Utah Football

The result was the same, but the pain of the Rose Bowl was seemingly worse the second time.

The Pac-12 knows Utah is a force to be reckoned with — it's been proven time and time again; but for the program to take the next step, the rest of the country has to know that, as well. I feel like execution-wise we could have done better, but it's credit to Penn State, they played a really good game, and we're just going to get back to the drawing board and start preparing for next season." It's uncertain if Utah will ever clear that hurdle in Whittingham's tenure or beyond, but it remains the biggest challenge left for a Utah program that in a lot of ways has defied the odds. "Going back-to-back Rose Bowls, not a lot of people say they can do that, but at the same time we wish we would have executed better to come out as Rose Bowl champions," receiver Devaughn Vele said. It's a program that has been one of the most consistent over the last five seasons in the Pac-12 and is often considered the hunted and not the hunter. And Utah delivered — albeit in a circuitous route to its second conference championship — on the big stage against a formidable opponent.

Who's coming back for the Utes? Who's leaving? What is the extent of quarterback Cam Rising's injury, which he suffered in the third quarter against Penn ...

“As disappointed as we are and as bitter as this is, still a lot to build on, and definitely the season overall was a step in the right direction for our program. “It’s not going to be like, whatever he says is what I’m going to do. “It took us three times in the Pac-12 championship before we got the win, so we’ve got to make sure that we try to continue to get better. “I’m going to talk to him after this week and get his opinion on where I’m at and what he thinks I should do,” he said. He talks to all the scouts. The future appears bright for the Utes and they are proud of what they accomplished in 2022. It took us three times in the Pac-12 championship before we got the win, so we’ve got to make sure that we try to continue to get better.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham Coach Whittingham is obviously the one that’s going to spearhead that. His injury, which Whittingham said after the game seemed serious, indicates that he may return to the Utes in 2023. “We only have seven seniors, so what you see with us is going to be very similar next year. We just have to keep coming back to this game until we get it right,” Whittingham said. We just have to keep coming back to this game until we get it right.