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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utes did what they were supposed to against Idaho State last Thursday - win, and win convincingly at that. Utah showcased its new up tempo offense and added two return touchdowns by wide receiver Kaelin Clay en route to a 56-14 win over the Bengals.
"There were many positives to take away from the Idaho State game," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We were explosive on offense, had big plays from our special teams and had the opportunity to get playing time for our young players. That being said, our run defense was definitely not where it needs to be and we will need to play with more physicality on both sides of the line of scrimmage this coming Saturday."
Next up for the Utes is a home date vs. Fresno State. The Bulldogs didn't fare too well in their first game of the season, throwing four interceptions while giving up over 700 yards of total offense in a 52-13 loss at USC.
- Utah (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) vs. Fresno State (0-1, 0-0 MWC)
- Date: Saturday September 6
- Time: 1 p.m. MDT
- Site: Rice-Eccles Stadium (45,807/FieldTurf)
- TV: Pac-12 Networks
- Radio: ESPN700 AM and Sirius 117/XM 202
- Series Record: Utah leads 5-4
- Last Meeting: 1999 (Utah 17-16)
Utah's 5-4 series lead over Fresno State is bolstered by a 4-1 mark in Salt Lake City, while Fresno is 3-0 on its home field. The most recent meeting was played on neutral turf at the 1999 Las Vegas Bowl, won by Utah, 17-16. Utah has won the last two games and four of the last five after getting the series off to a 1-3 start.
"They're an athletic team even though they didn't fare very well against [USC] Trojans. They do have very good players. They certainly have all of our attention and all of our respect. They have won 20 games over the last two years and were essentially one game away from the BCS last year. Even though last week was not really competitive for them, we fully realize how good they are. They're well-coached and have plenty of really good players. We need to play our best football. The game is at our place, which is a plus, and playing our previous game last Thursday gave our guys a little bit more time to rest and heal up. We'll get back on the field today and start preparing for Fresno State."
Ahhh, how good it is to have football back. Here are 10 things to know about this week's matchup:
- Utah (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) hosts Fresno State (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West) on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. MDT in Rice-Eccles Stadium. Some bleacher seats and standing room tickets remain and may be purchased at UtahUtes.com, 801-581-UTIX and the Rice-Eccles Stadium box office. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. Radio is ESPN700 AM and Sirius 117/XM 202.
- A celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the 1964 Liberty Bowl Championship team begins Friday at the Crimson Club Athletic Fund Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Some 30 Liberty Bowl team members will be on hand for the weekend's activities.
- Utah leads the series with Fresno State 5-4, including a 4-1 record in Salt Lake City. They last met in the 1999 Las Vegas Bowl, won by Utah 17-16.
- Utah and Fresno State competed as members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1992-98 and the Utes compiled a 3-2 conference record over the Bulldogs. Utah left for the Mountain West Conference in 1999, a league FSU would join in 2012 (when the Utes were in their second year in the Pac-12).
- Former Utah assistant coach Dave Schramm is the offensive coordinator at Fresno State. Schramm coached seven seasons at Utah from 2005-11 and was the offensive coordinator in 2009 and the co-OC in 2010. He also coached the running backs (2005-08, 2011), quarterbacks (2009) and tight ends (2010) at Utah.
- Against USC, Fresno State lost just its second season opener in the last 11 years. Under head coach Tim DeRuyter, the Bulldogs have not lost consecutive games in the same season in his two years as head coach. In 2012, his first season, Fresno State lost three regular season games, but came back in the game after the defeat and won by an average margin of 31.7 points.
- Under DeRuyter, Fresno State is 16-2 when scoring first and 17-1 when leading at halftime.
- Utah wide receiver Kaelin Clay's punt and kick returns for touchdowns was the first time a Pac-12 player had achieved such a feat in the same game since 1999. His first touchdown, a 46-yard punt return, came on his first time touching the football as a Ute.
- With 111 yards against Idaho State, Utah wide receiver Dres Anderson now has seven career 100-yard games, tying him for fourth in school history. He is also ninth in school history with 1,833 career receiving yards, needing only 10 to surpass Jereme Brooks for eighth.
- Utah is 293-154-11 against current Mountain West Conference teams: Air Force (13-14), Boise State (2-5), Colorado State (55-22-2), Fresno State (5-4), Hawaii (15-12), Nevada (4-5-1), New Mexico (33-17-2), San Diego State (17-12-1), San Jose State (6-1), UNLV (14-2), Utah State (78-29-4), Wyoming (51-31-1).
