American college football season
The 2020 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Utes were led by 16th-year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah , as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference .
On August 11, 2020, the Pac-12 suspended all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 2] On September 24, the Pac-12 announced that football teams would return to play a seven-game conference-only season beginning on November 6, with the conference championship game scheduled for December 18.[ 3]
On December 18, with a 2–2 record and one game left to play, the Utes announced that they would not pursue a bid to a bowl game .[ 4] The Utes won their final game, finishing their season with a 3–2 record. Running back Ty Jordan was voted the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year .[ 5]
Utah had games scheduled against BYU , Montana State , and Wyoming , but canceled these games on July 10 due to the Pac-12 Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 6]
On November 24, Utah's scheduled game at Arizona State for November 29 was canceled after a COVID-19 outbreak within the Arizona State program.[ 7] The Pac-12 then announced that Utah would instead play at Washington on November 28;[ 8] the Huskies' scheduled game at Washington State had also been canceled after Washington State had a COVID-19 outbreak.[ 9]
Original 2020 Utah Utes schedule
Date
Opponent
Site
September 3
BYU *
Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT (Holy War )
September 12
Montana State *
Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT
September 19
at Wyoming *
War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY
September 26
at California
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA
October 2
USC
Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT
October 10
at Washington State
Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
October 17
Washington
Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT
October 29
at UCLA
Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA
November 7
Arizona
Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT
November 14
Oregon State
Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT
November 21
at Arizona State
Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
November 28
at Colorado
Folsom Field • Boulder, CO (Rumble in the Rockies )
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance November 7 1:30 p.m. Arizona ESPN2 No Contest[ 10]
November 14 8:30 p.m. at UCLA FOX No Contest[ 11]
November 21 8:30 p.m. No. 20 USC Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT ESPN L 17–33 0
November 28 5:30 p.m. at Washington ABC L 21–24 259
December 5 8:30 p.m. Oregon State Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT ESPN W 30–24 0
December 12 10:00 a.m. at No. 21 Colorado FOX W 38–21 0
December 19 11:30 a.m. Washington State Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT FS1 W 45–28 0
[ 12]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final AP 22 22* — — RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV — — — — — — Coaches 20 20* — — — RV RV RV RV RV RV RV — — — RV RV RV CFP Not released — — — — — Not released
Game information
1st Quarter
Utah (9:07) – #97 Jadon Redding kicks a 36 yard field goal – Utah 3–0
USC (5:17) – #48 Parker Lewis kicks a 35 yard field goal – Tied 3–3
2nd Quarter
USC (14:04) – #29 Vavae Malepeai runs for a 2 yard TD (#48 Parker Lewis kick) – USC 10–3
Utah (11:53) – #29 Nephi Sewell recovered a fumble for a 23 yard TD (#97 Jadon Redding kick) – Tied 10–10
USC (9:28) – #9 Kedon Slovis to #21 Isaiah Pola-Mao for a 8 yard pass TD (#48 Parker Lewis kick) – USC 17–10
USC (5:45) – #9 Kedon Slovis to #84 Erik Krommenhoek for a 10 yard pass TD (#48 Parker Lewis kick) – USC 24–10
Utah (0:49) – #8 Jake Bentley to #45 Samson Nacua for a 7 yard pass TD (#97 Jadon Redding kick) – USC 24–17
3rd Quarter
USC (9:32) – #48 Parker Lewis kicks a 44 yard field goal – USC 27–17
USC (4:47) – #48 Parker Lewis kicks a 43 yard field goal – USC 30–17
4th Quarter
USC (1:03) – #48 Parker Lewis kicks a 47 yard field goal – USC 33–17
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Due to Arizona State not having the minimum number of scholarship players available due to positive COVID-19 tests Utah was rescheduled to play at Washington.[ 8]
Game information
Top passers
Top rushers
Utah – RB Ty Jordan : 10 carries, 99 yards
UW – RB Sean McGrew: 7 carries, 38 yards
Top receiving
Oregon State Beavers vs. Utah Utes – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Beavers
0
10
0 14 24
Utes
6
10
7 7 30
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
Date : December 5, 2020Game time : 8:30 p.m. MST Game weather : Clear, 30 °F (−1 °C)Game attendance : 0Referee : Mike McCabeTV : ESPN Reference
Game information
First quarter
UTAH – Jadon Redding 33-yard field goal, 10:21. Utah 3–0. Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 4:39.
UTAH – Jadon Redding 20-yard field goal, 6:50. Utah 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 1:31.
Second quarter
UTAH – Jadon Redding 27-yard field goal, 12:27. Utah 9–0. Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards, 5:12.
OSU – Everett Hayes 33-yard field goal, 9:16. Utah 9–3. Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards, 3:05.
UTAH – Ty Jordan 1-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 3:10. Utah 16–3. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 6:06.
OSU – Calvin Tyler Jr. 1-yard run (Everett Hayes kick), 0:50. Utah 16–10. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:20.
Third quarter
UTAH – Britain Covey 8-yard pass from Jake Bentley (Jadon Redding kick), 6:22. Utah 23–10. Drive: 14 plays, 89 yards, 7:45.
Fourth quarter
UTAH – Britain Covey 64-yard punt return (Jadon Redding kick), 14:37. Utah 30–10.
OSU – Calvin Tyler Jr. 6-yard run (Everett Hayes kick), 11:50. Utah 30–17. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 2:41.
OSU – Kolby Taylor 21-yard pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes kick), 5:07. Utah 30–24. Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 2:11.
Top passers
OSU – Chance Nolan – 20/38, 202 yards, TD, INT
UTAH – Jake Bentley – 18/27, 174 yards, TD
Top rushers
OSU – Jack Colletto – 1 rush, 40 yards
UTAH – Ty Jordan – 27 rushes, 167 yards, TD
Top receivers
1
2
3
4
Total
Utes
7
3
14
14
38
No. 21 Buffaloes
0
14
7
0
21
Washington State Cougars (1–2) at Utah Utes (2–2)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Cougars
7
21
0 0 28
Utes
0
7
14 24 45
at Rice-Eccles Stadium , Salt Lake City, Utah
Date : December 19, 2020Game time : 10:30 a.m. PST Game weather : Partly cloudy, 38 °F (3 °C)Game attendance : 0Referee : Mark DuddyTV : FS1
Game information
First Quarter
WSU – Max Borghi 8-yard run (Blake Mazza kick), 4:34. Washington State 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards, 4:26.
Second Quarter
WSU – Deon McIntosh 11-yard run (Blake Mazza kick), 8:31. Washington State 14–0. Drive: 7 plays, 88 yards, 4:01.
UTAH – Britain Covey 91-yard pass from Jake Bentley (Jadon Redding kick), 3:37. Washington State 14–7. Drive: 3 plays, 95 yards, 0:58.
WSU – Jamire Calvin 8-yard pass from Jayden de Laura (Blake Mazza kick), 1:51. Washington State 21–7. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:46.
WSU – Jayden de Laura 3-yard run (Blake Mazza kick), 1:21. Washington State 28–7. Drive: 1 play, 3 yards, 0:04.
Third Quarter
UTAH – Ty Jordan 5-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 6:09. Washington State 28–14. Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 4:39.
UTAH – Bryan Thompson 9-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 0:55. Washington State 28–21. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 3:38.
Fourth Quarter
UTAH – Ty Jordan 33-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 12:01. Tied 28–28. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:15.
UTAH – Ty Jordan 13-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 6:29. Utah 35–28. Drive: 2 plays, 13 yards, 0:12.
UTAH – Jadon Redding 44-yard field goal, 2:37. Utah 38–28. Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards, 3:37.
UTAH – Clark Phillips III 36-yard interception return (Jadon Redding kick), 2:06. Utah 45–28.
Top passers
WSU – Jayden de Laura – 17/28, 204 yards, TD, int
UTAH – Jake Bentley – 7/14, 153 yards, TD, int
Top rushers
WSU – Max Borghi – 10 rushes, 95 yards, TD
UTAH – Ty Jordan – 22 rushes, 154 yards, 3 TD
Top receivers
WSU – Jamire Calvin – 7 receptions, 104 yards, TD
UTAH – Britain Covey – 6 receptions, 134 yards, TD
^ Pac-12 Conference. "Pac-12 announces resumption of football, basketball & winter sports seasons" . Pac-12 Conference . Retrieved September 24, 2020 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link )
^ "Pac-12 Conference postpones all sport competitions through end of calendar year" . pac-12.com . August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020 .
^ "Pac-12 announces resumption of football, basketball & winter sports seasons" . pac-12.com . September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020 .
^ Call, Jeff (December 18, 2020). "Utah Utes won't play in bowl game, season finale will be Saturday vs. Washington State" . Deseret News . Retrieved December 18, 2020 .
^ "2020 Pac-12 Football All-Conference honors and annual awards announced" . Pac-12 Conference. December 22, 2020. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020 .
^ Bromberg, Nick. "Pac-12 follows Big Ten's lead and won't play non-conference games in 2020" . Yahoo News . Retrieved July 10, 2020 .
^ "Pac-12 statement on Utah at Arizona State football game" . pac-12.com . Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020 .
^ a b "Pac-12 statement on Utah at Washington football game" . pac-12.com . Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2020 .
^ "Pac-12 statement on Washington at Washington State football game" . pac-12.com . Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
^ "Statement on the Cancellation of Utah's Game Versus Arizona" . utahutes.com . November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020 .
^ "Utah Football Game at UCLA is Cancelled" . utahutes.com . November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020 .
^ "2020 Pac-12 Football Schedule" . Twitter.com . Retrieved July 31, 2020 .
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