SALT LAKE CITY - Utah (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) plays Washington State (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12) on Saturday, Nov. 19 in Pullman, Wash. Kickoff is 2 p.m. PT (3 p.m. MT) in Martin Stadium. The game will be televised on KJZZ TV and Fox College Sports Atlantic. Radio is ESPN700 AM (espn700sports.com), SIRIUS 139 and XM 195.

Utah (6-4) at Washington State (4-6)

Game 11 Notes

• Utah (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) plays Washington State (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12)
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011
• Time: 2:00 p.m. PT (3 MT)
• Site: Martin Stadium (32,248/FieldTurf) Pullman, Wash.
• TV: KJZZ, Fox College Sports Atlantic
• Radio: ESPN700, SIRIUS 139/XM 195
• Series Record: Tied 5-5
• Last Meeting: 2000 (WSU 38-21)
• Kickoff Weather: Cloudy and cold, temps in the upper 20s

Series Snapshot ...
The series is knotted at 5-5 and Utah leads 3-1 in Pullman. The most memorable game was the 1992 Copper Bowl in Tucson, Ariz., when the Drew Bledsoe-led Cougars held on for a 31-28 victory after taking a 21-0 first-quarter lead. Utah, playing in its first bowl game in 28 years, missed a chance to tie the game with 3:19 remaining when Chris Yergensen's 20-yard field goal attempt went wide left.

> Utah is bowl eligible for the ninth-consecutive season, including all seven years under head coach Kyle Whittingham. It will be the 10th bowl game in 11 years for the Utes.

> Utah has won four of its last five games and is riding a three-game win streak (Oregon State, Arizona and UCLA). Utah's other win during that stretch was at Pitt on Oct. 15, while the only loss was to Cal.

> With last week's 31-6 win over UCLA, Whittingham evened his all-time record against Pac-12 schools at 7-7.

> Saturday's game in Pullman is Utah's final regular season road game. Utah concludes its home schedule on Friday, Nov. 25 against Colorado. Tickets are still available for the CU game.

> The series with Washington State is tied 5-5 with Utah leading 3-1 in Pullman. Washington State won the most recent contest in 2000 in Salt Lake City. Utah beat the Cougars in 1999, 27-7 in Martin Stadium.

> Saturday's game marks the first time since 1977 that Utah has played an opponent other than Brigham Young on Nov. 19. Utah's last Nov. 19 game was a 41-34 win at BYU in 2005. Utah's all-time record on Nov. 19 is 7-3-1.

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Utah came out of the UCLA win injury free. In other injury news, freshman QB Tyler Shreve, who was already slated for a redshirt season, will have surgery on his right thumb on Nov. 15. Shreve becomes the eighth player Utah has lost for the season to injury. The others are: starting quarterback Jordan Wynn (shoulder surgery Oct. 20), co-starting fullback/tight end Dallin Rogers (knee surgery Oct. 24), co-starting safety Keith McGill (shoulder surgery Oct. 20), co-starting offensive guard Latu Heimuli (foot surgery Nov. 4), starting punt returner Charles Henderson (knee surgery Oct. 10) and frequently-used backup linebackers Boo Andersen (knee surgery Oct. 31) and J.J. Williams (foot surgery Nov. 4) ... Utah has played five true freshmen this season: safety Eric Rowe, defensive end Nate Fakahafua, running back Harvey Langi, receiver/punt returner Henderson and receiver Quinton Pedroza. ### OUTSIDE THE LINES

Utah ran its string of consecutive sellouts to 11 games with last week's crowd of 45,039 in 45,017-seat in Rice-Eccles Stadium ... 500 seats remain for the Utah-Colorado game on Nov. 25. Tickets may be purchased at 801-581-UTIX, UtahUtes.com and the Rice-Eccles Stadium box office. ### U-TWEETS

The Utes are 6-0 in games when they lead after three quarters and 6-0 when John White rushes for 100 yards ... Utah is 3-2 at home, on the road, on grass, on artificial turf, in daylight and in night games ... UCLA failed to score a touchdown against Utah, scoring all six of its points on field goals. ### DEFENSIVE DIAMONDS

Utah, the Pac-12's scoring defense leader, ranks among the Pac-12 and NCAA leaders in a number of defensive categories. Utah has held five of its 10 opponents to under 100 net rushing yards: BYU (11), Oregon State (32), Pittsburgh (70), Arizona State (74) and Montana State (75). The defense has also scored 24 points this season, two on interception returns and two on fumble returns. Complete Utah rankings can be found in the PDF version. ### LAST WEEK

John White rushed for 167 yards and scored three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) and the defense held UCLA to two field goals in a 31-6 win over the Bruins on a snowy night in Salt Lake City. Utah, which became bowl eligible with the victory, got two clutch interceptions from Conroy Black--one which he returned 67 yards for a touchdown. After falling behind 3-0, White scored three touchdowns to give Utah a 21-3 lead before UCLA scored again on a fourth-quarter field goal. Brian Blechen led Utah with eight tackles (1 TFL) and a forced fumble, while Eric Rowe had a sack and two pass breakups to go with his four tackles. Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference

Opening statement:
I thought we played another good football game against UCLA. It was very much the same blueprint that we've used for the last few weeks. The defense was solid from start to finish. We just gave up two field goals, and one of those was in a short field situation. We only had one miscue on special teams. A dropped punt return was the only negative, otherwise we did a very good job on special teams. The offense did another outstanding job doing what we need to do to win the game. John White scored three touchdowns, and we didn't turn the ball over. Jon Hays did what we needed him to do to win. It's a positive step for the team and the program. It was good to see Conroy Black get two interceptions, one which was returned for a touchdown, as part of the defensive effort. The front seven played well on defense also. Star Lotulelei is a guy who rarely shows up in the stats, but the presence he has on the field for us is big. He's a big part of our success on defense.

We are in a similar situation to last week, where Washington is coming off a big win over Arizona State, ironically enough. Their freshman quarterback (Connor Halliday) is playing exceptionally well. He threw for almost 500 yards against Arizona State. There is not a lot of tape on him, and we have to prepare for him. Their receiver (Marquess) Wilson is a good target. We'll go up there and play in cold weather again, which shouldn't bother us a bit.

On WSU quarterback Connor Halliday:
We got a good sampling of what he's all about in the game against ASU. He played all but the first few series, so we have a good amount of film on him. He's a pocket passer, much like Brock Osweiler and Nick Foles. He is big, and likes to stay in the pocket and throw the ball.

On Shawn Asiata:
We're grateful that he did come back and earned a scholarship. We awarded one to him and Tauni Vakapuna. Having Shawn on the field is like having a sixth offensive lineman. He's a sledgehammer in blocking. He is instrumental in our run game. We have given him the ball a few times on throws, and we may hand him the ball once or twice to see what happens. Essentially, he's an offensive guard in the backfield, and he's been instrumental to our success running the ball.

On the defense:
First of all, they have played well. We had one bad half of run defense against Washington. Other than that, it's been very consistent. We talked all preseason of the strength of the line, and that has really been the starting point. We're playing very good at linebacker and effectively in the backfield, but it starts up front. Great defense starts up front. We've had excellent play from the defensive line and great consistency from the entire defense.

On the pass defense against Pac-12 quarterbacks:
It's a league full of great quarterbacks. The kid we will see this week appears to be in the same role, and he's just a redshirt freshman. We've got to be prepared. Our pass defense has historically been good. This year the completion percentage has been a little higher than in years past because of the accuracy of these quarterbacks. That's the nature of this conference - it's filled with accurate passers. Even though this guy has one game under his belt, it appears that he is in the same mold as the other guys.

On Lucky Radley:
He is home now and should be back tonight. It is unfortunate what happened. He is there to support his family and his mom, and he'll be rejoining us this evening.

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