Rose Bowl on line for Utah, Huskies
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — While the other Power Five conferences will hold championship games this weekend that will help determine the field for the College Football Playoff, the prize for tonight’s Pac-12 title game will be a more traditional one.
When No. 17 Utah takes on No. 10 Washington at Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, the 9-3 teams will be battling for a spot in the Rose Bowl — the reward that has been given almost annually to the top Pac-12 team for close to a century.
“The Pac-12 championship game is always what we’ve been working for,” Utes linebacker Chase Hansen said. “That’s kind of been the prize for us. Now that we’re here, it’s about as big as it can get for us.”
Getting to this game is quite an accomplishment for the Utes, who made the move from the Mountain West Conference to the more prestigious Pac12 in 2011. Utah has made a bowl game the past four years but is making its first appearance in the Pac-12 title game and is seeking its first trip to the Rose Bowl.
“It has been an exciting journey,” said Kyle Whittingham, Utah’s coach since the 2005 season. “As I’ve said many times in the past, when we joined the Pac-12, it was like I got a new job. Everything was different. The bar was raised in virtually every area, and it was a big challenge.”
Washington is playing for the second time in the conference title game, which began in 2011, having beaten Colorado two years ago to earn a spot in the fourteam playoff. The Huskies haven’t been to the Rose Bowl since the end of the 2000 season.
“I think everybody wants to do that, for sure,” fifth-year Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “If you’re not going to the playoffs, everybody is very much dialed into the Rose Bowl. Especially with the history of this conference and the Rose Bowl, it would be an awesome, awesome game to go to.”
These teams met previously on Sept. 15, with the Huskies winning 21-7 at Utah behind 143 rushing yards and a touchdown from Myles Gaskin. This marks the first time since 2010 that Washington will play the same team twice in a season, having beaten Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl that year after losing in the regular season. Utah last had a rematch during the season in 1945 against Denver.
“It’s unique in itself, but at the same time, you prepare for them like they’re a completely new team because they’re always going to have something different,” Hansen said. “They’ve progressed. The season’s long. They’re doing different things.”
The Huskies expect at least one Utes’ philosophy to be the same.
Utah’s defense is built on getting negative plays that force the opponent into difficult third-andlong situations, with the Utes leading the Pac-12 with an average of 8.2 tackles for loss per game. That has played a big role in holding opposing offenses to a league-best 33.2 percent conversion rate on third down, when they are able to bring even more pressure on the quarterback.
“They’re dedicated to it, they’re exotic about it and it’s kind of their game-plan thing,” Huskies quarterback Jake Browning said. “They do what they do other than third-down pressures. That’s where they change it up week to week.”