GAME NOTES: Winners of three straight games, the 22nd-ranked Utah Utes make the trip to Logan this weekend where they will contend with in-state rival Utah State at Romney Stadium.
Last week, the Utes exacted their revenge against UNLV from a year ago when the Rebels blanked Utah in a 27-0 decision. After a bit of a slow start, Utah put it all together in the second half and ran away from the Rebels in a 42-21 decision in Salt Lake City. In front of the third-largest crowd in Rice-Eccles history, head coach Kyle Whittingham was happy for the win, but also notes that his team is still not firing on all cylinders. "We came away with the win but there was some similarity to our first game where our offense was effective in one half and not as effective in another half." Already 1-0 in Mountain West Conference action this season, the Utes are set to get back to league play a week from now with a meeting against Air Force on the road.
While the Utes are enjoying a three-game win streak, dating back to last season, the Aggies have yet to find their way into the win column in 2008. Last weekend, the Western Athletic Conference member was swept away by Oregon in a demoralizing 66-24 setback. A week earlier, USU was dropped by UNLV in the season opener by a score of 27-17.
At 107 games, this relationship is also the 12th longest in the nation, with Utah having played its very first game versus the Aggies back in 1892. The Utes, who have won 10 straight versus USU, lead the series by a count of 75-28-4 and are 24-11 in Logan over the years. Last season Utah posted a 34-18 win in the annual meeting.
Quarterback Brian Johnson seemed to put it all together against the Rebels on Saturday night, throwing for 183 yards and two touchdowns while also leading the program with 80 yards rushing and taking one carry 56 yards into the end zone as well. Matt Asiata continued to confound opponents by taking direct snaps and even pulled off a bit of trickery when he hit Jereme Brooks with a 32-yard TD strike early in the fourth quarter.
The team as a whole generated a substantial 225 yards rushing thanks to the efforts of Johnson, Asiata and Darrell Mack, which is just the way coach Whittingham has been drawing it up. "We like what we've got with the 1-2 punch of Darrell and Matt...We hope to get over 100 yards combined from both guys." With the team averaging just 130.5 ypg on the ground it appears the burden of moving the squad still falls on the shoulders and arm of Johnson who currently ranks third in the Mountain West Conference in total offense with more than 250 ypg.
Unlike the Michigan game when the Utes allowed the Wolverines to fight their way back into contention in the opener, the Utah defense stepped up the pressure in the second half this time around and almost completely shut down the UNLV offense, save for a meaningless touchdown midway through the fourth frame when the outcome was never in doubt. The Rebels were allowed just 288 yards of total offense as Steve Sylvester tallied a team-best eight tackles for the visitors, while Greg Newman accounted for two of the team's stops behind the line of scrimmage. Even though the unit dominated the game for the most part, there are still improvements to be made according to the head coach. "We were much more physical in the front seven on defense than we were in the first half. It was another positive performance by the defense. We didn't create any takeaways and we've got to start making that happen. That doesn't do our offense any favors." More than anything, this group needs to find a balance because in two games they've shown two completely different efforts and that's not something they'll be able to get away with against TCU and BYU down the line in conference play.
For the second time in as many games to start the 2008 campaign, backup quarterback Diondre Borel was summoned off the bench to finish what Sean Setzer had started. Unfortunately, the outcome was the same as the first time as well, only uglier in a 66-24 loss to nationally-ranked Oregon in Eugene. USU's offense posted a mere 88 yards rushing and only 306 yards of total offense, compared to the 688 yards produced by the home team. Borel converted 16-of-24 passes for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also registered a team-best 31 yards rushing in the losing effort.
The flip-flopping of quarterbacks has taken a toll on the Aggies thus far, with the team averaging just 310 ypg in total offense, which is sixth in the WAC and 90th in the nation this week. It also doesn't help that the squad is 101st in the country in running the ball with just 99.5 ypg either. It is only a matter of time before head coach Brent Guy decides to insert Borel into the starting lineup in order to give his team a fighting chance from the opening kick.
Before the Aggies knew what hit them, they trailed by four touchdowns in the middle of the second quarter on Saturday, which is not exactly the way the coaches drew it up during their weekly preparation for Oregon. The Ducks cranked out an incredible 408 yards rushing and were allowed to convert a healthy 9-of-14 on third down because of the pounding attack on the ground.
Jordan Glass led Utah State with 11 tackles, while Casey Davis tallied the only sack of the game for the group. "It was hard for us, a lot of times, physically to stand toe-to-toe with them and defend the run," is the only way coach Guy could defend the efforts of his defense. "A couple times in the open field, we would have guys that had angles on their players, but a lot like Washington the week before, we just could not run them down."
Because Oregon simply destroyed the team in the trenches, USU is currently ranked 115th in the country in run defense allowing 270 ypg and is now 113th in scoring defense as well, permitting an unsightly 46.5 ppg.
Even though the Utes will be the visitors this weekend, Whittingham doesn't seem to have too many concerns. "Utah State is a great place to play. Whenever we play there it is a packed house. A lot of our fans travel up there." And with that kind of support following the team they will be rewarded with yet another significant victory.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Utah 49, Utah State 17
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