Las Vegas Bowl Preview: Utah vs. Northwestern
Bowl season makes a pre-holiday stop on Saturday, December 23, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the Utah Utes will take on the Northwestern Wildcats.
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Utah Utes (-6.5; 42) vs. Northwestern Wildcats
Utah had aspirations of winning a third straight Pac-12 Championship and potentially going to a third straight Rose Bowl or better. However, Cameron Rising, who tore his ACL, meniscus, MPFL, and MCL in the Rose Bowl Game last year, was never able to return for the season (he is coming back for 2024), and the Utes offense was much less dynamic ranking just No. 84 nationally. QB Bryson Barnes is already in the transfer portal but will start for the Utes for the final time. Nevertheless, Barnes will be without his No. 1 receiver (Devaughn Vele – 43 catches, 593 yards, 3 TD), who opted out, and Mikey Matthews (29 catches, 291 yards), who is in the transfer portal.
Kyle Whittingham's bunch always plays good, physical defense, and this year was no exception as his group was rated Top 20 nationally as usual. However, this group is not at full strength, with both starting safeties — Sione Vaki and Cole Bishop — electing to opt out of this game. Furthermore, DL Jonah Elliss, son of former Utes great and current defensive tackles coach Luther Elliss, was lost for the season in week 10 along with EDGE Logan Fano and LB Lander Barton.