After blowing out Colorado State in the Las Vegas Bowl in late December, all seemed right with the Utah football program. The Utes had just put together their first winning season in Pac-12 history, returned to the postseason, and dominated a very good Colorado State team. The offense looked explosive and creative during the game and the defense shut down what had been a potent Rams offense. In the hours after the bowl win, it was hard to feel anything but positive about the direction of the program.
The good feelings would last 3 more days, when on December 23rd, defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake and defensive line coach Ilaisa Tuiaki announced they were leaving the program for the same positions at Oregon State.