U of U Seismograph Stations

The University of Utah Utes took on the Arizona State Sun Devils in Salt Lake City on November 4, 2023. The Utes came into the game with a #18 ranking and a record of 6-2 (3-2 Pac-12).

During the 2023 season, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations installed a seismometer on the ground floor of the stadium to record ground shaking related to football games. Below is a summary of some recordings during the ASU game.

The Utes were looking to bounce back after the previous week’s disappointing loss to the Oregon Ducks. The Utes started off fast scoring on their first drive and never looked back. The Utes defense didn’t allow an ASU touchdown all game and only gave up one field goal for a total of 3 points.

On the offensive front, the Utes had their most prolific scoring game of the year with 7 touchdowns and 55 total points to win the game 55-3. In total, the University of Utah had 513 offensive yards and only allowed 83 total yards on defense. Below are the 7 touchdowns ranked from most ground shaking to least:

1. Ja’Quinden Jackson 54 yard TD run with 12:26 left in the 3rd quarter.
2. Charlie Vincent 22 yard TD run with 0:08 left in the 4th quarter.
3. Munir McClain 20 yard TD pass with 0:54 left in the 2nd quarter.
4. Nate Johnson 59 yard TD run with 11:04 left in the 4th quarter.
5. Landen King 3 yard TD pass with 12:59 left in the 4th quarter.
6. Devaughn Vele 11 yard TD pass with 11:36 left in the 1st quarter.
7. Devaughn Vele 3 yard TD pass with 6:37 left in the 1st quarter.

The Utes were so dominant that the seismic signals as the game went on became smaller and smaller as Rice Eccles Stadium cleared out early in the game. However, there were a few #UteQuakes that are of note.

There was a decent seismic signal for Miles Battle’s overturned interception in the 2nd quarter as well as the kickoff following the Utes third touchdown at the end of the 2nd quarter as well as the following 3rd Down Jump. The kickoff was maybe the largest “in game” signal of the day because they played the same music they play when the Utes run out of the tunnel.

The University of Utah Utes took on the Oregon Ducks in Salt Lake City on October 28, 2023. The Utes came into the game with a #13 ranking and a record of 6-1 (3-1 Pac-12).

During the 2023 season, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations installed a seismometer on the ground floor of the stadium to record ground shaking related to football games. Below is a summary of some recordings during the Oregon game.

The Utes were riding a high coming into the game with the combination of the previous week’s win over the USC Trojans and the fact that ESPN College GameDay broadcasted from the University of Utah campus earlier in the day. This was evident in that the seismic signal from the Utes running out of the tunnel proved to be the largest of the season. However, this high quickly faded as the Oregon Ducks dominated the Utes winning the game 35-6.

The Ducks started off fast scoring on their first drive and never looked back. The Utes were held without a touchdown in a game for the first time during this season. Our only points came from two Cole Becker field goals in the first half.

The one play that showed a good seismic signal was the tackle for loss/fumble recovery by Junior Tafuna with 7:06 left in the 1st quarter.

In the words of the great coach Ted Lasso, the Utes need to be like a goldfish and forget this game and move on to the Arizona State University Sun Devils, who are coming to Salt Lake City on Saturday, November 4th. We’ll see you then and Go Utes!

Learn more about the UteQuake Project

Note: UteQuakes are not real earthquakes, they are measurements of ground motion caused by fans in the stadium.

For questions, please email Jamie Farrell at jamie.farrell@ utah.edu

The University of Utah Utes took on the Cal Bears in Salt Lake City on October 14, 2023. The Utes came into the game with a #16 ranking and a record of 4-1 (1-1 Pac-12).

During the 2023 season, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations installed a seismometer on the ground floor of the stadium to record ground shaking related to football games. Below is a summary of some recordings during the Cal game. The Utes started off slow and fell behind 0-7 at the end of the first quarter. However, the Utes owned the second quarter with a Ja’Quinden Jackson 3 Yd rushing touchdown at the 7:56 mark and a Sione Vaki 1 Yd rushing touchdown with 26 seconds left in the first half.

The Utes scored their third touchdown of the game with 9:11 left in the 3rd quarter when Bryson Barnes called his own number and ran 4 yards for the touchdown to put the Utes up 24-7.

Sione Vaki would add one more touchdown with 6:51 to go in the 4th quarter when he ran 72 yards to give the Utes a commanding 31-14 lead. This touchdown was the 2nd largest amplitude seismic signal of all touchdowns thus far in the season. Cole Becker would add another field goal at the 1:57 mark to finish the scoring and put the Utes up 34-14 where it would stay until the clock hit 0:00 to give the Utes the win and move them to 5-1 (2-1 Pac-12) on the season.

This game marked the coming out party for Sione Vaki as a 2-way player as he scored 2 rushing touchdowns and ran for a total of 158 yards. The Utes scored 4 touchdowns in the game and we ranked them from most ground shaking to least:

1. Sione Vaki 72 yard TD run with 6:51 left in the 4th quarter.
2. Sione Vaki 1 yard TD run with 0:26 left in the 2nd quarter.
3. Ja’Quinden Jackson 3 yard TD run with 7:56 left in the 2nd quarter.
4. Bryson Barnes 4 yard TD run with 9:11 left in the 3rd quarter.

Learn more about the UteQuake Project

Note: UteQuakes are not real earthquakes, they are measurements of ground motion caused by fans in the stadium.

For questions, please email Jamie Farrell at jamie.farrell@ utah.edu

September 23, 2023

The University of Utah Utes took on the UCLA Bruins in Salt Lake City on
September 23, 2023. It was the PAC-12 opener for the Utes for the 2023 season.
The Utes came into the game with a #11 ranking.
During the 2023 season, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations installed a
seismometer on the ground floor of the stadium to record ground shaking related to
football games. Below is a summary of some recordings during the UCLA game.

The UCLA game started off with a bang as Karene Reid intercepted Dante Moore
on the first play of the game and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown to put the
Utes up 7-0. This Pick Six ended up the 2nd largest TD signal for the season so
far.

The Utes scored one more touchdown with 1:01 left in the 1st half as Nate Johnson
connected with Landen King for a 7-Yd touchdown putting the Utes up 14-0 going
into the 2nd half.
The game ended up being a defensive slugfest as the Utes held the Bruins to a total
of 9 rushing yards for the entire game. The final defensive stand of the game
included 3 sacks and produced some impressive seismic signals.

The Utes went on to win the game 14-7 to move to 4-0 on the season. The Utes
scored 2 touchdowns (including one defensive touchdown) in the game and we
ranked them from most ground shaking to least:

1. Karene Reid 21 yard Pick Six with 14:48 left in the 1st quarter.
2. Landen King 7 yard TD pass with 1:01 left in the 2nd quarter.

Learn more about the UteQuake Project

Note: UteQuakes are not real earthquakes, they are measurements of ground motion caused by fans in the stadium.

For questions, please email Jamie Farrell at jamie.farrell@ utah.edu

Sept 16, 2023

The University of Utah Utes took on the Weber State University Wildcats in Salt
Lake City on September 16, 2023. It was the final non-conference game for the
Utes for the 2023 season. The Utes came into the game with a #12 ranking.
During the 2023 season, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations installed a
seismometer on the ground floor of the stadium to record ground shaking related to
football games. Below is a summary of some recordings during the Weber State
game.
Similar to the previous home game (Florida), the largest signal of the entire night
was when the Utes came out of the tunnel to take the field. However, This signal
was about three times smaller than during the Florida game two weeks earlier.
This makes sense when looking at how many fewer people were in the stadium
during this time.
The lack of interesting signals was the big story for the Weber State game. Again,
this is primarily due to the fact that there were many less fans in the stadium.
The Utes went on to win the game 31-7 to move to 3-0 on the season. The Utes
scored 4 touchdowns (including one defensive touchdown) in the game and we
ranked them from most ground shaking to least:

1. Lander Barton 23 yard Pick Six with 4:36 left in the 3rd quarter.
2. Jaylon Glover 2 yard TD run with 10:17 left in the 3rd quarter.
3. Money Parks 13 yard TD reception with 5:00 left int he 2nd quarter.
4. Nate Johnson 1 yard TD run with 8:35 left in the 1st quarter.

However, compared to the three touchdowns during the last home game (Florida),
these are an order of magnitude (factor of 10) less in amplitude and are hard to see
when plotted on the same scale.

Learn more about the UteQuake Project

Note: UteQuakes are not real earthquakes, they are measurements of ground motion caused by fans in the stadium.

For questions, please email Jamie Farrell at jamie.farrell@ utah.edu

August 31, 2023

The University of Utah Utes took on the University of Florida Gators in Salt Lake
City on August 31, 2023. It was the home opener in Rice-Eccles Stadium for the
Utes for the 2023 season. The Utes came into the game with a #14 preseason
ranking and Utes fans packed the stadium for a record breaking attendance of
53,644.
During the 2023 season, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations installed a
seismometer on the ground floor of the stadium to record ground shaking related to
football games. Below is a summary of some recordings during the Florida game.

Interestingly enough, the largest signal of the entire night happened shortly after
6:02 pm MDT but before the game even started. When the Utes came out of the
tunnel to take the field, the stadium was really shaking. This is primarily due to the
fact that there is music played over the stadium sound system that encourages all
fans to jump up and down in sync.

The opening kickoff showed little to no signal. The first sign of significant ground
shaking related to the football game came on the opening Florida drive on 3rd
down. The Rice-Eccles faithful, led by the MUSS, performed the 3rd Down Jump
perfectly forcing Florida into a false start. The Utes then stopped them on 3rd
down and the Gators punted. On Utah’s first offensive play of the game (and of
the season), Bryson Barnes connected with Money Parks on a 70 yard touchdown
pass and the stadium went wild. The ground shaking from that TD is quite evident
in the seismic data.

The Utes went on to win the game 24-11 to open the 2023 season 1-0 and avenging
a close loss to the Gators last year in Gainesville. The Utes scored 3 touchdowns
in the opening game and we ranked them from most ground shaking to least:

1. Nate Johnson 27 yard TD run with 7:50 left in the 2nd quarter.
2. Money Parks 70 yard TD reception with 13:10 left int he 1st quarter.
3. Bryson Barnes 5 yard TD run with 11:06 left in the 3rd quarter.

We will be adding all home touchdowns to this graphic as the season progresses
and we’ll see who makes Rice Eccles Stadium shake the most.

Learn more about the UteQuake Project

Note: UteQuakes are not real earthquakes, they are measurements of ground motion caused by fans in the stadium.

For questions, please email Jamie Farrell at jamie.farrell@ utah.edu