Utah goes to 11-1 under Kyle Whittingham in bowl games after beating West Virginia in Heart Of Dallas Bowl

West Virginia with Will Grier at the helm is a dynamic offense that can score seemingly at will. Without Grier, the team looked out of sorts on that side of the ball and was unable to keep up. Utah went to 11-1 under coach Kyle Whittingham after the Heart Of Dallas Bowl win.

Utah 30, West Virginia 14

1:52, Utah 30, West Virginia 14

Touchdown for the Mountaineers was one thing, but the two-point conversion was this nifty jump pass.

That’s about the only highlight WVU can claim from this game, but at least it was a good one.

4:09, Utah 30, West Virginia 6

11:38, Utah 27, West Virginia 6

Another turnover by the Mountaineers starts Utah off in the red zone. But the drive didn’t end up with a TD this time.

13:59, Utah 24, West Virginia 6

After a strange sequence that saw the Utes line up for a fourth-down try, get backed up by a false start, move within range again thanks to an offside, have the conversion go for a TD, and have the TD called back by a holding penalty, an actual TD arrives via a two-yard Tyler Huntley run.

6:43. Utah 17, West Virginia 6

The Eers take advantage of the rare and exciting PUNTER SACK to tack on a field goal.

Utah 17, West Virginia 3

Neither team’s getting a whole lot going through the air — though the Utes, who aren’t leaning on backup QBs, have been more efficient there — while Utah’s dominating on the ground, holding the banged-up Eers to 13 rushing yards so far.

1:08. Utah 17, West Virginia 3

A nine-play drive fizzles after a couple incompletions, but the Utes make it a full two-score game again.

5:46. Utah 14, West Virginia 3

Following a muffed punt by West Virginia, Utah starts a drive inside the red zone and only need two plays to make that good field position count for something. This time, a wide-open TD.

13:09. Utah 7, West Virginia 3

After leaking like a sieve on the first drive, WVU’s defense got some things figured out and started limiting what Utah could do on offense. Without Will Grier running the show though, the Mountaineers are struggling on offense as well.

11:37. Utah 7, West Virginia 0

The Utes start the game off with a big TD on the opening drive. RB Zack Moss burst through the line of scrimmage for a 58-yard TD run on the fourth offensive play.

The Utah Utes and West Virginia Mountaineers meet in the Heart of Dallas Bowl from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Mountaineers enter with a 7-5 record, and WVU will be playing in its 15th bowl game in 16 years. WVU finished sixth in the Big 12, with conference losses to TCU, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Utah will be playing in its third straight bowl game, having won three consecutive ones under head coach Kyle Whittingham, who is in his 14th year as the Utes head man. Utah had its worst season since 2013, going 6-6 during the regular season for the first time under Whittingham.

Odds: Utah is favored by 4.5 points.

“He’s not ready,” Holgorsen said. “It’s sore. Actually, the dislocations is more sore than the bone that he broke, but he still has a hard time gripping the ball.”

Sophomore Chris Chugunov will make his second straight start in Grier’s place, but Grier should be cleared to play football at a checkup again back home in North Carolina next month.

“Obviously, the smart thing is to rehab it the right way, which he’s doing right now, and on Jan. 8, when the spring semester starts, he’ll be ready to lead this team and be ready to roll,” Holgorsen said.

Crawford finished his career at West Virginia with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, the first Mountaineer running back to accomplish the feat since Noel Devine did it in 2008 and 2009.

Utah will be facing the 104th ranked rush defense in WVU, and with the run game starting to really get rolling with Zack Moss, Devonta’e Henry-Cole, Troy McCormick, and a hopefully healthy Tyler Huntley, Utah should really be able to control the line of scrimmage here and the time of possession. So the 54 o/u also feels about right. I don’t see this being a shoot out, but I do see Utah trying to be rather methodical on offense.