SALT LAKE CITY — When Utah played in its first bowl game back in 1939, it was a pretty big deal.
Only five bowl games were being played at the time and all were traditionally played on New Year’s Day — the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl and the Sun Bowl.
The Utes, who had won the Mountain States title, played in the latter bowl, in El Paso, Texas, against New Mexico, which was the co-champion of the old Border League. Actually, the game along with the other four bowls were played that year on Jan. 2 because Jan. 1 fell on a Sunday. The Utes dominated from the start and cruised to a 26-0 victory.
Utah’s next bowl game came in 1964 when the number of bowl games had risen to nine. Then it took another 28 years for the Utes to earn a bowl berth, in 1992 at the Copper Bowl in Tucson and by this time the bowl number had risen to 18.
Since then the Utes have been regular participants in bowl games, thanks to a proliferation of bowl games (now 40) as well as an improved Utes program, which has been bowl eligible most years. Including the ’92 game, the Utes have played in 20 bowls over the past 27 years.
Among the 61 schools that have played in at least 20 bowl games, none have a better winning percentage than Utah’s 77.3% with its 17-5 record, which is also better than the 99 schools with at least 10 bowl appearances.
Utah’s most significant bowl victories were the 2005 Fiesta Bowl win over Pitt and the 2009 Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. The Las Vegas Bowl, where the Utes have played five times with a 4-1 mark, has been their most common bowl game while they’ve had two appearances in the Freedom, Copper, Poinsettia, Sun, Liberty and Emerald/Foster Farms bowls. West Virginia, USC and Georgia Tech, have been the most familiar bowl opponents as the Utes played each of them twice.
Here’s a brief look at each of Utah’s bowl appearances over the years:
Sun Bowl, Jan. 2, 1939: Utah 26, New Mexico 0 — As one of only 10 schools in the country to receive a bowl invitation, the Utes felt special to be among the elite of college football. Ike Armstrong’s Utes had won the Mountain States Conference title with a 6-1-2 record, their only loss coming to Idaho with ties against Colorado and BYU.
Sophomore Ray Peterson was the star as he intercepted a pass in the first half and raced 64 yards for the score and later punched it in from the 1-yard line for a touchdown on fourth down in the second quarter.
The Utes jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead, as Tom Pace scored, in addition to Peterson’s two TDs and then Clarence Gehrke capped off the scoring with a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter. Utah held the Lobos to just 153 yards of total offense, while gaining 384 yards.
Liberty Bowl, Dec. 19, 1964: Utah 32, West Virginia 6 — Utah’s second bowl game was the first-ever indoor bowl game as it was staged in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the same Convention Center where the Miss America Pageant was held every year.
Ray Nagel’s Utes led from the start as All-America receiver Roy Jefferson kicked a pair of field goals and Pokey Allen and Ron Coleman scored on runs of 11 and 53 yards, respectively, to give Utah a 19-0 halftime lead. In the second half, the Utes tacked on two more scores, a 47-yard run by Andy Ireland and a 33-yard pass from Rich Groth to Bill Morley as the Utes finished with a 9-2 record.
Copper Bowl, Dec. 29, 1992: Washington State 31, Utah 28 — The Utes were a little star-struck in their first bowl appearance, falling behind 21-0 in the first quarter. They finally got rolling in the second quarter and trailed 28-14 at halftime. The Utes tied it in the third quarter with an 8-yard run by Pierre Jones following a 49-yard pass from Frank Dolce to Henry Lusk. The Cougars went ahead with a field goal with five minutes remaining and the Utes got inside the 10-yard line in the waning minutes, but couldn’t get into the end zone and a 20-yard field goal by Chris Yergensen was wide left.
Freedom Bowl, Dec. 30, 1993: USC 28, Utah 21 — Like the year before in Tucson, the Utes fell behind early, giving up 20 first-quarter points and trailing 28-0 at halftime. But like the year before, they rallied and pulled within seven with 4:28 left on Keith Williams’ 1-yard run, but couldn’t get closer. Henry Lusk was named offensive MVP after catching six passes for 140 yards.
Freedom Bowl, Dec. 27, 1994: Utah 16, Arizona 13 — The Utes offense was completely shut down by the Wildcats’ “Desert Swarm” defense, netting just six rushing yards and 75 total yards on the night. The Utes were trailing 13-9 late in the fourth quarter after an Arizona safety when Cal Beck took the kick and returned it 77 yards to the UA 5-yard line. From there, on fourth down, Mike McCoy found Kevin Dyson in the end zone for the winning touchdown.
Copper Bowl, Dec. 27, 1996: Wisconsin 38, Utah 10 — It’s hard to believe the Utes actually had more first downs (26-16) and more total yards (430-365), yet still suffered their worst bowl loss ever. The problem was four interceptions by Mike Fouts as the Utes missed several scoring opportunities. Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne rambled for 246 yards and three touchdowns and earned MVP honors.
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 19, 1999: Utah 17, Fresno State 16 — The Utes nearly doubled the Bulldogs in total yardage with 548 yards to 279, but needed a 33-yard field goal by Cletus Truhe with 5:03 left to eke out a one-point victory. Mike Anderson scored both Utah touchdowns and set a bowl record with 254 yards rushing.
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 25, 2001: Utah 10, USC 6 — In the Utes’ only Christmas Day matchup, the defense held the Carson Palmer-led offense to just 151 yards, while Adam Tate (103 yards) and Dameon Hunter (94 yards) led the Utah offensive effort.
Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31, 2003: Utah 17, Southern Miss 0 — This was a defensive battle as the Utes only picked up 228 total yards on the day to 213 for the Golden Eagles. Utah’s only offensive touchdown was scored in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by MVP Brandon Warfield, who had 91 yards on the day. Current Ute defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley added a 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter,
Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1, 2005: Utah 35, Pittsburgh 7 — The Utes made history as the first BCS school in a major bowl game and had little trouble disposing of the Big East champions. Co-MVPs Alex Smith and Paris Warren combined on 15 passes for 198 yards as Smith went 29 for 37 on the day. The defense was led by Eric Weddle, Steve Fifita and Tommy Hackenbruck, who had 26 tackles among them.
Emerald Bowl, Dec. 28, 2005: Utah 38, Georgia Tech 10 — The Yellow Jackets came into the game with the 12th-ranked defense in the country, but the Utes offense had little trouble in piling up 550 yards as Brett Ratliff passed for 381 yards on 30-of-42 passing with four touchdowns to Travis LaTendresse, while Quinton Gather ran for 120 yards.
Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 23, 2006: Utah 25, Tulsa 13 — Kicker Louie Sakoda earned MVP honors after booting four field goals from 45, 39, 41 and 34 yards. All-America defensive back Eric Weddle, who had six tackles, one fumble recovery and an interception, also ran for 56 yards and scored the clinching touchdown with 1:05 left.
Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 20, 2007: Utah 35, Navy 32 — In a high-scoring affair, Brian Johnson threw for 226 yards, including 20 of 22 completions in the second half and also ran for 69 yards. DB Joe Dale was named defensive MVP after finishing with 12 tackles and a game-saving interception in the final minute.
Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2, 2009: Utah 31, Alabama 17 — Even though Utah came in undefeated as the No. 7-ranked team, the No. 4-ranked Crimson Tide were the big favorites. But the Utes shocked Alabama with a no-huddle offense that produced touchdowns on their first three possessions to grab a 21-0 lead 11 minutes into the game. Alabama trimmed the lead to 21-17 early in the third quarter, but Utah responded a minute later with a 28-yard pass from Brian Johnson to David Reed and Louie Sakoda added a fourth-quarter field goal. Johnson was MVP after completing 27 of 41 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns and Stevenson Sylvester and Robert Johnson led the defensive effort.
Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 23, 2009: Utah 37, Cal 27 — The Utes looked to be in trouble, falling behind the Bears of the Pac-12, 14-0, in the opening 10 minutes, before storming back with 27 straight points. Jordan Wynn passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns, while Stevenson Sylvester won defensive MVP honors after intercepting a pass for a touchdown and making eight tackles.
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 22, 2010: Boise State 26, Utah 3 — The Utes’ nine-game bowl winning streak came to a crashing halt, as the offense sputtered against a stout Bronco defense with just 200 yards on the day.
Sun Bowl, Dec. 31, 2011: Utah 30, Georgia Tech 27 (OT) — Midway through the fourth quarter, the Utes trailed 24-10, but Jon Hays rallied his troops with a pair of late touchdown passes, three yards to Kendrick Moeai and 28 yards to DeVonte Christopher, the latter with 1:32 left. Then in overtime, after the Yellow Jackets kicked a field goal, John White ran in eight yards for the winning points.
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 20, 2014: Utah 45, Colorado State 10 — Utah’s largest margin of victory in a bowl game was aided by a punishing run game as the Utes piled up 359 yards on the ground, led by Devontae Booker with 162 yards, while quarterback Travis Wilson ran for 91 yards and passed for 158.
Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 19, 2015: Utah 35, BYU 28 — The two rivals didn’t meet in the regular season, but were matched up in the bowl game just down I-15 for both schools. The Utes only managed 197 yards of offense on the day, but they didn’t need it as they ran off 35 points in the first 11 minutes of the game thanks to five BYU turnovers. Two interceptions by Tevin Carter and Dominique Hatfield went for scores and the Utes survived a furious BYU rally in the second half.
Foster Farms Bowl, Dec. 28, 2016: Utah 26, Indiana 24 — Andy Phillips kicked the last of his four field goals, from 27 yards out, with 1:24 to play to give the Utes the victory. Joe Williams earned MVP honors, rushing for 222 yards and a touchdown.
Heart of Dallas Bowl, Dec. 26, 2017: Utah 30, West Virginia 14 — The Utes dominated in all phases as Zack Moss rushed for 150 yards, Tyler Huntley passed for 165 yards, Matt Gay booted three field goals and the defense led by Julian Blackmon (two interceptions) held the Mountaineers to 153 total yards.
Holiday Bowl, Dec. 31, 2018: Northwestern 31, Utah 20 — This looked like a rout when the Utes raced off to a 20-3 halftime lead on a rainy evening in San Diego on two touchdown passes by Jason Shelley and two Matt Gay field goals. But it all fell apart in the third quarter when the Wildcats scored 28 unanswered points, including an 82-yard fumble recovery for a score. Utah outgained Northwestern 393-322, but four turnovers were the difference.