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SALT LAKE CITY — Now four years removed from its playing days in the Mountain West Conference, the University of Utah football team is preparing for a familiar bowl destination in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.
For many fans of the program, the bowl destination brought a sense of disappointment — a destination that was common in a conference Utah left for so-called greener pastures. Add to the issue that Utah had its best season since joining the Pac-12 and that it would be playing the MWC’s Colorado State, and it was easy to see why many fans felt the bowl destination was a bit of a letdown.
While it’s pointless to tell a fan how to feel regarding a bowl destination, the football team doesn’t see the Las Vegas Bowl as a letdown or an inferior postseason game for a Power 5 team. Instead, it was a welcomed destination for a team that had missed the postseason for two consecutive seasons.
“The letdown happened earlier in the season with those losses,” senior tight end Westlee Tonga said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily anything to do with the bowl game. It was just with missed opportunities. It has nothing to do with the bowl game; this bowl game is great.”
“It’s great,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We’ve been out of the bowl picture for a couple years; it’s great to be back and playing again in the postseason.”
The letdown happened earlier in the season with those losses. I don't think it's necessarily anything to do with the bowl game. It was just with missed opportunities. It has nothing to do with the bowl game; this bowl game is great.
–Westlee Tonga, Utah tight end
Tonga was a freshman when Utah last played in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2010 — a game Utah lost handily to then-Western Athletic Conference’s Boise State. Despite Utah’s 26-3 loss, Tonga said he still thinks back to the bowl game with fondness.
“The Vegas Bowl has always been a great memory for me, looking back at it,” Tonga said. “So to be able to go back there with this group of guys means a lot to me because I know the fun that they have and how well they treat us there. There’s a lot of stuff to do.”
For seniors Tonga and Nate Orchard, the bowl game is another opportunity to play for Utah and a final chance to represent the school and to position a shot at the NFL.
“I feel good. I’m always chasing bigger, better. There’s a lot of (defensive) ends going ahead of me (in the NFL draft) and so it’s a challenge,” Orchard said. “I’ve got to show myself on the field and at the combine and just continue working.”
“That’s why you want to get to a bowl game, at least that’s why I want to get to the bowl game, is for the seniors,” Whittingham said. “It’s all about the seniors and the players having that experience in their last season is big to me.”
Whittingham said having his team play in the Las Vegas Bowl also helps more fans travel to the game with its relative proximity to Salt Lake City, as opposed to any of the other bowl destinations Utah was rumored to be playing.
“We’re concerned with our fans and accessibility for them and timing for them as far as travel,” he said. “But as far as us and a program, we just want to find out who we play and where and we’ll show up and be there.”
“It’s definitely convenient for our fans, and that’s probably the biggest part,” Orchard said. “So we’re excited that we’ll get a bigger turnout.”
“We want all the fans to be out there. I’m sure they will,” Tonga said. “We have a great fans. I’m sure the MUSS will be out there showing their support; they’re always a real strong presence wherever we go.”
Utah will play Colorado State at Sam Boyd Stadium at 1:30 p.m. MST on ABC.
