Utah vs UCLA #UteQuake

Top logo Banner for Utah vs UCLA

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.

Tunnel comp UCLA

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.

UCLA Opening


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.

UCLA final satnd


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.
TouchDowns ranked UCLA

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

Utah vs Weber State #UteQuake

Title banner Utah vs Weber State

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.

Peak Amplitudes from Utah vs Florida and Utah vs Weber State
Touchdowns ranked
Game attendance at the Tunnel Exit

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

Utah vs Florida #UteQuake

Title image

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.

Ures seismograph

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.

Touchdowns ranked by amplitude game 1

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