UTAH KICKER COULD BE DIFFERENCE IN BOWL

If the Heart of Dallas Bowl comes down to a kick for Utah (6-6) against West Virginia (7-5), the Utes will turn to someone who entered this season with only one year of high school football and didn’t know what the Lou Groza Award was, yet walked off with it a few weeks ago.

Matt Gay has difficulty describing what has transpired over the past five months.

“It’s been crazy,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out the emotion of things.”

West Virginia already has done that but wants to end a two-game losing streak that began when quarterback Will Grier — ranked eighth in the FBS in passing yards per game — was lost with a broken middle finger on his passing hand during the first quarter of the Texas game.

Gay leads the FBS with 27 field goals, missing only four attempts. He has hit eight of at least 50 yards, converting twice from 56.

Duke seeking winning season.

DETROIT» Duke coach David Cutcliffe has seen his team go through three distinct phases this season.

He’s hoping the Blue Devils won’t fall into a fourth when they play Northern Illinois in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field on Tuesday.

“We were 4-0, and we were playing Miami on a Friday night on national television,” Cutcliffe said. “We really played pretty well for a part of that game, and then it just slipped.”

Miami won 31-6 and then the Blue Devils lost three straight games by seven points each — at Virginia and home against Florida and Pittsburgh. The losing streak hit five with a 24-3 loss at Virginia Tech, and got to six after a five-point loss to Army. The Blue Devils found their way, just in time. They finished the regular season with wins over Georgia Tech and Wake Forest to go 6-6, barely qualifying for a Christmas visit to Detroit.