UTAH UTES NOTES:
THE GAME The University of Utah Football team is set to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2023 SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 23. The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. MT and will air on ABC.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can get behind the scenes views and live updates on social media and online at www. UtahUtes.com. The Utes are active on Twitter (@Utah_Football), Instagram (@UtahFootball), Threads (@UtahFootball), Facebook (search Utah Football) and TikTok (@Utah_Football).
GOING BOWLING
For the 17th time under head coach Kyle Whittingham, the Utes became bowl eligible this year. Utah is 17-8 all-time in bowl games with Whittingham holding an 11-5 record (.688) with his 11 wins tying for third among active FBS coaches and in the top-10 all-time. This will also be Utah’s sixth appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl, winning four of the five games. 1999 Utah 17, Fresno State 16 2001 Utah 10, USC 6 2010 Boise State 26, Utah 3 2014 Utah 45, Colorado State 10 2015 Utah 35, BYU 28
THE NUMBERS
• Head Coach Kyle Whittingham is set to coach in his 367th overall game at Utah and his 241st as head coach on Saturday. • Through 12 regular season games, Utah held opponents to just 84.2 rushing yards per game. • The Utes lead the FBS in time of possession this season (34:03). • Utah and Northwestern are set to play each other for the fourth time in program history.
UTAH FOOTBALL: NEED TO KNOWS
• Through 12 games, Utah ranks eighth in the FBS in third down defense (28.9%), fifth in first downs defense (181), fourth in rushing defense (84.2) and 17th in total defense (308.6). • Utah has averaged 199.8 rushing yards in the last six games and 186.2 overall, which ranks 26th in the FBS this season. • This season, Utah has been averaging 359.8 yards of offense per game, including 397.5 in the last six. • Utah has held seven of its opponents to under 20 points this season, ranking 21st in the FBS in scoring defense (19.8). • The Utes have posted a winning record in nine straight seasons, dating back to 2014. Utah has finished with a winning season in 17 of Kyle Whittingham’s 19 years as head coach (2023 included).
THE QBs
As the Utes are set to play in their 13th game this season, they have five quarterbacks on the roster. Utah has started three different QBs this year with all three winning at least one game. • Utah is one of five teams in the FBS that have started three different quarterbacks in 2023 (Arizona State, Arkansas State, Navy and Texas Tech). • Bryson Barnes has started in eight games this season, Luke Bottari started in Utah’s game against Colorado, and redshirt freshman Nate Johnson started in three games prior to entering the transfer portal. • Barnes is in his fourth season with the program, having seen action in 23 games with nine total starts, including playing in 10 games in 2023 with eight starts. His is 6-3 in his career as the starter, which includes a 5-3 record this season. • Senior captain Cameron Rising announced he would redshirt this season having played in 27 career games, including 25 starts. He is a two-time All-Pac-12 selection, earning first-team in 2021 and is currently tied for fifth all-time at Utah in starting quarterbacks wins (18).
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS NOTES:
QUICK HITTERS
• This is the 17th bowl appearance in Northwestern history • David Braun is the first Northwestern head coach to make a bowl appearance in his debut season with the Wildcats. • Northwestern’s six-win improvement from 2022 to 2023 is the largest win improvement by any FBS team this season. • David Braun was named the consensus Big Ten Coach of the Year.
THE OPENING DRIVE
Riding a three-game winning streak, Northwestern heads to the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl to face off against the Utah Utes. It marks the Wildcats’ 17th bowl appearance in program history, their 11th in the last 16 seasons, and their third-ever against a repeat opponent. The game will air on ABC with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst) and Stormy Buonantony (sideline) on the call, and on ESPN 1000 AM with the Voice of the ‘Cats, Dave Eanet (play-by-play), Ted Albrecht (analyst) and Lauren Withrow (sideline).
BOWL MANIA
• Northwestern is on a four-game winning streak in bowl games, the longest streak in program history, secondlongest in the Big Ten and tied for fourth-longest active streak entering the 2023 slate of bowl games. • This is the 17th bowl appearance in Northwestern history, as well as their 11th in the past 16 seasons. The ‘Cats are 6-10 all-time in bowl games, averaging 27.4 points per game in their 16 bowl appearances. • Nevada will become the seventh state to host a Northwestern bowl game, joining Florida (5), Texas (5), California (3), New York (1), Michigan (1), and Tennessee (1). • Utah joins Auburn and Tennessee as the only schools to face Northwestern twice in bowl games. • Saturday will mark Northwestern’s first game indoors since the 2020 Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
BALL SECURITY IS JOB SECURITY
• Northwestern is +10 in turnover margin this season, an improvement of +29 from last season (-19). That marks the highest improvement from season-to-season of any Big Ten Conference team in the 21st century: the next highest was Minnesota, who improved from -15 to +12 for a +27 improvement from 2007 to 2008 (the Gophers also improved from one win to seven wins over that span). • The Wildcats rank 7th in the nation and third in the Big Ten in turnover margin this season.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
• NU’s six-win improvement from 2022 to 2023 is the largest win improvement by any FBS team this season. • Since 2000, the Wildcats are one of just five teams to win six or more games the year after finishing 1-11. • NU is the first Big Ten team to go from one overall win to a winning record in Big Ten play since Iowa in 1968.
UTAH SERIES HISTORY
• Northwestern is 2-1 all-time against Utah, with the last meeting coming on Dec. 31, 2018 in the Holiday Bowl • Trailing 20-3 at halftime in the 2018 Holiday Bowl, Northwestern converted three Utah turnovers into 21 points in a nine-minute stretch in the pouring rain, part of a 28-point third quarter outburst to fuel a 31-20 victory. QB Clayton Thorson was named the game’s Offensive MVP in his final game with the Wildcats, while Safety JR Pace was named the Defensive MVP after posting seven tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery. • Saturday will mark Northwestern’s fourth bowl game against current Pac-12 teams. The ‘Cats are 2-2 all-time against the current Pac-12 alignment in bowl games. • A win over the Utes would mark Northwestern’s first time defeating a repeat opponent in a bowl game. • The Wildcats are 12-23-2 all-time against the current alignment of the Pac-12.
