1953 Utah Utes football team
American college football season
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The 1953 Utah Utes football team, or also commonly known as the Utah Redskins, was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Skyline Conference during the 1953 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Jack Curtice, the Utes compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 5–0 against conference opponents, winning Skyline title for the third consecutive year.
- Jack Curtice (4th season)
| 1953 Utah Utes football | |
|---|---|
Skyline champion | |
| Conference | Skyline Conference |
| Record | 8–2 (5–0 Skyline) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Ute Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado A&M | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Denver | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Utah played its first nationally televised game in the final game of the season, on November 26. NBC Sports televised 12 games during the season, making the BYU–Utah rivalry game played on Thanksgiving Day among the first nationally broadcast college football games. Utah was 7–2, had clinched their third consecutive Skyline Conference title the previous week,[1] and BYU had won only twice. Utah was heavily favored to win the game, by up to 24 points.[2] BYU played tough, though, and Utah prevailed by one point, 33–32.[3][4]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19 | at Arizona* | W 28–7 | 22,500 | [5] | ||
| September 26 | Idaho* | W 21–0 | 17,361 | [6][7][8] | ||
| October 3 | Hawaii* |
| W 47–24 | 13,225 | [9] | |
| October 10 | at Utah State | W 33–13 | 9,631 | [10] | ||
| October 17 | Denver |
| W 40–6 | 9,162 | [11] | |
| October 24 | Wyoming |
| W 13–12 | 12,429 | [12] | |
| October 31 | at Washington* | L 14–21 | 21,000–23,389 | [13] | ||
| November 7 | at Colorado* | L 0–21 | 18,500 | [14] | ||
| November 14 | Colorado A&M |
| W 35–14 | 13,089 | [15] | |
| November 26 | BYU |
| NBC | W 33–32 | 20,189 | [16] |
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NFL draft
Four Utah players were selected in the 1954 NFL draft.[19]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL team |
| Jack Cross | Back | 7 | 85 | Detroit Lions |
| Charlie Grant | Center | 16 | 189 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Don Rydalch | Back | 19 | 223 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Jim Durrant | Guard | 20 | 241 | Detroit Lions |