Heart of Dallas Bowl Preview and Prediction: West Virginia vs. Utah
Here is everything you need to know about the showdown between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Utah Utes in our Heart of Dallas preview.
Broadcast info
12:30 p.m. Central Time, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017, Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Records: West Virginia, 7-5; Utah, 6-6.
TV: ESPN (Roy Philpott, Rene Ingoglia and Kris Budden)
Radio: Sirius/XM (137/202)
Fun facts: You have to get a seat in Dr. Peabody’s WABAC Machine (Google it, kids) to see the one and only time Utah and West Virginia have played each other. It was the 1964 Liberty Bowl, which at the time wasn’t in Memphis, Tenn., as it is now. It was in Atlantic City, NJ, and Utah won, 32-6. The game was played indoors in the Atlantic City Convention Hall. While Utah’s last bowl game in Texas came in the 2011 Sun Bowl against Georgia Tech, the Mountaineers haven’t played in a bowl game in Texas since the 1987 Sun Bowl against Oklahoma State.
Key players
West Virginia Mountaineers
WR David Sills V. The nation’s leader in receiving touchdowns announced last week that he would return for his senior year in Morgantown, and with backup quarterback Chris Chugunov set to start for the injured Will Grier (who is also coming back for his senior year in 2018), look for Sills to be a big piece of a Mountaineers victory. Sills needs to be sure-handed because the Utes have given up just 18 receiving touchdowns this season. He’ll need to be even more of a factor as running back Justin Crawford is sitting this one out as he prepares for the NFL Draft.
S Kyzir White and LB Al-Rasheed Benton. Both are seniors and both are bound for the NFL. They’ve been huge pieces of the Mountaineers defense the past two years and they would love nothing more than to go out on a high note. If West Virginia wins it will be in part because these two players had huge games in their final game at Mountaineers.
LB David Long Jr. If you’re thinking about the future of the Mountainteer defense, Long is a huge part of it. Despite missing the season’s first four games he finished the season with 70 tackles and selection to two different All-Big 12 teams.
Utah Utes
RB Zack Moss. The sophomore back gives the Utes a bright future on offense, coming off a 1,000-yard rushing seasons with nine touchdowns. He’s the first Utes freshman or sophomore to rush for 1,000 yards in a season in 26 seasons. He didn’t make the official Pac-12 team in 2017. That should change next year.
DE Bradlee Anae. The Utes pass rush is fueled by a sophomore from Hawaii who ended the regular season with a team-leading seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss. He also tied for second in forced fumbles in the Pac-12.
P Mitch Wishnowsky and PK Matt Gay. Yeah, I know kickers. But they’re the best at what they do. Wishnowsky was the Ray Guy award winner last year as the nation’s best punter. Gay just won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best placekicker.
Key storylines
West Virginia Mountaineers
It’s all about the future for the Mountaineers. The returns of Grier and Sills means the Mountaineers can be a legitimate threat to contend in the Big 12 in 2018. The fact is, the roster is loaded with young talent on both sides of the ball and a win over Utah gives the group a springboard into January recruiting, March spring drills and the march toward 2018. Winning or losing doesn’t matter as much as how the Mountaineers play and whether they avoid major injuries to key pieces they expect back next year.
Utah Utes
The Utes took a step back in 2017, despite bringing back key pieces from a 9-win team in 2016. The Utes don’t play at the pace that West Virginia does, but they can counter with strong defense, especially against the pass, and the solid 1-2 combination of Moss and sophomore quarterback Tyler Huntley (assuming they don’t give the starting nod to senior Troy Williams). Huntley is 100 percent from an injury that kept him out of the season finale, one that allowed Williams to start and lead the Utes to bowl eligibility.
Prediction
West Virginia 33, Utah 27
Bowl games are tricky for predictions, especially ones right after Christmas. I’ll take West Virginia because, even with Chugunov calling the shots, they have more than enough firepower to overwhelm the Utes.
