For some college football teams, being two years removed from a bowl game can take its toll. There are turnovers with players, turnovers in personnel and staff — there are even turnovers in the philosophy of team. While the Utes are one of those teams who haven’t sniffed the postseason for multiple years, don’t expect them to be unprepared when they are thrown back into the fray during two of the most exciting weeks of college football.
Even though Utah has been absent from a bowl game since their dramatic 30-27 overtime victory against Georgia Tech in the 2011 Sun Bowl, they come into this postseason as one of the winningest programs in history when it comes to bowl games. Having won 13 of their 18 bowl appearances, including 10 of their last 11, the Utes have a .722 winning percentage in bowl games which ranks second to only Marshall University for teams who have played in at least 10 bowl games.
During that stretch, Utah’s bowl opponent graveyard has included prominent football squads like Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, USC in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl and Arizona in the 1994 Freedom Bowl, just to name a few.
No matter what team or what circumstances they face, the Utes always seem to come prepared when it comes to bowl games. Throughout its history, Utah has outscored its opponents 427-316 in bowl games with an average margin of victory of over 13 points. Year after year, head coach Kyle Whittingham credits the mental toughness of his players and the effort they put into the bowl game preparation.
“It’s the way our guys prepare,” Whittingham said. “It’s the effort that the players put into practice and getting ready with film study. Our guys historically have done a great job in getting themselves ready to play. You go to a bowl game for two reasons — you want to have a good time, but you want to win, so I think our guys have done a great job balancing that.”
When not playing in a New Year’s Six bowl (formerly BCS bowls) or the new college football playoff, it can be easy for a team to get lackadaisical and focus on its bowl gifts more than the bowl game itself. Whittingham said his team knows when to have fun and when to buckle down and snatch a victory.
“It certainly is a reward, and we want it to be a great experience for [the players],” Whittingham said. “There are usually a lot of activities that the bowl … has in store for you, but at the same time, you don’t want to go down there with any other mission than to win the game.”
Utah senior tight end Westlee Tonga said the players and the coaching staff focus on the bowl game like it’s any other game in the season. Just because it’s a conciliatory game, doesn’t mean the Utes aren’t going to go out and fight for the right to end their season with a win.
“I think it’s because we don’t take anything differently than we do during the regular season,” Tonga said. “Coach Whitt is pretty good at keeping us steady, keeping us with our edge and just grinding through everything. We grind through our practices week to week throughout the season and I’m sure nothing will be different throughout the bowl prep.”
While the coaching staff are the ones keeping the team sharp and focused on football, strength and conditioning coaches are left with the difficult duty of keeping the team fit and ready to play after weeks without a game during a time of the year when unhealthy eating habits run rampant in Americans.
Senior defensive end Nate Orchard said the strength and conditioning staff at Utah have always done an amazing job at keeping the team ready to play in bowl games.
“I think all the credit goes to our strength coaches,” Orchard said. “They do an amazing job of keeping us ready day in and day out, regardless of the opponent. They keep us in shape, and with the bowl preparation, I’m excited but kind of not to see what they have in store for us.”
Surely the strength coaches will have some enthralling aerobic activities for the players to enjoy before they leave for Las Vegas early next week.
 
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