No. 25 Utah turns things around in 2003
By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
December 29, 2003
In one year, everything changed for the No. 25-ranked University of Utah football program.
Under first-year Utes coach Urban Meyer, the 2003 team captured its first outright Mountain West Conference title since 1957, when it competed in the Skyline Conference.
Utah posted a 9-2 mark to tie the school's record for second most wins in a season, and the Utes erased the memory of a miserable 2002 season in which the program went 5-6 and lost six straight games.
And keeping with the theme of change, Utah will make its second appearance in the Liberty Bowl on Wednesday, but it will be in a different city from when the Utes first competed in the bowl game.
Utah played in the 1964 Liberty Bowl in Atlantic City against West Virginia, the Utes won the game 32-6.
For the 2003 Liberty Bowl, the Utes will travel to Memphis, Tenn., the site of the game since 1965, to take on the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (9-3) in the two schools' first meeting ever.
A new foe, new city and new experiences will not be limited to the players and fans of Utah. None of the coaches on the Utes' staff have ever participated in the Liberty, and a handful of the staffers have no bowl coaching experience.
Quarterbacks coach Dan Mullen, offensive line coach John Hevesy, defensive tackles coach Kurt Barber and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales have never coached in a bowl game, and defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo has only coached in one bowl game, the inaugural Humanitarian Bowl while with Utah State in 1997.
Though the a number of the coaches are new to the bowl experience, the staff doesn't seem to be bothered about making a virgin voyage into the college postseason.
Wyoming and BYU were the last two team's on Utah's schedule this season.
The Utes took care of Wyoming at home in convincing fashion with a 47-17 win on Nov. 15, but Utah had plenty of edgy moments in its season final on the road against BYU on Nov. 22.
Kicker Bryan Borreson kicked a 41-yard field goal in the second quarter for the Utes for the games only points, as Utah shutout BYU for the first time in 28 years to take a 3-0 victory and capture the Mountain West crown.
Utah garnered national attention early in the year by knocking off then-No. 19 Oregon 17-13 at home on Oct. 3.
The Utes also picked up a win over the Pac-10's California on Sept. 11. Utah defeated the Golden Bears, the only opponent both the Utes and Eagles played this season, 31-24 at home. USM fell to California in its season opener on the road 34-2 on Aug. 30.
Meyer is not putting too much emphasis on picking up a win over a team that defeated USM as the Utes prepare for the Liberty Bowl.
Utah and USM are slated to kick off at 2:30 p.m. at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Wednesday.
