In the 2021 season, the Utah Utes triumphed amid an unthinkable loss. Within a nine-month span between December 2020 and September 2021, running back Ty Jordan and cornerback Aaron Lowe both died.
Both players were at the front of mind as the No. 20 Utes prepared to face the No. 7 USC Trojans at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City at 8 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX, giving the marquee Pac-12 matchup even more emotional weight.
The Utes rallied to win their first-ever Pac-12 championship in 2021, while the Trojans are 6-0 so far in 2022 thanks to several talented transfer players in their first year under new head coach Lincoln Riley.
Utah will wear its alternate black jerseys on Saturday and has encouraged fans also to wear black for the team's "Dark Mode" game which takes place annually on the Utes' last home game before Halloween. But Utah announced Thursday that it would also be wearing special hand-painted helmets depicting Jordan and Lowe. The helmets also bear a logo that inverts a No. 22 into a heart containing both players' initials.
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Jordan wore No. 22 during the 2020 season when he became a Freshman All-American. After Jordan's passing, his close friend Lowe changed his number from 2 to 22 for the 2021 season. The number was retired in 2021 in memory of both players following Lowe's death.
Utah also honors Lowe and Jordan with a "Moment of Loudness" between the third and fourth quarters of every home game, in which the entire crowd yells in unison when directed. The practice started in 2021 to honor Jordan, whose only collegiate season was played in crowd-less empty stadiums due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions and was extended to honor Lowe after his death.
It carried into the 2021 Pac-12 championship game, where Utah blew out Oregon 38-10, and the 2022 Rose Bowl, where Utah lost 48-45 to Ohio State. In a video narrated by head coach Kyle Whittingham, Utah announced that the tradition would be made permanent for 2022 and beyond.
Utah currently owns a 4-2 record in 2022 thanks to road losses at Florida and No. 11 UCLA. However, the Utes have not lost at home in front of fans since 2018. USC, the last visiting team to win at Rice-Eccles during the pandemic-altered 2020 campaign, will try to accomplish the feat again on Saturday.
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