It was good to see him playing with confidence and like I said, getting into a groove where he was throwing the ball very well. – Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham
SALT LAKE CITY — Travis Wilson is heading to the Las Vegas Bowl on a high note. The Utah quarterback matched his career high with 311 yards passing in the Utes’ regular-season finale at Colorado on Nov. 29.
Wilson completed 25 of 37 passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the 38-34 victory over the Buffaloes.
“I was happy for him. He was able to get into a rhythm which he hasn’t been able to do very often this season,” noted Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “It was good to see him playing with confidence and like I said, getting into a groove where he was throwing the ball very well.”
Offensive coordinator Dave Christensen said Wilson had a good week of preparation before the Colorado game and then came out and played well. Wilson was reminded that he led the Utes to victory at crunch time against USC a few weeks earlier.
“I said I’ve seen that guy against SC that went out, moved this football team and won the game,” Christensen explained. “So I know it’s in there and we expect you to play that way.”
Wilson responded to the message, leading an offense that finished with 439 yards and 21 first downs.
“Hopefully we can carry that over into the bowl game,” said wide receiver Kaelin Clay, who made 10 catches and scored two touchdowns in the game.
Wilson is determined to do his part.
“It’s important that I’m ready and I play well and I just do everything I can to make sure I’m prepared and ready to go for next Saturday,” he said.
THINNING HERD?: When asked about the future of Utah’s stable of quarterbacks, which currently includes Wilson, Kendal Thompson, Brandon Cox, Conner Manning, Adam Schulz, Donovan Isom, Jason Thompson and Chase Hansen, Whittingham offered some insight.
“We’ll have to sort that out during this offseason and my guess is there may be one or two, even three, that get the itch to play sooner and may take their game elsewhere,” Whittingham said after practice on Monday. “We don’t know. There’s a lot that can happen and transpire, so we’ll sit down as a coaching staff. We’ve got to make some decisions and I’m sure that the players already — some of them are probably thinking — that maybe better opportunities may be elsewhere. So we’ll see how that shakes out.”
EXTRA POINTS: Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti will be at the Utah football facility Thursday when the Utes choose their bowl gifts. ... Utah punter Tom Hackett is a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, which will be presented to the winner Thursday on the ESPN College Football Awards Show (5:30 p.m. MST). ... The Utes have decided to bus rather than fly to Las Vegas for the bowl game. They’re scheduled to leave after practicing in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
Las Vegas Bowl
Colorado State (10-2) vs. No. 22 UTAH (8-4)
Sam Boyd Stadium
Saturday, Dec. 20
TV: ABC
Radio: ESPN 700
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