Welcome to the morning after.

The eight-month romance with the 2008 Utah football team is officially over. All those accomplishments -- a 13-0 record, a 31-17 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, a No. 2 national ranking in The Associated Press Poll -- are soooo last year.

"Coming off the year we had last year, it was an exciting year," coach Kyle Whittingham said.

"But that's in the rearview mirror. It's time to focus on the task at hand. There's new opportunities, new challenges ahead. We've got a lot of new faces. We're not concerned with topping last year; we just want to be the best team we can be."

The Utes are hoping that the momentum that lingers from last season as well as the best recruiting class (on paper) in school history are the catalysts for a successful 2009.

Utah, however, heads into the season with two huge question marks: Who will replace Brian Johnson at quarterback and who will replace Louie Sakoda as kicker/punter?

Brian Johnson departs as the winningest quarterback in school history with a 26-7 mark, and the Utes won 21 of the last 22 games he started. He also finished his career with the most completions in a Utah uniform and second-most passing yards, touchdown passes and completion percentage.

"I don't know (how the Utes will replace Johnson), to be honest," senior offensive tackle Zane Beadles said. "He had things you can't coach and you can't teach. He was a winner, a great leader and had a quiet calm confidence about him."

Utah must establish a starter among the candidates: junior Corbin Louks -- who saw playing time in special packages last season -- junior college transfer Terrance Cain and true freshman Jordan Wynn. Wynn, who graduated early to participate in spring practice, made the battle a three-man race with his performance late during the sessions.

Senior kicker Brett Vroman, a backup to Sakoda for three seasons, will battle incoming freshman Nick Marsh for playing time. Marsh also is in the mix at punter with redshirt freshman Sean Sellwood.

Defensively, the Utes lost some key pieces but have continuity under Whittingham, the defensive coordinator-turned head coach who begins his 16th season with the program.

Utah also went undefeated in 2004 and first crashed the BCS party with a Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh. Whittingham was promoted to head coach the next season, and the Utes barely earned bowl eligibility with a come-from-behind victory over arch-rival Brigham Young to finish the regular season 6-5.

Whittingham is counting on that experience to help him lead the Utes to a better effort in the second go-around after a fantasy season.

"I think when you've been through something like that, you can draw from it," he said. "But more important, there was a lot of transition that year. There's more continuity this time from both a coaching and a player standpoint."

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