The Utah players thrust their black helmets into the air, singing the school’s fight song in front of the student section inside Rice-Eccles Stadium, the entire group flushed with grins. When it was over, Darren Carrington II, Utah’s star senior transfer wide receiver, limped toward the locker room.
He showed no sign of frustration after missing the second half with an undisclosed injury. He bent down to high-five young fans trailing him and posed for older fans who asked for pictures. It was the kind of night Utah waited more than six weeks for. And naturally the Utes got their groove back thanks in large part to Carrington, the constant threat in what had been an otherwise struggling Utah offense.