Early storylines to follow leading up to Utah vs. Nebraska matchup in Las Vegas Bowl

Utes and Cornhuskers are set to go head-to-head on New Year's Eve

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham and his program will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Las Vegas Bowl. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

A 10-2 regular season record and third place finish in the Big 12 earned Utah a trip to Nevada for a postseason game against Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Utes and Cornhuskers will meet at Allegiant Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. MT kickoff on New Year's Eve. It'll be Utah's second trip to Sin City for a postseason game in a three-year span and their first since losing to Northwestern, 14-7, in the 2023 Las Vegas Bowl.

This time around, though, the Las Vegas Bowl will take place on Dec. 31 — not Dec. 23 — and feature a matchup between two schools that haven't faced each other on the gridiron since 1992.

Here's some early storylines to follow in the weeks leading up to the game.

Whether Emmett Johnson Plays for Cornhuskers

The Cornhuskers were middle of the pack in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 144.7 yards per game during the regular season, due in large part to Emmett Johnson's success on the ground.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound junior from Minnesota was named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year after totaling 1,451 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, plus 46 catches for 370 yards and three more touchdowns. His 1,821 scrimmage yards ranked No. 2 in the country.

Time will tell whether the Big Ten's leading rusher plays in the New Year's Eve matchup; Johnson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft and didn't specify whether he'd play in Nebraska's postseason game.

Johnson's availability will be worth monitoring, considering Utah struggled defending the run down the stretch of the regular season. The Utes gave up 275.3 rushing yards per game and yielded 7.1 yards per carry in November, including 472 yards on the ground to Kansas State on Nov. 22.

Nebraska's Quarterback Situation

Nebraska starting quarterback Dylan Raiola won't be playing in the Las Vegas Bowl. The sophomore from Georgia suffered a broken fibula during the Cornhuskers' 21-17 loss to USC on Nov. 1, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.

TJ Lateef stepped in for Raiola, though his status for Nebraska's bowl game was put into question after he suffered a hamstring injury against Iowa on Nov. 28. Lateef is expected to play in the postseason but wasn't available for the start of bowl game practices.

Pass protection had been a problem for Nebraska, which allowed the fourth-most sacks in the Big Ten (30.0) and gave up a season-high nine sacks in an Oct. 17 matchup with Minnesota.

It remains to be seen if Nebraska's O-line plays differently after head coach Matt Rhule confirmed Raiola's uncle, Donovan Raiola, was fired from his position as the team's offensive line coach.

Utah finished the regular season with the third most sacks in the Big 12 (31), though a significant chunk of that production can be credited to John Henry Daley. The redshirt sophomore was tied for the Football Bowl Subdivision lead with 17.5 tackles for loss and ranked No. 2 in the country with 11.5 sacks before going down with a season-ending injury on Nov. 22.

Kyle Whittingham's Final Ride?

Utah's head coach didn't clarify whether his 21st season at the helm would be his last following the Utes' win over Kansas in their regular season finale, though it wouldn't be surprised if the 66-year-old decided to retire at the conclusion of the 2025-26 postseason.

"That's an that's an after the season thing," Whittingham said during his weekly press conference following theUtes' 51-47 win over the Wildcats. "As soon as everything's culminated, and you have a few days, and maybe even a week or two, to sit back and evaluate and see where you're at."

Whittingham contemplated calling it a career after the 2024 season, but didn't want to end his time as head coach on a sour note (the Utes finished the season 5-7). He returned for the 2025 season, guiding Utah to its biggest year-over-year turnaround in his tenure while remaining in contention for a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff spot until the final week of the regular season.

Though the Utes' postseason hopes didn't play out exactly how they wanted, they still put themselves in a position to play in bowl game No. 18 under Whittingham, who'll have an opportunity to tie Clemson's Dabo Swinney for the most bowl game victories by an active head coach (12) when Utah battles Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Whittingham's guided the Utes to a pair of Pac-12 championship titles (2021 and 2022) and a Mountain West championship (2008). He'll have an opportunity to claim his fourth national coach of the year honor at the end of the season as a contender for thePaul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Award.

Potential portal/NFL draft declarations?

No Utah players had announced intentions of leaving the program prior to Sunday, indicating the Utes will be at full strength will be for what will be their 18th bowl game under Whittingham. But in the era of the transfer portal, hardly anything is a foregone conclusion until it happens.

Additionally, it'll be worth monitoring if either Spencer Fano or Caleb Lomu declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. Both are projected first round picks according to ESPN, with Fano and Lomu tabbed by Mel Kiper Jr. as the No. 2 and No. 4 offensive tackle prospects in the class, respectively.