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> No. 13/14 Utah (6-0, 2-0 MWC) resumes Mountain West Conference play this weekend, traveling to Laramie, Wyo., for a Saturday game against Wyoming (2-4, 0-3 MWC). Game time is noon in War Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised live on The Mtn. Radio is KALL 700 AM.
> Utah gained one place in the Associated Press poll--ranking No. 14 this week--and two spots in the USA Today Coaches' poll (13th). The Utes are ranked No. 13 in the Harris Interactive Poll.
> Utah became the first bowl-eligible team of the season last Thursday by beating Oregon State 31-28. Utah is off to a 6-0 start for the first time since its 12-0 season in 2004.
> Utah has now won 14 of its last 15 games.
> Since 2000, Utah has more wins against BCS schools (15) than any non-BCS team. Utah is 15-10 against BCS teams since 2000 (10-3 since 2004). Since the BCS began in 1998, Utah is tied for the most wins (16) against BCS teams by a non-BCS team.
> Utah coach Kyle Whittingham picked up career win No. 30 last week against Oregon State. He is now 30-14 in his fourth season as the head coach.
> Utah has won seven of the last eight games with Wyoming. The Utes lead 19-18 all-time in Laramie.
KING LOUIE
All-America punter/kicker Louie Sakoda, who kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired against Oregon State last week, has tied the MWC record for most career player of the week awards with 10. Sakoda has won more weekly awards than any other specialist in league history. He ties former BYU quarterback John Beck for the most career MWC weekly awards (any position) with 10. Sakoda was joined on the award list this week by Ute linebacker Mike Wright, who won the defensive honor for his career-high 15 tackles against OSU.
U OF LOU
Utah's All-America punter/kicker Louie Sakoda has been busy rewriting the school record book. In the last two weeks, Sakoda has broken a 76-year-old record for most points scored in a career at Utah, and a 39-year-old mark for career punting yards. Sakoda's 249 points surpasses the old school record of 235 set by fullback Frank Christensen from 1930-32. He now has 8,729 career punting yards--breaking Craig Smith's record (8,561 from 1967-69).
LAST WEEK
Brian Johnson executed the two-minute drill perfectly and Louie Sakoda booted the game-winning field goal as time expired in a 31-28 win over Oregon State last Thursday. Johnson found his groove with Utah trailing 28-20 and 2:11 remaining in the game. He completed seven of his last eight passes for 91 yards--including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Bradon Godfrey--and then ran for the game-tying two-point conversion. Utah then forced the Beavers to punt, which set up Sakoda's 37-yard field goal. Brent Casteel had a career-best 105 receiving yards--with instrumental catches of 24 and 16 yards in Utah's final two scoring drives--and a rushing touchdown. Mike Wright led the defense with a career-high 15 tackles. Wright also had a 9-yard sack in the first quarter that resulted in OSU taking a field goal over a touchdown, and a critical fourth-quarter pass breakup in Utah territory that resulted in an OSU punt.
KYLE STYLE
Fourth-year Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is 30-14 overall and 3-0 in bowl games. He is 6-3 against BCS schools. Since he joined the staff as a Ute assistant in 1994, Utah has won nearly 70-percent of its games (116-55). Utah has played in nine bowl games during Whittingham's tenure--winning eight. Prior to becoming Utah's head coach in 2005, he spent one season as the defensive line coach and 10 years as the defensive coordinator.
OUTSIDE THE LINES
The Utes are on a record pace for home attendance, averaging 45,434 in their three games. All three crowds have exceeded the seating capacity (45,017) of Rice-Eccles Stadium, including 45,599 against Oregon State--the third-biggest attendance ever for a Utah home game ... This Saturday's game is the earliest Utah and Wyoming have played each other in 10 years. The last time they played this early was on Oct. 3, 1998 in Laramie.
INSIDE THE HUDDLE
Starting offensive tackle Zane Beadles has Wyoming ties. Both of his parents are Wyoming graduates, where his mother Jamie played on the basketball team. Stepfather Joe Legerski is Wyoming's head women's basketball coach and a former Utah assistant women's basketball coach ... Utah does not have any players on its roster from Wyoming ... Two true freshmen have played for Utah this year: OL Tony Bergstrom and DT Sealver Siliga. Six redshirt freshmen have also played.
WATCHING THE SCOREBOARD
Utah is out-scoring its foes 55-9 in the third quarter ... Utah ranks fourth in the nation in time of possession (34:03) and has the ball almost nine minutes more a game than its foes (34:03-25:57) ... Utah has scored on 90% of its trips inside the red zone (27-30), with 20 touchdowns ... Utah leads the league in kickoff coverage with a 49.2 net average.
Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
Opening statement:
I am proud of the way our players hung in against Oregon State. I thought they demonstrated toughness and poise down the stretch. I am pleased with the way the offense handled the last two drives and got the touchdown, then followed that up by getting into field goal range. There was a lot of poise and character demonstrated by the offense. Overall we played ok on offense, we still turned the ball over and gave up four sacks. We will continue to try to get that cleaned up. We ran the ball efficiently and outran Oregon State. The defense played ok. We did slow their main back [Jacquizz Rodgers] down. He had just about half of what he had the week before and we did an effective job of neutralizing him. I thought the defense did a decent job for the most part.
Special teams did a lot of good things. Louie Sakoda had the game-winner as time expired. That was a huge kick for Louie. The kickoff return by David Reed got us good field position. We were penalty-free on special teams as well as on offense. Nice job for them on that.
It was a big win, but every week is a big week and a big win. We got bowl eligible and we are at the mid-season point right where we hope to be. One week at a time. It's supposed to be cold up in Laramie. We have to get ourselves ready. We have conference play from here on out and have our work cut out for us.
On the long week:
We accomplish two things with the long week. We gave the team Saturday and Sunday off, so they get a little more rest. The coaches get a jump start on the next opponent. We will do a lot more today than a typical Monday with the extra time to prepare and will scale back the rest of the week. It's a little more front-end loaded than a typical week.
On Wyoming:
I'm sure they will be fired up. They wacked us two years ago up there. I'm positive we will get their best shot. They just lost to New Mexico on the road. It's their homecoming so I'm sure they will be excited to get back to Laramie and have another opportunity.
Their running backs are very good (Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon). They are the strength of their offense. Moore is gaining well over five yards a carry and Seldon is a tough, bigger back. Those guys run very hard. They are a little unsettled at quarterback. That is one of the biggest situations that they need to overcome. Their offense doesn't change much despite that. Defensively, they have a big, physical front seven and their linebackers are defensive end size. They are pretty physical up front.
On the two minute offense:
We work the heck out of the two minute offense probably more than anyone in the country. Most times it is a win or lose situation. We pay a lot of attention to it all year. Brian (Johnson) is very cool under pressure. When things get tight he is at his best and he has a great knack for engineering the two minute drive. Those are the keys for us, the time spent on it and the guy running it.
On where the team is at the midpoint of the season:
We like the wins and finding ways to win in close situations. I like our mentality and work ethic and how the team takes things week-to-week. The defense has done some very good things. They are in the top 10 in many categories. Louie (Sakoda) has been huge for us. He is everything we expected him to be. There is still a lot to work on and by no means do we have everything figured out, but I am pleased with where we are.
