# 2023 Utah Utes football team

The 2023 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Pac-12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Utes were led by Kyle Whittingham in his 19th year as Utah's head coach. They played their home games at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Utah Utes football team drew an average home attendance of 52,499 in 2023, the 37th highest in college football.
This was the Utes' final season in the Pac-12 before they move to the Big 12 Conference in 2024.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | Florida* | No. 14 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | ESPN | W 24–11 | 53,644 |
| September 9 | 10:00 a.m. | at Baylor* | No. 12 | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | ESPN | W 20–13 | 43,732 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 9 (FCS) Weber State* | No. 12 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | W 31–7 | 51,532 |
| September 23 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 22 UCLA | No. 11 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | FOX | W 14–7 | 52,919 |
| September 29 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Oregon State | No. 10 | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | FS1 | L 7–21 | 37,372 |
| October 14 | 1:00 p.m. | California | No. 16 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | W 34–14 | 52,115 |
| October 21 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 18 USC | No. 14 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | FOX | W 34–32 | 61,551 |
| October 28 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 8 Oregon | No. 13 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT (College GameDay) | FOX | L 6–35 | 53,586 |
| November 4 | 12:00 p.m. | Arizona State | No. 18 | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | W 55–3 | 52,104 |
| November 11 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 5 Washington | No. 18 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | FOX | L 28–35 | 70,976 |
| November 18 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 17 Arizona | No. 22 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | P12N | L 18–42 | 50,800 |
| November 25 | 1:00 p.m. | Colorado | | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT (Rumble in the Rockies) | P12N | W 23–17 | 51,595 |
| December 23 | 5:30 p.m. | vs. Northwestern | | Allegiant StadiumLas Vegas, NV (Las Vegas Bowl) | ABC | L 7–14 | 20,897 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after October 31) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### vs Florida

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| Utah -5.0 | 44.5 |
Uniform Combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| No. 14 Utah | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: August 31
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. MST/5:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Sunny, 92 °F (33 °C)
* Game attendance: 53,644
* Referee: David Smith
* TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe (sideline)
* Box Score
| Statistics | FLA | UTAH |
| First downs | 17 | 13 |
| Total yards | 65–346 | 53–270 |
| Rushing yards | 21–13 | 30–105 |
| Passing yards | 333 | 165 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 31–44–1 | 15–23–0 |
| Time of possession | 31:52 | 28:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Florida | Passing | Graham Mertz | 31/44, 333 yards, TD, INT |
| Florida | Rushing | Trevor Etienne | 7 carries, 25 yards |
| Florida | Receiving | Ricky Pearsall | 8 receptions, 92 yards |
| Utah | Passing | Bryson Barnes | 12/18, 159 yards, TD |
| Utah | Rushing | Nate Johnson | 6 carries, 45 yards, TD |
| Utah | Receiving | Money Parks | 1 reception, 70 yards, TD |

### at Baylor

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UTAH -7.0 | 46.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Utes | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
| Bears | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
at McLane Stadium • Waco, Texas
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 10:09 a.m. MST/9:09 a.m. PST
* Game weather: Sunny • 90 °F (32 °C)
* Game attendance: 43,732
* Referee: Christopher Wiggins
* TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst), Kris Budden (sideline)
| Statistics | Utah | Baylor |
| First downs | 20 | 14 |
| Plays–yards | 73–377 | 57–339 |
| Rushes–yards | 47–224 | 29–121 |
| Passing yards | 153 | 218 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 12–26–1 | 12–28–2 |
| Time of possession | 36:17 | 23:43 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | Nate Johnson | 6–7, 82 yards |
| Utah | Rushing | Ja'Quinden Jackson | 19 carries, 129 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Mikey Matthews | 4 receptions, 48 yards |
| Baylor | Passing | Sawyer Robertson | 12–28, 218 yards, 2 INT |
| Baylor | Rushing | Dominic Richardson | 14 carries, 77 yards |
| Baylor | Receiving | Hal Presley | 4 receptions, 72 yards |

### vs No. 9 Weber State (FCS)

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| Utah -8.0 | 47.0 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Wildcats (FCS) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 12 Utes | 7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: September 16
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. MST/11:00 a.m. PST
* Game attendance: 51,532
* Referee: Ty Druse
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)
| Statistics | Weber State (FCS) | Utah |
| First downs | 5 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 127 | 424 |
| Rushes–yards | 52–231 | 19–61 |
| Passing yards | 66 | 193 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 11–23–1 | 13–21–0 |
| Time of possession | 19:55 | 40:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Weber State (FCS) | Passing | Kylan Weisser | 11/23, 66 yards, INT |
| Weber State (FCS) | Rushing | Damon Bankston | 8 carries, 59 yards |
| Weber State (FCS) | Receiving | Treyshun Hurry | 2 receptions, 22 yards |
| Utah | Passing | Nate Johnson | 13/21, 193 yards, TD |
| Utah | Rushing | Nate Johnson | 16 carries, 71 yards, TD |
| Utah | Receiving | Munir McClain | 3 receptions, 92 yards |

### vs No. 22 UCLA

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UTAH -3.0 | 50.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Bruins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| No. 11 Utes | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. MST/12:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 52,919
* Referee: Mark Duddy
* TV announcers (FOX): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst), Allison Williams (sideline)
| Statistics | UCLA | Utah |
| First downs | 11 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 243 | 219 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–9 | 48–102 |
| Passing yards | 234 | 117 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 15–35–1 | 9–17–0 |
| Time of possession | 25:32 | 34:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UCLA | Passing | Dante Moore | 15/35, 234 yards, TD, INT |
| UCLA | Rushing | TJ Harden | 11 carries, 31 yards |
| UCLA | Receiving | Carsen Ryan | 3 receptions, 69 yards |
| Utah | Passing | Nate Johnson | 9/17, 117 yards, TD |
| Utah | Rushing | Jaylon Glover | 25 carries, 86 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Devaughn Vele | 2 receptions, 57 yards |

### at No. 19 Oregon State

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UTAH +4 | 43 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Utes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| No. 19 Beavers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, Oregon
* Date: September 29
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. MST/6:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 59 °F (15 °C)
* Game attendance: 37,372
* Referee: Jeff Dahle
* TV announcers (FS1): Tim Brando (play-by-play), Spencer Tillman (analyst)
| Statistics | Utah | Oregon State |
| First downs | 14 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 63–198 | 62–358 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–57 | 36–131 |
| Passing yards | 198 | 227 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 13–31–1 | 15–26–1 |
| Time of possession | 28:54 | 31:06 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | Nate Johnson | 8/23, 101 yards, TD |
| Utah | Rushing | Jaylon Glover | 16 carries, 58 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Thomas Yassmin | 3 receptions, 59 yards, TD |
| Oregon State | Passing | DJ Uiagalelei | 14/25, 204 yards, TD, INT |
| Oregon State | Rushing | Damien Martinez | 16 carries, 65 yards, TD |
| Oregon State | Receiving | Silas Bolden | 6 receptions, 100 yards, TD |

### vs California

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UTAH -9.5 | 43 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 16 Utes | 0 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 34 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: October 14
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. MST/12:00 p.m. PST
* Game attendance: 52,115
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Roxy Bernstein, Lincoln Kennedy
| Statistics | California | Utah |
| First downs | 16 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 55–254 | 75–445 |
| Rushes–yards | 24–66 | 53–317 |
| Passing yards | 188 | 128 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 15–31–1 | 15–22–0 |
| Time of possession | 22:07 | 37:53 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| California | Passing | Fernando Mendoza | 10/17, 149 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| California | Rushing | Jaydn Ott | 8 carries, 46 yards |
| California | Receiving | Taj Davis | 7 receptions, 93 yards, TD |
| Utah | Passing | Bryson Barnes | 15/21, 128 yards |
| Utah | Rushing | Sione Vaki | 15 carries, 158 yards, 2 TD |
| Utah | Receiving | Mikey Matthews | 7 receptions, 53 yards |

### at No. 18 USC

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| Utah +7.5 | 51.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Utes | 14 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 34 |
| No. 18 Trojans | 14 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 32 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California
* Date: October 21
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. MST/5:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 61,551
* Referee: Mike McCabe
* TV announcers (FOX): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst), Allison Williams (sidelines)
| Statistics | Utah | USC |
| First downs | 23 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 70–482 | 58–401 |
| Rushes–yards | 47–247 | 23–145 |
| Passing yards | 235 | 256 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–23–1 | 24–35–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:42 | 25:18 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | Bryson Barnes | 14/23, 235 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Utah | Rushing | Ja'Quinden Jackson | 26 carries, 117 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Sione Vaki | 5 receptions, 149 yards, 2 TD |
| USC | Passing | Caleb Williams | 24/34, 256 yards |
| USC | Rushing | MarShawn Lloyd | 7 carries, 86 yards, TD |
| USC | Receiving | Tahj Washington | 5 receptions, 112 yards |

### vs No. 8 Oregon

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UTAH +7 | 49.0 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Ducks | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| No. 13 Utes | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. MST/12:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 40 °F (4 °C), W 9 mph
* Game attendance: 53,586
* Referee: Mark Duddy
* TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson (play-by-play) and Joel Klatt (analyst)
| Statistics | Oregon | Utah |
| First downs | 18 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 58–390 | 66–241 |
| Rushes–yards | 27–142 | 36–99 |
| Passing yards | 248 | 142 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 24–31–0 | 16–30–2 |
| Time of possession | 28:03 | 31:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Oregon | Passing | Bo Nix | 24/31, 248 yards, 2 TD |
| Oregon | Rushing | Bucky Irving | 14 carries, 83 yards, TD |
| Oregon | Receiving | Troy Franklin | 8 receptions, 99 yards, TD |
| Utah | Passing | Bryson Barnes | 15/29, 136 yards, 2 INT |
| Utah | Rushing | Jaylon Glover | 9 carries, 39 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Devaughn Vele | 7 receptions, 80 yards |

### vs Arizona State

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TBD | TBD |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sun Devils | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 18 Utes | 14 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 55 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: November 4th
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. MST/11:00 a.m. PST
* Game attendance: 52,104
* Referee: Justin Elliott
* TV announcers (P12N): JB Long, Lincoln Kennedy
* Statistics
* First downs
* Plays–yards
* Rushes–yards
* Passing yards
* Passing: comp–att–int
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Arizona State | Passing |
| Arizona State | Rushing |
| Arizona State | Receiving |
| Utah | Passing |
| Utah | Rushing |
| Utah | Receiving |

### at No. 5 Washington

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TBD | TBD |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Utes | 7 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| No. 5 Huskies | 10 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 35 |
at Husky Stadium • Seattle, Washington
* Date: November 11th
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. MST/12:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 52 °F (11 °C)
* Game attendance: 70,976
* Referee: Mike McCabe
* TV announcers (FOX): Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, Allison Williams
| Statistics | Utah | Washington |
| First downs | 17 | 26 |
| Plays–yards | 57-382 | 75-457 |
| Rushes–yards | 27-115 | 33-125 |
| Passing yards | 267 | 332 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17-30-2 | 24-42-0 |
| Time of possession | 25:02 | 34:58 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | B. Barnes | 17-30, 267 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Utah | Rushing | B. Barnes | 6 Car, 39 Yds |
| Utah | Receiving | D. Vele | 5 Rec, 145 Yds |
| Washington | Passing | M. Penix Jr. | 24-42, 332 Yds, 2 TD |
| Washington | Rushing | D. Johnson | 23 Car, 104 Yds, TD |
| Washington | Receiving | R. Odunze | 3 Rec, 111 Yds, 2 TD |

### at No. 17 Arizona

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TBD | TBD |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Utes | 0 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 18 |
| No. 17 Wildcats | 21 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 42 |
at Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
* Date: November 18
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. MST/11:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 71 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 50,800
* Referee: Jeff Dahle
* TV announcers (P12N): Ted Robinson, Yogi Roth
| Statistics | Utah | Arizona |
| First downs | 26 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | –438 | –443 |
| Rushes–yards | 37–118 | 24–118 |
| Passing yards | 320 | 325 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 31–53–2 | 25–33–0 |
| Time of possession | 35:34 | 24:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | Bryson Barnes | 31/53, 320 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Utah | Rushing | Ja'Quinden Jackson | 10 carries, 47 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Devaughn Vele | 9 receptions, 111 yards, TD |
| Arizona | Passing | Noah Fifita | 22/30, 253 yards, 2 TD |
| Arizona | Rushing | Jonah Coleman | 14 carries, 90 yards, TD |
| Arizona | Receiving | Tetairoa McMillan | 8 receptions, 116 yards, TD |

### vs Colorado (rivalry)

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UTAH -21.5 | 43.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Utes | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
at Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: November 25
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. MST/12:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
* Game attendance: 51,595
* Referee: Justin Elliott
* TV announcers (P12N): Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)
| Statistics | Colorado | Utah |
| First downs | 13 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | –262 | –329 |
| Rushes–yards | 17–37 | 53–268 |
| Passing yards | 225 | 61 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–25–0 | 6–10–0 |
| Time of possession | 20:56 | 39:04 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Colorado | Passing | Ryan Staub | 17/24, 195 yards, TD |
| Colorado | Rushing | Sy'Veon Wilkerson | 7 carries, 32 yards |
| Colorado | Receiving | Travis Hunter | 8 receptions, 107 yards, TD |
| Utah | Passing | Luke Bottari | 6/10, 61 yards |
| Utah | Rushing | Jaylon Glover | 17 carries, 107 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Mikey Matthews | 2 receptions, 19 yards |

### vs Northwestern (Las Vegas Bowl)

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TBD | TBD |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Utes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, Nevada
* Date: December 23rd
* Game time: 5:30 p.m. MST/4:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: N/A (indoor stadium)
* Game attendance: 20,897
* Referee: Kevin Boitmann
* TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst) and Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
* Box score
| Statistics | Utah | Northwestern |
| First downs | 13 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 65–211 | 70–290 |
| Rushes–yards | 51–138 | 31–65 |
| Passing yards | 73 | 225 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9–14–2 | 24–39–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:21 | 25:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Utah | Passing | Bryson Barnes | 8/13, 55 yards, 2 INT |
| Utah | Rushing | Ja'Quinden Jackson | 8 carries, 55 yards |
| Utah | Receiving | Micah Bernard | 3 receptions, 24 yards |
| Northwestern | Passing | Ben Bryant | 23/34, 222 yards, 2 TD |
| Northwestern | Rushing | Cam Porter | 10 carries, 33 yards |
| Northwestern | Receiving | Bryce Kirtz | 5 receptions, 68 yards, TD |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 13 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | — |
| Coaches | 14 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | — |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 18 | 18 | 22 | — | — | — | Not released |