# 2019 Utah Utes football team

The 2019 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Utes were led by 15th-year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. They competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

## Preseason
### Pac-12 media days
#### Pac-12 media poll

In the 2019 Pac-12 media poll, Utah was voted as the favorite to win both the South Division and the Pac–12 Championship Game.
Media poll (South Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Utah | 206 (33) |
| 2 | USC | 167 (2) |
| 3 | Arizona State | 118 |
| 3 | UCLA | 118 |
| 5 | Arizona | 85 |
| 6 | Colorado | 46 |
Media poll (Pac-12 Championship) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Utah | 12 |
| 2 | Oregon | 11 |
| 3 | Washington | 9 |
| 4 | USC | 2 |
| 5 | Washington State | 1 |

## Schedule

Utah's 2019 schedule will begin on Thursday, August 29 on the road against rival BYU, a football independent. They will round out their non-conference slate with home games against Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference and Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference. In Pac-12 Conference play, the Utes will play the other members of the South Division and draw California, Oregon State, Washington, and Washington State from the North Division. They will not play Oregon or Stanford as part of the regular season.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 29 | 8:15 p.m. | at BYU* | No. 14 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT (Holy War) | ESPN | W 30–12 | 61,626 |
| September 7 | 11:00 a.m. | Northern Illinois* | No. 13 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | W 35–17 | 45,919 |
| September 14 | 2:15 p.m. | Idaho State* | No. 11 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | W 31–0 | 45,989 |
| September 20 | 7:00 p.m. | at USC | No. 10 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (Big Noon Kickoff) | FS1 | L 23–30 | 55,719 |
| September 28 | 8:00 p.m. | Washington State | No. 19 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | FS1 | W 38–13 | 46,115 |
| October 12 | 6:00 p.m. | at Oregon State | No. 15 | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | P12N | W 52–7 | 31,730 |
| October 19 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 17 Arizona State | No. 13 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | W 21–3 | 46,402 |
| October 26 | 8:00 p.m. | California | No. 12 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | FS1 | W 35–0 | 46,626 |
| November 2 | 2:00 p.m. | at Washington | No. 9 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | FOX | W 33–28 | 69,270 |
| November 16 | 6:00 p.m. | UCLA | No. 7 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | FOX | W 49–3 | 47,307 |
| November 23 | 8:00 p.m. | at Arizona | No. 7 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | FS1 | W 35–7 | 55,675 |
| November 30 | 5:30 p.m. | Colorado | No. 6 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT (Rumble in the Rockies) | ABC | W 45–15 | 46,879 |
| December 6 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. No. 13 Oregon | No. 5 | Levi's StadiumSanta Clara, CA (Pac-12 Championship Game) | ABC | L 15–37 | 38,679 |
| December 31 | 5:30 p.m. | vs. Texas* | No. 11 | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl) | ESPN | L 10–38 | 60,147 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 16 |
| Coaches | 15 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 16 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### At BYU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Utes | 3 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 30 |
| Cougars | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |

### Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 13 Utes | 0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 11 Utes | 17 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 31 |

### At USC

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Utes | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Trojans | 14 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
* Date: September 20, 2019
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. MST
* Game attendance: 55,719
* Referee: Michael Mothershed (Pac 12)
* TV announcers (FS1): Joe Davis, Brock Huard, Bruce Feldman
Game information :
First quarter
USC (12:57) – #19 Matt Fink to #21 Tyler Vaughns 29 yard pass TD (#40 Chase McGrath kick) – USC 7–0
UTAH (10:39) – #7 Devonta'e Henry-Cole 17 yard run TD (#97 Jadon Redding kick) – USC 7–7
USC (8:11) – #19 Matt Fink to #8 Amon-Ra St. Brown 31 yard pass TD (#40 Chase McGrath kick) – USC 14–7
Second quarter
UTAH (6:44) – #97 Jadon Redding 38 yard Field Goal – USC 14–10
Third quarter
USC (9:54) – #19 Matt Fink to #6 Michael Pittman Jr. 77 yard pass TD (#40 Chase McGrath kick) – USC 21–10
UTAH (3:47) – #1 Tyler Huntley to #89 Cole Fotheringham 2 yard pass TD (#97 Jadon Redding kick) – USC 21–17
Fourth quarter
UTAH (11:57) – #97 Jadon Redding 24 yard Field Goal – USC 21–20
USC (8:51) – USC Defense Safety – USC 23–20
USC (6:58) – #30 Markese Stepp 4 yard run TD (#40 Chase McGrath kick) – USC 30–20
UTAH (4:01) – #97 Jadon Redding 38 yard Field Goal – USC 30–23
Passing
USC – #19 Matt Fink – 21/30 351 Yds – 3 TD 1 Int
UTAH – #1 Tyler Huntley – 22/30 210 Yds – 1 TD
Rushing
USC – #30 Markese Stepp – 3 Runs 11 Yds – 1 TD
UTAH – #6 Devin Brumfield – 10 Runs 63 Yds
Receiving (halftime)
USC – #6 Michael Pittman Jr. – 10 Rec 232 Yds – 1 TD
UTAH – #89 Cole Fotheringham – 3 Rec 23 Yds – 1TD :

### Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cougars | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 19 Utes | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |

### At Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Utes | 21 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 52 |
| Beavers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

### Arizona State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Sun Devils | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 13 Utes | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT
* Date: October 19, 2019
* Game time: 3:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Rain, 46 °F (8 °C)
* Game attendance: 46,402
* Referee: Mark Duddy
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analyst), Lewis Johnson (sideline reporter)
| Statistics | ASU | UTAH |
| First downs | 8 | 20 |
| Total yards | 136 | 342 |
| Rushing yards | 33–111 | 43–151 |
| Passing yards | 25 | 191 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 4–18–1 | 14–24–1 |
| Time of possession | 24:42 | 35:18 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Arizona State | Passing | Jayden Daniels | 14/18, 25 yards, INT |
| Arizona State | Rushing | Eno Benjamin | 15 carries, 104 yards |
| Arizona State | Receiving | Frank Darby | 1 reception, 12 yards |
| Utah | Passing | Tyler Huntley | 12/19, 171 yards, INT |
| Utah | Rushing | Zack Moss | 25 carries, 99 yards, 2 TD |
| Utah | Receiving | Zack Moss | 3 receptions, 78 yards |

### California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 12 Utes | 7 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 35 |

### At Washington

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Utes | 0 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 33 |
| Huskies | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
at Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA
* Date: November 2, 2019
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
* Game attendance: 69,270
* Referee: Mike McCabe
* TV announcers (FOX): Joe Davis, Brock Huard, Bruce Feldman

### UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bruins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 7 Utes | 7 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 49 |

### At Arizona

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| Utah –24.0 | 58 |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 7 Utes | 14 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Statistics
| Statistics | Utah | Arizona |
| First downs | 28 | 11 |
| Total yards | 517 | 196 |
| Rushing yards | 297 | 61 |
| Passing yards | 220 | 135 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 39:32 | 20:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | Tyler Huntley | 19/23, 211 yards, TD, INT |
| Utah | Rushing | Zack Moss | 26 carries, 203 yards, TD |
| Utah | Receiving | Brant Kuithe | 4 receptions, 81 yards |
| Arizona | Passing | Grant Gunnell | 8/16, 96 yards |
| Arizona | Rushing | J. J. Taylor | 10 carries, 33 yards |
| Arizona | Receiving | Cedric Peterson | 4 receptions, 63 yards |

### Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| No. 6 Utes | 0 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 45 |

### Vs. Oregon (Pac-12 Championship game)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Ducks | 10 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 37 |
| No. 5 Utes | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
at Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, California
* Date: December 6, 2019
* Game time: 5:00 pm
* Game attendance: 38,679
* Referee: Steve Strimling
* TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Molly McGrath (sideline)
* ESPN game summary
Game information :
First quarter
ORE – C. J. Verdell 3 Yd Run (Camden Lewis Kick), 8:00. Oregon 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 3:43.
ORE – Camden Lewis 23 Yd Field Goal, 4:17. Oregon 10–0. Drive: 6 plays, 56 yards, 2:43.
Second quarter
ORE – Johnny Johnson III 45 Yd pass from Justin Herbert (Camden Lewis Kick), 11:02. Oregon 17–0. Drive: 3 plays, 70 yards, 1:10.
ORE – Camden Lewis 30 Yd Field Goal, 4:56. Oregon 20–0. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 4:03.
Third quarter
UTAH – Zack Moss 24 Yd pass from Tyler Huntley (Jadon Redding Kick), 10:52. Oregon 20–7. Drive: 6 plays, 53 yards, 2:27.
ORE – Camden Lewis 25 Yd Field Goal, 4:56. Oregon 23–7. Drive: 8 plays, 43 yards, 2:49.
UTAH – Samson Nacua 25 Yd pass from Tyler Huntley (Tyler Huntley–Samson Nacua pass), 1:13. Oregon 23–15. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:43.
Fourth quarter
ORE – C. J. Verdell 70 Yd Run (Camden Lewis Kick), 7:09. Oregon 30–15. Drive: 5 plays, 90 yards, 2:19.
ORE – C. J. Verdell 31 Yd Run (Camden Lewis Kick), 2:33. Oregon 37–15. Drive: 2 plays, 35 yards, 0:49.
Top passers
ORE – Justin Herbert – 14–26, 193 yards, 1 TD
UTAH – Tyler Huntley – 17–29, 193 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
ORE – C. J. Verdell – 18 carries, 208 yards, 3 TD
UTAH – Zack Moss – 19 carries, 113 yards
Top receivers
ORE – Johnny Johnson III – 6 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD
UTAH – Zack Moss – 4 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD :

### Vs. Texas (Alamo Bowl)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Utes | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Longhorns | 3 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 38 |
at Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
* Date: December 31, 2019
* Game time: 4:30 p.m. (PST)
* Game weather: Indoors
* Game attendance: 60,147
* Referee: John McDaid
* TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Louis Riddick (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
* ESPN game summary
Game information :
First Quarter
(10:26) UT – Cameron Dicker 29 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards, 4:34; Texas 3–0)
Second Quarter
(13:24) UT – Collin Johnson 5 yard pass from Sam Ehlinger, Cameron Dicker kick (Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:43; Texas 10–0)
Third Quarter
(10:30) UT – Keaontay Ingram 11 yard pass from Sam Ehlinger, Cameron Dicker kick (Drive: 3 plays, 43 yards, 1:04; Texas 17–0)
(4:58) UTAH – Jadon Redding 32 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards, 5:32; Texas 17–3)
(0:06) UT – Sam Ehlinger 6 yard rush, Cameron Dicker kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 4:52; Texas 24–3)
Fourth Quarter
(11:34) UTAH – Demari Simpkins 4 yard pass from Tyler Huntley, Jadon Redding kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:32; Texas 24–10)
(8:58) UT – Devin Duvernay 15 yard pass from Sam Ehlinger, Cameron Dicker kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:36; Texas 31–10)
(7:54) UT – Keaontay Ingram 49 yard rush, Cameron Dicker kick (Drive: 1 play, 49 yards, 0:13; Texas 38–10)
Passing
UT – Sam Ehlinger – 12/18, 201 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
UTAH – Tyler Huntley – 15/23, 126 yards, 1 TD
Rushing
UT – Keaontay Ingram – 13 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD
UTAH – Zack Moss – 16 carries, 57 yards
Receiving
UT – Devin Duvernay – 3 receptions, 92 yards, 1 TD
UTAH – Brant Kuithe, Cole Fotheringham – 3 receptions, 30 yards :

## Players drafted into the NFL

The Utes had seven players drafted in the 2020 NFL draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 2 | 50 | Jaylon Johnson | CB | Chicago Bears |
| 3 | 85 | Julian Blackmon | S | Indianapolis Colts |
| 3 | 86 | Zack Moss | RB | Buffalo Bills |
| 3 | 104 | Terrell Burgess | S | Los Angeles Rams |
| 4 | 114 | Leki Fotu | DT | Arizona Cardinals |
| 5 | 179 | Bradlee Anae | DE | Dallas Cowboys |
| 6 | 197 | John Penisini | DT | Detroit Lions |