Kyle Whittingham wins Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week

It was a big week for the coaches this past week with their game planning and prep for Stanford. The program’s back was up against the wall, and Coach Whittingham and his crew got the team as prepared as I’ve seen them in a long time. It was about as clean of a game that I’ve seen the Utes play in a couple of years, and I think Whitt and the coaches deserve a lot of credit. On Tuesday, it was released that Coach Whittingham was named the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Week, which goes along with the Pac-12 Honors for Jaylon Johnson and Matt Gay. You can read the full release below from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, but it’s great to see a Utah team live up to their potential on the road against a top 15 program. Now it’s going to be key that the Utes replicate this performance going forward to make a run for a division title.

Here’s the full release:

ATLANTA (Oct. 9, 2018) – Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl today announced that Utah Head Football Coach Kyle Whittingham has been selected as The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week.

The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week award honors the football coach whose program embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week.

Coach Whittingham and the Utes scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat No. 14 Stanford 40-21 on Saturday in Stanford Stadium. The Utah defense yielded only 42 yards rushing and forced four turnovers that led to 17 points. Utah is now 2-0 against Stanford when the Cardinal is ranked in the Associated Press poll and are an impressive 4-0 all-time in Stanford Stadium.

“Coach Whittingham and the Utes had one of the most impressive defensive performances of the weekend to defeat Stanford for the fourth time in their last five matchups,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “Whittingham has continuously shown impressive leadership throughout his 14 years as head coach of Utah.”

In his 14th season at Utah, Kyle Whittingham is the longest-tenured head coach in the Pac-12 and the third-longest tenured coach at the same school in the NCAA FBS. Whittingham, who came to Utah as an assistant coach in 1994, is in his 25th season on the coaching staff and has contributed to more victories (199) than any football coach in school history. Overall, Whittingham has a 114-58 head coaching record, including an 11-1 mark in bowl games. Whittingham ranks top-10 in all-time bowl victories by a head coach and currently holds the highest bowl win percentage (92 percent) in NCAA history.

In addition to his efforts on the field, Coach Whittingham has helped lead his program academically with an Academic Progress Rating (APR) score of 983 last season, which was tied for the 19th best score in the nation. Academic achievement has been a staple under Whittingham, highlighted by the program’s four Academic All-Americans during his tenure as head coach. The Utes also received the 2017 Academic Achievement Award from the American Football Coaches Association for recording a perfect 100 percent NCAA Graduation on Success Rate (GSR) that year.

“Managing a program that is not only successful on the field, but is also capable of winning academic achievement awards is not an easy task,” said Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO & President Gary Stokan. “Coach Dodd would be proud of Coach Whittingham’s emphasis on running a quality football program both on and off the field.”

2018 Dodd Coach of the Week Winners

Week

Coach

School

1

Gus Malzahn

Auburn

2

Mike Bobo

Colorado State

3

Mike Gundy

Oklahoma State

4

Bobby Wilder

Old Dominion

5

Brian Kelly

Notre Dame

6

Kyle Whittingham

Utah

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 2018 season. The winner of the 2018 Dodd Trophy will be announced in Atlanta during Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Week.

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About the Dodd Trophy

The Dodd Trophy was established in 1976 to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1A) head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field. The award honors the coach of a team which enjoys a successful football season, while also stressing the importance of academic excellence and character, as did Coach Dodd’s teams during his 22 years as head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Coach Dodd remains one of college football’s legendary figures, both as a coach and a player. Coach Dodd was a native of Galax, Virginia, and played his college ball at the University of Tennessee where his team had 27 wins, one loss and two ties during the three years he played. Coach Dodd was selected to the National College Football Hall of Fame both as a coach and as a player. Additional information about the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation can be found at www.TheDoddTrophy.com. For news, updates and insider information, follow us on Twitter at @DoddTrophy or find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DoddTrophy.

About the Peach Bowl, Inc.

Peach Bowl, Inc. operates the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the New Year’s Six Bowls selected to host the College Football Playoff. Last year, the Peach Bowl celebrated its Golden Season, including its 50-year history of traditions and successes as the nation’s ninth-oldest bowl organization. The Bowl has earned a reputation as one of the most competitive bowls in the country, with 54 percent of its games being decided by a touchdown or less. Peach Bowl, Inc. has disbursed $240.5 million in team payouts over its 50-year history. Peach Bowl, Inc. also leads all other bowl game organizations in charitable and scholarship contributions, giving more than $31.6 million to organizations in need since 2002. Peach Bowl, Inc. also runs the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament, manages The Dodd Trophy national coach of the year award and led the relocation and financial foundation of the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta. For more information, visit Chick-fil-APeachBowl.com or follow us on Twitter at @CFAPeachBowl and find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/CFAPeachBowl.