Conroy Black, a former University of Utah defensive back, will always be able to say he made a game-changing interception of a pass thrown by a Super Bowl MVP.
On a night when BYU alumnus Kyle Van Noy and Utah’s Eric Rowe started for the New England defense, the biggest story became the performances of Pac-12 alumni for Philadelphia’s offense Sunday.
Quarterback Nick Foles, whose Arizona team lost to Black’s Utah team in 2011, passed for 373 yards and three touchdowns in an MVP showing as Philadelphia beat New England 41-33. Tight end Zach Ertz of Stanford, receiver Nelson Agholor of USC and running back LeGarrette Blount of Oregon had a lot to do with the Eagles’ victory in Minneapolis.
That’s not entirely a coincidence. Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly drafted several Pac-12 players, including Ertz and Agholor, during his stint as the Eagles’ coach.
The Patriots’ defeat, meanwhile, leaves former BYU offensive tackle Gordon Gravelle as the most recent player from a Utah school to have a prominent role in consecutive Super Bowl victories, 42 years ago. BYU’s Steve Young was a backup quarterback with San Francisco in two wins.
Van Noy made five tackles (four solo), including a tackle for loss on Philadelphia’s first possession. He also made what could have been a significant play, breaking up Foles’ 2-point pass attempt with the Eagles leading 38-33. But the Patriots’ offense failed to score on its last two drives.
Rowe had four solo tackles and two pass deflections, after being beaten for a touchdown by Alshon Jeffery early in the game — although Rowe covered him well on the play. Rowe started at left cornerback in place of Malcolm Butler, a former Super Bowl hero.
New England’s defense allowed 538 yards, while cresting one takeaway and forcing one punt.
Foles played brilliantly, even catching a touchdown pass on a trick play, just before halftime Sunday. He completed quite an NFL odyssey from Arizona. In 2011, when the Wildcats were playing for an interim coach, he passed for 326 yards against Utah in Tucson. But the Utes won 34-21 for the school’s first road victory in Pac-12 play, with Black’s interception in the end zone coming as Arizona was trying to cut into a 27-14 lead.
Agholor also had a memorable failure against Utah. In 2014, USC could have run out the clock, leading 21-17 at Rice-Eccles Stadium and facing fourth-and-2 at the Utah 28-yard line. The receiver took a misdirection pitch around the left side and stepped out of bounds, just short of the first-down marker. No tackle officially was credited on the play, but Ute coach Kyle Whittingham said Nate Orchard did just enough to knock Agholor off balance.
Utah then drove for the winning touchdown. Agholor caught 10 passes for 100 yards that night. In the Super Bowl, he had nine receptions for 84 yards.
Ertz finished his Stanford career in 2012 and never faced Utah in the Pac-12 scheduling rotation. He was outstanding in the second half Sunday, finishing with seven catches for 67 yards — converting a fourth-down play on the go-ahead drive and then catching an 11-yard TD pass.
Blount, who also didn’t play against Utah (he was suspended when the teams played a nonconference game at Oregon in 2009), ran for 90 yards on 14 carries for the Eagles.