Kevin Sumlin’s first year in the desert didn’t go as planned as the Wildcats went just 5-7 after an ugly 0-2 start to the year with losses to BYU and Houston.
Khalil Tate was a Heisman candidate before the year and those aspirations slowly melted away but he finished strong and heads into his senior year with major expectations, starting with a bowl game.
Through 10 games, Arizona will be 5-5 and Utah will be standing between the Wildcats and their best chance to win and become bowl eligible as they face rival Arizona State on the road to end the year. Arizona will come out motivated and pull off a massive upset of the Utes to reach bowl eligibility for the first time under Sumlin.
This will be one of those ‘what if’ games for the Utes that could haunt them for the remainder of the year. If Utah doesn’t slip up here, is there a chance that it could have made a run at the College Football Playoff, especially with a win in the rematch with Washington for the conference title game.
Unfortunately for Kyle Whittingham’s team, it’ll have to live with that massive ‘what if’ hanging over its head.
Final Score: Utah 30, Arizona 31 (9-2, 6-2)