Utah vs. Northwestern: How to watch, listen to or stream the Las Vegas Bowl
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Utah (8-4, 5-4 Pac-12) vs. Northwestern (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten)
Kickoff: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MST.
Venue: Allegiant Stadium.
TV: ABC.
Livestream: WatchESPN.com
Radio: ESPN 700 AM/92.1 FM.
Series: Northwestern leads 2-1.
Weather: Indoor stadium.
The trends
For Utah: The Utes are 1-2 in their last three contests, losing against Washington and Arizona before beating Colorado in the regular-season finale.
For Northwestern: The Wildcats have won their last three games after starting the season 4-5, defeating Wisconsin, Purdue and Illinois to close the regular season.
What to watch for
Utah’s starting safeties, Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki, have declared for the NFL draft and will not play in the Las Vegas Bowl. Nate Ritchie and Johnathan Hall, who are perhaps Utah’s future at the position, will start at safety for the Utes on Saturday.
Ritchie has a good amount of starting experience — he started all five games for the 2020 team and has started two games this season — while Hall will be making his first-ever collegiate start.
Ritchie played 154 snaps at safety this year, third among Utah’s safeties, and has 15 tackles and a sack, while Hall has has played 55 snaps this season at safety, totaling 14 tackles.
The two will be tested by Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant, who has thrown for 1,585 yards 11 touchdowns and six interceptions in eight games this season, plus receivers Cam Johnson and Bryce Kirtz. Johnson has hauled in 50 catches for 684 yards and five touchdowns, while Bryant has caught 44 balls for 633 yards and four scores.
“I’ve just been trying to do all I can just to prepare myself so I can play for the team, so I can help the team out as best I can,” Ritchie said about starting in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Key player
Xander Mueller, Northwestern linebacker: Half of Northwestern’s productive linebacker duo, Mueller has been one of the most impactful players on the Wildcats’ defense, which is allowing 23.8 points per game.
The senior has 102 tackles (10.5 for loss), five sacks, three interceptions and two pass breakups, while fellow senior linebacker Bryce Gallagher leads the team in tackles with 110 (four for loss), while adding a sack, an interception, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Related
After transfer portal and recruiting whirlwind, it’s finally time to play football
What first-year Northwestern coach David Braun is saying about Utah
Quotable
“Elated to be here and proud of our team. I know both teams faced a lot of adversity this year in their own way and proud of our guys for being able to get to where we are right now.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“Coach Wittingham, the Utah program is a program that I’ve admired from the far for a long, long time. I’ve talked about their program and recruiting about being a model of what it can look like moving forward in the rapidly changing landscape of college football, of creating a sustainable program that’s built off of team football, built off of physicality, fundamentals.” — Northwestern coach David Braun
Next up
Utah: Season over.
Northwestern: Season over.
Utah schedule
Aug. 31 — Utah 24, Florida 11.
Sept. 9 — Utah 20, Baylor 13.
Sept. 16 — Utah 31, Weber State 7.
Sept. 23 — Utah 14, UCLA 7.
Sept. 29 — Oregon State 21, Utah 7.
Oct. 14 — Utah 34, Cal 14.
Oct. 21 — Utah 34, USC 32.
Oct. 28 — Oregon 35, Utah 6.
Nov. 4 — Utah 55, Arizona State 3.
Nov. 11 — Washington 35, Utah 28.
Nov. 18 — Arizona 42. Utah 18.
Nov. 25 — Utah 23, Colorado 17.
Dec. 223 — Las Vegas Bowl vs. Northwestern (5:30 p.m. MST, ABC)
