STRUMMING MY UKE — We at KSL want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season, from us and on behalf of our title sponsor, Great Clips.

Whether you just finished a much-anticipated Christmas, capped off the eighth night of Hanukkah with aplomb, or are eagerly awaiting the start of a new year, we hope it was good.

Things are definitely going well for these three teams as they approach the end of 2018.

As always, click the video above for the rest of the Great Clips of the Week.

Locals in the Sun Bowl

Stanford will face Pitt in the Sun Bowl at 12 p.m. MT Monday in El Paso, Texas.

But before kickoff, the Cardinal picked up a win at the pre-bowl talent show, courtesy of two former local standouts.

Houston Heimuli, a fullback who prepped at Bountiful, and Simi Fehoko, a record-breaking wide receiver from Brighton, teamed up Saturday night to show off their talent away from the football field.

With Heimuli strumming his ukulele, Fehoko opened his heart for a striking ballad about a man in love — that transitions into a classic by Drake.

The two are plenty talented on the field, too. Heimuli, who served a two-year church mission in Indianapolis, played in 12 games at fullback for the Cardinal in 2018, and registered his first career catch on a 1-yard touchdown reception against Washington State.

Fehoko, who recently returned from a mission in South Korea, has played in three games in his freshman season at Stanford, notching a six-yard catch against Oregon State.

Post-win swim

There wasn’t a lot of good that happened to local college basketball teams this weekend.

The state’s premier programs both lost to top-20 opponents Saturday, with Utah falling to No. 6 Nevada 86-71, and BYU getting rolled at Mississippi State 103-81.

But fear not, hoops fans; there is hope: Weber State won its Big Sky opener, Utah State improved to 10-3 under first-year coach Craig Smith, and Utah Valley rolled into Fresno and stunned top-40 squad Fresno State 64-60.

Yes, that Utah Valley.

So if you are Wolverines coach Mark Pope, how do you celebrate the biggest win of non-conference play, one that snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Bulldogs?

By going swimming, of course.

Utah Valley improved to 11-4 on the season, and will open Western Athletic Conference play Thursday against Grand Canyon. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT in Phoenix, and will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Whitt's quick wit

Utah football wraps up the local bowl season on New Year’s Eve in the Holiday Bowl against No. 22 Northwestern.

But if head coach Kyle Whittingham’s humor-filled pre-bowl press conference Sunday is any indication, the No. 17 Utes have already won.

Whittingham did the usual “thank you, thank you” to lead off his press conference, but then added a special Utah-themed zinger to lighten the mood.

“They really rolled out all the red carpet to all the families, virtually everyone in our program,” Whittingham said. “Everyone was able to bring all their wives, not just one. And so, that was a positive. ...

“We’re from Utah.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT, Monday.

Ty Jones, sports reporter

A couple of weeks ago, we showed you how Utah State running back Gerold Bright fared in front of a camera (not bad, really).

It looks like former Provo High star receiver Ty Jones took that as a challenge.

Before Washington's Rose Bowl appearance against Ohio State, Jones — who caught 28 passes for 469 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore with the Huskies — took the mic with the Pac 12 Network, interviewing a few coaches and players before the "Grand Daddy of Them All."

The Rose Bowl kicks off at 3 p.m. MT Tuesday on ESPN.

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