This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Hundreds of Utah fans lingered on the Rice-Eccles Stadium field late Saturday night, savoring the moment. Then again, those people might be back there once or twice next month.

The Utes ended probably the best October in the football program's history with a 24-21 victory over USC. That win leads them into a November filled with big possibilities, including home games against No. 5 Oregon and No. 14 Arizona.

As of September, who would have imagined Utah vs. Arizona as the Pac-12 South's title-deciding game?

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham posted three wins in October 2008 during a 13-0 season. Yet factoring in the Utes' brief history in the Pac-12 and the questions surrounding the program in 2014, this October is the most meaningful month of his tenure. The Utes (6-1) went from not receiving any votes in the AP Top 25 to No. 18, and they remain in play for the Pac-12 championship and even a College Football Playoff bid.

Utah's unbeaten teams of '04 and '08 barely climbed in the rankings during October. Ron McBride's 1994 team went from No. 25 to No. 9 with four October wins, but Whittingham's latest rise is just as significant, considering the competition — and how the Utes won those three games.

"The personality of this team … that's a mentally and physically tough group of guys that slug it out until the end," Whittingham said Monday.

In the previous three seasons, Utah went 4-11 vs. Pac-12 South teams and 3-10 in conference road games. In October, the Utes won twice on the road and beat two South rivals, UCLA and USC.

The irony: A defense that otherwise carried the team lost a lead in the fourth quarter of each game by giving up a touchdown pass. And a struggling offense delivered a long drive for the go-ahead points in every game, plus two overtime touchdowns at Oregon State after the defense allowed a tying field goal in regulation.

The USC game revealed another element of destiny, regarding Whittingham's contract quest. I'm a believer in this stuff. He's clearly meant to coach this program, after what unfolded in October — especially, Saturday night.

The Trojans were one play away from completing a victory with an epic, clock-killing drive. USC receiver Nelson Agholor took a pitch on a fourth-and-2 play, tried to turn the corner and stepped out of bounds a yard short of the first-down marker. No Ute defender was credited for a tackle, but Nate Orchard created "just enough of a disruption" on the edge, Whittingham said.

In any case, that gave Utah one last chance, and quarterback Travis Wilson responded by leading the Utes to the winning touchdown with eight seconds remaining. That's a tribute to Wilson, who acknowledged that losing his starting job against Oregon State was "definitely frustrating." He replaced Kendal Thompson in the second half of that game and played from start to finish against USC, coming through in the end with a 73-yard TD drive.

"I definitely relish those type of moments," Wilson said.

That was just another clutch drive in October, directed by two different quarterbacks (with considerable help from running back Devontae Booker). In each game, the Utes had compiled fewer than 280 total yards before suddenly going 60-plus yards, while trailing.

Those finishes were reminiscent of Utah's games in '08 against OSU and TCU. The current team failed to answer after losing a fourth-quarter lead against Washington State in September, but October was another story. The strong finishes have come in contrast to some of last season's endings.

"The whole mind-set of this team is totally different," Wilson said.

Now what? ESPN's Football Power Index gives Utah a 0.7 percent chance of winning every remaining game. Based on that probability, if the Utes played this five-game sequence 1,000 times, they would sweep Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and Colorado seven times. And then would come a potential rematch with Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game.

That's all asking a lot, obviously, but it also is difficult to imagine Utah's season crumbling. So Whittingham and his staff have responded very well in his 10th season, and they'll be rewarded.

Elsewhere around the state, crazy stuff keeps happening. Just try categorizing an October during which Utah State won three games and lost three quarterbacks to injury, or when BYU went from 4-0 and ranked No. 18 to 4-4. The Cougars have topped USA Today's Misery Index, a weekly gauge of fan bases' dissatisfaction in college football.

Utah was a potential candidate for that distinction when October arrived. Not anymore.

Twitter: @tribkurt —

Utah's best Octobers

1930 • Beat Wyoming (72-0), BYU (34-7) and Denver (59-0); finished 8-0.

1994 • Beat San Diego State (38-22), Hawaii (14-3), Colorado State (45-31) and UTEP (52-7); moved from No. 25 to No. 9 in AP Top 25.

2004 • Beat New Mexico (28-7), North Carolina (46-16), UNLV (63-28) and San Diego State (51-28); moved from No. 11 to No. 7 in AP Top 25.

2008 • Beat Oregon State (31-28), Wyoming (40-7) and Colorado State (49-16); moved from No. 15 to No. 10 in AP Top 25. —

Offensive revival

Utah's yardage totals, prior to go-ahead drives in fourth quarters in October:

Opponent Yds. Drive Result

UCLA 279 63 W, 30-28

Oregon State 184 79 W, 29-23 (2 OT)

USC 268 63 W, 24-21

Note: Penalty yardage not included in drive total.