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SALT LAKE CITY — It was theirs for the taking as the Pac-12 South Division leader — win the remaining three games and a spot in the championship game would become a reality five years after joining the conference.
Utah, though, let the opportunity slip away following a 37-30 overtime loss to an Arizona program looking to become bowl eligible a year after winning the Pac-12 South. It's the fourth consecutive season the Wildcats have come away with a victory over the Utes, only this time they played the spoiler role to Utah's special season.
Now, Utah needs some help to reclaim its spot in the South division race.
"We don't control our own destiny and we need a little bit of help," head coach Kyle Whittingham said to ESPN 700 following the game Saturday. "We're still in a tie for first place, but we understand how the tiebreakers work and we've got to rely on somebody getting USC. … You never know. Crazy things can happen, and we're by no means out of it. But nowhere near, certainly, in the position we were in prior to this game."
Utah needs to win its two remaining games against UCLA and Colorado and see USC slip up against either Oregon or UCLA for an opportunity at its first-ever appearance in the Pac-12 Championship game. If USC wins out, though, they're in the championship game, despite some early season struggles.
Although Utah needs some help to claim its spot at the top of the division, the focus has to be on themselves and not what other programs are or are not doing. If they can't shake off the heartbreaking loss to Arizona, it won't matter in the end what USC does.
"I've got to let everybody know that this one is going to hurt and some of our goals are left out of the season, but most of our goals are still ahead of us," linebacker Gionni Paul told ESPN 700. "We've just got to go out Monday and just perform and prepare for UCLA. We've got to let this one get behind us."
"Everybody's got to put this behind them and come in on Monday and watch the film and put it to bed," defensive end Jason Fanaika told ESPN 700. "Everybody is going to fight, because we want to be able to take the south. It's still there for us, we just need some help."
The week's message and focus will be the same as it was after losing to USC earlier in the year: Don't let a loss beat you twice. And with UCLA losing to Washington State over the weekend, both programs will be looking to salvage their season with a win. It's a matter of pride and finishing strong after a strong start.
"We've got to regroup and just know that, especially as a senior, these are my last couple of games," Paul said. "I don't know what my future holds ahead, so I'm just trying to play every game like it's my last. I'm like, 'Man, guys, please at least play for the seniors if y'all (are) playing for nothing else.' We've just got to finish this season strong."
For Utah, it starts with the defense.
Against Arizona, Utah's defense struggled to contain mobile quarterback Anu Solomon and allowed him to pick the defense apart. Utah failed to get a sack and gave up 460 total yards on offense, with 320 yards coming in the passing game. And it's not going to get any easier against UCLA and a talented offensive roster.
UCLA's freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has been a dynamic playmaker with his arm, averaging 298.2 passing yards per game. As a team, they're one of the most efficient offenses in the country and score on average 5.33 points per trip inside an opponent's 40-yard line.
Utah's defense, though, has played well on the season and has been one of the hardest teams to score points on, particularly in the red zone. The defense is ranked 11th in the country in holding teams to below-average scoring (3.85 points per trip inside the 40-yard line) inside their 40-yard line and are one of the most explosive teams in the country.
However, statistics don't win football games, and if the defense can't regroup it won't matter at all for Utah.
