SALT LAKE CITY — The Utes' thrilling 43-42 win over the previously-unbeaten USC Trojans Saturday night was a special win.
The team paid tribute to two of their former players who lost their lives in the last two years.
Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe both donned #22 when they stepped foot on the field for the Utes. They also both lost their lives to gun violence.
An accidental shooting on Christmas Day of 2020 took the life of Jordan. Not even a year later, Lowe was killed in a shooting in September of 2021.
The mothers of the two players, Takka Jordan and Donna Lowe, were in the stands at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday night.
The Utes took the field with custom-made helmets, depicting both Jordan and Lowe, with the letters "TJ AL" on the back.
READ: Utes' victory extra special for family of recently-passed superfan
Following the game, emotions were still running high as both mothers were presented with game balls.
"Any time you see them, just such strong people and so resilient," Utah quarterback Cameron Rising said in a post-game press conference. "Whenever they... come out, they bring an energy with them that that just radiates throughout the whole entire building or room or whatever... and we just build off that."
Standing right in between the two women as they each received a game ball was longtime Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham, who coached both of their sons.
"It was great to be able to get that win with Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe's mothers here at the game, and internally we had dedicated this game, you know, we didn't announce it to anybody, but we had dedicated this game to our fallen teammates," Whittingham said. "How rewarding to be able to give those mothers the game ball in the locker room after the game."
Those two game balls were presented by redshirt freshman running back Ja'Quinden Jackson.
Jackson is from the Dallas, Texas area, like both Jordan and Lowe. He is a recipient of the TJAL Memorial Scholarship.
The emotional game also included a "moment of loudness" between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. The tradition has become a staple in honoring the lives of both Jordan and Lowe.
VIDEO BELOW: Artist hand-paints 150 Utah football helmets honoring Ty Jordan, Aaron Lowe
