Bowl week begins today for Utes

Utah's wait is over. The Utes are scheduled to arrive in San Francisco tonight to kick off Emerald Bowl activities. They'll face 24th-ranked Georgia Tech on Thursday at SBC Park (2:30 p.m., ESPN).

"We're sick of hitting each other. We're sick of the surroundings we've been in the last three weeks practicing against each other," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "We're excited about getting into San Francisco and full bowl-game mode."

A welcoming dinner and an orientation meeting are the only scheduled events this evening. On Monday, the Utes will practice at Laney College in Oakland before taking a tour of Alcatraz in the afternoon.

"There's no installation left. Everything's in. It's just review and staying sharp," Whittingham said of his team's on-field preparation. "I don't know if it's ever all wrapped up, but we've got the work done that we needed to get done while we're here."

Once in California, the Utes will try to balance business and pleasure. San Francisco native Brent Casteel, one of 37 Californians on the Utah roster, is eager to have folks visit his hometown. Teammates have already asked the freshman receiver about places like downtown San Francisco, Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.

"I'm going to show them the town. It's nice," Casteel said. "If you've never been there before it's a great atmosphere to soak in."

The game, he added, should be a good one as well. The Yellow Jackets (7-4), after all, defeated Auburn and Miami (Fla.) on the road this season.

"We've got great competition coming up against us," Casteel said. "We've got to go out there and execute our plays."

A task made easier with quarterback Brett Ratliff on the field. The junior, who guided the Utes to a 41-34 overtime victory at BYU last month, has been battling a minor ankle sprain in practice.

"I'll definitely be 100 percent for the bowl game," said Ratliff, who noted that rest and treatment over the Christmas break should do the trick. "I'm still babying it a little bit, but it's doing great. I was able to do everything in practice (Thursday), so I'll be ready for the game."

Despite the excitement of going bowling for the third consecutive season, time has passed slowly for the Utes. BYU and Colorado State, two of the three other Mountain West Conference bowl teams, have already played and lost their games. Utah, meanwhile, has been idle since prevailing in Provo on Nov. 19.

"It has the feeling of an opener because of all the down time we've had between games," Whittingham said. "So we're sick of hitting each other. We look forward to getting a chance to line up and play one last time."

With Utah's impending arrival in San Francisco, the countdown is under way.

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com