This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It's Senior Day. It's a day when Utah will formally honor the Ute Tribe at a football game for the first time in recent history. Technically, the hope still exists that both No. 20 Utah and No. 15 Arizona might secure a Pac-12 title.

There's a lot to play for Saturday.

It's going to be cold and rainy, and it could well be close. Utah was just a 4.5-point favorite as of Friday night, and both teams have played in six games that were decided by a touchdown or less.

Dress warm, stay dry, skip the concessions rush at halftime, and expect a dramatic conclusion.

Time, Place and [Radio Waves in] Space • Kickoff is 1:30 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game will air on ESPN, and on the radio at ESPN 700 AM. Utah will honor Native American Heritage Month with "Ute Proud" decals on helmets and patches on coaching attire, and Ute youth will perform pow wow dances at halftime. Utah will also recognize the program's 17 seniors in a pre-game ceremony.

Opposing Coach • Rich Rodriguez has eight wins now in each of three seasons at the helm of Arizona's football program, and fading into memory is his 15-22 record in three seasons in Ann Arbor. "It doesn't surprise me what he is doing there, because he is a top-flight football coach," said Utah's Kyle Whittingham at Monday's press conference. Rodriguez is best known as one of the architects of the spread option offense, which he developed at Glenville State and later perfected at West Virginia. Michigan doldrums and all, he's 144-96-2 as a head coach, and for that reason is by default considered a potential candidate for open head coaching positions at most large schools.

Utah ties • Freshman linebacker Aaron Borg, sophomore right tackle J.J. Dielman, redshirt freshman defensive end Clarence Smith and freshman snapper Michael Welsh hail from The Grand Canyon State, and senior defensive end Greg Reese played junior college ball at Arizona Western. Arizona redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon played Pop Warner football with Utah left tackle Jeremiah Poutasi and played for one season at Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High with Utah sophomore linebacker Marcus Sanders-Williams. Utah redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Cox originally committed to Arizona in the same class as Solomon before switching his commitment to Utah. Current Brighton standout and Utah commit Kahi Neves played as a freshman at the same high school as Wildcats linebacker Scooby Wright III.

Pregame Quotable • "I even tried the ol' put a plastic bread bag over your socks to keep your feet warm (trick). I had two socks and two plastic bread bags over my toes and they still froze," Rich Rodriguez, to the Arizona Daily Star, on a game nine years ago in -7 degrees and snow flurries in Morgantown, W. Va., that was the coldest he's ever been in. Salt Lake City is expected to be a relatively balmy 43 and rainy on Saturday.

Media Guide Nugget • Wildcats 6-foot-3 junior wide receiver Trey Griffey is the son of baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey's more than a name: He has 22 receptions for 275 yards and one touchdown this year, including a 63-yard grab against Washington.

Telling Stat • Arizona is 15th in total offense (492 yards per game) and and 24th in scoring offense (35.6 points per game), but where they really shine is in moving the chains — third in first downs (273). Utah's defense has earned a reputation for bending and not breaking, but Kalani Sitake's group ranks 74th with 218 first downs allowed. Bending a little less would help.

Wildcats Offensive Outlook • The Wildcats haven't quite looked themselves in recent weeks, scoring a meager 7 points in a loss at UCLA, then turning it on late against Colorado and struggling for stretches against Washington. This might be fairly chalked up to growing pains for Solomon, or the quarterback's sore ankle. The offensive line has been inconsistent at times and has conceded 22 sacks. But it's relative: It's still a dangerous offense. Freshman running back Nick Wilson has 867 yards and nine touchdowns on 160 carries, and No. 2 Terris Jones-Grigsby has added 307. Seven receivers have 20 or more receptions, led by prototypical 6-foot-3 sophomore Cayleb Jones, who has 58 grabs for 788 yards and eight touchdowns. And the Wildcats have been excellent caretakers of the ball, turning it over just 11 times.

Wildcats Defensive Outlook • The defense is known generally as the one that includes sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright. Why not? His name is Scooby. He's recorded 117 tackles, 21 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks. Beyond Wright, there's not a whole lot to write home about. Arizona is 101st in total defense, allowing 445 total yards per game, and is particularly poor at defending the pass — 117th, at 286 yards per game. Senior safety Jared Tevis anchors the secondary, with 94 tackles and eight for a loss.

Wildcats Special Teams Outlook • Junior kicker Casey Skowron missed what would have been a game-winning field goal against USC and nearly made the same mistake again against Washington, but Chris Petersen's timeout gave Skowron a second chance, and he delivered on a 47-yarder as the clock expired. On the season, Skowron is 17-of-24, with a long of 49. Sophomore wideout DaVonte Neal is a dangerous punt returner who took one back 81 yards for a touchdown against Washington State.

Required Reading

• A South Division title is still a possibility — albeit a slim one for No. 20 Utah

Injury Report • There's no sugar-coating loss of junior linebacker Gionni Paul for the rest of the season due to what Whittingham described as a "setback." Paul was one of the Utes' top playmakers and a source of energy for the defense. But Utah returns junior linebacker Jason Whittingham, who sat for eight games, and junior Jacoby Hale, who did not travel to Stanford for undisclosed reasons. Utah is, of course, also without senior free safety Tevin Carter, junior quarterback Kendal Thompson, junior wide receiver Tim Patrick, sophomore cornerback Reginald Porter and sophomore linebacker Uaea Masina. Arizona has ruled out weak side linebacker DeAndre Miller and long snapper Chase Gorham, and corner Cam Denson, running back Terris Jones-Grigsby and nose tackle Parker Zellers are all listed by the program as questionable. Quarterback Anu Solomon is also playing though an ankle injury that, some have theorized, has made him less effective in recent weeks.

Three Big Questions

1. Can Wilson parlay his overtime breakout into four quarters of success? • Utah's junior quarterback passed for 474 yards and four touchdowns in the last two games. Against Stanford, though, both touchdowns came in the overtime period., and while he's only thrown two interceptions, Arizona is a team that is prone to allowing big passing days.

2. Can Whittingham outsmart Rodriguez? • Both coaches have won their share of games. Arizona has done most of its damage this season in the second half, though, while Utah has struggled in the fourth quarter to hold leads. Should Utah take a halftime lead, its coaches will have to think on the fly as well as Arizona's group to hold on.

3. Will the seniors leave with fond memories? • Last season, Trevor Reilly picked off a pass and heaved it into the crowd the celebrate Utah's final home appearance, against Colorado. It wasn't much of a season, but it was an exciting conclusion. This year, Utah has a good thing going, and it would be a shame to sour that for the 17 seniors with a dud on Senior Day.

— Matthew Piper

Twitter: @matthew_piper