Ute Football Team Ties for MWC Championship.
11/22/1999 12:00 AM | Football
Nov. 22, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY -
QUICKLY
Utah (8-3, 5-2 MWC) won a share of the first Mountain West Conference title with its 20-17 win over Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, on November 20 ... The Utes, who have won impressively in their last two games, now await word from the Liberty and Las Vegas bowls regarding a potential post-season game ... The BYU win was the 70th victory of Head Coach Ron McBride's career (all at Utah) and his fifth in seven years against the Cougars. McBride is now 70-46 in 10 years as a head coach ... Utah is the MWC's best team on the scoreboard: Utah's offense is averaging a league-best 33.0 points per game, while its defense is allowing a league-low 17.6 ppg.LAST GAME
Utah won its fourth straight game in Cougar Stadium, beating BYU 20-17 to clinch a share of the first Mountain West Conference championship. The Utes, who have not lost in Provo since 1991, broke open a low scoring game in the second half with touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. While defense was the story of the game?Utah held BYU to 329 total yards, 100 yards below its average?the T.D. Croshaw-led offense also did its part. Croshaw, starting for the injured Darnell Arceneaux, completed 15 of 33 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard bomb to Cliff Russell in the third quarter to put Utah up for good, 13-10. Croshaw also found slot back Donny Utu eight times for 79 yards and a touchdown, which was the game clincher with 13:08 remaining. Cornerback Andre Dyson snuffed BYU's final drive with his second interception of the game. Utah held BYU to just 20 rushing yards, in a large part thanks to linebacker Kautai Olevao, who had eight tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup and an interception.BOWL OUTLOOK
As co-champion of the Mountain West Conference, Utah is a strong candidate for both the Liberty and Las Vegas bowls. A decision on the bowl selections will not be made until Nov. 29 or 30, after Colorado State and Wyoming have played their final regular season games. At 4-2, CSU and Wyoming could both tie Utah and BYU for the league title with victories on November 27. Colorado State plays at UNLV and Wyoming plays at San Diego State. Both the Liberty and Las Vegas bowls have their choice of teams, with the Liberty Bowl getting first pick.BOWLING ON THE NET
Ute fans seeking ticket information on the Liberty and Las Vegas bowls should go to Utah's web site at www.UtahUtes.com. An order form and pricing information is available.BOWL INFORMATION
The 41st-annual AXA/Liberty Bowl will be played in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 31 at 4:00 p.m. CST (3 p.m. MT). The bowl will pit the champion of Conference USA, Southern Mississippi, against its choice of champions from the Mountain West Conference. The first Liberty Bowl was played in 1959 in Philadelphia. Utah played (and beat) West Virginia in the 1964 Liberty Bowl in Atlantic City, N.J. The bowl moved permanently to Memphis the next year. The eighth annual EA Sports/Las Vegas Bowl will kick off the 1999-2000 bowl season. It will be held at UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium (40,000/grass) on Dec. 18 at 3:00 p.m. PT (4 p.m. MT). The bowl will match the champion of the Western Athletic Conference against the second choice team from the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State, which clinched a share of the WAC title last Saturday, will be the WAC representative in Las Vegas. Teams under consideration to fill the MWC slots at both bowls are: Utah, BYU, Colorado State and Wyoming. Both bowls have said they will wait until Mon., Nov. 29 or Tues., Nov. 30 to make their announcement regarding the MWC selection.UTAH'S BOWL HISTORY
Utah's all-time bowl record is 3-4 ... Utah's four bowls since 1992 is its most ever under one coach (McBride) ... Ute bowl years: 1938 Sun Bowl (Utah beat New Mexico 26-0), 1946 Pineapple Bowl (Hawaii beat Utah 19-16), 1964 Liberty Bowl (Utah beat West Virginia 32-6), 1992 Copper Bowl (Washington State beat Utah 31-28), 1993 Freedom Bowl (Southern Cal beat Utah 28-21), 1994 Freedom Bowl (Utah beat Arizona 16-13), 1996 Copper Bowl (Wisconsin beat Utah 38-10) ... Utah was also invited to both the Sun Bowl and Pineapple Bowl in 1951, but declined ... In 1941, Utah was slated to play Hawaii in the Pineapple Bowl, but the game was canceled after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.HEAD COACH RON MCBRIDE
Head Coach Ron McBride is 70-46 in nine years at the helm of the Ute program. McBride, the school's second winningest coach, is one of just two coaches in school history to win 60 games. He has coached Utah to seven straight winning seasons and has suffered just one losing season (1990, his first year). McBride's teams have averaged seven wins per year. With four bowl appearances, McBride is the only head coach to take Utah to more than one bowl game. He is 1-3 in bowl games. McBride led Utah to the 1995 WAC Championship (tie)?Utah's first conference title in 31 years. Before accepting Utah's head coaching position in 1990, McBride served two previous stints on the Hill. He was Utah's offensive line coach from 1985-86 and its offensive coordinator from 1977-82.HOME ATTENDANCE MARK FALLS
In their second year in their new home, Rice-Eccles Stadium, the 1999 Utes broke their previous single-season attendance record of 39,060 set last year. The 1999 Utes averaged a paid attendance of 39,249. The best crowd of the year (45,224) attended Utah's Sept. 18 victory over Utah State. It is the second biggest crowd ever to watch a home Ute game, behind last year's sell-out gathering of 45,634 last year against BYU.RECORD BREAKERS
Several records fell during the 1999 regular season, key among those: Mike Anderson, average yards rushing per game in a career (102.4 ypg), Steve Smith, most yards on punt returns in a season (495), most punt returns for a touchdown in a game (2) and most punt returns for a touchdown in a season (3, tie), John Frank, most career sacks (27), most tackles for loss (29, tie), most career yards in sacks (177) and tackles for loss (133), and most single season tackles for loss yards (112), Jay Hill, most interception returns for a touchdown, both single season and career (2, tie), and Andre Dyson, most pass breakups in a season (17, tie). More on the 1999 Utes and the record book can be found later in this release.GRIDBITS
Utah defensive backs Jay Hill and Andre Dyson have combined to score five touchdowns this year. Hill scored twice on interceptions and once on a blocked field goal kick, while Dyson had one pick and one blocked field goal return for a TD ... Utah Coach Ron McBride has put together seven straight winning seasons and he has been .500 or better in nine of his 10 seasons (all but his first year). A Ute team has not had seven straight winning seasons since Ike Armstrong's teams had 15 straight winning seasons from 1928-1942. McBride has averaged seven wins a year in his 10 years ... Utah's all-time record is 519-383-31.MIKE CHECK
* Running back Mike Anderson (6-0, 232, Sr.) is averaging 97.7 ypg rushing, best on the team and second in the MWC.* Anderson set the Utah record for most rushing yards per game in a career (102.4 ypg), breaking a 17-year-old mark of 96.62 held by Carl Monroe (1981-82).
* Anderson's 2,150 rushing yards is seventh all-time at Utah and the most ever by a two-year player.
* He is one of just eight Utes ever to rush for 2,000 yards and one of only two players to do it in two seasons.
* He has led Utah in rushing for the last two years and narrowly missed his second straight 1,000 yard season this fall, with 977 net yards.
* For the second year, he led Utah in every rushing category: carries (195), yards (977), rushing touchdowns (10) and yards per carry (5.0).
* He had a career-best 204 yards rushing against New Mexico.
* Anderson, who has one receiving TD, is tied for the team scoring lead with Steve Smith, each with 11 touchdowns and 66 points.
* Anderson is second to Smith in all-purpose yards (101.7 ypg).
* Anderson's 10 rushing touchdowns this year is tied for fourth in Utah's single season records. Last year, he rushed for 12 TDs, which is tied for second all-time at the U.
* His four rushing touchdowns against UNLV on Sept. 25 tied the school record.
* Anderson was named the USA Today Player of the Week in the Mountain West Conference (Sept. 25).
* Anderson has 11 career 100-yard games (four this year)?tied for third in school history.
* He has 22 career rushing TDs?tied for fourth with Juan Johnson, 1994-97, and Fuamatu-Ma'afala, 1995-97.
* Anderson was first-team all-WAC last year and its leading rusher (20th in the nation), averaging 106.6 ypg. He rushed for 1,173 yards, which ranks second in Ute history, and he is one of just four Utes ever to average 100 yards per game rushing. In his first year of NCAA ball, Anderson carried the ball 244 times and had seven 100-yard games.
FRANK TALK
* Senior defensive end John Frank (6-5, 277) was a preseason all-Mountain West Conference pick.* Frank leads the MWC in sacks with 13 (89 yards).
* He also leads the MWC in tackles for loss with 20 (112 yards).
* He leads the Utes in quarterback hurries (20).
* Frank is fourth on the team in total tackles (58).
* Frank is the new school record holder in career sacks with 27.
* He tied the school record in career tackles for loss (29) with Luther Elliss (1991-94).
* His 20 tackles for loss is a new school single-season record.
* Frank's 177 career yards in sacks is a new Utah career record.
* Frank is the school record holder in tackles for loss yardage for both single season (112 yards) and career (133 yards).
* His 13 sacks ranks third all-time at Utah for a single season.
* Against Wyoming, Frank had five tackles, four tackles for loss (17 yards), two sacks (8 yards), an interception and three hurries. He also caused a fumble.
* Another big game of his came against Boise State on Oct. 2, when he had 12 tackles (9 unassisted), four sacks for 29 yards and five tackles for loss (30 yards).
* Frank was first-team all-WAC last year.
T.D. TOSSES
* Junior quarterback T.D. Croshaw played in all but the season-opening game, starting four (Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico and BYU).* Croshaw is 3-1 as a starter (wins were against Air Force, UNM and BYU).
* Croshaw had a career game against Colorado State, completing 18 of 29 passes for 241 yards and 1 TD.
* He had 228 yards (15 of 33 passing) vs. BYU and 211 yards (16 of 24 passing) vs. Wyoming, with 2 touchdowns in both games.
* For the season, he has completed 83 of 146 pass attempts (56.8%) for 1,176 yards (117.6 ypg) and 14 touchdowns (7interceptions).
* Croshaw leads the Utes with 14 touchdown passes.
* His pass efficiency rating is a league-best 146.56. He does not qualify for the national rankings, which require 15 attempts per game.
* He had four touchdown passes vs. both Louisiana-Monroe and New Mexico.
SMITH NOTES
* Juco transfer Steve Smith, Utah's best receiver and return man, is up for conference honors in both categories in his first year of NCAA ball.* Smith ranks first in the MWC and fourth in the nation in punt return average (17.1 ypr), with 29 returns for 495 yards.
* He led the nation in punt returns through Nov. 13, averaging 20.0 yards per return. He also led the nation for the weeks of Oct. 16-23.
* Smith broke the school record for punt return yards in a season (495), despite returning punts in just seven games. He broke Erroll Tucker's 14-year old mark (389 yards in 1985).
* Smith's two punt returns for touchdowns (70 and 52 yards) vs. New Mexico tied the NCAA record.
* He has three total punt returns for touchdowns, which is the Ute single season record and is tied for second in the career books.
* He is tied for Utah's scoring lead with Mike Anderson. Each has 11 touchdowns and 66 points. Smith has eight receiving and three punt return touchdowns.
* Smith is averaging 78.2 yards per game receiving?eighth all-time at Utah in a single season.
* He is averaging 20.0 yards per catch, which is best this year in the MWC and second all-time at Utah.
* He leads Utah in every receiving category: catches (43), yards (860), average per catch (20.0), touchdowns (8) and yards per game (78.2).
* Smith is second in the MWC in receiving yards per game (78.2), despite ranking just seventh in receptions per game (3.9).
* He has two 100-yard receiving games, including a career-best 131 yards against SDSU. He had 110 yards against UNLV.
* Smith's eight touchdown receptions is tied for fifth at Utah in a single season.
* Smith leads the conference and ranks 24th nationally in all-purpose yards per game (140.5 ypg).
* He is second on the team in kickoff returns with six for 169 yards. His 28.2 yards per return average is best on the team.
* Smith was named the MWC special teams player of the week for his games against New Mexico (4 punt returns for 163 yards, 40.8 yards per return and 2 touchdowns against New Mexico) and Air Force (2 punt returns for 110 yards and 1 touchdown).
* He was named the USA Today Mountain West Conference Player of the Week.
* Smith has won a national "play of the week" award three times this year?twice for punt returns (vs. Air Force and New Mexico) and once for most unusual play of the week (for his 54-yard touchdown "reception" against San Diego State, which resulted from running in a teammate's fumble after a reception).
CORNERSTONES
* Utah has the two best corners in the Mountain West in senior Jay Hill and junior Andre Dyson. They are tied for the Mountain West Conference lead in interceptions, each with six.* Dyson is second in the MWC in passes defended with 22 and Hill is third with 16. Backup corner Teneil Ethridge ranks fourth, with 12 passes defended.
* Hill has returned two interceptions for touchdowns, which is tied for second in school history?both single-season and career.
* Dyson has returned one interception for a touchdown.
* Hill and Dyson have each returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown.
* Dyson's 17 pass breakups ties him for the school record with Kareem Leary (17 in 1994).
* Ethridge has 11 pass breakups (tied for fifth most in a season by a Ute) and Hill has 10.
OFFENSIVE INFO
* Cliff Russell is Utah's second leading receiver to Smith. Russell has 34 catches for 601 yards (66.8 ypg) and 3 touchdowns. He averages 17.7 yards per catch, also second to Smith. Russell missed one game with a knee injury.* Russell ranks fourth in the MWC in receiving yards per game (66.8).
* Boo Bendinger is second on the team in receptions with 31. He has 378 yards in receptions, second on the team, as is his five receiving TDs. He missed the BYU game with a broken hand.
* Senior running back Omar Bacon is Utah's second-leading rusher with 126 carries for 416 yards and 3 TDs. He is averaging 3.3 yards per rush. Bacon's best games were against UNLV (92 yards) and Louisiana-Monroe (72 yards). He started against ULM.
DEFENSIVE DATA
* Free safety Jason Potter won the team tackle title in 1999 with 72 total tackles. He also has 3 tackles for loss, an interception and 4 pass breakups as a first-year starter.* Junior linebacker Howard Christianson is Utah's second-leading tackler (68) and has 6 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.
* Nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu finished third on the tackle charts with 59. He has 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and 6 QB hurries.
* Senior tackle Richard Seals finished second to school record-holder John Frank in tackles for loss (13), sacks (9) and quarterback hurries (11).
SPECIAL TEAMS
* Utah's return teams have been exceptional, mostly thanks to Steve Smith, who is averaging 17.0 yards per punt return. He is also averaging 28.2 yards per kickoff return.* Utah is third in the nation in punt return average (16.0 yards per return).
* PAT field goal kicker Cletus Truhe is 28-28 in extra points, best in the MWC, and has made 6-9 field goals (long of 46 vs. Wyoming).
* Golden Whetman, who began the season as Utah's field goal/PAT kicker, but who now handles only kickoffs, is 17-18 in PATs and 4-7 in field goals (long of 48). He has had 48 touch backs in 70 kickoffs.
* Senior punter Chris Hunter has 58 punts for 2,364 yards, an average of 40.8 yards per punt, with a long of 63 (vs. ULM). Nineteen of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line and 13 have resulted in fair catches.
* Utah did not have to punt against New Mexico.
* Freshman Sheldon Deckart blocked two punts this year (vs. UNLV and ULM).
* Utah scored touchdowns on two blocked field goal attempts: against CSU (Colby Knight block, Andre Dyson score) and Wyoming (Richard Seals block, Jay Hill score).
* Knight is Utah's tackle leader for special teams with 10.
INJURY REPORT
Player, Pos./Injury/Status/GMBrooks Bahr,/ LB/knee (dislocation)/out/9Brandon Dart, DB/knee (torn ACL)/out/9Courtney Richins, PR/knee (torn ACL)/out/8Chris Christensen, WR/leg (broken fibula) out/8Chuck Pine, DE leg (broken tibia)/out/4Andy Kassotis, TE/knee/questionable/9Darnell Arceneaux, QB/concussion/questionable/2
RED ZONE REPORT
Utah OffenseTimes at or inside 20: 31Touchdowns: 24Field Goals: 5Scoring percentage: 94%TD percentage: 77%Utah DefenseTimes opponent at or inside 20: 31Touchdowns: 10Field Goals: 9Scoring Percentage: 61%TD percentage: 32%
MCBRIDE SAYS
"Our last two wins say a lot about our coaches and team. No one gave up after our loss to Wyoming. We gave New Mexico one of their worst losses in years, then beat a ranked team?BYU?at their home. We ended up 8-3 for the season and tied for the conference title. We deserve a bowl bid ... I hope we have a quarterback controversy if we make a bowl because that means Darnell (Arceneaux) has come back. But T.D. (Croshaw) has done a great job and pulled us out of all kinds of tight situations ... We'll give the players a break until after Thanksgiving and then we'll get back practicing, assuming we get a bowl bid, which we should."THREE UTES NAMED TO ACADEMIC TEAM
Junior defensive back Kimball Christianson and junior running back Nick Morgan have been named to the GTE Academic All-District VIII first team, while junior linebacker Howard Christianson was named to the second team. Kimball Christianson, a German major, carries a 3.79 GPA. Morgan is a business major with a 3.66 GPA. Howard Christianson has a 3.86 GPA in German. Both Kimball and Howard are starters and rank among Utah's leading tacklers. As first-team all-district picks, Kimball Christianson and Morgan are now eligible for the GTE Academic All-America team.UTES AND ESPN
Utah has appeared on national or regional television six times this year?its most ever in a season. Utah has played once on ESPN, twice on ESPN2 and three times on ESPN+Plus.NINETIES TV
In addition to a fine local television package with KJZZ, the Ute football team has made 20 network television appearances in the ?90s. Since 1992, Utah has appeared on ESPN five times, ESPN2 six times, ESPN+Plus three times, ABC four times and Raycom twice.
