Utah looks to carry previous Las Vegas Bowl success into matchup vs. Nebraska

Utah will be making its seventh appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl this month when it meets Nebraska for a New Year's Eve matchup at Allegiant Stadium.

A win for the Utes (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) over the Cornhuskers (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten) would be Utah's fifth Las Vegas Bowl win since 1999. It would also snap the program's five game losing streak in bowls, with its last victory coming in the 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl against West Virginia.

Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham is 11-6 all-time in bowl games and will have an opportunity to tie Clemson's Dabo Swinney for the most bowl game victories by an active head coach (12). Utah, which is 17-9 all-time in major bowl games, also can clinch its first 11-win season since 2019 with a win over Nebraska.

Leading up to the 1:30 p.m. MT kickoff on New Year's Eve, let's take a look at Utah's previous trips down to Sin City for the Las Vegas Bowl.

An Ugly Loss to Northwestern (2023)

Utah's most recent trip to Las Vegas for a postseason game was a forgettable one for any Utes fan who watched their team commit three turnovers, rush for 2.7 yards per carry and complete just nine passes in an ugly 14-7 loss to Northwestern.

The Utes didn't have Cam Rising and just got Micah Bernard back in the lineup after missing a majority of the season due to a knee injury he sustained during the season-opener. Bernard's 6-yard score with 12:38 left in the fourth quarter marked the only points of the night for Utah, which finished the game with 138 rushing yards on 51 attempts.

The Wildcats didn't enjoy much success on the ground, either, though Ben Bryant's 222 passing yards and 2 TDs wound up being enough to get David Braun his first bowl game win as the program's head coach.

Neither side wound up qualifying for the postseason the following year. The Utes went 5-7 amid numerous injuries to key players, including Rising, while the Wildcats were near the bottom of the Big Ten standings with a 4-8 record.

First-Quarter Avalanche Fuels Win Over BYU (2015)

The first Holy War matchup outside the state of Utah nearly featured the series' biggest comeback as well, but the Utes managed to hold on for a 35-28 victory over their rival after scoring five touchdowns in the first quarter.

The Utes' first four scores came in a span of 3 minutes, 30 seconds of game time. BYU freshman quarterback Tanner Magnum fueled Utah with a lost fumble on the third play of the game, followed by interceptions on three consecutive drives.

The Utes offense didn't do much on its own, though, and it nearly costed Whittingham and company the win. Magnum gave the Cougars life with three total touchdowns after the first quarter, including one to make it a 7-point game with 3:23 left in regulation.

Utah did just enough on its final possession, gaining a couple of first downs to run out the clock and close out a wild start-to-finish ballgame from Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. Utes defensive back Tevin Carter, who picked off Magnum twice, was named the game's MVP.

Both teams went 9-4 the following year, with Utah in the Pac-12 and BYU in its sixth season as an independent. It was also the beginning of the Kalani Sitake era in Provo, Utah, after the Cougars spent 11 seasons under head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Travis Wilson Leads Blowout Victory Over Colorado State (2014)

There weren't any late rallies for Utah to worry about during its 2014 stay in Sin City.

The Utes found the end zone on their first three possessions and never looked back, scoring 24 unanswered over the final three quarters to come away from Sam Boyd Stadium with a 45-10 victory over the Rams.

Travis Wilson had his way through the air and on the ground. The junior quarterback rushed for a season-high 91 yards and three touchdowns, passed for another and finished with 249 total yards of offense. That effort earned the 6-foot-7 signal-caller Las Vegas Bowl game MVP honors.

Future NFL running back Devontae Booker stood out as well with 162 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Utah gashed Colorado State for 359 yards on the ground, averaging 7.5 yards per attempt and recording a program bowl-game record five rushing touchdowns in the process.

Talented Boise State Squad Thumps Utes (2010)

Utah couldn't capitalize on some early miscues from Boise State in a disheartening 26-3 loss for the Utes in the 2010 edition of the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Broncos committed three turnovers and trailed 3-0 before Doug Martin turned things up a notch with an 84-yard touchdown in the second quarter, sparking 26 straight points from Boise State over the final three quarters of regulation.

Martin, who went on star in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was bottled up by the Utes outside of that long run in the first half, but they didn't contain the Broncos passing game helmed by another eventual pro in Kellen Moore, who went 28-of-38 through the air for 339 passing yards and two touchdowns.

It wasn't end to the season for the Utes offense, which also lost three fumbles and finished with just 200 total yards against the Broncos defense.

Boise State finished that season with a 12-1 record and No. 9 placement in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Had it not been for a 34-31 overtime loss to Nevada in November, the Broncos might've been Rose Bowl bound instead.

A Christmas Day Slugfest With USC (2001)

The lowest-scoring game in the history of the Las Vegas Bowl saw Utah stifle Carson Palmer and the USC offense in a Christmas Day slugfest from Sam Boyd Stadium.

The Utes clawed out a 10-6 victory while holding the Trojans to 151 total yards of offense, including just 1 yard rushing, despite missing a couple of key starters on the defensive side of the ball. USC never even made it past the Utah 40-yard line after scoring its lone touchdown of the game on its first possession of the second half, as Palmer and company struggled to move the ball through the air and on the ground.

The Utes weren't really grooving offensively, either, outside of a productive outing from tailback Adam Tate, who tallied 103 rushing yards and his team's only touchdown of the game on a 6-yard run in the first quarter.

The 2001 campaign was the Trojans' last sub-10 win season under Pete Carroll until 2009. USC went on to win back-to-back national championships in 2003 and 2004, as Palmer won the 2002 Heisman Trophy en route to being picked No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Special Teams Plays Pivotal Role in Close Battle With Fresno State (1999)

Utah tailback Mike Anderson ran for a Las Vegas Bowl-record 254 yards and two touchdowns in a game that came down to a couple of big special teams plays.

A total of three field goal tries and one extra point attempt were blocked, one of which was returned for a 75-yard touchdown by Fresno State's Payton Williams, during the Utes' 17-16 victory over the Bulldogs.

Utah kicker Cletus Truhe redeemed himself late in the fourth quarter, drilling the go-ahead field goal with 5 minutes left in regulation after Colby Knight blocked an extra point attempt that kept it a 2-point game following a score from Fresno State's Derrick Ward at the start of the fourth quarter.

Anderson broke off a couple of big plays to help set up Truhe's clutch field goal, capping off a 70-yard drive that advanced all the way to the Bulldogs' 14-yard line. The Utes rushed for a then-bowl record 334 yards and out-gained the Bulldogs in total yards, 548 to 279.