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SAN DIEGO — Few coaches have had the postseason success of Utah’s Kyle Whittingham. In fact, a Whittingham-led team is nearly perfect in the postseason — an 11-1 bowl record — since he’s taken on the top job with the Utes.
Whittingham doesn’t brag about himself, but he touts the record as the embodiment of all the hard work his players put in each year to close out every season on a high note. That focus and discipline from players has given the Utes a five-game winning streak in recent bowl games.
Moreover, Utah has never lost a bowl game since joining the Pac-12 eight years ago.
“Each successive group wants to uphold the tradition, not be the group that lets the previous guys down,” Whittingham said Sunday at a pre-game press conference. “There's been literally hundreds of players that have amassed this bowl record. There's been a lot of hard work, a lot of classes that have come through here. It's almost self-perpetuating that the current class wants to make sure they uphold their part of the bargain and get it done.”
Coaches and players alike who have come through Utah reiterate that Whittingham is “the master of preparation,” according to defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley. A bowl game is a reward for the long season, but it’s also another game for Utah’s players to get better so they can start the next season off on the right foot.
“I just think it's the mentality,” Scalley said. “You've got a long list of alumni that take pride in that streak, you know, in that record, and you see some of them here today — a bunch of them coming back and watching us practice and saying things haven't changed.
“We're fortunate to have him.”
That record has also gotten the attention of Utah’s opponent in the Holiday Bowl, Big Ten runner up Northwestern. Wildcat head coach Pat Fitzgerald joked Sunday that he’s “prayed a lot, hoping coach would share his plan” and bowl season success.
Fitzgerald said he’s watched Whittingham from afar due to their shared affiliation with Under Armour — the two have been invited to participate in some offseason events for the apparel company and have gotten to know each other over the years — and he’s been impressed with how he’s led the “program to championship level.”
“It's impressive to watch,” he added. “I'll be a huge fan in every game except tomorrow afternoon.”
Whittingham, though, said his bowl success isn’t really a secret.
“Our guys have worked hard in practice, as they always do,” he said. “Everyone asks me what our key to success is in bowl prep. Really nothing that we hold under lock and key, some secret practice plans. (It's) just the way our guys go about business, knowing when to have fun, knowing when to get down to business. Our guys have done a great job of doing that.”
Even if that means using coveted practice time to attend the San Diego Zoo or tour a naval ship, it’s all a balancing act to help the players get ready for the bowl game and keep the players ready to succeed.
“It’s all part of the experience,” Whittingham said Saturday ahead of Utah players exploring the San Diego Zoo. “We talk about it in our meetings prior to getting to the bowl site. You’ve got your work bucket and you’ve got your fun bucket. You’ve got to know when you’re supposed to be focusing and concentrating, and know when it’s time to enjoy things a little bit.”
But Monday’s matchup is arguably Utah’s toughest bowl game since joining the Pac-12. It features two teams ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings, coming off a conference championship losses and missing out on the coveted Rose Bowl.
And while a spot in the Rose Bowl would be the ideal destination for both programs, neither coach is looking back with regrets.
“This is where we wanted to be,” Whittingham said. “If we weren't able to go ahead to the Rose Bowl, this is where we wanted to be.”
“You get what you earn,” Fitzgerald added.
Both programs are happy to be in the Holiday Bowl and share similar philosophies about controlling the game. Each wants to control the line of scrimmage and out physical the other. While the “schematics,” as Fitzgerald would call it, are different, the two programs pride themselves in executing the fundamentals.
“I think there's a lot of similarities there,” Fitzgerald said. “I think when you look, both of us have it in our blood — linebackers — and want to play the game the right way. Usually it's a line of scrimmage-type game when you play teams like us.”
No. 17 Utah and No. 22 Northwestern will meet in the Holiday Bowl at the SDCCU Stadium on Dec. 31 in a New Year’s Eve tilt. The game will be broadcast on FS1, with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. MST.
