Utah looks to avoid "Pac-12 After Dark" special
Any college football fan in the country knows all about “Pac-12 after dark.”
The Pac-12 is notorious for these weekly late-night football games that are border on insanity — and usually have repercussions for the loser that aren’t good.
The next potential victim of the Pac-12’s weekly nightmare has everything to play for. … So Utah must be on alert to avoid the same destruction because trips to the desert are always scary.
For whatever reason, late game kickoffs down in the Arizona desert in November always seem to bring the drama and fireworks.
Saturday night in Tucson has the potential to be another one of these scary affairs when No. 7 Utah (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12) flies south to face Arizona (4-6, 2-5). Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
For Utes running back Zack Moss, he doesn’t care of the past or the history of Pac-12 after dark, all he cares about is his team.
“We just want to come out here and make sure that we put in our best efforts, making sure that we execute our plays,” Moss said. “Because it's not about the team that we're going against, it's about us. So, we make sure that we execute our plays to the best of our ability.”
Interestingly enough, four years ago Utah found itself in nearly an identical situation as it does right now.
The Utes traveled down south to face a middling Arizona squad just looking to become bowl eligible. Meanwhile, the Utes were in a battle with USC and UCLA for Pac-12 south division crown, needing to just win out to earn a berth in the conference championship game.
But on that late November night, the Pac-12 after dark theme struck again as Utah fell to Arizona 37-30 in double-overtime, ending its chances of playing for a conference title.
Looking to avoid a repeat of history, the Utes travel down to Tucson with a “Heisman candidate” at quarterback in Tyler Huntley, a running back in Zack Moss with all-American potential and the nastiest defense this side of the Mississippi.
Huntley and Moss were dominant in last week’s victory over UCLA. Moss finished with 200 total yards on 21 touches and two scores, while Huntley was 14-of-18 for 335 yards and two scores, while adding a rushing touchdown as well.
“Tyler Huntley was outstanding. ... Incredible completion percentage and yards per attempt was way up there," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said of his two offensive stars. "Zack Moss was outstanding."
Likewise, the defense held the Pac-12’s top scoring and rushing team to way below its season averages. The Utes forced five turnovers, even taking a fumble back for a touchdown in the win.
“Yeah, our players were aware of that, for sure,” Whittingham said when asked postgame as who the more physical team was. “And I don't know how much it bothered them or amused them. I don't know. I can't tell you. But they knew and didn't make a huge deal of it, as far as you know, and the players responded well.”
Utah will have a chance to further its November resume and put to rest any bad memories that may remain from four years ago. But in order to do so, expect the Utes to continue to do what they do, it’s gotten them this far.