Utah
Can Utah football end its season on a positive note at UCF?
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The final game of the 2024 regular season is here.
For the University of Utah, there’s almost a sigh of relief that this year will soon be behind them.
Utah started the year with hopes of the College Football Playoff, but will end the season in Orlando with a losing record — just the third of the Kyle Whittingham era.
There was never an answer at the quarterback position after Cam Rising suffered a finger injury in Week 2 that kept him out for three games, then suffered a season-ending leg injury in Week 6.
Isaac Wilson, a true freshman, was placed in an unfortunate position by having to start the majority of the games, and he just wasn’t ready yet. After suffering an injury against Iowa State that will keep him out for the finale, Wilson finished his first collegiate season with 167.8 passing yards per game (No. 98 in the nation), a 56.4% completion percentage (102), 10 passing touchdowns (103), and 11 interceptions.
Brandon Rose provided a spark against BYU, but suffered a Lisfranc injury. Sam Huard, who was QB4 and never saw the field, also suffered a season-ending injury.
Another year of below-par quarterback play and a run game that stagnated near the end of the season, partly because opponents were able to key in on the run due to the ineffective passing game, doomed Utah to one of its most disappointing seasons in program history.
Losers of seven straight, the only thing left to play for in Orlando is the chance to break a lengthy losing streak and head into the 2025 season on a somewhat positive note.
“Super important. I think even it carries momentum going forward with the boys in the spring ball and winter conditioning. I think ending on a good note is huge for momentum moving forward,” senior linebacker Karene Reid said.
Due to the aforementioned quarterback injuries, Utah is down to QB5, Luke Bottari, for the Black Friday matchup at UCF (6 p.m. MST, Fox).
In a quarter-and-a-half of action last week, Bottari surprised Iowa State with his legs, rushing for 56 total yards on a 10-play, 91-yard drive that gave the Utes a 28-24 lead with 5:51 remaining. He drove Utah to the Iowa State 36-yard line, but couldn’t advance the offense further, setting up a 54-yard field goal that Cole Becker missed.
“For a guy that started the season as the fifth-string guy and really didn’t have a whole lot of chance to play, just continued to keep himself ready every single week in case,” Whittingham said. “And last week was the week that he got his opportunity and really did some good things. He came in and really provided the spark for us. And so that was good to see Luke do that.”
There’s a lot of similarities between Utah and UCF this season, starting with the identical records — 4-7. The Utes won’t be going bowling for the first time since 2013, while the Knights are missing a bowl for the first time since 2015. Both schools have suffered lengthy losing streaks — Utah losing seven in a row and UCF losing five in a row, beating Arizona, and losing its last two — are are desperate to end the season on a positive.
Both programs have had their fair share of quarterback difficulties — Utah’s have been well-documented, while UCF has used three quarterbacks this season.
The Knights started the year with KJ Jefferson, who played in five games before being benched in favor of Jacurri Brown. During UCF’s 37-24 loss to BYU, Brown was sent to the pine and redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk finished out the contest.
Since then, it’s been Rizk as the starter. He’s thrown for 797 yards, five touchdowns and an interception on 68% accuracy.
The star of UCF’s productive offense is running back RJ Harvey, who has rushed for 1,458 yards — fourth-best in the country — and 21 touchdowns. He will be a handful for Utah’s defense to try and contain.
UCF leads the Big 12 in yards per game with 454 and is scoring 31.9 points per game.
“It’ll be a challenge for our defense this week to face that, particularly that rushing attack,” Whittingham said.
Defensively, UCF is in the middle of the Big 12 pack statistically in terms of total yards allowed per game (352), but have generally been stout against the run, allowing just 123.5 rushing yards, though BYU and West Virginia were recently able to eclipse 200 yards on the ground against the Knights.
While Bottari was 5 for 9 for 55 yards through the air against Iowa State, the game plan for the Utes is going to try and find success on the ground first — something they haven’t done consistently in their last two games.
It’s the final game in running back Micah Bernard’s college career, and aside from contributing to a win, he’s trying to rush for 78 more yards, which would put him at 1,000 on the year.
“Man, I’m trying to check it off. I’m trying so hard to check it off. Lack of production lately, but 78 yards to go, I believe. I mean, I need to do it. I got to,” Bernard said.
Before the season, a cross-country trip on a short week — the Utes will fly to Orlando on Thanksgiving — was always going to be a challenging contest. Even though UCF’s season hasn’t gone the way the Knights imagined it would, this is still going to be a tough one for the Utes, who are currently 10-point underdogs, to win if they want to break the seven-game losing streak.
In case you missed it
Kyle Whittingham has a decision to make at the end of his 20th season as Utah’s coach. Whittingham will assess his future with the program following the season finale at UCF on Friday, but says he will do what’s best for the program, not what’s best for him.
From the archives
Extra points
- A new era, a thrilling finish: How Utah won Gavin Petersen’s unforgettable head coaching debut (Deseret News)
- Utah’s pick-six streak extends to an NCAA-record 21 consecutive years, but is little more than a footnote for team embroiled in seven-game losing streak (Deseret News)
- Mark Harlan’s $40,000 fine was not paid out of university funds (Deseret News)
Utah
Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival
Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.
Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival
Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:
The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.
The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.
Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea
Utah
State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.
The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.
In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.
The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.
Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.
“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.
Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.
Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.
Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.
During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.
Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.
Utah
Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Family members of four Utah children who disappeared with their mother in November are speaking out after the children were located in Croatia.
Now, the family is working through international legal channels to bring the children back home.
The children were last seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a flight with their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Seymour. Authorities say Seymour took the children without the permission of their fathers after posting what family members describe as “doomsday” claims on social media.
MORE | Missing Children
Seymour was arrested in Dubrovnik on January 15 after the family says news articles alerted people she was talking to in Croatia about the accused kidnapping. She now faces four felony counts of custodial interference. Since her arrest, the four children have been placed in a government-run children’s center in Croatia.
Jill Seymour, the children’s aunt, has been in Croatia for nine days with her brother Kendall Seymour, who is three of the children’s fathers. They are trying to secure their release.
“We’re just kind of in limbo waiting to get them out,” Seymour said. “These are our kids, and we can’t get custody of them.”
She says the family is only allowed to see the children for two hours a day. Despite providing the requested documentation, the family has not yet been given a clear timeline for when the children can return home.
“They are most definitely trapped there, and they feel trapped,” Seymour said. “We don’t have a clear-cut answer. We’ve provided all the documents we’ve been asked to provide.”
The family has hired Croatian attorneys and is working with the U.S. Embassy to navigate the legal process. Utah-based attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience with international custody cases, says Croatia’s participation in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction could ultimately help the family.
“In this case, it’s a good thing and a benefit that they are part of this Hague Convention,” Lazaro said.
However, Lazaro explained that the process can be slow due to translation requirements and court procedures in the foreign country.
“It requires retaining an attorney in that country who can translate the documents into Croatian and provide all the necessary information to a court,” Lazaro said. “That stuff just takes time.”
If local legal efforts stall, the family can formally petition under the Hague Convention, which may speed up the process, though it could still take several weeks.
“To have to continually say goodbye every day is very hard,” Seymour said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster.”
As the legal battle continues, the family is also facing mounting expenses, including short-term housing in Croatia and international legal fees. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover costs and pay for the children’s flight home.
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