The Stars Do Align, Utah Is Heading To Las Vegas To Face USC
Nov 27, 2022, 12:51 AM | Updated: Nov 29, 2022, 10:23 am
The University of Utah Utes celebrate after winning the PAC-12 Football Championship Game against the Oregon Ducks on December 3, 2021 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY- What felt like an improbable ask early in the week is now reality for the Utah football team. After squandering the easy was to Las Vegas last week against Oregon, the Utes got in the hard way- with a lot of help from their Pac-12 conference-mates. The stars aligned Saturday and Utah will now be heading to Las Vegas to face USC for all the marbles.
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How Utah Ended Up In The Pac-12 Title Game
As mentioned before, Utah had an easy path to meeting up with USC by beating Oregon at Autzen the weekend before. That did not happen which put into play this crazy scenario.
Utah goes to Las Vegas to compete in the CCG against USC IF:
1. UCLA beats Cal ✅
2. OSU beats Oregon ✅
3. Utah beats Colorado ✅
4. UW beats WSU ✅Guess we’re going to Vegas 🤷🏻♀️
UW beats WSU 51-33 giving the #Utes the long-shot nod.#GoUtes #AppleCup #DestinyFulfilled pic.twitter.com/rmGyxZtPYs
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 27, 2022
- UCLA needed to beat Cal…check.
- Oregon State needed to beat Oregon…check again.
- Utah needed to take care of Colorado…easy check.
- Washington needed to finish off Washington State…check, check, all the checks checked.
A quick glance at that list with a working knowledge of how the Pac-12 typically operates it didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility but was still an awfully big ask. However, fate seemed to want Utah in Las Vegas as each item got checked off the list.
Utah In The Pac-12 Title Game
This will be Utah’s fourth appearance at the Pac-12 Championship Game (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) in their 12 seasons in the conference. The Utes were a field goal away from a fifth appearance in the first conference championship game in 2011.
Utah’s first two appearances in the title game were rough losing to Washington and Oregon in 2018 and 2019. Last year the Utes got over the hump by thrashing Oregon 38-10 which also stamped their first-ever appearance in the Rose Bowl as well.
The Utes will face USC this year, a team they beat already this season in a nail-biter that was decided by a Cam Rising 2-point conversion in Salt Lake City. The Trojans will naturally be looking for revenge on a neutral field in the coming week with Utah being the only loss they have suffered so far in 2022.
The game will take place on Friday, December 2 at 6 pm MT in Allegiant Stadium. You can either purchase tickets here or catch the game on FOX.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports
