Though this is Utah’s first season as a member of a BCS conference, it’s far from their first rodeo when it comes to facing big-time opponents in bowl games. Though famous for being the first ever BCS-Buster under Urban Meyer in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, 2005, they’ve been a bowl participant every year since Meyer’s first season in 2003.
Georgia Tech Vs. Utah, Sun Bowl 2011: Yellow Jackets Try To End Utah’s Bowl Dominance
Going into this year’s Sun Bowl, the Utah Utes have won nine of their last 10 bowl games, including two BCS victories. Georgia Tech has lost three consecutive bowls.
Including the 35-7 whipping they put on Pittsburgh in that game, they have gone 4-0 against teams from BCS conferences in that game, including a 31-17 win over Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. In fact, last year’s 26-3 loss to Boise State in the Maaco Bowl was the first bowl game Utah had lost since the 1996 Copper Bowl against Copper Bowl, which had been a winning streak of nine games.
Included in that streak was the 2005 Emerald Bowl, a 38-10 whipping of the, you guessed it, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Last year's loss to the Broncos was hardly an aberration, though, as Boise State lost only a single game all year, an overtime affair with Nevada, which finished the season ranked 10th in the AP poll.
The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, have had little success in bowl games of late. The last bowl victory they’ve had was a 51-14 blowout win over Syracuse in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl. Since then, they’ve lost to West Virginia, Fresno State and LSU in their bowls, none of which were BCS games.
For more on these two teams visit Utah blog Block U and Georgia Tech blog From The Rumble Seat.
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