After finishing its regular season, Utah’s football had to watch the Apple Cup, cheering for Washington as something of a proxy team. A Huskies win would have put the Utes into the Pac-12 Championship Game against USC while a Washington State win would have done the same for Oregon. Washington won, helping the Utes. One week later, the roles were changed. Utah was now a proxy team for another program, something coach Kyle Whittingham was aware of.
The Trojans entered the game ranked No. 4. A win on Friday would have punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff. Ohio State, meanwhile, sits at No. 5 and needed some help to get to the playoff. Wittingham and the Utes might have given the Buckeyes and coach Ryan Day all the help that they needed. And when the game was over, Wittingham gave Day a little shout-out.
Fox’s Urban Meyer, who preceded Whittingham as Utah’s coach, said, “I’ve got a feeling, Kyle, that in Columbus, Ohio, you’re not going to have to pay for a meal.” After some laughter in the booth, Whittingham responded saying “Coach Day, you’re welcome.”
“Coach Day… you’re welcome!” pic.twitter.com/Hz4VBRWuXI
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 3, 2022
Ohio State also had fun with Utah’s victory over the Trojans.
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) December 3, 2022
More will be known when the official rankings come out on Sunday. But regardless of what happens there, Utah could not have helped Ohio State any more than it did on Friday. A close game might have opened the door for a two-loss USC team to get in over the one-loss Buckeyes. Ohio State entered the week at No. 5 and didn’t do anything to improve its own chances.
But with USC getting beaten so badly, it’s a different story. Alabama and Tennessee both linger at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. But neither of them is playing in championship weekend, either, and both are two-loss teams. While Ohio State’s final game of the regular season brought a lot of unhappy faces to Columbus, Friday’s game brought those smiles back.
