2008 Utah Utes football team The 2008 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team , coached by 4th year head football coach Kyle Whittingham , plays its home games in Rice – Eccles Stadium . Utah was one of only two teams in the top - level Division I FBS to finish the regular season undefeated ( the other being the Boise State Broncos ) , but after the Broncos were defeated by TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl and Utah won the Sugar Bowl over Alabama , the Utes finished as the nation ' s only undefeated team . For their efforts , Utah claimed the nations longest active win streak at 14 wins and the nations longest active bowl win streak at 8 wins . In addition to winning the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year Award head coach Kyle Whittingham also received 2 national coach of the year awards , the AFCA National Coach of the Year Award and the Paul " Bear " Bryant Award . Schedule . ! Notes Game notes . Michigan . Series Tied : 1 – 1 – 0 Utah fans went to the Big House hoping for a better outcome than the last time the Utes visited Michigan Stadium , which resulted in a 10 – 7 loss in 2002 . New Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez ' s offense was new to a Michigan squad built to run a smashmouth offense and was slow to get things going against the Ute defense , and the experienced Michigan defense prevented the Utah offense from gaining momentum . After a slow start for both teams , the Ute offense scored finally started clicking and scored sixteen points in the 2nd quarter taking a 22 – 10 lead into half - time . The offense wouldn ' t be able to do much the rest of the game . In the 2nd half it was more of the same from the 1st quarter , the only score coming off of a 53 - yard field - goal from Louie Sakoda to put the Utes up 25 – 10 . Michigan scored on the first play of their 2nd possession of the 4th quarter with a 33 - yard touchdown pass by Steven Threet to Junior Hemingway , inching closer to the Utah lead . Only two minutes later Michigan RB Sam Mcguffie ran into the endzone from three yards out bringing the Wolverines to with two points , but failed on the ensuing two point conversion . Utah was able to run out most of the clock before turning the ball over on downs to the Wolverines who were unable to score before time expired , giving the Utes their first win of the season and improving Kyle Whittingham ' s record against BCS opponents to 5 – 3 . UNLV . Utah Leads Series : 12 – 2 – 0 After an emotional win against Michigan in the season opener , UNLV provided the perfect opponent for Utah to avoid having a " let - down " game as the Rebels embarrassed Utah in Las Vegas the year before , winning 27 – 0 in one of the most troublesome losses in Utah history . Things did not start off well as UNLV , behind the running of Frank Summers , took first half - leads of 7 – 0 and 14 – 7 . But shortly before halftime , quarterback Brian Johnson led the Utes on an eighty - yard drive that tied the game going into halftime , and Utah scored on its first four possessions of the second half to turn the game into a rout . Six different Utah players scored touchdowns , and both Johnson and running back Matt Asiata ran and threw for a touchdown . Utah State . Utah Leads Series : 76 – 28 – 4 Even though Utah faced an early 7 – 0 deficit , this game was never close . Utah scored the game ' s next thirty points and Matt Asiata tacked on a pair of second - half touchdowns to finish with three rushing TDs as the Utes won going away . Utah State finished with just 116 yards of total offense , and 57 of those came on its final drive of the game against Utah ' s reserves . Both of Utah State ' s scoring drives came on short fields caused by turnovers . Air Force . Air Force Leads Series : 14 – 11 – 0 Despite outgaining the Falcons 440 - 191 and holding Air Force ' s vaunted option attack to a 30 - year low of 53 yards rushing , Utah needed to put together an 11 - play , 80 - yard drive capped by Darrell Mack ' s third rushing touchdown with 58 seconds remaining to win . Offensively , Utah dug itself a hole after building a 9 – 0 lead . Johnson threw an interception in the end zone and had a second - quarter fumble returned for another touchdown to give Air Force a 16 – 9 halftime lead . But a ground - heavy attack helped Utah tie the game early in the second half and Air Force never threatened again to take the lead . Mack finished with 101 yards and three scores on 18 carries , while Asiata finished with 116 yards on 19 carries . Weber State . Utah Leads Series : 3 – 0 – 0 With a game in just five days against Oregon State — fresh off an upset victory over then - No . 1 Southern California , the Utes did enough to decide the outcome early . Utah rolled up 450 yards of total offense to take a 37 – 7 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Wildcats — coached by former Utah head coach Ron McBride and a member of the Football Championship Subdivision — scored twice late to make the final score respectable . With 13 points on three field goals and four extra points , Utah kicker Louie Sakoda became the all - time leading scorer in school history . Oregon State . Oregon State Leads Series : 9 – 5 – 1 Utah scored 11 points in the final 1 : 29 to escape with a victory . Utah trailed 9 – 3 early in the second quarter before finishing off the half with a Louie Sakoda 28 - yard field goal and touchdowns of 14 yards from Brian Johnson to Freddie Brown and a 12 - yard run by Brent Casteel to take a 20 – 9 halftime lead . Oregon State reeled off 19 straight points of its own to take a 28 – 20 lead with 2 : 18 left to play . In a departure from conventional football strategy , Oregon State had elected twice to go for two points after its first two touchdowns of the half ( its PAT after the first touchdown was blocked , resulting in coach Mike Riley to " chase points " by going for 2 ) instead of kicking extra points . Had it kicked extra points , Oregon State would have led 30 – 20 . But Johnson lead a 4 - play , 60 - yard drive capped by a 25 - yard scoring pass to Bradon Godfrey , then rushed for the 2 - point conversion to tie the game , but only after Oregon State was whistled for pass interference on Utah ' s first two - point try . Oregon State then threw incomplete on first down , ran out of bounds to stop the clock on second down ( another time - honored no - no in football at that stage of the game ) and threw incomplete on third down . After a 31 - yard punt , Oregon State had used up just 23 seconds , which left plenty of time for a game - winning drive . Johnson threw for 7 , 8 and 16 yards to get the Utes into Sakoda ' s range , and his 37 - yard field goal as time expired was good . Wyoming . Utah Leads Series : 49 – 31 – 1 Fighting winds in excess of , Utah won handily on a day in which the offense was outgained 252 – 242 by scoring a touchdown on defense and two more on special teams . Sean Smith picked off a deflected pass on Wyoming ' s second possession and returned it 25 yards for a score — one of two interceptions on the day for the all - Mountain West Conference cornerback . After a pair of Louie Sakoda field goals made the score 13 – 0 , Aiona Key blocked a Wyoming punt and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown . Matt Asiata added a rushing and receiving touchdown to give Utah a 34 – 0 lead , and RJ Rice ' s recovery of a muffed punt in the end zone accounted for the final score . Colorado State . Utah Leads Series : 53 – 22 – 2 For the first time all season , Utah used a variety of big plays on offense to bury the improved Rams . Brian Johnson threw touchdowns of 32 and 33 yards to Freddie Brown and David Reed and backup quarterback Corbin Louks ran for scores of 21 and 69 yards . Wide receiver Jereme Brooks ran 34 yards for another score as Utah piled up 549 yards of total offense , 327 on the ground . New Mexico . Utah Leads Series : 31 – 17 – 2 The Lobos had marred great Utah seasons before , most notably in 1994 when it beat an undefeated Utes team ranked # 8 in the country for their first loss and handing the 2003 MWC champions its only conference loss ( and one of two all year ) in a lopsided win at Rice – Eccles Stadium . New Mexico almost did it again , but the special teams rose to the occasion for the Utes as Key blocked a first - half field goal attempt and Louie Sakoda repeatedly pinned the Lobos deep with well - placed punts . His last put the Lobos at their own 1 with 1 : 58 left , and the Lobos , with no timeouts , could only get to the Utah 46 before time expired . Sakoda kicked a pair of field goals and Casteel ' s 10 - yard catch from Brian Johnson gave Utah a 13 – 3 lead late in the third quarter , a lead which ultimately held up . TCU . Utah Leads Series : 5 – 1 – 0 This game was advertised as a " Blackout " . The Utes wore black uniforms for the first time in school history and the fans responded by turning Rice – Eccles Stadium into a sea of black . None of it fazed TCU , which went 64 and 72 yards on its first two possessions to take a quick 10 – 0 lead . Louie Sakoda ' s 49 - yard field goal with 2 : 37 left in the first quarter got Utah on the board , and Smith ' s interception right before haltime helped set up another Sakoda field goal , this one from 37 yards . TCU ' s defense , coupled with some untimely playcalling by Utah , made the Frogs ' 10 – 6 lead stand up deep into the fourth quarter . But TCU kicker Ross Evans missed two field goals — the first off the left upright , the second wide right , giving Utah one final shot at salvaging frontrunner status in the MWC and for a BCS bid as it took over on its own 20 with 2 : 48 left . Completions of 5 and 7 yards got Utah a first down , then Brian Johnson connected with Casteel for a 22 - yard strike to get into TCU territory . A pass interference call moved the ball to the TCU 31 , where Utah faced its most crucial point of the season . Facing 4th and 5 after a pair of incompletions and a 5 - yard pass to Godfrey , Johnson beat the blitz and found Brown for an 11 - yard gain to the TCU 15 . Another pass to Godfrey put the ball at the TCU 9 , and Johnson found Brown on a slant pattern for the winning touchdown on the next play . Versus commentators Tommy Hart and Dan Fouts gave a memorable account of the crowd noise after the touchdown : " Hart : This is a well - built stadium . This press box is shaking right now . " " Fouts : Oh good , I thought it was my knees . You get a little excited when you see a great 80 - yard drive engineered by Brian Johnson . . . 7 of 9 on that drive and the capper , finding Freddie Brown downtown . " TCU would get the ball back with one more shot to get into field goal range — and for Evans to redeem himself for his two previous misses . But Andy Dalton , on 4th and 10 with just seconds to go , was intercepted on a deep pass by Robert Johnson at the Utah 15 to end the game . San Diego State . Utah Leads Series : 15 – 12 – 1 Brian Johnson had an excellent performance as Utah tuned up for the following week ' s showdown with BYU by throwing five first - half touchdowns , completing 27 of 38 passes for 283 yards as the Utes were in control the entire game . Backup safety Deshawn Richard would return two passes 89 and 36 yards for touchdowns in the final quarter to put an exclamation point on the Utes ' rout of the Aztecs . Brigham Young . Utah Leads Series : 53 – 33 – 4 Utah forced six turnovers and BYU forced none , turning what was otherwise a close game statistically into a blowout . Brian Johnson won his matchup against his highly touted counterpart , Max Hall , completing 30 of 36 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns , while Hall went 21 - 41 - 205 with no touchdowns and five interceptions , in addition to losing a fumble . Johnson was sharp early , leading Utah to points on its first three possessions for a 17 – 3 lead . But BYU fought back to tie the game . Louie Sakoda ' s 35 - yard field goal with 1 : 41 left in the first half gave Utah a 20 – 17 lead before Hall started padding his interceptions stats with an ill - timed throw to Joe Dale . On the same play , Hall was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct , giving Utah the ball at the BYU 44 . Two plays resulted in a first down before Johnson found David Reed for a 32 - yard strike in the corner of the end zone for a 27 – 17 halftime lead . Hall did rush 11 yards for a touchdown with 6 : 46 left in the third quarter to get BYU within 27 – 24 , but that would be the last time he would star in a highlight that helped his team . BYU ' s final five possessions ended interception , fumble , interception , interception , interception . Starting with the fumble , Utah scored touchdowns on three straight possessions . Three plays into the fourth quarter , Casteel caught a pass in the flat and ran 8 yards for a touchdown and a 34 – 24 lead . Utah all but clinched a BCS bid and the outright MWC crown with its next interception when Paul Kruger floated off his defensive end position and into pass coverage . Hall never saw the sophomore lurking in the flat , and only a desperate swipe by Hall kept Kruger from returning the interception for a touchdown . On the next play , Asiata took the direct snap , ran forward two steps and threw a jump pass to Chris Joppru in the back of the end zone for a 41 – 24 lead with 12 minutes left in the game . Smith ' s fifth interception of the year helped Johnson cap his day with a 1 - yard scoring pass to tight end Colt Sampson , and for the third time this season Utah fans rushed the field after a victory against a ranked team . Sugar Bowl : Utah vs . Alabama . Utah Leads Series : 1 – 0 – 0 Utah , 9½ point underdogs entering the game , treated the Superdome crowd of 71 , 872 to an offensive explosion in the first quarter and a dominant defense in beating fourth - ranked Alabama to cap a perfect 13 – 0 season — the second undefeated season in five years for the Utes . Alabama picked up one first down on its opening drive , but a third - down sack of quarterback John Parker Wilson by Stevenson Sylvester — the first of three for the junior linebacker — ended the threat . Utah immediately went to work on offense as quarterback Brian Johnson completed all five of his passes to five different receivers , the touchdown pass coming on a 7 - yarder to Casteel . The Tide ' s poor start continued as Wilson was intercepted by Robert Johnson on the second play of the ensuing drive . Starting from the Alabama 32 , Brian Johnson connected with David Reed on a 30 - yard pass to the Alabama 2 , and Asiata took it in two plays later for a score out of the " Wildcat " formation for a 14 – 0 lead . Kepa Gaison ended Alabama ' s third drive with another sack , and Brian Johnson quickly fired up the Ute attack , completing 5 of 7 passes for 50 yards , drawing a pass interference penalty on Alabama and running another 9 yards for a first down on 3rd - and - 4 from midfield . Bradon Godfrey capped the drive with an 18 - yard touchdown reception , and Utah led 21 – 0 just 11 minutes into the game . Alabama rallied , scoring 17 straight points on Leigh Tiffin ' s 52 - yard field goal and Javier Arenas ' 73 - yard punt return in the second quarter , and Glenn Coffee ' s 4 - yard touchdown catch off a short field caused by a Brian Johnson fumble to start the third quarter . But as it had done against Air Force , Oregon State and TCU , the Utah offense responded when it had to . Brian Johnson ' s first pass of the ensuing drive went to Brown for 33 yards , and Godfrey gained 10 on 3rd - and - 10 to keep the drive alive . Facing 3rd - and - 10 at the Alabama 28 , Johnson threw into the left flat for Reed , who slipped a tackle and went into the end zone untouched for a 28 – 17 lead . The Utah defense dominated from there , sacking Wilson four more times ( Utah finished with eight sacks ; Alabama had given up 13 all season entering the game ) , forcing a Wilson fumble that Utah recovered and turned into the final points , a 28 - yard field goal by Louie Sakoda , and a second interception . Alabama crossed midfield just once after the Reed touchdown , and never got any further than the Utah 32 . The final box score revealed an unexpected advantages for Utah . Alabama ' s run game , which ranked 22nd nationally at 196 yards per game entering the contest , was held to 31 yards on 33 carries . Alabama had given up only 27 first - quarter points and one first quarter touchdown all season long ; against Utah it gave up 21 and three , respectively . Alabama ' s secondary was 13th nationally in pass efficiency defense at 101 . 63 , but Johnson ' s passer rating for this game was 158 . 84 . Johnson finished 27 of 41 for 336 yards and three TDs — all of which were the most yards , completions and TDs the Tide had given up to a single quarterback all season long . The victory marked Utah ' s eighth consecutive bowl victory — the longest active streak in the country — and was the program ' s first victory against an SEC school in seven tries . It also became the first program in the BCS era to finish a season undefeated twice , joining the 2004 team . Utah ' s poll finish . The effects of this game were monumental . Immediately , on sports internet site polls and in newspaper columns , the Utes ' case for a share of the national championship was made . Among the noteworthy members of the press to chime in were Rick Reilly of ESPN The Magazine and John Feinstein of The Washington Post . In the end , sixteen AP voters went against the result of the BCS title game and voted Utah No . 1 . It was not enough to offset Florida ' s forty - eight first - place votes , but Utah still finished a comfortable No . 2 , surpassing its No . 4 finish in the 2004 season for its highest ranking ever . Utah also placed ahead of two teams which won their BCS bowl games — traditional powers Southern California and Texas , both of whom entered the bowl season ranked ahead of Utah . USC earned one first - place vote , but finished No . 3 . In the coaches poll , Utah finished fourth and earned one first - place vote courtesy of head coach Kyle Whittingham , who vowed after the Sugar Bowl to vote Utah No . 1 — despite his obligations as a member of the American Football Coaches Association to vote the winner of the BCS title game in the top spot . The computers which make up the BCS standings told a different story . Utah was ranked first in four of the six BCS computer models : Sagarin ( Elo - Chess ) , Peter Wolfe , Anderson / Hester and Massey . Utah finished third in the Colley Matrix and Richard Billingsley rankings . Florida didn ' t finish lower than second in any of the computer rankings , but earned only two first - place finishes amongst the computers . Depth chart . These are the projected starters and primary backups as of November 2008 . Season Statistics . 2008 Official Stats Individual Leaders . < br > < br > < br > < br > After the season . NFL draft . The Utes had four players go in the 2009 NFL Draft :