Utah Expected to Attend Las Vegas Bowl Against Big Ten Opponent

After an injury-filled regular season, Utah football looks forward to bowl season where the team seems primed for a Big Ten matchup

After the conclusion of Rivalry Week, where Utah captured a 23-17 victory over Colorado which also marked their final game in the Pac-12, the Utes now look forward to bowl season where early predictions have them staying (relatively) close to home.

According to both 247Sports and ESPN, the Utes are predicted to attend the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl and take on a Big Ten opponent that has yet to be determined.

The Utes ended their regular season in fifth place in the overall Pac-12 Conference standings. The team had an in-conference record of 5-4, besting USC (5-4) in the standings due to a head-to-head victory, but losing a tie-breaker against Oregon State (5-4) due to a head-to-head loss.

Oregon and Washington will be the two Pac-12 teams represented in the conference championship game, which leaves six other Pac-12 teams bowl-eligible and in need of being placed.

The three most likely options for Utah’s bowl game placement are the Holiday Bowl, Sun Bowl, and Las Vegas Bowl. 

The latter seems to be the most fitting, as Oregon State attended the Las Vegas Bowl last season and USC currently seems to be the favorite to attend the Holiday Bowl.

If Utah does attend the Las Vegas Bowl, early indications point to either Northwestern or Maryland as the Big Ten opponent Utah would face at Allegiant Stadium on December 23rd.

Utah has taken on the Northwestern Wildcats before, most recently during the 2018 Holiday Bowl, where the Utes were defeated by a score of 31-20. Utah was leading the game 20-3 entering halftime, before the Wildcats stormed back, scoring 28 points in the third quarter en route to a bowl game victory.

Overall, the Utes have a 1-2 record against Northwestern all-time, with their last victory occurring in 1981.

If the Utes were to take on Maryland, the game would be the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Led by the newly crowned Big Ten all-time passing leader, Taulia Tagovailoa, the Terps have a 7-5 overall record and are coming off a strong win against Rutgers.

Thus far, facing Maryland seems to be the most likely opponent for the Utes if they do attend the Las Vegas Bowl.

It remains to be seen if Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes will play in the Utes’ bowl game. Additionally, Utah is still waiting to see what other key contributors like Devaughn Vele will do in terms of playing in the team’s upcoming season finale. 

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