WVU falls to Utah
They now are 11-1 in postseason games under Kyle Whittingham, who matched Alabama’s Nick Saban for the most bowl wins by an active coach.
“He knows how to coach the team and he always caps the year off right,” Utah sophomore quarterback Tyler Huntley said.
Huntley scored twice, both on 2-yard keepers, but they led for good in their fifth consecutive bowl victory after Moss broke free on a drizzly and chilly day.
“It was very important for us to come out of the gates with a big play early on and set the tone,” said Moss, who like Huntley still has two seasons left with the Utes (76).
West Virginia (7-6) finished the season with its third loss in a row.
The Mountaineers had only 153 total yards without junior quarterback Will Grier, who broke a finger Nov. 18, and 1,000-yard rusher Justin Crawford, a senior who bypassed the bowl game in advance of the NFL draft.
“It was a pretty disappointing loss to end a pretty disappointing season,” Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said. “You never hear me use it as an excuse. If you lose guys, you need guys to step in and play at a high level, and that is the bottom line.”
Whittingham’s debut as coach was a Fiesta Bowl win at the end of the 2004 season. He co-coached that game with Urban Meyer, who had taken the Florida job three weeks earlier but returned to be part of Utah’s postseason victory against Pitt after his defensive coordinator had been promoted to head coach.
Under Whittingham, the Utes prepare for bowl games like regular-season games, often in full pads and with continuing conditioning work. There is also a little bit miscues. The first came after a muffed punt return set Utah up at the Mountaineers 13, and the second came after an offside penalty on a short punt gave the Utes a second chance on fourth down.
Huntley then completed a 25-yard pass on the fourthand-3 play before scoring on another short run.