SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Lil’ old Utah, the Little Engine That Could of college football, had emerged from the shadows of the Wasatch Mountains to take a rare turn on center stage Friday night, eager to impress the College Football Playoff selection committee and maybe — just maybe — earn a spot alongside the behemoths of Ohio State, Louisiana State and Clemson. All the under-recruited and overachieving Utes had to do was dispatch an Oregon team that for the last couple of months had looked largely dead on its feet. At best, they would be in the playoff. Instead, the Utes looked like they did not even belong on the same field as the Ducks, getting beaten up and down both lines of scrimmage in a 37-15 loss in the Pac-12 Conference championship game. “My senior year, the stage is set and we just don’t show up,” said Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley, who was sacked six times and threw an interception in the end zone.

Source: New York Times December 07, 2019 07:42 UTC