ATLANTA (Nov. 22, 2021) - Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. today announced that Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham has been selected as The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week presented by PNC.

The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week award honors a football coach who led his team to a significant victory during the previous week, while also embodying the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.
 
The Utah Utes took down the No. 3 Oregon Ducks 38-7 this Saturday at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Sophomore quarterback Cameron Rising had 178 yards passing, along with a touchdown run, while sophomore running back Tavion Thomas had 94 yards rushing on 21 carries and three touchdowns. Junior tight end Brant Kuithe lead the receiving efforts for the Utes with five receptions for 118 yards.
 
The Ute defense kept the Oregon offense in check, not allowing the Ducks to score until the third quarter. The defense finished with six tackles-for-loss, four pass deflections and three sacks.
 
The win represented the highest-ranked victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the Utes. It was also their highest-ranked win against a College Football Playoff-ranked opponent since the CFP was established in 2014 and ties as the highest overall AP-ranked victory in program history (No. 4 Alabama in the 2008 Sugar Bowl). With the win, Utah clinched its third Pac-12 South title in the last four seasons and will now play in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 3.

"This was an excellent win for both Kyle Whittingham and the Utes to clinch another Pac-12 South title," said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. "Coach Dodd believed in seizing opportunities that are in front of you, and Coach Whittingham and his Utes did just that on Saturday, pulling off one of the biggest wins in program history."

Kyle Whittingham, now in his 17th season at the helm at Utah, is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 and the second-longest tenured head coach at the same school in the FBS. With the victory on Saturday, he became the all-time winningest head coach in school history with his 142nd career win leading the Utes.
 
Off of the football field, Whittingham has been instrumental in leading Utah in the classroom, boasting an impressive Academic Progress Rate of 988. This past season, he had 37 members of the football team named to the Pac-12 honor roll. In previous years, Utah football received public recognition from the NCAA for posting a multi-year Academic Progress Report (APR) in the top 10 percent of all athletic teams in the country from 2014-18, including a perfect single-year APR score of 1000 in 2017-18. In 2017, the American Football Coaches Association gave Utah an Academic Achievement Award for recording a perfect 100 percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR).

In the community, Whittingham has been instrumental in the creation of the Ute Academy – a resource center for current and former student-athletes that prioritizes personal and professional development. His desire to make an impact on his community and Utah student-athletes goes back years, as he and former Utah head coach Urban Meyer were the first to donate to the Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Family Scholarship in 2008, which was created to benefit the opportunities of football student-athletes. Coach Whittingham is also a regular in the "Rivalry for Charity," an annual golf tournament with BYU that benefits the National Kidney Foundation.
 
"Coach Whittingham has excelled on the football field winning yet another Pac-12 South title, while also having Utah ranked as one of the top academic football programs in the country," said Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO & President Gary Stokan. "He was the recipient of the 2019 Dodd Trophy and continues to set the standard for the award, both on and off the field."

The Dodd Trophy presented by PNC - along with the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Award – celebrates the head coach of a FBS team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity.
 
A panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2021 season. The winner of the 2021 Dodd Trophy will be announced in Atlanta during the week of this year's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.