Farewell game for seniors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The end is near for 19 Utah seniors. The veterans have one practice and one game left in their college football careers.

"It hasn't really hit me," said cornerback Bo Nagahi. "I'm just trying not to think about it right now. I'll think about it when it's over."

So, too, will Kyle Whittingham. The defensive coordinator who will become the program's next head coach knows he'll have a lot of holes to fill.

"We lose a lot," said Whittingham. "This is, I think, by far the most talented senior class that we've had."

Utah's veterans have led the team to 15 consecutive victories over the past two seasons. The Utes became the first team from a league without an automatic bid to qualify for the Bowl Championship Series. They'll face Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday (6:30 p.m., KTVX, Ch. 4).

"I'm just elated that they are able to go out on this note. They deserve everything they're getting right now. They've earned it," said Whittingham. "The Morgan Scalleys, Sione Pouhas, Bo Nagahis and all those guys are really a who's who of Utah football. I couldn't be prouder or happier for them."

Scalley, the Mountain West Conference's co-Defensive Player of the Year, acknowledged it's a great way to cap things off.

"It's a dream to be here," the safety said earlier in the week. "I was at the Fiesta Bowl three years ago when Oregon played Colorado and just sat with my brother thinking how cool it would be to be in a game this big. And now, here we are."

Pouha, a defensive tackle who, along with Nagahi, Scalley and Paris Warren, are senior captains, said it didn't take long to realize how special this finish would be.

"In midseason everyone talked about us as a BCS buster, but I didn't know what a BCS buster was. This is kind of new to all of us," said Pouha. "It's better walking off the plane with a bunch of yellow jackets and 500 people cheering you on than getting off the plane and just seeing the bus driver. From the get go, you know what the difference is."

Utah's seniors are closing out their careers on one of college football's biggest stages.

"It'll be a lot of fun," said Warren, a receiver. "It doesn't get any better than this."

Seven of the seniors will be playing in their third bowl game for Utah. Offensive tackle Makai Aalona, outside line, backer Corey Dodds, middle linebacker Tommy Hackenbruck, offensive guard Chris Kemoeatu, as well as Nagahi, Pouha and Scalley, took part in Utah victories in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl and 2003 Liberty Bowl.

The Fiesta Bowl, however, is on a different level.

"It's a great experience for everybody," said Nagahi. "They've treated us so well. It's awesome."