Quarterback Chance Nolan made his first career start for Oregon State inside typically noisy Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Only, it wasn’t so noisy that day at Utah, with fans kept away in the 2020 contest due to coronavirus restrictions.
Oregon State (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) at No. 12 Utah (3-1, 1-0), Saturday, 2 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
Line: Utah by 10 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
When Oregon got throttled by top-ranked Georgia and Utah lost at Florida, it appeared as though the Pac-12 was headed toward another College Football Playoff miss.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Utah Utes have a veteran coach nearing two decades in charge of the program, a seasoned quarterback with a few years in the team's system, multiple offensive playmakers and a stout defense that doesn't give up many big plays.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez ran for 148 yards and four touchdowns, and the Wildcats stunned No. 6 Oklahoma 41-34 on Saturday night.
Martinez also passed for 234 yards and a score and Deuce Vaughn rushed for 116 yards for the Wildcats (3-1, 1-0 Big 12).
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A University of Utah student was arrested and charged with making terrorist threats on Wednesday after police said she threatened to detonate a nuclear reactor if the school's football team failed to win a game last Saturday.
No. 13 Utah (2-1) at Arizona State (1-2), Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Line: Utah by 15 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona State would have a tough task beating No. 13 Utah this weekend even in ideal circumstances. Nothing about the past week has been ideal.
The Sun Devils will play their first game with interim coach Shaun Aguano in charge when they host the Utes on Saturday night.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Steve Spurrier surely would have changed quarterbacks by now. Maybe even a few times.
No. 20 Florida has failed to throw a touchdown through three games, a head-scratching drought for an offense once nicknamed the Fun ‘n’ Gun and the kind of early-season passing ineptitude not witnessed from the Southeastern Conference program in more than four decades.
SEATTLE (AP) — Michael Penix Jr. threw for 397 yards and four touchdowns, and Washington emphatically stated its case as a contender in the Pac-12 with a 39-28 win over No. 11 Michigan State on Saturday night.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Cam Rising threw for 224 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in three quarters to help No. 14 Utah rout San Diego State 35-7 on Saturday night.
Rising is the first Utah quarterback since 2017 to pass for 200 or more yards in the first three games of the season.
San Diego State (1-1) at No. 14 Utah (1-1), Saturday, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Line: Utah by 20 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The rise of Cameron Rising can be traced to almost exactly a year ago, when the Utah quarterback came off the bench and nearly rescued the Utes in a three-overtime loss against San Diego State.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Steven Gilmore returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and Khalan Labron ran for 163 yards as Marshall shocked No. 8 Notre Dame 26-21 on Saturday, making Marcus Freeman the first Fighting Irish coach to lose his first three games.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Much of the hype surrounding Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson was dashed, or at least diminished, in the Swamp on Saturday night.
No. 20 Kentucky intercepted Richardson twice, including one Keidron Smith returned 65 yards for a touchdown, and the Wildcats toppled the 12th-ranked Gators 26-16 to notch consecutive wins in the series for the first time in 45 years.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — After dropping a heartbreaker to Florida in the season opener, Cameron Rising said Utah didn’t want to leave anything to chance against Southern Utah.
“The game plan was just to come out and dominate,” Rising said.
The Utah Utes reserve each Tuesday throughout the season for their longest and most physical practice. It’s a chance to fix things at near game speed — and then turn the page.
The 13th-ranked Utes (0-1) aren't looking back at their 29-26 loss at Florida last weekend, the one that dented their College Football Playoff hopes.
Southern Utah (1-0) at No. 13 Utah (0-1), 1:30 p.m. ET. (Pac-12 Networks)
Line: No early line on FanDuel Sportsbook
Georgia moved up to No. 2 in the first Associated Press college football poll of the regular season, passing Ohio State, after the defending national champions dominated their opener.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Standing in the tunnel and waiting to run into the raucous Swamp for the first time, Florida coach Billy Napier turned to an assistant and summed up the moment.
No. 7 Utah (0-0) at Florida (0-0), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Line: Utah by 2 ½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Utah linebacker Mohamoud Diabate knows what awaits in Florida — sweltering heat, stifling humidity and deafening noise.
He experienced everything the Swamp has to offer during his three seasons in Gainesville.
Here are some things to watch this week in the Pac-12 Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 3 Georgia on Saturday in Atlanta. As nonconference games go, it doesn't get much bigger in the Pac-12 than one of the conference's best teams facing the reigning national champions.
Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell is certainly aware of the expectations that come with the family name.
Noah is the youngest of the four Sewell brothers. Penei also went to Oregon and now plays for the Detroit Lions.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and linebacker Will Anderson Jr. are perhaps the most well-known teammates in college football these days.
But there are plenty of other star duos and triosaround the country.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is the first Heisman Trophy winner since 2017 to play another college season and he is trying to become just the second player to win the award twice.
It has been nearly half a century since Ohio State's Archie Griffin won back-to-back Heismans in 1974-75.
The last major change in the Pac-12 came with the addition of Colorado and Utah in 2011, an expansion met with excitement.
The latest bit of realignment feels a lot different.
UCLA and Southern California aren't leaving for the Big Ten until 2024, but there's already an uncomfortable air out West.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s offense finally caught up to its defense last season, propelling the Utes to their first Pac-12 championship and Rose Bowl berth.
Utah averaged a league-best 37.3 points per game against other Pac-12 teams, led the league in rushing offense (217.21 ypg), ranked third in total offense (431.5 ypg), and converted 50.6% of their third-down attempts.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Unlike last season, Cam Rising isn’t facing a battle to become Utah’s starting quarterback heading into a new year.
Rising cemented his spot atop the depth chart when he led the Utes to their first Pac-12 championship and first Rose Bowl berth a season ago.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Pac-12 pushed for legislation allowing conference title games to be played without requiring divisions, and it was the first conference to take advantage of it, deciding to have the two teams with the best records this season play against one another in Las Vegas on Dec.
Tim Tebow, who led Florida to two national championships and won the 2007 Heisman Trophy, is among the former players making a first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
The National Football Foundation announced on Monday the players and coaches eligible for election into the Hall of Fame, and 11 of the 80 FBS players are debuting on the ballot.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — C.J. Stroud capped his record-setting offensive day by leading a 56-yard drive ending in Noah Ruggles’ 19-yard field goal with nine seconds to play, and No. 7 Ohio State beat No.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Utah made sure its first trip to the Rose Bowl was memorable. Unfortunately for the Utes, they ran out of time to rally.
The 10th-ranked Utes led most of the way Saturday, but an injury to quarterback Cam Rising during the fourth quarter and an undermanned secondary proved too much to overcome as No.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba put on a passing performance that obliterated a multitude of records during one of the biggest offensive days in Ohio State's storied history.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Michigan defensive back Dax Hill started against No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl.
Hill’s status was uncertain after he did not join the second-ranked Wolverines in South Florida until Thursday.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The New Year's Day Rose Parade and Rose Bowl college football game between Ohio State and Utah remained on track Friday despite surging cases of COVID-19, which forced the cancellation of the 2021 parade.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Utah’s first Rose Bowl appearance is a landmark achievement. For the 10th-ranked Utes and their fans, it feels like the culmination of this program’s steady 20-year transformation from a mid-major overachiever to a perennial championship contender in the Pac-12 and beyond.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — At some point while the sun sets near the start of the fourth quarter of the 108th Rose Bowl on Saturday, the football fans in Arroyo Seco will rise together in memory of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — During Ohio State’s visit to Disneyland celebrating its appearance in the Rose Bowl, quarterback C.J. Stroud was looking forward to visiting Tomorrowland.
“I rode Space Mountain in eighth grade and I want to get back on there,” he said.
With everything Utah endured — and accomplished — this season, it's no surprise coach Kyle Whittingham was named The Associated Press Pac-12 Coach of the Year for 2021.
Utah is going to the Rose Bowl for the first time after defeating Oregon in the Pac-12 championship, a game the Utes reached after righting themselves following a rocky start on the field.
Michigan pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan and Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard were among nine college football players selected as semifinalists for the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year award.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Utah's football program has come a long way since the last time it faced Ohio State.
In 1986, the Utes were a struggling program in the Western Athletic Conference when they went to Columbus and were drilled 64-6 by the Buckeyes.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — As the Utah players celebrated the Pac-12 championship surrounded by roses and confetti, the memories of two teammates who couldn't share in the moment was paramount.
The past year marked by tragedy following the deaths of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe will end with the long-coveted Rose Bowl bid.
Just 13 days after Utah knocked Oregon out of contention for a College Football Playoff berth, the two teams meet again to decide the Pac-12 champion.
The winner of Friday night's game in Las Vegas will be going to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
No. 10 Oregon (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12, No. 10 CFP) vs. No. 14 Utah (9-3, 8-1, No. 17), Friday at 8 p.m. EST (ABC) in Las Vegas.
Line: Utah by 2½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Those conference championship upsets with the potential to create College Football Playoff chaos scenarios never actually happen.
As AP Top 25 college football poll voter Brett McMurphy of Action Network pointed out, only six teams that went into championship weekend holding a top-four spot in the selection committee's rankings did not end up making the field.