Utah Utes vs. California Golden Bears in the Poinsettia Bowl
by Dave D
College Football Point Spread: California -3
Utah: The Week That Was
The Utes tried to salvage a respectable season against BYU. Coach Kyle Whittingham’s team put up a brave fight, but wasted a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback in the annual “Beehive Boot” battle. The Utes ultimately fell to the hated Cougars in overtime, 26-23.
Led by a maturing but still inconsistent quarterback, Jordan Wynn, Utah struggled through the first three quarters before regrouping in the fourth. Wynn led three scoring drives to tie the game at 20 in the final minute of regulation. Utah took the lead in overtime on a 29-yard field goal by kicker Joe Phillips, but BYU had the last word. Cougar quarterback Max Hall threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Andrew George in the first overtime period.
Cal: The Week That Was
The Golden Bears evidently felt that their regular season ended on Nov. 21, when they upset Stanford on the road to win The Big Game and claim ownership of The Axe. The 34-28 win represented a profound accomplishment for this team, and it did much to erase the pain of early-season stumbles at Oregon and against USC.
There was just one problem for coach Jeff Tedford’s crew: It still had to play one more contest, on Dec. 5 in the rainy and cold Pacific Northwest against Washington.
The Bears caught their plane to Seattle, but for all intents and purposes, they didn’t show up at Husky Stadium. A listless and lifeless Cal club got clocked, 42-10, after falling behind 28-3 in the third quarter.
The Week That Is:
There are two things to keep in mind about this game. First, Jahvid Best – Cal’s sensational running back and home-run threat – won’t be able to suit up. Shane Vereen is a capable replacement, but no one can fully replicate the skills and speed of a man who is truly one of the Best players in college football. Cal will feel the loss of its main offensive playmaker at some point in San Diego.
The second thing to realize about this contest is that Utah should be happy to be playing in this game. Yes, the Utes failed to defend their 2008 Mountain West Conference title, but Kyle Whittingham did very well to coax nine wins out of a team that had a new and unsettled quarterback situation after years of stability with Brian Johnson under center.
Jordan Wynn hasn’t pushed all the right buttons at quarterback, but the freshman – whose redshirt was removed when Whittingham plugged him into the lineup in midseason – has generally improved the Utes’ offensive production. With extra weeks of preparation, this athletic and talented signal caller should be primed for one of his better games of 2009. Utah wins this game outright.
