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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Jordan Wynn and No. 9 Utah are rolling into the toughest part of their schedule.
Wynn threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns in drizzling rain, and the Utes thrashed Colorado State 59-6 on Saturday to stay unbeaten.
"Everything was clicking. We feel fully prepared for every team that appears on our schedule," the sophomore quarterback said.
The Utes (4-0 Mountain West Conference) ran their record to 7-0 for the third time in the last seven years. In the 2004 and 2008 seasons, the Utes went undefeated and won BCS bowl games.
After beating up on mostly bad teams for the first half of the season, the Utes face Air Force, No. 5 TCU and Notre Dame in the next three weeks.
"We're playing our best right now. We played a good game in all three phases, but we have a lot of tough challenges ahead of us, starting this week," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
We played a good game in all three phases, but we have a lot of tough challenges ahead of us, starting this week.
–Kyle Whittingham
Wynn went 23-of-29 and reached the 300-yard mark for the third time in his career. With the game in hand, Wynn didn't play after Matt Asiata's rushing touchdown pushed Utah to a 38-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
"We played well but we can play better. We took advantage of some opportunities tonight, and we'll need to do that going forward," Wynn added.
Pete Thomas threw for 185 yards, and the Rams (2-6, 1-3 MWC) were able to move the ball against Utah in the first half but could only net two field goals after getting inside Utah's 10 yard line twice.
"When you get in the red zone, you've got to score touchdowns, and we didn't do that," Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild said.
The Rams' defense forced Utah to punt once, and the Utes reserves kept the scoring going.
Third-string running back Sausan Shakerin ran for 80 yards and a touchdown, and Utah compiled a season-high 648 yards of total offense; the fifth-highest mark in school history.
On the first drive of the game, Asiata plunged into the end zone from a yard out on fourth down.
After recovering a fumbled punt, the Rams got a 27-yard field goal from Ben DeLine in the second quarter.
"There were some flashes in the first half," Fairchild said.
As they have all season, the Utes dominated the second quarter to take a 24-6 halftime lead. Utah has outscored its opponents 134-13 in the period.
Wynn, who threw three interceptions against Wyoming in his last outing, found Eddie Wide for a 30-yard TD pass to begin the onslaught.
"It was definitely in my mind this week to bounce back and play well again. I wanted to take care of the ball and make plays for us today," Wynn said.
It was definitely in my mind this week to bounce back and play well again.
–Jordan Wynn
Wide also rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown, and Asiata had two rushing scores, but most of the damage was done through the air (427 yards) as the Rams crowded the line of scrimmage.
Utah even employed a little trickery.
In the second quarter, Joe Phillips caught the Rams by surprise with a slow-rolling onside kick that barely traveled the requisite 10 yards before the kicker fell on it for an extra Utah possession. Phillips capped it with his 18th straight field goal, tied for the longest active streak in the country, from 36 yards to put Utah ahead 17-3.
"We saw it on film and thought it would work against them. We were tempted to open the game with it, but opted to wait until the second or third kickoff," Whittingham said.
The Rams drove right back down the field but bogged down inside the 10 and had to settle for another DeLine field goal.
The Utes quickly responded with a 71-yard touchdown pass to DeVonte Christopher, who caught the ball from Wynn and blazed untouched to the end zone.
"They just blitzed on that play. I got a good jump on the route, Jordan got the ball out quick, and the rest is history," said Christopher, who had five receptions for 111 yards.
The Utes beat the Rams for the fifth time in a row. The Utah-CSU series dates back to 1902, but this 79th meeting may be the last one for the foreseeable future as the Utes start play in the Pac-12 in 2011.
Utah extended its home winning streak to 21 games, the third-longest string in the nation.
"We're playing well, and we got to just keep it rolling," Wynn said.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
