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As Utah quarterback Devon Dampier spoke to the media on Monday, Cheez-Its rained down on him from above.
Utah’s offensive line was celebrating Dampier’s “Cheez-It Crunch Time Play of the Week” — earned by Dampier after his go-ahead touchdown in Utah’s comeback win vs. Kansas State — by dumping boxes of the snack onto their quarterback.
Yeah, the Utes are having a lot of fun right now.
It’s a drastic change from the lead-up to last year’s Black Friday game, when the Utes were in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and didn’t have a semblance of a productive offense.
As Utah prepares to hit the road for this year’s Black Friday contest at Kansas (10 a.m. MST, ESPN), the vibes are high.
After a thrilling come-from-behind win over Kansas State, where the Utes erased a 12-point deficit with seven minutes to go, Utah sits at 9-2 — already a four-game improvement from last year.
The 2025 Utes have the opportunity to do what just 10 Utah teams have done before them and add a 10th victory to their record. If Utah is able to defeat Kansas on Friday, it would become the first Ute team since 2019 to win 10 games in the regular season.
“Looking for the opportunity to win a 10th game in the regular season,” Whittingham said.
Utah also has an opportunity to break a couple school records.
The Utes need 188 rushing yards to break a program record for rushing yards in a season, which has stood since 1984. If Utah has even an average rushing day (279.6 yards per game), it will easily break that.
The Utes also need two rushing touchdowns to set a new program record in that category (39).
Utes on the air
No. 13 Utah (9-2, 6-2) at Kansas (5-6, 3-5)
- Friday, 10 a.m. MST
- David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: 700 AM/92.1 FM
Kansas, meanwhile, is fighting for its postseason life.
After losing four of its last five games, including a 38-14 defeat at Iowa State, the Jayhawks sit at 5-6 and need an upset win over the Utes to be bowl eligible.
Obviously, the big emphasis for the Utes this week will be stopping Kansas’ run game.
“We had a meeting. We had a conversation with the defense. We got punched in the mouth,” said linebacker Johnathan Hall. “Now it’s time to get back up. Now we got to see what we can do. Now we got to see how we bounce back. I think we’ll bounce back very well.”
Kansas is ranked No. 11 in the Big 12 and No. 69 nationally in rushing yards per game (157.2), but Kansas State’s rushing numbers didn’t pop off the page either ahead of the Wildcats’ incredible performance.
Daniel Hishaw Jr. (480 yards, four touchdowns) and Leshon Williams (456 yards, seven touchdowns) are the two Jayhawk running backs to watch, but quarterback Jalon Daniels (370 yards, three touchdowns) can also get it done on the ground.
“A lot like the team we just played, personnel-wise. Physical, got some athletic guys and so there’s a lot of carryover, from the last few games, there’s a lot of carryover in this game from both sides of the football schematically, things that we’ve seen and so we got to be ready,” Whittingham said.
Offensively for Utah, it’ll be the same game plan, with a heavy dose of the ground game. Kansas hasn’t been stellar against the run, giving up 174.2 yards per game (No. 104 in the country), including 221 to Iowa State last game.
Utah’s at-large College Football Playoff hopes are all but extinguished, and its only path to the Big 12 championship game is extremely improbable — it would require BYU to beat UCF, Utah to beat Kansas, Arizona State to beat Arizona and West Virginia to beat Texas Tech.
In all likelihood, the Utes will fall just short of their preseason goal for the year, which was a College Football Playoff berth, but a win against Kansas and ending the season on a five-game win streak would still be a successful season, especially considering how last year went.
Whittingham credited the turnaround to the leadership shown by the senior class, starting in January.
“Credit the seniors for not having a hangover after the season … We started off the offseason on a very positive note way back in January, again, due to their great leadership and they’re instrumental in getting things turned around,” Whittingham said. “I mean, that’s the real bottom line to what the success this season really has hinged upon, is the ownership that the players have taken in the program.”
For those seniors, including linebacker Lander Barton, cornerback Blake Cotton, linebacker Levani Damuni, center Jaren Kump and guard Michael Mokofisi, Friday is one more chance to put on the Utah uniform.
For star offensive tackle Spencer Fano, who is projected to be one of the first offensive linemen off the board in the 2026 NFL draft, it will also be the last time that he dons the red and white.
Friday is potentially the final regular-season game for Whittingham, too. Per his latest contract amendment, he needs to inform the university in writing by Dec. 5 whether he will be retiring or returning for his 22nd year in charge of the Utes.
That decision isn’t going to be made ahead of December, however.
“No, that’s an after-the-season thing. When it’s all said and done and whatever happens to us in the postseason, whichever situation we end up finding ourselves in. As soon as everything’s culminated and you have a few days or maybe even a week or two to sit back and evaluate and see where you’re at and go from there,” Whittingham said. “So I guess that’s the best answer I can give you right now.”
In case you missed it
Offensive coordinator Jason Beck has exceeded expectations in his first season at Utah. Beck has delivered a stunning turnaround and engineered the best year-to-year offensive improvement at Utah since at least 1996.
From the archives
Extra points
‘One for the ages’: Down 12, Utah rallies for improbable, unbelievable win over Kansas State
Byrd Ficklin’s stock continues to rise after 3-touchdown game vs. Kansas State
Utah gets pledge from 3-star dual-threat quarterback previously committed to another Big 12 school
