Estimated read time: 10-11 minutes
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FINAL
Score: Utah 56, San Jose State 3
When you think of improvement, most would think of a gradual process in which you saw results match your goals. For the Utes, they like to do it all at once.
Coming into the game as the MWC leader in penalties per game, the Utes only committed one, and that was at the 5:24 mark in the 4th quarter.
The Utes also improved dramatically in ball security. After fumbling four times against New Mexico last week, the Utes had zero fumbles and zero overall turnovers.
Jordan Wynn was back at quarterback after recovering from a sprained thumb on his throwing hand, and he didn't disappoint. Wynn finished 14 of 18 for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Utah improved to 4-0 while the Spartans fell to 1-3.
Next up for the Utes: at Iowa State, Sat, Oct 9
Next up for the Spartans: vs UC Davis Sat, Oct 2
Time Remaining: 2:34 Fourth Quarter
Score: Utah 56, San Jose State 3
Spoke too soon and jinxed the team... 5:24 left in game and Utes commit first penalty - a false start.
Griff Robles in at quarterback for the Utes, and leads the Utes to another score, this one a 7 yard run by Beau Burton. Burton appeared to be stopped by a pile of Spartan defenders, but bounced it to the outside and jogged into the end zone.
Time Remaining: 7:40 Fourth Quarter
Score: Utah 49, San Jose State 3
After leading the MWC coming into tonight's game in penalties per game, with 7:40 left in the 4th the Utes have yet to commit a penalty. Also, they have yet to commit a turnover after four fumbles last week against New Mexico.
Time Remaining: 13:32 Fourth Quarter
Score: Utah 49, San Jose State 3
Terrance Cain just threw a perfect pass to Reggie Dunn for a first down inside the Spartan 10 yard line. It set up a 1 yard run by Tauni Vakapuna. Utes up 49-3.
Time Remaining: 4:32 Third Quarter
Score: Utah 42, San Jose State 3
First half highlights are encoding and should be up in the next 15 minutes.
Jordan Wynn is done for the day, wearing a baseball cap on the sidelines. Terrance Cain will come in at quarterback for the Utes. Utes manage 9 yards, but are forced to punt. SJSU will take over on their own 10 yard line. Utah's second string defense in for some reps.
Time Remaining: 9:08 Third Quarter
Score: Utah 42, San Jose State 3
Who says the Utes can't run the I-formation? The Utes just methodically marched 71 yards in 11 plays. Ironically, the Utes now have three 11 play scoring drives - 69, 82 and now 71. Utes up 42-3.
HALF
Score: Utah 35, San Jose State 3
Utah is dominating both sides of the ball in a decisive 35-3 first half over San Jose State.
Utah has 238 total yards while holding the Spartans to only 70. SJSU has only converted 1 third down attempt (1-7), while the Utes have four (4-6).
First Half Stats
| SJSU | UTAH | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 3 | 12 |
| 3rd down | 1-7 | 4-6 |
| 4th down | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Total Yards | 70 | 238 |
| Passing | 36 | 93 |
| Rushing | 34 | 145 |
| Penalties | 1-5 | 0-0 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 16:48 | 13:12 |
Jordan Wynn has been efficient in his first game back, throwing 10-14 for 93 yards and 2 TDs. I wouldn't expect him to play in the second half with such a big lead.
Time Remaining: 2:02 Second Quarter
Score: Utah 35, San Jose State 3
Wynn looks sharp, connecting with Dallin Rodgers for a 36 yard TD over the middle. Utes rolling, up 35-3. Wynn is 10 of 14 for 93 yards and 2 TDs. Not bad at all.
Time Remaining: 9:40 Second Quarter
Score: Utah 28, San Jose State 3
Another three and out, and another blocked punt. At least time it was the Utes that blocked it. Utah ball on SJSU 24 yard line.
Eddie Wide running hard for the Utes - definitely making his case for more playing time. Wide with 5 carries for 35 yards (7.0 average) and just added an 8 yard touchdown run. Utes up 28-3 with 9:40 remaining in 2nd quarter.
Time Remaining: 12:35 Second Quarter
Score: Utah 21, San Jose State 3
We knew the Utes could score quickly, but we haven't seen long drives that ate clock and have the ball consistently move down the field. Allowing their defense to catch a breather, the Utes drove 11 plays for 69 yards, scoring on a 10 yard pass from Jordan Wynn to Shawn Asiata, his first career touchdown. Utah 14, SJSU 3.
Utah's defense forces a SJSU three and out, and this time the squib kick backfires, bigtime. La Selca's punt is deflected off a helmet, bounces back into the backfield, and Utah's Reggie Topps returns the ball for a touchdown. Utah 21, SJSU 3.
Time Remaining: 3:55 First Quarter
Score: Utah 7, San Jose State 3
Wynn starts 3-4 for 20 yards, but the Utes can only get 1 first down on the drive and are forced to punt. SJSU ball on their own 20.
The Spartans switch quarterbacks, going with Jr. Matt Faulkner. So far this season he is 3-8 for 25 yards - not sure what the coaching staff is thinking. Faulkner completes 1 pass for a gain of 11, but Utah's defensive line continues to be dominant, sacking the Spartans and forcing a punt, again by QB Jordan La Selca. The squib kick goes 42 yards with no return - the Utes will have it on their own 31 yard line
Time Remaining: 8:24 First Quarter
Score: Utah 7, San Jose State 3
Utah won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, so San Jose State will start the game on offense. The Utes are fired up, only allowing a 10 yard return. SJSU will start on their own 12 yard line. Jr. LB Matt Martinez and the Utah defense hold the Spartans to just three yards on their first three plays. The Spartans don't want Utah PR Shaky Smithson to take one back on them, so QB Jordan La Selca does a running punt. Utah will start with excellent field position.
Don't blink, but the Utes just scored. In just one play, Reggie Dunn took a reverse pitch from Eddie Wide 43 yards for the score to put the Utes up 7-0. Oh, Jordan Wynn did get the start, but since the Utes scored so quickly (1 play) most people didn't notice.
San Jose State answers with a 71 yard kickoff return to set themselves up with great field position on the Utah 20 yard line. SJSU stalls inside the 5 yard line, and settles for a 20 yard field goal by Harrison Waid. Utes 7, SJSU 3.
Pregame Blog
Coming off a 56-14 win over New Mexico, the Utes turn their focus to a team which has played possibly the toughest schedule in college football so far this season.
San Jose State has played the No. 1 team (Alabama), the No. 11 team (Wisconsin), and after a breather against Southern Utah will travel to Salt Lake City to take on the No. 13 Utah Utes. So in the first four weeks of the season they will have faced three teams in the top 15, and all of those games on the road.
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham saw a lot of positives in Utah's win over New Mexico. "We were productive on offense and Terrance Cain was particularly effective throwing the ball. Our defense was able to control the game, allowing the Lobos just one offensive touchdown. Our special teams performed well across the board and for the second week in a row Shaky Smithson came up big in the return game."
While the Utes dominated the scoreboard, they still have some work to get done. Ball security was again a big issue as the Utah fumbled the ball four times.
Update: Jordan Wynn looks sharp throwing the ball in warm-ups. I would expect him to get the start tonight.
Also, looking for TV coverage of tonight's game? Well, there isn't on TV, but KSL will have you covered. We will post first half highlights at halftime and will have two cameras covering the game. Then, watch SportsBeat Saturday at 10:35 for highlights and post-game interviews.
No. 13 Utah Utes (3-0, 2-0 MWC)
vs San Jose State (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Date: Saturday, September 25, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. MT
Site: Rice-Eccles Stadium (45,017 FieldTurf) Salt Lake City
TV: none Radio: ESPN 700
Series Record: Utah leads 5-1
Last Meeting:2009; Utah 24, SJSU 14
Kickoff Weather: Sunny; Temps: low-80s
One of the bright spots for San Jose State is quarterback Jordan La Secla. "Jordan is playing really well," Spartan Head Coach Mike MacIntyre said. "He's starting to get a feel for our offense."
La Secla's best game came against Wisconsin, completing 20 of 26 for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns. They played the Badgers tough for a half before eventually falling, 27-14.
First-year head coach Mike MacIntyre picked up his first win last week as San Jose State defeated Southern Utah 16- 11.
"Their offense is in the pistol now, and they are doing things different there," Whittingham said. "They seem to be playing hard and with enthusiasm but it is what you expect when you change coaching staffs -- a little different look."
************************
Keys to the Game for Utah
- Hold on to the ball - Four fumbles last week may be easy to overcome against New Mexico, but that can't continue come Air Force/TCU/Notre Dame/BYU.
- Get Jordan back in the groove - Let QB Jordan Wynn throw enough to get back into rhythm
MY PREDICTION: Utah 52, San Jose State 3. Let me know what you think. Email me your predictions/questions rojackson@ksl.com
Last Time They Met ...
SAN JOSE, CA -- It wasn't pretty, but the Utes extended their winning streak to 16 games as they beat San Jose State 24-14 Saturday night.
Terrance Cain threw for 247 yards on 18-31 passing, with 1 touchdown. The touchdown was a 51 yard quick strike to Jereme Brooks to give the Utes a 7 point lead early in the 4th quarter.
Ball security and special teams issues kept the Utes from putting up more points. Utah fumbled the ball twice, and both times they were recovered by the Spartans. Ben Vroman also missed three field goals, prompting coach Kyle Whittingham to put in JC transfer Joe Phillips into the game with 12 seconds left. Phillips made a 26 yard field goal to put the Utes up 10.
Utah Miscellaneous Stats
- Utah's home win streak, now at 19 games, is the longest home win streak in MWC history, the second-longest in school history and the thirdlongest active win streak in the nation.
- Utah leads the Mountain West Conference and is ranked in the top 20 in the nation in both passing efficiency offense and passing efficiency defense. Utah's 177.7 passing efficiency offense is No. 7 nationally and its 101.8 passing efficiency defense is No. 19.
- The Utes have produced 72% of their points (87) in the second and third quarters
- Utah had 14 tackles for loss against New Mexico, which is tied for the second-most in a game in school history. It is the most Utah has had in one game since tallying 14 TFL against Boise State in 1999
- The Utah defense has given up just three touchdowns this season. Other touchdowns came after turnovers or on special teams
San Jose State Miscellaneous Stats
- San Jose State hasn't won a non-conference, regular- season road game since 2002. The Spartans have lost 17 straight such games.
