Utah’s Kyle Whittingham will reunite with Idaho State, where it all started.

(Photo courtesy of Idaho State University) Kyle Whittngham poses with his Idaho State kicking specialists during the team's media day in 1990.The first half of Kyle Whittingham’s first game as a full-time college football coach hardly could have gone better, from his perspective on the Idaho State sideline. One of his Bengals linebackers returned an interception of a Scott Mitchell pass for a touchdown and ISU trailed Utah only 13-10 at halftime.

The third quarter? Another story entirely, just like the rest of that winless 1988 season in Whittingham’s introduction to the profession in ISU’s downtrodden program at age 28.

Three decades later, approaching Utah’s all-time wins record and having…