Utah's football season officially ended with a 31-17 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2.
The celebration, however, is still going strong.
The Utes, who went 13-0 and finished No. 2 in the final Associated Press rankings, are just a couple of days removed from a parade in their honor in downtown Salt Lake City. Simply put, they're the toast of the town.
And with good reason.
"What a great season our guys were able to put together," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "After 13 games, they were the only ones in the country still standing without a loss."
The Utes currently reside in college football's upper echelon. They own two of the nation's longest active win streaks — 14 straight victories overall and eight consecutive bowl triumphs — while racking up several individual accolades.
Two organizations tabbed Whittingham as the national coach of the year and kicker/punter Louie Sakoda became Utah's first unanimous All-American.
Both also earned Mountain West Conference recognition.
So, too, did quarterback Brian Johnson. The Sugar Bowl's Most Outstanding Player was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year after helping the Utes capture their first league title since 2004.
It was a banner year for Utah.
"I'm very proud of them and very proud of the assistant coaches," said Whittingham, who was especially pleased with how the season ended. "They saved their best for last. That's for sure. It was fun to be a part of that," he added while noting the Utes' wins over BYU (which clinched an outright conference crown for Utah) and Alabama.
The journey, though, had its share of twists and turns along the way.
Utah overcame some close calls. The Utes faced stiff challenges from Michigan (25-23), Air Force (30-23), Oregon State (31-28), New Mexico (13-10) and TCU (13-10).
"We had our backs against the wall four or five times this season and our guys responded each and every time," said Whittingham, who considers the win over Oregon State as the game that "set the tone for the rest of the season."
The Utes used an 11-point rally in the final 1:29 to defeat the Beavers at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Oct. 2.
"That really was the turning point," Whittingham said.
And the rest, they say, is history.
The 13 wins in a single season were the most in 115 years of Utah football.
Offense
Utah didn't have trouble putting points on the board. The Utes averaged 400.9 yards of total offense and led the conference with 36.9 points per game. They scored 59 touchdowns.
"I was really pleased with the offense this year," Whittingham said. "We led the conference in scoring, which is the bottom line."
Johnson led the way. The senior completed 268-of-394 passes for 2,972 yards and 27 scores.
"I thought we were very productive offensively this year," Whittingham said. "He is the guy who made the offense go and having him healthy for an entire season was huge for this football team."
Five Utah receivers — Freddie Brown, Bradon Godfrey, Brent Casteel, Jereme Brooks and David Reed — caught 25 or more passes. The ground game was paced by running backs Matt Asiata and Darrell Mack. The duo teamed for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns. Tight end Colt Sampson had five scores.
Defense
The Utes intercepted 19 passes and recovered 12 fumbles to highlight a stellar season-long effort on defense. They really shined in the Sugar Bowl with nine tackles-for-loss, eight sacks, two picks and a fumble recovery against Alabama.
"Our defense from start to finish, I thought, played very, very solid football — one of the best years defensively, ever, statistically speaking," Whittingham said. "We had very good numbers as far as scoring defense, total defense and third-down defense. All those important categories, we did very well."
Junior linebacker Mike Wright led the Utes with 81 tackles. Other notable numbers were posted by sophomore end Paul Kruger (16.5 tackles-for-loss, 7.5 sacks) and junior cornerback Sean Smith (five interceptions). Junior safety Robert Johnson intercepted four passes.
Special teams
Sakoda, Utah's first All-American at two positions, proved to be a valuable weapon for the Utes.
"Having the best combination place-kicker/punter in the country is a big advantage," Whittingham said. "The thing about Louie is he got better each and every year. Each year he set the bar higher."
Sakoda finished his senior season with 122 points. He made 56- of-57 PATs and 22-of-24 field-goal attempts. As a punter, Sakoda averaged 42.1 yards on 56 kicks. He pinned 24 inside the 20-yard line and had a long kick of 81 yards.
Reed headlines Utah's other special teams performers. He averaged 25.4 yards returning kickoffs.
Looking ahead
As was the case in 2004, when the Utes went 12-0, there have been a lot of departures. Besides underclassmen Kruger and Smith opting to pursue an NFL career early, the coaching staff has undergone a face-lift. Defensive coordinator Gary Andersen is now the head coach at Utah State and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig has left for a similar post at Kansas State. He'll be joined there by offensive line coach Charlie Dickey. Receivers coach Aaron Roderick is headed to Washington.
The changes have led to promotions for position coaches Kalani Sitake and Dave Schramm, who are now in charge of the defense and offense, respectively. Veteran John Pease has joined the staff as assistant head coach and will also oversee the defensive line. Other vacancies have yet to be filled.
The revamped staff will have plenty of decisions to make. Utah's senior class included several key contributors including Johnson, Sakoda, Mack, Brown, Godfrey, Casteel, Sampson, right guard Robert Conley, right tackle Dustin Hensel, defensive tackle Greg Newman, cornerback Brice McCain.
"We've got a lot of holes to fill. We've got some key departures," Whittingham said. "It was a tremendous senior class. But what's going to happen now is the same thing that happens every year. The next group of guys steps up."
Offseason conditioning begins today.
"The time to pat ourself on the back is over," Whittingham said. "You've got to get back in the weight room and get back to doing those things that made last year so successful."
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com