1994 Utah Utes football team

The 1994 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Ron McBride, the Utes compiled an overall record of 10–2 record with a mark of 6–2 against conference opponents, placing in a three-way tie for second in the WAC, and outscored their opponents 426 to 210. Utah was invited to the Freedom Bowl, where they beat Arizona.^[1] The team played home games at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

1994 Utah Utes football
Freedom Bowl champion
Freedom Bowl, W 16–13 vs. vs. Arizona
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 10
Record	10–2 (6–2 WAC)
Head coach	Ron McBride (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rick Rasnick (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Fred Whittingham (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Robert Rice Stadium
Seasons ← 1993 1995 →

1994 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 16 Colorado State $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Utah	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 18 BYU	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Air Force	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Wyoming	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
New Mexico	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Fresno State	3	–	4	–	1			5	–	7	–	1
San Diego State	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
UTEP	1	–	6	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Hawaii	0	–	8	–	0			3	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1994 season was the most successful during McBride's tenure at Utah. The Utes beat three ranked teams and finished the season ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	7:00 pm	at Utah State*		Romney Stadium Logan, UT (Battle of the Brothers)	KJZZ	W 32–17	31,287	[2]
September 10	7:00 pm	Idaho State*		Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 66–0	30,064	[3]
September 17	2:00 pm	at Oregon*		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		W 34–16	25,358	[4]
September 24	7:00 pm	Wyoming		Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 41–7	34,607	[5]
October 8	7:00 pm	at San Diego State	No. 25	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	KUTV	W 38–22	34,393	[6]
October 15	1:00 pm	Hawaii	No. 21	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 14–3	30,120	[7]
October 22	1:30 pm	at No. 12 Colorado State	No. 18	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	ABC	W 45–31	39,107	[8]
October 29	1:30 pm	UTEP	No. 12	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 52–7	32,620	[9]
November 5	1:00 pm	at New Mexico	No. 9	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM		L 21–23	30,743	[10]
November 12	1:30 pm	at Air Force	No. 12	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		L 33–40	38,525	[11]
November 19	7:00 pm	No. 20 BYU	No. 21	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Holy War)	KUTV	W 34–31	34,139	[12]
December 27	7:00 pm	vs. No. 15 Arizona*	No. 14	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA (Freedom Bowl)	Raycom	W 16–13	27,477	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[14]

Game summaries

Oregon

See also: 1994 Oregon Ducks football team

Freedom Bowl

See also: 1994 Arizona Wildcats football team and 1994 Freedom Bowl

Roster

1994 Utah Utes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Kevin Dyson  Fr WR 18 Curtis Marsh Sr QB 10 Mike McCoy Sr C 56 Lance Scott Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 83 Luther Elliss Sr DE 36 Bronzell Miller Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ron McBride Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

NFL draft

Four Utah players were selected in the 1995 NFL draft, including first rounder and future pro bowler Luther Elliss.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL team
Luther Elliss	Defensive tackle	1	20	Detroit Lions
Lance Scott	Center	5	165	Arizona Cardinals
Curtis Marsh	Wide receiver	7	219	Jacksonville Jaguars
Bronzell Miller	Defensive end	7	239	St. Louis Rams

References

1. "1994 Utah Utes Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
2. Sorensen, Mike (September 4, 1994). "Utes Finally Finish Pesky Aggies". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
3. Sorensen, Mike (September 11, 1994). "Utes Give Bengals a 66-0 Shellacking". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
4. Sorensen, Mike (September 18, 1994). "Lame Ducks Get Stuffed by the Utes". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
5. Sorensen, Mike (September 25, 1994). "Streakin' Utes Gun Down Cowboys". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
6. Mike Sorensen (October 9, 1994). "McCoy and Brown Keep Utah Perfect". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
7. Sorensen, Mike (October 16, 1994). "U. Defense Comes to the Rescue". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
8. Sorensen, Mike (October 23, 1994). "Utes Paint FT. Collins Red". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
9. Sorensen, Mike (October 30, 1994). "Ute Offense Crank It Up in 52-7 Win". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
10. Sorensen, Mike (November 6, 1994). "Utes Can't Hold Lead, Fall 23-21 to Lobos". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
11. "1995 Utah Football Media Guide: 1994 Statistics". University of Utah Athletic Department. Retrieved August 7, 2011.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
12. Sorensen, Mike (November 20, 1994). "It's U. 34, BYU 31 Again". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
13. Sorensen, Mike (December 28, 1994). "Let Freedom Ring! Utes Win". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
14. "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.