Author: Jesse

As the ice from the Gatorade buckets melted into the confetti-covered field at Allegiant Stadium, Utah head coach Morgan Scalley was still trying to process everything that had transpired over the past week.

His predecessor and mentor, Kyle Whittingham, made an expedited move to Michigan after 21 seasons at the helm of the Utes, officially handing over head coaching duties to Scalley with about five days before Utah was slated to put on the pads one last time in the 2025 season. And it didn’t take long for rumors about some of Utah’s assistants joining Whittingham in Ann Arbor to swirl, creating a load of distractions during what was supposed to be a time to reflect on Whittingham’s career ahead of his last game as the Utes head coach.

That didn’t end up being the case. Whittingham was in Orlando for New Year’s Eve instead, getting to know his future players and coaches as Michigan battled Texas in the Citrus Bowl. His former team, meanwhile, was embarking on a journey into a new era all the way across the country.

None of that outside noise seemed to get to the Utes, though. Based on how they handled the Cornhuskers in a 44-22 drubbing on Wednesday, they were more than ready for the next chapter of the program to be written.

“There have been so many distractions for these players,” Scalley said during his postgame press conference. “And the game is all about them, and so they’re the ones that don’t deserve all the distractions, right? And they worked their tails off that.”

Here’s more from Scalley’s postgame press conference.

On what the past week since taking over as head coach has been like

“It would have been a lot harder had we not had a great culture already established with players really understanding their role in leading. So, there’s a lot to being a head football coach, particularly at a time when the portal is about to open and you’ve got things going on left and right. But like I said, these guys kept it all together and be very easy for people to start turning and ‘What about me? What about mine?’ and to lose focus. And so can’t say enough about our players.”

On getting emotional after the game

“I am who I am. And I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I grew up a Utah man. My dad played at the University of Utah. I had family go to the University of Utah. And I grew up running around in those tunnels at Rice Stadium — when it wasn’t Rice-Eccles Stadium. And I’ve seen it transition. I’ve been there through all of it, and my dream has always been to take it to the highest level. The one thing that I’m so grateful for is that my logo has never changed, nor will it.”

On whether it’s settled in that he’s the head coach

“I don’t think it’s settled in at all yet. There were probably a lot of mistakes; being on the offensive side when I’m supposed to be on the defensive side.

“We were trying to get Wayshawn [Parker] 1,000 yards [on the season] there at the end, which is why we kept him on the field. It was no disrespect whatsoever towards Nebraska, and I told Matt [Rhule] that. What a class guy; I completely respect Nebraska. But yeah it’s been so crazy, I don’t know that I’ve been really able to process it or think about it.”

On his priorities heading into the offseason

“Well, my number one goal is making sure that our guys make it home for curfew tonight — that’s number one.”

“Beyond that, we’ll work after that. But, this is a big time profession, and if people don’t think that we’ve already been planning, already been looking for the next step; then they don’t know us. We will be prepared for whatever is to come, and we are excited for those that want to be Utes. And bottom line is: we hope all these guys in that locker room continue to be here.”

On the culture he wants to curate as head coach

“This program will always be better than one person. It will continue to be Utah football, and not about Morgan Scalley. It’s all about the players, all about the team. I’m grateful to be in a position where I can help lead but at the same time, you’re only as good as your players and you’ll never outperform the leadership that’s provided by them.”

“Again, I’m blessed to be in this position to have people trust and believe in me, but it’s all about players.”

MORE UTAH NEWS & ANALYSIS

A new Utah law aims to prevent repeat drunk driving offenses by limiting access to alcohol for those with serious DUI convictions. Under the law, judges will have discretion to place someone in an interdicted category. That means the person’s driver’s license will be marked with “no alcohol sales,” alerting sellers that alcohol cannot be sold to them.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Michael Collins Jr.’s 18 points helped Utah State defeat Fresno State 72-63 on Tuesday.

Collins went 9 of 16 from the field (0 for 4 from 3-point range) for the Aggies (11-1, 2-0 Mountain West Conference). Mason Falslev scored 16 points and added eight rebounds and four steals. Kolby King shot 4 of 6 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 6 from the line to finish with 13 points.

Advertisement

Jake Heidbreder led the way for the Bulldogs (6-7, 0-2) with 21 points and three steals. Fresno State also got 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks from Wilson Jacques. Bastien Rieber had 12 points.

Utah State took the lead for good with 14:49 to go in the first half. The score was 35-26 at halftime, with Collins racking up 10 points. Utah State turned a six-point second-half lead into a 13-point advantage with a 7-0 run to make it a 46-33 lead with 15:53 left in the half. Falslev scored nine second-half points in the win.

Dec. 31, 2025, 6:05 a.m. ET

Dec. 31, 2025, 6:08 a.m. ET

With so much going on around the Utah football program, it would have been easy for the Las Vegas Bowl to fade into the background.

Last Friday, former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham took the head coaching position at Michigan, throwing a wrench into the transition between Whittingham and new head coach Morgan Scalley.

Whittingham is reportedly targeting a number of Utah assistant coaches to join his staff, including offensive coordinator Jason Beck and offensive line coach Jim Harding. While Scalley is putting together his staff at Utah, he’s also preparing for the transfer portal to open on Jan. 2, just two days after the Las Vegas Bowl.

It could be easy for game preparation to take a back seat to the future of the program, but Scalley and the Utes are full steam ahead for New Year’s Eve’s Las Vegas Bowl vs. Nebraska.

After acknowledging the other work he is doing this week, Scalley made it clear that sending Utah’s seniors out with a win is the priority.

“My job is to sell Utah and to prepare for the future of this program, and that’s what we’re doing. But the priority, priority No. 1, is sending these guys out the right way,” Scalley said.

Even with the changes of the past two weeks, the expectation is that the majority of Utah’s available two-deep will play. The Utes have had just three confirmed opt-outs — offensive tackle Spencer Fano, offensive tackle Caleb Lomu and defensive end Logan Fano — all of whom have declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Utah will also have a mostly full coaching staff for the Las Vegas Bowl — Beck is in Sin City — with the only change being that Scalley will handle head coaching and defensive coordinator duties.

Quarterback Devon Dampier wanted to finish the season the right way.

“We’re just excited for the opportunity to be here,” he said. “One last ride for the boys. Our team is built off of love. Very rare in the way college football is going now, it’s rare to see a team that they want to go out there and play this last game for each other. Just the number of seniors that want to continue to play, not sitting out.

“It sparks my heart. It’s like, man, this is real love that we got going on here. So I’m excited to get one more with those guys.”

Utah (10-2) is a 14-point favorite over Nebraska (7-5). The lack of opt-outs gives the Utes an advantage, as the Cornhuskers are missing starting quarterback Dylan Raiola and star running back Emmett Johnson, who rushed for 120.9 yards per game, fourth in the nation. Meanwhile, starting safety DeShon Singleton, one of Nebraska’s top defense players, is out with an injury.

“We entered this game knowing that probably a lot of people don’t give us much of a chance, but that has nothing to do with us, how people see us,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “… So we’re not going to take the field, walking on the field like underdogs.”

Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen will use a “running back by committee” approach in the Las Vegas Bowl with Johnson’s absence. Isaiah Mozee (19 carries for 83 yards) and freshman Mekhi Nelson (15 carries for 59 yards and a touchdowns) are the two Husker running backs to watch.

The Utes’ run defense has not been up to par to close the season, ranking No. 111 in the nation after giving up an average of 182.8 yards per game. Can they reestablish the classic Utah run D against Nebraska’s backup running backs?

With Raiola injured in early November — he plans to transfer from Nebraska this offseason — the Cornhuskers turned to freshman TJ Lateef. Lateef has thrown for 461 yards and three touchdowns on 57% completion in three games as the starter. He’s also added 48 yards and a score on the ground.

Lateef suffered a hamstring injury in the regular-season finale against Iowa, but Rhule said he’s 100% for the game against Utah.

Defensively, Nebraska has allowed just 141.1 passing yards per game (No. 2 in the country) and 312.3 total yards per game (No. 23).

Where the Huskers’ defense has been vulnerable is on the ground. They’ve given up an average of 171.2 rushing yards per game this season, and in the last two games against Penn State and Iowa, Nebraska allowed 231 and 213 yards, respectively. The Huskers have struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season and will face another one in Dampier.

Can the Utes’ run game, featuring Wayshawn Parker and Dampier, play to the level it has all season with their two star tackles missing? Keith Olsen and Zereoue Williams will fill in for Fano and Lomu in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Utah has rushed for 269.8 yards this season, second in the nation, and has an opportunity to add to that against Nebraska.

The tone of the game has changed from Whittingham’s final game at Utah to Scalley’s first game, but the motivation remains the same for the Utes: to finish off the season with a win.

“I’m really happy for Coach Whitt, honestly, and I’m really happy for him to have this opportunity, but I’m also excited to be coached by Morgan Scalley and I’m going to tell our team ‘Let’s go get Coach Scalley’s first win on Wednesday,’” said senior Jaren Kump.

Dec. 30, 2025, 7:50 a.m. MT

It was a good season for Utah and Nebraska in different ways, but the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl narratives for both teams have been hijacked.

But start with this – the Las Vegas Bowl has recently been great. Last season was a 35-31 USC win over Texas A&M, and three of the last four were decided by one score.

Nebraska vs Utah Matchup, Odds, and Pick

Nebraska’s days of the Big Red Machine are well in the past, but as the program tries to keep pushing forward, this is a shot for the first season with more than seven wins since 2016.

But the transfers and high-profile opt-out – following a season-ending injury – by star quarterback Dylan Raiola, and the absence of heart-and-soul running back Emmett Johnson, matter.

That, along with the idea that winning eight games at Nebraska is a positive, is contributing to the impatience of a die-hard fan base ready for way more than also-ran status.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, not only did Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham leave after the regular season, but he’s now the main man at Michigan.

But it was a ten-win season, Utah was the third-best team in the Big 12, and now it really is the Morgan Scalley era about to get going.

How To Watch Nebraska vs Utah

Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Game Time: 3:30 pm ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
@PeteFiutak
– Bowl Schedule, Predictions, Lines
– 2026 Early Heisman Top 10

Why Nebraska Will Win

Of course there’s always something to lose, but no one is thinking Nebraska is going to win this. So yeah, this team really can have the “nobody believes in us” chip on its shoulder, because it’s true.

No, Emmett Johnson won’t be around, and there’s no Raiola, but for the most part, the Huskers are relatively close to the version at the end of the regular season.

And the offense is going to run.

Advertisement

No, quarterback TJ Lateef isn’t Raiola, but he can take off a little bit more, and he will.

This isn’t the normal Utah team of past years defensively. It gives up close to five yards per carry, and it only shut down the truly mediocre. Again, this isn’t the Nebraska of old running the ball, but it can do it. If it gets to well over 150 yards on the ground, it’ll be in this.

On the other side, the Husker pass defense has been terrific all year. 

Maryland is the only team to get 200 yards through the air. The Nebraska secondary should be fine, and yes, it is possible to slow down this Utah ground game by getting to quarterback Devon Dampier before he can get moving.

Future NFL tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu are out – the Huskers have to keep fighting the good fight up front.

Nebraska is 6-0 when allowing fewer than 185 rushing yards, but …

Why Utah Will Win

Utah won’t do anything crazy. 

It’ll run more than 40 times, it’ll get Dampier on the move, and it’ll get its 200 yards. As long as Dampier isn’t forcing anything and doesn’t have any interception issues – he threw five on the season, three in the two losses – everything else should work.

Advertisement

Almost no one will bring more energy and fight this bowl season than Nebraska. It’s never a question of want-to, but it simply doesn’t have the guys.

The backfield will be fine, but it’s asking a whole lot of Lateef to take over as a passer to open things up. And yes, the Huskers have a few backs ready to show what they can do, but Johnson was special this season.

The Huskers weren’t even close in their last two games of the season. Penn State and Iowa allowed Nebraska to run a bit, closed down almost everything through the air, and most importantly, both hammered away up front.

Nebraska allowed more than 200 rushing yards in three of the last four games, Utah won’t take any major chances, and …

Nebraska vs Utah Prediction, Betting Lines

It’ll take a little while, but eventually Utah will break through.

Nebraska will come up with a few early scoring drives, and it’ll look like Utah won’t have the same power and consistency, and then it’ll start to kick in.

The Utes will start to control the clock a little more, the defensive front will start to get into the backfield on third downs, and the momentum will turn before halftime.

Advertisement

Nebraska was hanging with Iowa down 17-16 late in the first half with under a minute to play. The Huskers lost 40-16.

It was 10-3 Penn State deep into the first half. It was 30-3 before Nebraska got back on the board in a 37-10 Nittany Lion win.

Give it 20 minutes, and then Utah will get the Morgan Scalley era off and rolling.

Utah 38, Nebraska 17 
Line: Utah -14, o/u: 51.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Must See Rating: 3.5
– Las Vegas Bowl: CFN Expert Picks

Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Related: 2025 Alamo Bowl Prediction: USC vs TCU

This story was originally published by College Football News on Dec 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.