SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 8: Head coach Kyle Whittingham of the Utah Utes watches a replay in the second quarter during their game against the Arizona Wildcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium on October 8, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)Utah fans weren’t happy with Kyle Whittingham’s decision to keep all of his timeouts at the end of the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State drove deep into Utah territory with less than 30 seconds remaining and Whittingham let the clock tick down to 12 seconds before Noah Ruggles kicked the game-winner.
It was also fascinating how Utah’s defense didn’t let running back TreVeyon Henderson score once he got inside the five-yard line. The Utes would’ve had time to call a few plays instead of just doing a bunch of laterals on the kickoff.
The college football world is still confused as to what Whittingham’s strategy was with not using any timeouts.
Did Kyle Whittingham think he gets to carry these timeouts over to next season, or…?
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 2, 2022
Man, Whittingham, call your timeouts. Why not call them? Unreal.
— Matt Prehm (@MattPrehm) January 2, 2022
Kyle Whittingham is a great coach but taking three timeouts home with him in this situation isn’t a great look
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 2, 2022
Somebody tell Kyle Whittingham his timeouts don’t roll over to next season
— William Qualkinbush (@QualkTalk) January 2, 2022
Those 3 timeouts are gonna be huge for Kyle Whittingham when they carry over in the spring game.
— Ryan McCrystal (@Ryan_McCrystal) January 2, 2022
Kyle Whittingham get a postseason bonus for having unused timeouts in his pocket or something?
— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) January 2, 2022
Been a pretty amazing game to have Kyle Whittingham sit on three timeouts and let it end like this. Curious choice here.
— Brady McCollough (@BradyMcCollough) January 2, 2022
Bold of Kyle Whittingham to save his timeouts for next season
— Michael (@AcunaDingers) January 2, 2022
You can’t take those timeouts with you, Kyle Whittingham.
— Matt Schubert (@MattDSchubert) January 2, 2022
This was a crazy game as the Buckeyes overcame multiple 14-point deficits to win.
Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the biggest reason for the comeback as the Utes defense had no answer for him. He finished with 346 yards and three touchdowns on 15 receptions which set multiple records.
His 346 yards receiving was a Rose Bowl record and is the most for any bowl game in college football history.
Ohio State got to 11-2 with the win, while Utah dropped to 10-4.
