Utah athletic director Mark Harlan stood on the Levi's Stadium sideline during the Pac-12 football championship game, with several thousand Ute fans behind him. In the third quarter of a tie game with Washington, Harlan could picture those people following the team to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Harlan had spent an awkward final week of November hoping Utah would qualify for the Rose Bowl as conference champion, while knowing his job required making backup plans. The campaign that ended with the Holiday Bowl giving the Utes their most prestigious postseason invitation of the school’s Pac-12 era required some effort.