Utah put on a dominating show on both sides of the ball. The Utes finished with more total offense yardage (349-208), first downs (22-15) and average yards per play (5.4-3.3).

It underscores how the Utes fared against the heavily favored Crimson Tide.

"Coming out with the victory is the greatest feeling in the world," said linebacker Mike Wright, who joined Stevenson Sylvester in making a team-high seven tackles. "We were positive coming into this game. We knew we could play with these guys and actually did. It's a dream come true."

Utah's defense — which was guided for the last time by Gary Andersen, the D-coordinator who is the new head coach at Utah State but stayed on to help the Utes prepare for the bowl game — rose to the occasion and made eight sacks. Sylvester recovered a fumble.

The Utes held Alabama star running back Glen Coffee to a season-low 36 yards rushing. The run-oriented Crimson Tide netted just 31 as a team.

Defensive end Paul Kruger said it came down to "a great scheme and guys coming up with big plays."

Saban acknowledged that the Utes made things difficult.

"Their defense was outstanding in the game," he said. "We could not run the football against them. They pressured the quarterback extremely well."

Utah's offense also had a strong showing behind Johnson's leadership.

Wide receiver Freddie Brown made 12 catches for 125 yards, while Bradon Godfrey, David Reed and Brent Casteel had touchdown receptions.

On special teams, Louie Sakoda did his thing with four PATs and a 28-yard field goal. He also had six punts for 271 yards.

"We did the things we had to do in this game to win," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, who noted that it was "a fitting end to a great football season for our guys."

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com