Certainly, it was another dramatic and eventful weekend in college football, particularly for No. 14 Utah.
A week ago, it seemed unlikely the Utes would reach the Pac-12 championship game.
“A lot of things had to line up for us — they all transpired. Our team did a really good job of taking care of our business.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
But after a series of fortunate events for Utah, including a dominating 63-21 victory at Colorado, it will take on No. 6 USC at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Friday (6 p.m. MST, Fox).
For the Utes, there’s a lot at stake — an opportunity to win back-to-back Pac 12 titles and a return trip to the Rose Bowl.
“We’re thrilled to be back in the championship, obviously,” coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday. “A lot of things had to line up for us — they all transpired. Our team did a really good job of taking care of our business.”
For the Trojans, there’s a lot at stake, too — not only a Pac-12 championship but also a potential spot in the College Football Playoff and shot at a national championship.
“A big challenge this week. We find ourselves in a very similar situation as last year, playing a team that we already beat one time in league play,” Whittingham said, referring to the Utes facing Oregon twice in 2021. “As we all know, it’s very difficult to beat a really good team twice but that’s what our challenge is.”
Whittingham also recounted the experience for his team over the weekend.
In addition to beating the Buffaloes, the Utes needed No. 18 UCLA to beat Cal on Friday; they needed No. 21 Oregon State to upset No. 9 Oregon and they needed No. 13 Washington to knock off Washington State on Saturday.
All of it happened. The most shocking part was the Beavers’ comeback from a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter against the Ducks and claiming a 38-34 win.
“That was a roller coaster,” Whittingham said about the weekend. “When it was 31-10 for Oregon, I got an update (on the sidelines in Boulder). Somebody sent me a gamecast thing on ESPN that said ‘99.3% chance of winning’ or something like that. That was a little bit of a downer.
“Again, we were just worried about what we could control and we were just hoping for the other stuff to happen. … I started to get a steady flow of updates with seven or eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter of our game. That’s when that game was winding down. I couldn’t believe it when they pulled it off. Then of course, it was down to one game that night and we were all glued to our TV watching the Huskies and Washington State.”
At that point, Whittingham, his staff, his players and Ute fans everywhere became big Washington fans.
“The Oregon game was in the books at that point. We said, three of the four things have happened. We need one more to go. We’ll see if the stars align for us, and they did,” Whittingham said. “Some people say, ‘Well, you backdoored your way into the championship.’ No, we won the games we needed to win to get there. I don’t know what ‘backdoored’ means. We won seven games and the right seven games to get into the championship. That’s our stance.”
Now, Utah has all of its focus on this rematch against USC. The Utes beat the Trojans 43-42 on Oct. 15 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“USC is ultra-talented. Very efficient on offense. They’re No. 1 in yards per play, which is, to me, more important than the total offense number. The quarterback is terrific — the No. 1 passer efficiency rating in the conference,” Whittingham said. “They lead the league in scoring as well, about 42 points per game. Probably their most impressive statistic overall — without a doubt in my opinion — is their turnover margin. They’ve only turned it over four times and gained 27. If that’s not No. 1 in the nation, it’s close to it.
“That’s really been the biggest factor in their successful season, how they take care of the football and how they take it away on defense. We’ve got a big challenge. It’s a short turnaround for both teams, so no advantage or disadvantage there. We have our work cut out for us. ... We’ll fly down there Thursday and line up on Friday night at Allegiant Stadium and away we go.”
Also Monday, Whittingham was asked about David Shaw stepping down as Stanford’s head coach last Saturday after a 35-26 loss to BYU.
That news “took me by surprise,” Whittingham said.
“I respect David a ton. He’s a tremendous football coach and a tremendous person. He gave back to the game constantly. He was always doing something to stay involved on the peripheral, on the rules committee and the competition committee. He’s a very smart individual. He’ll be back in coaching, I can pretty much guarantee it. Maybe not right away but he’s too good a coach to stay out. … There comes a time for everybody when it’s time.”
Pac-12 Championship
No. 14 Utah (9-3, 8-2)
vs. No. USC (11-1, 8-1)
Friday, 6 p.m. MST
Allegiant Stadium
TV: Fox
Radio: ESPN 700