Red All Over is The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly newsletter covering Utah athletics. Subscribe here.
While the Utah football team prepares to play Northwestern in Monday’s Holiday Bowl in San Diego, the Utes' other potential destinations will come into view in the coming days.
The Utes may have ended up in San Antonio, where Washington State will meet Iowa State in Friday’s Alamo Bowl. They could have gone to El Paso, Texas, where Stanford will face Pittsburgh in Monday’s Sun Bowl. And, of course, they would have played in the Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State on Tuesday, if they had beaten Washington in the Pac-12 championship game.
All considered, Utah is happy to be in San Diego, playing for the first time in one of the Pac-12′s top-tier bowls. Among the questions for the coming days are whether the Utes can maintain their postseason success, standing 5-0 in bowls in the Pac-12 era, and if the other conference members can start winning.
Counting losses by Arizona State (to Fresno State) in the Las Vegas Bowl and California to (TCU) in the Cheez-It Bowl this month, the Pac-12 is 1-10 in bowl games the past two seasons with five opportunities to come. The Rose Bowl is the most important game for the sake of the league’s prestige, but the other games also have value. Monday’s tripleheader includes the Sun Bowl, the Holiday Bowl and the Redbox Bowl between Oregon and Michigan State.
Our stories of the past week
Ute coach Kyle Whittingham has a lot of history with the Holiday Bowl. (TRIB)
Christopher Kamrani profiled Ute receiver Jaylen Dixon, who has made an impact. (TRIB)
Columnist Gordon Monson says only one ending of this season would be satisfying. (TRIB)
Ute lineman Jordan Agasiva largely has been overlooked, but he’s an All-Pac-12 player. (TRIB)
There’s considerable precedent for Utah offensive coordinator Troy Taylor’s staying through the bowl game. (TRIB)
Ute fans have responded well to both the Pac-12 title game and the Holiday Bowl. (TRIB)
The Utah men’s basketball team earned itself an enjoyable Christmas break. (TRIB)
Other voices
Ute receiver Britain Covey was recognized for his great attitude, on and off the field. (DNEWS)
In this video, Pac-12 Networks analyst Yogi Roth discusses the Utah-Northwestern matchup (P12N)
Pac-12 expert Jon Wilner has a wish list for each team in the conference. (MERC)
Around campus
• The Utah men’s basketball team will stage one of the program’s biggest nonconference home games in a long time, meeting No. 6 Nevada at noon Saturday. The unbeaten Wolf Pack’s visit will be another tough test for the Utes, who will open Pac-12 play next Thursday at No. 17 Arizona State. Alabama brought a No. 1 ranking to the Huntsman Center in December 2002, when the Utes pulled off a 51-49 upset. Tim Duncan’s Wake Forest team was No. 2 in December 1996 when the Utes won 70-59.
• The Ute women’s team (11-0) has matched the second-best start in program history, going unbeaten in nonconference play. Utah’s first Pac-12 game is Sunday afternoon at Colorado. Utah received enough votes in the AP Top 25 this week to be No. 29 in the extended rankings, while five conference schools are among the top 17 teams.
