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2011 Utah Utes football team

American college football season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2011 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by seventh year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. After playing the previous 12 seasons in the Mountain West Conference, this was Utah's first season in the new Pac-12 Conference in the South Division. They are the first former "BCS Buster" to join a BCS conference. They finished the season 8–5, 4–5 to finish in a tie for third place in the South Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they defeated Georgia Tech 30–27 in overtime.

ConferencePac-12 Conference
DivisionSouth Division
Record8–5 (4–5 Pac-12)
Headcoach
Quick facts Utah Utes football, Sun Bowl champion ...
2011 Utah Utes football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 30–27 OT vs. Georgia Tech
ConferencePac-12 Conference
DivisionSouth Division
Record8–5 (4–5 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorNorm Chow (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorKalani Sitake (3rd season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
  • Tony Bergstrom
  • Star Lotulelei
  • Matt Martinez
  • Luke Matthews
  • Chaz Walker
  • Jordan Wynn
Home stadiumRice-Eccles Stadium
Seasons
← 2010
2012 →
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More information Conf., Overall ...
2011 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
North Division
No. 4 Oregon xy$ 8–1  12–2 
No. 7 Stanford x% 8–1  11–2 
Washington 5–4  7–6 
California 4–5  7–6 
Oregon State 3–6  3–9 
Washington State 2–7  4–8 
South Division
No. 6 USC † 7–2  10–2 
UCLA xy 5–4  6–8 
Utah 4–5  8–5 
Arizona State 4–5  6–7 
Arizona 2–7  4–8 
Colorado 2–7  3–10 
Championship: Oregon 49, UCLA 31
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • † – USC ineligible for championship and postseason due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll
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Schedule

More information Date, Time ...
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.No. 6 (FCS) Montana State*
KJZZ[1]W 27–1045,311[2]
September 105:30 p.m.at USC
VersusL 14–2373,821[3]
September 177:15 p.m.at BYU*
ESPN2W 54–1063,742[4]
October 15:00 p.m.Washingtondagger
  • Rice-Eccles Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
FSNL 14–3145,412[5]
October 81:30 p.m.No. 22 Arizona State
  • Rice-Eccles Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
FSNL 14–3545,089[6]
October 1510:00 a.m.at Pittsburgh*
ESPNUW 26–1443,719[7]
October 225:00 p.m.at California
KJZZL 10–3435,182[8]
October 295:00 p.m.Oregon State
  • Rice-Eccles Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
KJZZW 27–845,017[9]
November 55:00 p.m.at Arizona
KJZZ[10]W 34–2150,389[11]
November 124:30 p.m.UCLA
  • Rice-Eccles Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
KJZZW 31–645,039[12]
November 193:00 p.m.at Washington State
KJZZW 30–27 OT16,419[13]
November 251:30 p.m.Colorado
FSNL 14–1745,026[14]
December 3112:00 p.m.vs. Georgia Tech*
CBSW 30–27 OT48,123[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Mountain time
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[16][17][18]

Before the season

The Pac-12 media picked Utah to finish third in the South Division. Four media members (out of 42 total) voted Utah first in the division. The media picked USC to finish first, but USC will be ineligible for the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game due to NCAA sanctions. Arizona State came in second, and Arizona, UCLA, and Colorado finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, in the South Division voting. The media also picked Oregon to win the North Division with 29 first place votes, and to win the Pac-12 Championship Game and thus be the Pac-12 Champion.[19]

Coaching changes

Kyle Whittingham made a few changes to his coaching staff for the 2011 season. Prior to Utah's appearance in the 2010 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas defensive line coach John Pease retired from coaching.[20] During the offseason, Whittingham replaced Pease with Chad Kauhaʻahaʻa, a second team all-WAC defensive lineman for Utah in 1996. The previous two seasons he had been the defensive line coach for Utah State.[21]

The Utes also hired Norm Chow to be the Offensive coordinator and coach the tight ends.[21] He had been an offensive coordinator at UCLA the three previous seasons.[22] In 2002, when he was the offensive coordinator at USC, Norm Chow won the Broyles Award.[23] Former co-offensive coordinators Aaron Roderick and Dave Schramm were reassigned to coach different positions in the offense. They will coach the receivers and the running backs, respectively, positions they have both previously coached for the program.[21] Finally, Whittingham hired Tim Davis to coach the offensive line. Davis replaces Blake Miller who left the program to coach the same position with Memphis. Davis coached the offensive line the previous three seasons at Minnesota and has had a prior stint as Utah's offensive line coach 1990–1996 and worked under Chow at USC 2002–2004.[24]

Move to the Pac-12

Main article: 2010–11 NCAA conference realignment

During the 2010 offseason, Utah successfully negotiated to join the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) for all sports, including football.[25] Utah, along with Colorado, officially joined the Pac-10 on July 1, 2011 to form the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12).[26] The previous 12 seasons, Utah competed in the Mountain West Conference.

Game summaries

Montana State

Montana State at Utah
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
Bobcats 0 703 10
• Utes 17 730 27
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  • Date: September 1
  • Location: Salt Lake City, UT
  • Game start: 6:07 pm
  • Elapsed time: 2:49
  • Game attendance: 45,311
  • Game weather: 80°, Sunny and Clear, winds NW 8 mph
  • Referee: Jay Stricherz
  • TV announcers (KJZZ): Steve Brown, Mike Norseth, and David Locke
Sources:[27]
See also: 2011 Montana State Bobcats football team

Utah leads series: 10 – 0[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Utah played Montana State for the 10th time on September 1. Entering the game, Utah had beaten Montana State in all of their nine games, all but one of which have been played in Salt Lake City. During those nine contests, the Utes outscored the Bobcats 455–25.[28][29]

Utah once again beat Montana State in their 2011 meeting. Utah built a 24–0 lead with a little less than 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter, and then scored 3 points the rest of the game to win 27–10.[2] The Utes finished with 101 passing yards on 15-of-23 passing by quarterback Jordan Wynn. Running back John White finished with 150 yards rushing to lead the Utes.[30]

Linebacker Brian Blechen set-up Utah's first touchdown when he returned an interception 39-yards to the 8-yard line; Montana State quarterback DeNarius McGhee threw the errant pass. Three plays later, Wynn connected with wide receiver DeVonte Christopher for the touchdown. Montana State punted on their next possession, and Utah's offense had its second scoring drive. This one resulted in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Wynn to White; the drive took nine plays and gained 62 yards.[30]

Utah blocked MSU's next punt. Montana State blockers flipped Utah lineback Matt Martinez into the air, which caused Martinez to block the punt with his feet.[31] The ensuing Utah possession resulted in a field goal; kicker Coleman Petersen successfully booted a 37-yard attempt. Following Montana State's third punt of the game, Utah had a nine-play, 59-yard touchdown drive for their last touchdown of the evening. Montana State scored their only touchdown of the evening with 35 seconds remaining in the first half. McGhee passed to receiver Tanner Bleskin for a 7-yard touchdown reception.[30] Each team only scored a field goal in the second half for the final 27–10 score.[2]

USC

Utah at USC
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
Utes 0 770 14
• Trojans 10 076 23
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  • Date: September 10
  • Location: Los Angeles, CA
  • Game start: 5:37 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:17
  • Game attendance: 73,821
  • Game weather: 72°, Hazy, winds S 5 mph
  • Referee: Jack Folliard
  • TV announcers (Versus): Ted Robinson, Glenn Parker, and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila
Sources:[32]
See also: 2011 USC Trojans football team

Utah trails series: 3 – 7[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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BYU

Utah at BYU
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
• Utes 7 71624 54
Cougars 3 700 10
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  • Date: September 17
  • Location: Provo, UT
  • Game start: 7:21 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:42
  • Game attendance: 63,742
  • Game weather: 65°, fair, winds W 2 mph
  • Referee: Jack Wood
  • TV announcers (ESPN2; BYUtv): Ed Cunningham, Mark Jones, and Jessica Mendoza (ESPN2); Dave McCann, Gary Sheide, and Jarom Jordan (BYUtv)
Sources:[33]
See also: 2011 BYU Cougars football team and Holy War (BYU–Utah)

Utah leads series: 55 – 34 – 4[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Washington

Washington at Utah
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
• Huskies 7 3147 31
Utes 7 007 14
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  • Date: October 1
  • Location: Salt Lake City, UT
  • Game start: 5:10 pm
  • Elapsed time: 2:44
  • Game attendance: 45,412
  • Game weather: 81°, Partly Cloudy, winds SW 5 mph
  • Referee: Jay Stricherz
  • TV announcers (FSN): Ron Thulin, J. C. Pearson, and Jeremy Bloom
Sources:[34]
See also: 2011 Washington Huskies football team

Utah trails series: 0 – 7[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Arizona State

#22 Arizona State at Utah
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
• #22 Sun Devils 7 3187 35
Utes 7 070 14
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  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Salt Lake City, UT
  • Game start: 1:41 pm
  • Elapsed time: 2:57
  • Game attendance: 45,089
  • Game weather: 49°, Overcast, winds NNE 6 mph
  • Referee: Land Clark
  • TV announcers (FSN): Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt, and Petros Papadakis
Sources:[35]
See also: 2011 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

Utah trails series: 6 – 17[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Pittsburgh

Utah at Pittsburgh
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
• Utes 3 10310 26
Panthers 14 000 14
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  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Pittsburgh, PA
  • Game start: 10:01 am
  • Elapsed time: 3:17
  • Game attendance: 43,719
  • Game weather: 54°, Partly Sunny & Windy, winds WSW 18 mph
  • Referee: Michael Batlan
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): Rob Stone and Danny Kanell
Sources:[36]
See also: 2011 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Utah leads series: 3 – 0[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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California

Utah at California
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
Utes 0 0010 10
• Golden Bears 0 2077 34
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  • Date: October 22
  • Location: San Francisco, CA
  • Game start: 5:06 pm
  • Elapsed time: 2:49
  • Game attendance: 35,182
  • Game weather: 78°, Clear, Nil
  • Referee: Terry Leyden
  • TV announcers (CSN-BA, KJZZ; ESPN Radio): Roxy Bernstein, Mike Pawlawski, and Chris Townsend (CSN-BA, KJZZ); Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, and Joe Schad (ESPN Radio)
Sources:[37]
See also: 2011 California Golden Bears football team

Utah trails series: 3 – 5[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Oregon State

Oregon State at Utah
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
Beavers 0 008 8
• Utes 3 2103 27
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  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Salt Lake City, UT
  • Game start: 5:07 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:00
  • Game attendance: 45,017
  • Game weather: 56°, Mostly Clear, winds NW 8 mph
  • Referee: Jack Folliard
  • TV announcers (KJZZ, Root NW): Steve Brown, Mike Norseth, and David Locke
Sources:[38]
See also: 2011 Oregon State Beavers football team

Utah trails series: 6 – 9 – 1[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Arizona

Utah at Arizona
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
• Utes 3 1777 34
Wildcats 0 777 21
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  • Date: November 5
  • Location: Tucson, AZ
  • Game start: 5:05 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:00
  • Game attendance: 50,839
  • Game weather: 59°, Sunny w/ High Clouds, winds WNW 7mph
  • Referee: Shawn Hochuli
  • TV announcers (FSN AZ+, FCS Central, KJZZ): Dave Sitton, John Fina, and Glenn Howell
Sources:[39]
See also: 2011 Arizona Wildcats football team

Utah leads series: 20 – 15 – 2[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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UCLA

UCLA at Utah
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
Bruins 3 003 6
• Utes 0 71410 31
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  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Salt Lake City, UT
  • Game start: 4:37 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:02
  • Game attendance: 45,039
  • Game weather: 32°, Snowing, winds NW 5mph to NE 2 mph
  • Referee: Michael Batlan
  • TV announcers (KJZZ, Prime Ticket, FCS Central): Steve Brown, Mike Norseth, and David Locke
Sources:[40]
See also: 2011 UCLA Bruins football team

Utah trails series: 2 – 8[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Washington State

Utah at Washington State
More information Team, OT ...
Team 1 234OTTotal
• Utes 0 73173 30
Cougars 0 73170 27
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  • Date: November 19
  • Location: Pullman, WA
  • Game start: 3:07 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:36
  • Game weather: 27°, Light Snow, winds E 5–10 mph
  • Referee: Jacon Wood
  • TV announcers (KJZZ, FCS Atlantic): Steve Brown, Mike Norseth, and David Locke
Sources:[41]
See also: 2011 Washington State Cougars football team

Utah leads series: 6 – 5[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Colorado

Colorado at Utah
More information Team, Total ...
Team 1 234Total
• Buffaloes 7 370 17
Utes 0 0140 14
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  • Date: November 25
  • Location: Salt Lake City, UT
  • Game start: 1:41 pm
  • Elapsed time: 2:55
  • Game attendance: 45,026
  • Game weather: 48°, Mostly Cloudy, winds NW 13 mph
  • Referee: Terry Leyden
  • TV announcers (FSN): Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt, and Petros Papadakis
Sources:[42]
See also: 2011 Colorado Buffaloes football team and Colorado–Utah rivalry

Utah trails series: 24 – 31 – 3[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Georgia Tech–Sun Bowl

2011 Sun Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Utah
More information Team, OT ...
Team 1 234OTTotal
Yellow Jackets 0 71703 27
• Utes 7 30146 30
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  • Date: December 31
  • Location: El Paso, TX
  • Game start: 12:21 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:40
  • Game attendance: 48,123
  • Game weather: 57°, Sunny and clear, winds NE 10mph
  • Referee: Wayne Winkler
  • TV announcers (CBS; Sports USA): Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, and Tracy Wolfson (CBS); Eli Gold, and Doug Plank (Sports USA)
Main article: 2011 Sun Bowl
See also: 2011 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

Utah leads series: 2 – 0[28]

More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2011 Utah Utes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
OL 60 Siaosi Aiono Fr
WR 6 Dres Anderson RFr
OL 57 Isaac Asiata Fr
RB 34 Shawn Asiata Sr
OL 70 Tony Bergstrom (C) Sr
OL 74 Sam Brenner Jr
WR 27 Nick Brown Jr
WR 10 DeVonte Christopher Jr
OL 77 John Cullen Sr
RB 5 Eric Davidson Fr
WR 8 Anthony Denham Jr
WR 14 Reggie Dunn Jr
WR 83 Sean Fitzgerald So
OL 67 Jason Gardner RFr
QB 9 Jon Hays Jr
OL 75 Siaosi Halaʻufia Jr
WR 85 Charles Henderson Injured Fr
WR 18 Phil Hinson Jr
OL 64 Vyncent Jones So
QB 19 Daniel Kessler Fr
RB 21 Harvey Langi Fr
WR 11 Luke Matthews (C) Jr
WR 16 Griff McNabb So
FB 48 Max Moala Jr
TE 81 Kendrick Moeai Jr
FB 82 Jake Murphy RFr
OL 78 Daniel Nielson Fr
WR 32 Geoffrey Norwood So
RB 36 Jarrell Oliver Fr
RB 22 Thretton Palamo So
OL 71 Poʻu Palelei Jr
RB 44 Lucky Radley RFr
WR 88 Dexter Ransom Sr
TE/FB 89 Dallin Rogers Injured Jr
OL 56 Kapua Sai So
QB 12 Adam Schulz Fr
WR 2 Kenneth Scott RFr
OL 73 Samu Sitake Jr
QB 13 Tyler Shreve Fr
OL 54 Tevita Stevens Jr
WR 20 Travis Still Fr
OL 79 Percy Taumoelau So
OL 76 Jeremiah Tofaeono So
TE/FB 80 Westlee Tonga So
RB 24 Tauni Vakapuna Sr
OL 69 Court Walker Fr
RB 15 John White IV Jr
FB 38 Karl Williams So
QB 3 Jordan Wynn Injured (C) Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DT 91 James Aiono Sr
LB 50 Kaeo Alo So
LB 45 Boo Andersen Injured Jr
DB 46 Jeff Battle Fr
DB 35 Greg Bird Sr
DB 9 Conroy Black Sr
LB 4 Brian Blechen So
DB 14 Joseph Bryant Fr
DB 19 Quade Chappuis So
LB 51 Dave Fagergren Jr
DE 96 Nate Fakahafua Fr
DL 98 Seni Fauonuku Fr
LB 7 V.J. Fehoko RFr
DL 97 Tevita Finau Sr
LB 42 Nai Fotu Sr
DB 23 Wykie Freeman So
LB 40 Jacoby Hale RFr
DT 68 Latu Heimuli Injured So
DB 25 Mike Honeycutt So
DB 30 Chandler Johnson RFr
DB 39 Michael Kirby Fr
DL 44 Dave Kruger Jr
DE 99 Joe Kruger So
DB 26 Ryan Lacy Jr
LB 53 Tanner Larsen Fr
DB 17 Mo Lee Jr
DT 92 Star Lotulelei (C) Jr
DE 94 Tevita Malafu Fr
LB 52 Matt Martinez (C) Sr
DB 1 Keith McGill Injured Jr
DB 16 Devin Mickles RFr
DB 27 Tyron Morris-Edwards RFr
DB 5 Damian Payne RFr
DB 87 Quinton Pedroza Fr
DT 63 Joape Pela Jr
DB 33 Terrell Reese RFr
LB 49 Trevor Reilly So
LB 12 Griff Robles So
DE 47 David Rolf Jr
DB 18 Eric Rowe Fr
DE 90 Derrick Shelby Sr
DB 24 Jamal Smith So
DB 20 Joseph Smith RFr
LB 31 Victor Spikes Jr
DE 43 Lei Talamaivao Sr
DL 59 Ron Tongaonevai Jr
DB 28 Reggie Topps Jr
DL 65 Sam Tuiʻone Fr
DT 58 LT Tuipulotu So
LB 32 Chaz Walker (C) Sr
DB 15 Michael Walker So
DB 21 Tyler White Fr
LB 13 J.J. Williams Injured Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
LS 62 Patrick Greene Jr
K/P 30 Nick Marsh So
K/P 61 Coleman Petersen Jr
P 86 Sean Sellwood Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

[43][44]

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 4, 2011

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