SANTA CLARA, Calif. — When the Utah football team takes on Oregon Friday evening (6 p.m. MST) at Levi’s Stadium, a lot of eyes around the nation will be watching on ABC-TV because of the implications the game has for the College Football Playoff. You could even say it’s one of the biggest sporting events ever for a team from the state of Utah.
But the biggest?
Not quite, although it may rank among the top 10 of all-time sporting events involving Utah teams.
While there have certainly been more exciting sporting events involving Utah teams, here are some of the most nationally prominent games over the past few decades that have featured Utah teams:
Utah Utes in the Sugar Bowl, Jan. 2, 2009 — Making a New Year’s Day bowl game for the second time in four years was a big deal for the Utes, who were big underdogs against mighty Alabama of the Southeastern Conference. The Crimson Tide, who were ranked No. 4 in the final Bowl Championship Series standings after losing to Florida in the SEC title game, opened as 10 1/2-point favorites over the Utes, who were given little chance of winning by national pundits in the game played at the Superdome in New Orleans. But behind quarterback Brian Johnson the Utes surprised the Crimson with a hurry-up offense and jumped to a 21-0 lead on their way to a convincing 31-17 victory.
Utah Utes in the Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1, 2005 — The original BCS-busters under coach Urban Meyer cruised through an unbeaten regular season to earn a spot in one of the four major bowl games at the time. The confident Utes, led by future No. 1 pick Alex Smith, felt they could play with anyone in the country and were somewhat disappointed to be matched up against an 8-3 Pittsburgh team that qualified by winning the Big East title. The Utes had little trouble, racing out to a 14-0 halftime lead, increasing the margin to 28-0 in the third quarter before settling for a 35-7 victory.
Utah Jazz vs. Chicago, NBA Finals, June 3-14, 1998 — It may not have had the luster of the previous year when the Jazz first made it to the NBA Finals, but this time around Utah figured it had the advantage with a home-court edge against the Bulls, who still had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen & Co. The Jazz survived the first game at home in overtime, but Jordan’s 37 points gave Chicago a win in Game 2. A Utah upset in Chicago in Game 5 sent the series back to Salt Lake, where the Bulls wrapped up another title on Jordan’s famous game-winning shot (and push-off) in Game 6 when Chicago prevailed 87-86.
Utah Utes in the Final Four, March 28-30, 1998 — The Utes’ first appearance in the Final Four in 32 years was made possible the week before with a 25-point upset of defending national champion Arizona in the West Regional finals in Anaheim. Andre Miller led that victory with a memorable triple-double and he and teammates Michael Doleac, Hanno Mottola, Alex Jensen and Drew Hansen were on their way to San Antonio. Once they got to the Alamo City, Rick Majerus’ Utes weren’t overwhelmed by the setting as they knocked off the No. 1 team in the nation, the Vince Carter-led North Carolina Tar Heels by six points before going on to meet Utah nemesis Kentucky. The Utes led by 10 points at halftime, but faded down the stretch as the Wildcats took a 78-69 victory.
Utah Jazz vs. Chicago, NBA Finals, June 1-13, 1997 — The Jazz made their first appearance in the NBA Finals thanks to John Stockton’s 3-pointer to beat Houston in Game 6. Utah missed a chance to grab Game 1, losing by two points after a pair of missed free throws by Karl Malone and came home to a week’s worth of hoopla for games 3, 4 and 5. After winning two games at home, the Jazz blew a big lead and fell to the Bulls 90-88 in Game 5, the Michael Jordan “Flu Game,” when he scored 38 points. The Jazz then lost the series in Game 6 in Chicago by a similar 90-86 score.
BYU Cougars in the Cotton Bowl, Jan. 1, 1997 — With all of BYU’s football accomplishments over the years, the Cotton Bowl remains the most prestigious bowl the Cougars have ever played in and is their only New Year’s Day bowl appearance. BYU came into the game with Kansas State ranked No. 5 in the country with a 13-1 record. The Cougars trailed 15-5 going into the fourth quarter, but quarterback Steve Sarkisian, who earned co-offensive MVP honors, led his team on two touchdown drives as BYU pulled out a 19-15 victory. Defensive MVP Shay Muirbrook had six sacks, including one that resulted in a safety.
BYU Cougars in the Holiday Bowl, Dec. 21, 1984 — Although it doesn’t compare to the hoopla of today’s national championship game, at the time, the Cougars were playing for the national championship on the basis of their No. 1 ranking and unbeaten season up to that point. That was the system in place at the time and the Cougars took advantage of it by winning all of their games when no other team could. It was a disappointment to have to play a 6-5 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl and for three quarters it looked like the Cougars wouldn’t pull off a victory. But they came back from a 17-10 deficit with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the latter on a 13-yard pass from Robbie Bosco to Kelly Smith and the national championship was theirs.
BYU Cougars to Elite Eight, March 19, 1981 — This is one that got more attention after the fact because of its memorable finish, but two religious schools, BYU and Notre Dame, meeting in a Sweet 16 game still drew a lot of national attention. Danny Ainge’s iconic length-of-the-floor drive for the winning basket in BYU’s 51-50 victory in Atlanta, put the Cougars in the Elite Eight for the first and only time in the school’s history.
Utah Stars-Kentucky Colonels, Game 7, May 18, 1971 — OK, it wasn’t the NBA championship, but the final game of the ABA Championship was a pretty big deal back in the day. It was still five years before the NBA-ABA merger, but the ABA at the time featured stars such as Julius Erving and Rick Barry and this game included future Hall-of-Famers Zelmo Beaty and Dan Issel. The Stars won the game 131-121, setting off a raucous post-game celebration as Utah fans carried Beaty and Willie Wise off on their shoulders at the old Salt Palace.
There have been other big events that brought national attention to Utah teams.
Utah winning the 1944 NCAA Basketball Tournament was a big accomplishment, but at the time, coming during World War II, it was nothing like the huge deal an NCAA championship is now. Utah’s 1947 NIT Championship actually garnered more national attention and BYU’s two NIT Championships in 1951 and 1966 in New York were widely covered. In 2009, Real Salt Lake captured the MLS title with a win over the L.A. Galaxy, but that win garnered little national notice outside of the soccer world.
If the Utes win Friday and get into the playoffs, their next game will move up the list of all-time games and another win would perhaps put the Utes at the very top of all-time national sporting events for a Utah team if they were to play for the national championship.