSBURGH 7: At Tempe, Ariz., the Utes capped a perfect season in impressive fashion. Quarterback Alex Smith (29 completions) and wide receiver Paris Warren (15 catches, two touchdowns) were named co-offensive players of the game, while teammate Steve Fifita earned defensive honors. The Utes (12-0), who were the first outside team to crack the financially lucrative Bowl Championship Series, overpowered Pittsburgh on both sides of the ball. They tallied 467 yards of total offense and nine quarterback sacks. Urban Meyer's two-year tenure as Utah's head coach came to an end with a 22-2 record and a 16-game winning streak.
» 2003 LIBERTY BOWL
UTAH 17, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 0: At Memphis, Tenn., the Utes pitched a shutout as their defense shined. They made 10 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including five sacks. Lewis Powell recovered two fumbles and was named the game's defensive MVP. Running back Brandon Warfield garnered offensive accolades after rushing for 91 yards. He scored the game's first touchdown on a 5-yard run in the second quarter. Bryan Borreson's 19-yard field goal and a 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Morgan Scalley accounted for Utah's other scores.
» 2001 LAS VEGAS BOWL
UTAH 10, USC 6: At Las Vegas, defense proved to be the difference as the Utes shut down the Trojans — limiting them to just a single yard rushing. Utah's defenders made nine tackles-for-loss with four quarterback sacks. Running back Dameon Hunter ran for 94 yards to earn MVP honors. Teammate Adam Tate had a stellar performance with 103 yards rushing, including a short run in the first quarter for Utah's only touchdown. Kicker Ryan Kaneshiro's 26-yard field goal just before halftime capped all scoring for the victorious Utes. Trailing 10-0, USC scored once in the third quarter to close the gap.
» 1999 LAS VEGAS BOWL
UTAH 17, FRESNO STATE 16: At Las Vegas, Mike Anderson was the runaway choice for MVP honors after rushing for 254 yards and two touchdowns. The Utes, tri-champions of the new Mountain West Conference, racked up 548 yards of total offense in the contest. Special teams woes, however, prevented them from pulling away. The most painful was a blocked field goal that Fresno State returned 75 yards for the game's opening score. Utah kicker Cletus Truhe, who saw two attempts deflected, extracted the ultimate revenge by making a 33-yarder for the game-winning score with 5:03 remaining.
» 1996 COPPER BOWL
WISCONSIN 38, UTAH 10: At Tucson, Ariz., a train named Ron Dayne ran over the Utes. The Wisconsin running back rambled for 246 yards and three touchdowns. The Badgers also played well defensively. They picked off Utah quarterback Mike Fouts four times in the lopsided victory. The Utes fell behind 14-3 after one quarter and trailed 31-3 at the intermission. Running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala suffered an early ankle injury and was lost for the game, leaving the Utes shorthanded. Even so, they wound up with 430 yards of total offense and 26 first downs.
» 1994 FREEDOM BOWL
UTAH 16, ARIZONA 13: At Anaheim, Calif., statistics didn't tell the story in Utah's first bowl victory in 30 years. The Utes managed just 75 yards and five first downs against Arizona's highly touted "Desert Storm" defense. The game-winning score came on fourth down when quarterback Mike McCoy avoided a sack and teamed with Kevin Dyson on a 5-yard scoring strike with 3:34 remaining. Game MVP Cal Beck set up the touchdown with a 72-yard kickoff return. The Utah defense recorded a safety in the game and stopped Arizona's offense 10 times on third down.
» 1993 FREEDOM BOWL
USC 28, UTAH 21: At Anaheim, Calif., Henry Lusk earned offensive MVP honors with six second-half catches for 140 yards and a touchdown as the Utes rallied to make things interesting against the Trojans, tri-champions of the Pac-10. USC led 28-0 at halftime but never scored again as Utah's defense tightened. Defensive end Luther Elliss had five tackles-for-loss, two sacks and a pair of pass breakups. The Utes scored 13 points in the third quarter (including a 34-yard touchdown run by Jamal Anderson) and eight in the fourth in their comeback bid. The game ended with USC intercepting a long pass by McCoy.
» 1992 COPPER BOWL
WASHINGTON STATE 31, UTAH 28: At Tucson, Ariz., the Utes got off to a slow start in their first bowl appearance in 28 years. They trailed 21-0 less than 14 minutes into the contest. It didn't stay that way for long, however. By the time the third quarter was complete, Utah had pulled even at 28-28. Frank Dolce threw a pair of touchdown passes — connecting with Sean Williams and Lusk — to spark the comeback. Keith Williams and Pierre Jones rushed for scores. The Cougars and quarterback Drew Bledsoe wound up winning, though, with a 22-yard field goal down the stretch.
» 1964 LIBERTY BOWL
UTAH 32, WEST VIRGINIA 6: At Atlantic City, N.J., a national television audience watched the first major bowl game ever played indoors. Utah put on a good show with an overpowering performance before a crowd of 6,059 at the Atlantic City Convention Center — doing so despite losing all-American Roy Jefferson to a shoulder separation in the first half. Halfback Ron Coleman wound up rushing for a game-high 154 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown run, to headline the effort. Pokey Allen, Andy Ireland and Bill Morley also scored, while Jefferson contributed two field goals and an extra point. On the other side of the ball, Utah's defense recorded five interceptions.
» 1947 PINEAPPLE BOWL
HAWAII 19, UTAH 16: At Honolulu, Ralph Olsen hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Cannon Parkinson as Utah took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Hawaii, however, came roaring back with 19 consecutive points over the second, third and fourth quarters. The outburst wound up determining the outcome. Trailing 19-7, Utah climbed back into contention in the fourth quarter with a touchdown run by Milton Smith and a safety by the defense. A game-ending opportunity to pull ahead was thwarted when a Hawaii defender knocked the ball away from Utah's Morris Ficklin as time expired.
» 1939 SUN BOWL
UTAH 26, NEW MEXICO 0: At El Paso, Texas, Ray Peterson scored two touchdowns — the first on a 60-yard interception return and the second on a fourth-down 1-yard plunge — as Utah opened its bowl history on a successful note. While the defense held Border League co-champion New Mexico to just 153 yards, Utah's offense racked up 384. Tom Pace produced the game's first score on a 15-yard run off a lateral from Ray Davis. Halfback Clarence Gehrke capped all scoring with a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter.
» OTHER INVITATIONS: Utah declined invitations to play in the 1951 Pineapple and Sun bowls. In 1941, a scheduled trip to the Pineapple was canceled because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.