Best individual performances of the PAC-12 era

[UteDuke]

Looking back once again on the PAC-12 era for the Utes, I want to know what you all consider the best individual performances for Utes. I want to know what athletes stood out to you for putting the team on their backs for a game or meet, or for simply going above and beyond.

At the top of my list is Joe Williams’ 332 yard rushing performance in the Rose Bowl. On an afternoon when the traditionally stout Utah defense was leaking like a sieve, Williams rushed for 4 TDs while averaging over 10 yards a carry.

[Dallas]

You mean in one game?

[Utesbyfive]

Undoubtedly Kincaid’s 16 catches against SC

[Ute-yankee]

Thr first two that pop into my mind are The Joe Williams game and Kinkaid against USC. I think as far as individual performances go those two are the tops. I’d like to give an honorable mention though to John White IV against Washington State in 2011. 185 yards on 42 attempts with two touchdowns. This is an example of everybody in the world knowing who was getting the ball and they still couldn’t stop him. As I recall it was snowing and we had Jon Hayes playing quarterback. I think it is safe to say that Juan Blanco el Quatro put the whole team on his back and carried them to an important overtime victory.

[NarfUte]

I was at that wazzu game. First quarter, beautiful weather. Second quarter, hail and sleet. Halftime, 3 inches of snow and a blizzard through the third quarter. It was fun

[Ute-yankee]

Thr first two that pop into my mind are The Joe Williams game and Kinkaid against USC. I think as far as individual performances go those two are the tops. I’d like to give an honorable mention though to John White IV against Washington State in 2011. 185 yards on 42 attempts with two touchdowns. This is an example of everybody in the world knowing who was getting the ball and they still couldn’t stop him. As I recall it was snowing and we had Jon Hayes playing quarterback. I think it is safe to say that Juan Blanco el Quatro put the whole team on his back and carried them to an important overtime victory.

[22Ute22]

Top 3:

Joe Williams vs UCLA 2016
Dalton Kincaid vs USC (round 1) 2022
CP3 vs Oregon State 2022

Honorable mention:
Cam Rising vs USC (round 1) 2022

[Central Coast Ute]

The Joe Williams game was the one that popped into my mind as I read your post. I was at that game, and the holes the O line gave him were massive. You could drive a Mack truck through them. Since you went with Joe, I’ll give it to the O line from the same game.

My top play was Jason Shelley hurdling the zoob defender.

[Uteanooga]

Honorable mention for the dudes using shovels to make lines in the snow during the Wazzu game. There were no straight lines anywhere. Great entertainment.

[UteFan Vineyard]

When I saw the headline of your post, the Joe Williams game was the first thing that came to mind.

Agree with some of the other posts that Rising and Kincaid vs. USC in ’22 should be in the running.

[Tony (admin)]

The single best game IMO is Joe Williams.

[BigBadUte]

Two that come to my mind are Clark Phillips’ 3 Ints in one game (most DBs don’t get that many in a season):

And who can forget Reggie Dunn with 5 kickoff TDs in one season, 2 against Cal? Do you know how many kickoff returners get 2 TDs in one season? Last year there were 3.

[UteDuke]

Wow, the most interesting part of this thread to me is how clear the top individual performances have been. When I wrote the OP I had 3 in mind, and decided to post only Joe Williams’ game against UCLA. My other two were 2) Dalton Kincaid going 16 for 16 against USC and 3) Reggie Dunn’s kick returns. I thought there would be a lot more parity in responses, but I see now that when you witness a truly dominant performance, it leaves an impression on everybody.

Shout out to those that chose CPIII against Oregon State! That is one that I hadn’t thought of, and having been at that game, it definitely left an impression. When the back-up QB came in and immediately threw another interception to him I thought, “How are they still even considering putting it in his area?!”

[rudeute]

I know you said individual performances, but one game that popped in my head was defensive performance @ UCLA in 2014. UCLA quaterback Brett Hundley was a media favorite, but the Utah defense put him on his back 10 times, with four of them coming via Nate Orchard. In a game where Travis Wilson left the game early, and Kendal Thompson had to play most of the game, I don’t think there is any way we would have won that game without that defensive performance.

[Author]

Posts