 The University of Utah Utes accepted an invitation to play
the Navy Midshipmen in the third annual San Diego County Credit Union
Poinsettia Bowl, 2007 President Rudy Castruita announced today. The football game will be played Thursday,
December 20th at 6 p.m. (PST) at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego,
California. The game kicks off the
2007-08 bowl season and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
“We are so excited the Utah Utes football program and their
loyal fans will be making their way to San Diego for the third annual bowl
game,” said Castruita. “We look forward
to rolling out the red carpet and hosting them in our great city. The Utes and Midshipmen are going to put on
quite a show for football fans all around the country.”
Utah finished the regular season 8-4, 5-3 in the Mountain
West Conference.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to play in the Poinsettia
Bowl,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “We have several players, as well as a
large alumni base, from the Southern California area. It’s also a great
destination for our fans from Utah. We always have a large fan contingent at
our regular season games in Qualcomm Stadium and we anticipate an even bigger
turnout for the bowl game.
“We’ll have a strong opponent in the U.S. Naval Academy.
We’ve never played the Midshipmen before, but we expect the same type of
discipline, toughness and level of execution that we face every year in Air Force.
“The players and coaches are excited about our opportunity
to play another game. The date is ideal for the players, in that it allows them
to spend the holidays with their families after the bowl game.”
Utah has won its last six bowl games, dating back to 1999,
which is the second-longest postseason win streak in the nation. San Diego
County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl marks the fifth-straight bowl appearance
for the Utes.
The Utes won seven of their last eight games to finish the
season, including impressive wins against a ranked UCLA team, at Louisville and
at home against New Mexico. Utah is led
by junior running back Darrell Mack, who recently became the ninth Ute to rush
for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
He is ranked 31st in the nation in yards per game (102.5). Utah finished in the top five nationally in
scoring defense this season, despite losing All-American Eric Weddle to the San
Diego Chargers in the 2007 NFL draft.
The 2006 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
featured a 37-7 TCU Horned Frogs victory over Northern Illinois Huskies.
Tickets for the can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at
619-220-TIXS (8497), or by visiting www.poinsettiabowl.net.
|
