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Show 6 Tuesday November 27, 2012 SPORTS 25° / 9 a.m. 37° / 3 p.m. conditions & weather from utahskiweathercom Hard packed snow and icy bumps TODAY'S SKI REPORT Alta www.dailyutahchronicle.com Brighton 25° / 9 a.m. 370/3 p.m. Canyons 30° / 9 a.m. 430 / 3 p.m. Deer Valley CLOSED Snowbird 25° a.m. 370 / 3 p.m. Solitude 26° / 9 a.m. 38° / 3 p.m. FOOTBALL Utes end season with regrets Derek Siddoway STAFF WRITER When history remembers the Utes' 2012 campaign, it will be for missed plays, close calls, heartbreaking defeats and a slew of what-ifs and coulda-shoulda-wouldas. But to say Utah — which will miss its first bowl game in a decade — fell into a Pac-12 sophomore slump doesn't quite tell the whole story. Utah, at 5-7, 3-6 Pac-12, finished far from its preseason prediction of second in the South Division. To add insult to injury, the Pac-12 South was once again there for the taking. The preseason No. 1 USC Trojans ended their season last weekend with only two more wins than the Utes. Aside from Arizona State, the Utes' three losses in division play (Arizona, USC and UCLA) were by 10 points or fewer and swung on three or four game-changing plays — plays that swung away from the Utes. Little did retired quarterback Jordan Wynn know he foreshadowed the entire season with his statement after the first scrimmage of fall camp. "We had a lot of positives," Wynn said. "[But] we've got to eliminate bad football." In the end, the good couldn't outweigh the bad and the Utes were left with a season of almosts. Of course as the saying goes, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. As far as players to make big plays, Utah drew from a mixed bag each week. For a team that boasted one of its most talented rosters in recent history during fall camp, too many big names failed to produce consistent numbers. Players such as DeVonte Christopher, who leaves without a ioo-yard receiving game all season, and cornerback Moe Lee, who struggled at times against the Pac-12's receiving corps, are just a CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO Senior running back John White runs for a touchdown in the season opener against Northern Colorado. White became the first Utah running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. couple of examples. Some, such as Wynn, the Kruger brothers, safety Quade Chappuis and most of the offensive line, were plagued by different levels of injury throughout the season. And others, such as Star Lotulelei, John White, Reggie Dunn and Ryan Lacy, pro- duced big games that were negated by the rest of the team's poor performance. Lotulelei will enter the NFL draft as a likely Top io draft pick. White marched into Utah record books as the first Ute running back with consecutive i,000-yard seasons. Dunn ignited the kicking game with an unprecedented four kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, a mark that puts him at the top of the NCAA record books. "It was unbelievable," Dunn said after his fifth return last weekend against Colorado. "As the last game See FOOTBALL Page 8 Bohn's fate results from impatience UTES IN BRIEF FOOTBALL Individual Utah players shine in all-conference Jake Bullinger JAKE SPORTS EDITOR Thirteen Utes were named allconference players on Monday by the Pac-12 Conference. Defensive tackle Star Lotulelei and kick returner Reggie Dunn were first-team selections and guard Sam Brenner was a second-team honoree. Dunn made arguably the biggest splash of any Ute this season by setting an NCAA record with four ioo-yard kickoff returns in a single season, two of which came in a game against Cal. Dunn averaged 51.3 yards per kickoff return this season. Lotulelei entered the season as the most hyped defensive lineman in the country, and he maintained his stock throughout the season. Many analysts project him to be a Top io pick in the coming NFL draft, and his play in 2012 backed up that notion. Lotulelei constantly saw double- and triple-team blocks, yet finished with 42 tackles and five sacks. Brenner leaves Utah allowing just two sacks in his 51 games with the Utes. In 743 plays this season, he allowed just a single sack. The Utes had io players earn honorable mention recognition: safety Brian Blechen, defensive end Nate Fakahafua, defensive tackle Joe Kruger, tight end Jake Murphy, offensive lineman Jeremiah Poutasi, defensive end and linebacker Trevor Reilly, safety Eric Rowe, punter Sean Sellwood, offensive lineman Tevita Stevens and tailback John White. j.bullinger@chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @jakebullinger of my collegiate career, to end the game like that, it was unbelievable ... It was a great way to go out." But while the seniors walk into the sunset, the Utes should be comforted in the rising stars who emerged this BULLINGER Sports Editor I to be a breakout season, one that would see him establish himself as one of the best in a talented crop of Pac-12 receivers. As the season moved along, however, it was clear the preseason pub was ill placed. Christopher hit the 66o-yard mark in both his sophomore and junior seasons. This year as a senior, Christopher was lucky to get to 300 yards receiving. He caught just two touchdown passes to close out his career. The biggest blunders for Christopher came when Utah played at Oregon State. The first mistake came when quarterback Travis Wilson put it right on the money, only to have Christopher f you enjoy the coaching of Larry Krystkowiak, then you better pay close attention this season, because Utah will certainly fire him at the end of it. Oops, please forgive me. I confused Utah athletic director Chris Hill with Colorado's Mike Bohn, who proved on Monday just how short his leash is on coaches who inherit terrible programs. Krystkowiak's job is safe, but Bohn inexplicably fired Buffaloes head football coach Jon Embree after just two seasons on the job. Embree's teams didn't perform to the standard of a once-great Colorado program — the Buffs won just three games in his short tenure. But what else could we expect? Just like Krystkowiak, Embree inherited an awful team. Unlike Krystkowiak, Embree was apparently expected to turn his team into a contender in just two years. Colorado's one-win season was an embarrassment, but the team had no talent, and the horrible recruiting by former coach Dan Hawkins left the program with only eight seniors this season. That Colorado even won a single game is impressive, but it seems Bohn was expecting Embree to somehow pull out six wins. Bohn shouldn't blame Embree for the terrible roster he picked up — he should blame Hawkins or himself. We have no idea if Embree could See POTENTIAL Page 7 See BULLINGER Page 8 CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO Receiver DeVonte Christopher stiff arms a Utah State defender at Romney Stadium. Christopher saw little action late into the season because of underperformance. Utah's potential goes unrealized once again s o much was expected of the Utah football team coming into the season. The prevailing notion was that 2011 was about adjusting to the Pac-12. By this year, any necessary lessons were thought to have been learned. There was even the opinion Utah would be the team to challenge Southern Cal for the Pac-12 South Division title. That expectation — and just about every other expectation surrounding the team — went unmet. As a whole and as individuals, the Utes underperformed from start to finish in 2012. As a team, progress in Utah's second year in the new conference seemed to be a reasonable goal. Instead, the Utes took StaffWriter several steps back. Utah finished ineligible for a bowl game for the first time since 2002, they lost to in-state rival Utah State for the first time since 1997 and they again lost their first four conference games. On an individual basis, the Utes were just as disappointing. The first offender was wide receiver DeVonte Christopher. His senior season was supposed a■ |