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The University of Utah Athletics
Football Prepares for San Diego State
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Football
Oct. 19, 1998
Utah vs. San Diego State, Oct. 24, 6:00 p.m. P.S.T.
San Diego, Calif.
Qualcomm Stadium
QUICKLY
The Utes (4-2, 2-1 WAC) renew their rivalry with San Diego State (3-3, 3-0 WAC) this Saturday in San Diego ... Game time is 6:00 p.m. Pacific (7:00 Mountain) in Qualcomm Stadium ... Utah and SDSU have not met on the gridiron since 1995 and this is their first meeting in San Diego in four years ... It is Homecoming at SDSU ... The game pits the first (SDSU) and second (Utah) place teams in the WAC Pacific Division ... It is the first of two straight games in California for Utah, which plays at San Jose State on Oct. 31 ... Utah,s 24-16 win over Fresno State last Saturday snapped a two-game losing streak by the Utes ... Ute Head Coach Ron McBride,s next win will be career victory No. 60. He is 59-41 in nine years at Utah ... The Ute-Aztec game will be televised live on KJZZ TV and can be heard on K-news radio (570 AM).
PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Practice times are subject to change. Practice is scheduled for Monday through Thursday, 3:30-6:00 p.m. at McCarthey Practice Field. Call sports information director Liz Abel (581-3511) for daily updates and interview requests.
LAST WEEK
Utah jumped to a 17-0 lead behind the pinpoint passing (14-17) of quarterback Jonathan Crosswhite. But it took a touchdown run from QB Darnell Arceneaux on his return from the injury list and a late game defensive stand for the Utes to hang on for a 24-16 win. The Utes scored on their first three possessionsthe first an 18-play march that ticked 7:52 off the clock. The next two Ute offensive series resulted in a 31-yard Ryan Kaneshiro field goal and a 2-yard Omar Bacon run to give Utah a 17-0 cushion. But Fresno scored 10 points in the final 1:41 of the half and then made it interesting with a third quarter touchdown (missed two point conversion attempt) to make it 17-16. Arceneaux, just five days off the disabled list, replaced Crosswhite at quarterback and, in his first action in a month, directed Utah to the winning touchdownwhich he scored himself on a 5-yard TD run. Kautai Olevao had 10 tackles for the defense.
HEAD COACH RON MCBRIDE
Head Coach Ron McBride, in his ninth year at the helm of the Ute program, is its second winningest coach. McBride, 59-41, is one of just two coaches in school history to win 50 games. His last five teams have posted winning seasons and he has had just one losing season (1990, his first year). McBride,s teams have averaged seven wins per year. He has taken the Utes to four bowl games and is the only head coach at Utah to go to more than one bowl. He is 1-3 in bowl games. McBride led Utah to the 1995 WAC Championship (tie)Utah,s first 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. He is 2-3 against San Diego State and 1-1 against Aztec Head Coach Ted Tollner.
SERIES SHORTS
San Diego State leads 9-7-1 ... teams have been neck and neck in San Diego, with the Aztecs holding a slight 4-3-1 lead ... Utah has won two of the last three, including the last game in San Diego (38-22 in 1994) ... three of the last four games have been decided by four points or less. Overall Series: 9-7-1 (SDSU)
First Game: 1978 (Utah 20-18) Series Streak: SDSU 1 In San Diego: 4-3-1 (SDSU) Last Ute Win: 1994 (38-22) Last SDSU Win: 1995 (24-21) Last Ute Win in San Diego: 1994 (38-22) Last SDSU Win in San Diego: 1990 (66-14)
GRIDBITS
Utah lists 21 players on its roster from California. Defensive back Teneil Ethridge is the only San Diego native. Ethridge was an All-America running back for Helix High ... Just nine current Ute players (not including redshirts) were eligible to play when Utah and SDSU last met in 1995 (Omar Bacon, Josh Cochran, Teneil Ethridge, Jason Hooks, Todd Jackson, Robert Love, Kautai Olevao, Pene Talamaivao, Darren Walker).
ARCENEAUX RETURNS
Sophomore quarterback Darnell Arceneaux (6-1, 187), who broke the index finger on his throwing hand in practice on Sept. 15 and underwent surgery the next day, was cleared to return to practice on Oct. 12. He substituted for starter Jonathan Crosswhite in the third quarter of Utah,s win over Fresno State on October 17, scoring on a 5-yard run on his first drive. He completed 5 of 8 pass attempts for 78 yards (no interceptions) in his first game in a month, before leaving with a concussion with just under 6:00 remaining in the game. His status for Saturday,s game at San Diego State is ,day to day0/00. He will be re-evaluated on Monday. If he is cleared to play, he could start. He is listed along with Crosswhite as the possible starter on the depth chart. Arceneaux started the first two games for the Utes, leading them to a 2-0 record. He is 4-0 as a starter, dating back to last year. His season stats are 26 completions in 46 attempts (.565) for 419 yards (139.7 ypg). He has two touchdowns and two interceptions. Arceneaux has also rushed for three touchdowns. His career-best passing game came in a win over Brigham Young last year, when he passed for 208 yards.
Opponent ATT COMP INT YDS TD LONG Utah State 22 13 0 146 0 23 Louisville 16 8 2 195 2 35 Hawaii dnp (finger surgery) Boise State dnp (finger surgery) Wyoming dnp (finger surgery) Fresno State 8 5 0 78 0 30
COUNTING CROSSWHITE
Senior quarterback Jonathan Crosswhite (6-2, 210), who started the first nine games of last season, has started the last four games of 1998. He also got playing time against Louisville. Crosswhite is 2-2 as a starter this year. Either he or Darnell Arceneaux will start this week at SDSU. Crosswhite had his most impressive numbers of the year in Utah,s win over Fresno last week, completing 14 of 17 passes for 187 yards. His .824 passing percentage was the fourth best in school history. Crosswhite now has two of the top four single-game passing percentages in school history. He was 90% (9-10) against UTEP last year. The big day against FSU raised Crosswhite,s passing efficiency rating to 128.4 (fourth in the WAC, 35th in the nation) and his completion percentage to .563 (67-119). He has thrown for 881 yards (176.2) and 6 TDs (4 interceptions). He has two 200-yard games this year ( 255 vs. Hawai,i and 209 vs. Wyoming) and five career 200-yard games. His best game was against TCU in 1997, when he threw for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Opponent ATT COMP INT YDS TD LONG Utah State dnp Louisville 6 3 1 35 0 24 Hawaii 28 17 1 255 2 57 Boise State 30 16 0 195 3 40 Wyoming 38 17 2 209 1 22 Fresno State 17 14 0 187 0 49
HOLY KAUTAI
Sophomore linebacker Kautai Olevao (6-2, 240) hasn,t missed a step from 1995, when he started as a freshman at Utah. Olevao, who has replaced the injured Phil Glover at rover, returned from an LDS church mission in August. He is Utah,s tackle leader with 40including a team-best 22 solo tackles. Olevao has two double-figure tackle games (14 vs. Utah State and 10 vs. Fresno State). He also has three tackles for loss (3 yards), 1.5 sacks (7 yards), five pass breakups and a caused fumble. In his first game since OE95, Olevao had a career-tying 14 tackles against Utah State in the season opener and was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Opponent UT AT TT TFL SKS PBU Utah State 6 8 14 0-0 0-0 0 Louisville 1 2 3 1-1 0-0 3 Hawaii 1 3 4 0-0 0-0 0 Boise State 3 1 4 0-0 1.5-7 0 Wyoming 4 1 5 1-1 0-0 0 Fresno State 7 3 10 1-1 0-0 2
NO ONE LIKE MIKE
Running back Mike Anderson (6-2, 220), a 24-year-old junior college transfer, leads the WAC and ranks 16th in the nation in rushing, averaging 121.3 ypg. He became just the seventh player in school history to rush for 100 yards five times in a season with his 121-yard game against Fresno State. With five games left, the school record of nine 100-yard games in a single seasonset by Carl Monroe in 1982is within Anderson,s reach. His five 100-yard games currently ties him for third with four other players, most recently Charlie Brown in 1994. He has had three straight 100-yard games, which also ties him for third in the U. books (with four former players). He could tie the school record of four consecutive ,centuries0/00, held by Chris Fuamatu-Ma,afala (1996) and Brown (1994), with a 100-yard game this week. Anderson, who has led the 1998 Utes in rushing in five of six games, has netted 728 yards. He needs just 272 yards to become just the fourth player ever at Utah to rush for 1,000 yards. At his current pace, he would crack 1,000 in Utah,s next home gameNov. 7 vs. UTEP. His season totals (all Ute bests) are: 141 carries for 728 yards (121.3 ypg, 5.2 yards per carry) and 6 TDs. He has started every game except Boise State.
Opponent Rush Yards Avg. TD Long Utah State 32 150 4.7 1 20 Louisville 30 122 4.1 1 13 Hawaii 15 75 5.0 0 10 Boise State 19 110 5.8 1 21 Wyoming 19 150 8.0 2 24 Fresno State 26 121 4.7 1 21
BACON SIZZLES
Junior running back Omar Bacon (6-1, 208) is having the best year of his career. Bacon, who redshirted last year after playing sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, is averaging 71.3 yards per gamesecond on the team and ninth in the WAC. His 5.2 yards per carry ties him for first with Mike Anderson, and his 83 carries, 428 net yards and five touchdowns places him second to Anderson. Bacon,s rushing average of 71.3 ypg is particularly impressive in view of the fact that he was limited to special teams duty in the season-opener due to an ankle injury. In five games as a running back, he is averaging 85.6 ypg. He rushed for a career-high 125 yards (his first 100-yard game) against Hawai,i. His 27-yard TD run against Hawaii with 1:14 left in the game sealed Utah,s win. He started against Boise State.
Opponent Rush Yards Avg. TD Long Utah State dnp RB (ankle injury, played STs) Louisville 8 75 9.4 2 38 Hawaii 24 125 5.2 2 27 Boise State 15 88 5.9 0 34 Wyoming 17 57 3.4 0 16 Fresno State 19 83 4.4 1 19
RECEIVING LINE
Senior wide receivers Jerome Anderson and Daniel Jones, and junior slot back Donny Utu give Utah one of its most balanced receiving acts ever. Jones has 30 catches, Anderson 24 and Utu 16. For the first time of the season Jones moved to the top of Utah,s receiving charts after a career day against Fresno State. Jones, 13 catches and 197 yards were both career bests. He now has 456 receiving yards (76.0 ypg) and two touchdowns. He ranks third in the WAC in yards per game. Anderson, who led Utah after five games, is also close to 400-yard territory, with 377 receiving yards (62.8 ypg). He ranks ninth in the WAC in yards per game. Utu fell a bit behind in the race after a zero catch day against FSU. He leads the team in receiving TDs, though with three, and has 229 yards. All have taken turns as the team leader this season. Anderson led Utah against Utah State (64 yards) and Hawai,i (107 yards), Utu was the best against Boise State (65 yards) and Wyoming (86 yards), and Jones took the lead against Louisville (87 yards) and Fresno State (197 yards). All three have had career games this year: Jones, 197-yard game last week was the most yards by a Ute receiver since 1991, when Bryan Rowley had 200 against Hawai,i; Anderson,s 107 yards vs. Hawai,i was his first 100-yard game ever, and Utu broke his personal best two weeks running against Boise State (65 yards) and Wyoming (86 yards).
LOTS OF LOVE
Senior strong safety Robert Love (5-9, 203), a two-time second-team all-WAC pick and Utah,s tackle leader for the last two years, was back on top again before missing the Wyoming game with a sprained knee. Love returned to the lineup last week against Fresno and tallied six tackles, to bring his season total to 32third on the team. His 20 unassisted tackles is second and he has two pass breakups. He led all Ute tacklers against Louisville with a season-high nine. He had seven tackles against both Hawai,i and Boise State. His best season was in 1996, when he led Utah with 108 tackles. He was tops again last year with 92.
Opponent UT AT TT TFL SKS PBU Utah State 1 2 3 0-0 0 1 Louisville 7 2 9 0-0 0 0 Hawaii 4 3 7 1-4 0 1 Boise State 3 4 7 1-1 0 0 Wyoming dnp (knee injury) Fresno State 5 1 6 0-0 0 0
OFFENSIVE INFO
Juniors Mike Anderson (6-2, 220) and Omar Bacon (6-1, 208) have made Utah,s ground game its best in years. The Utes are averaging 206.7 yards per gamethe most since 1984 (when they averaged 271.9 ypg)with 93-percent coming from Anderson and Bacon. The 1998 Utes are bidding to become the first Utah team since 1984 to average 200 yards rushing ... Utah,s offense is about as balanced as it can get, with 1,300 passing yards and 1,240 rushing yards ... five different Utes have caught a touchdown pass ... Utah,s best quarter by far is the second, when it has scored 69 points. Next is the first quarter (45) ... Utah is holding the ball nine minutes longer than its foes (34:40-25:20 ... Utah is converting on 41% of its third downs (40-98) ... The Utes are 5-6 (83%) on fourth down ... Utah has eight touchdowns and four field goals from outside the ,red zone.0/00 The Utes are 10-11 (9 TDs, 1 FG) when they have first and goal inside the 10-yard line.
UTAH ON OFFENSE
Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Offense 206.7 4 22 Passing Offense 216.7 6 48 Total Offense 423.3 2 26 Scoring Offense 28.5 4 37
DEFENSIVE DATA
Sophomore free safety Kimball Christianson is Utah,s second leading tackler with 35 ... end John Frank leads Utah in sacks (3-21 yards) and is second in tackles for loss (4-11) ... Frank also has a caused fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup ... open end Dicky Purcell has a team-best 5 tackles for loss (14 yards) ... nose tackle Pene Talamaivao has a team-best 7 pass breakups ... Utah had a player named WAC defensive player of the week for the first two games: Kautai Olevao (Utah State) and Andre Dyson (Louisville) ...Utah,s best quarters are the fourth (22 points) and first (28 points). Its worst is the third (47 points) ... opponents are converting on 33% of their third down attempts (33-99).
UTAH ON DEFENSE
Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Defense 76.3 1 3 Passing Defense 270.3 5 34 Total Defense 346.7 6 50 Scoring Defense 21.5 6 38
SPECIAL TEAMS
Walk-on freshman kicker Ryan Kaneshiro is perfect on extra point attempts (21-21) and almost perfect on field goal attempts (5-6). He had a career-best 47-yarder against Wyoming. Kaneshiro is tied for Utah,s scoring lead with Mike Anderson (36 points) ... Junior All-America candidate Chris Hunter has 35 punts for 1,460 yards (41.7 average). He placed a punt on the 1-yard line against both Boise State and Wyoming ... In his first year on the return teams, Daniel Jones has all 13 Ute punt returns (151 yards, 11.6 yards per return). Jones also leads Utah with 13 kickoff returns for 247 yards (19.0 ypr). He leads the WAC (21st in the nation) in all-purpose yardage (143.8 ypg) ... Utah,s leader in special teams tackles is Colby Knight with 10. Andy Bowers is second with 7.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Utah,s roster lists seven pairs of double numbers. The main problem is No. 22, where running back Mike Anderson and kicker Cletus Truhe are both regulars. The following players are the most likely to see action among the other shared numbers: No. 8 Brad Burnett, No. 10 Kimball Christianson and No. 13 Colby Knight.
INJURY REPORT
Key players likely out for the season: Courtney Richins (ACL), tight end C.J. Johnson (broken left leg), defensive back Brandon Dart (mid foot sprain), offensive tackle Nathan Sybrowsky (knee), wide receiver Roy Allen (knee). Key players out for the SDSU game: linebacker Phil Glover (ankle surgery). Questionable for SDSU: Darnell Arceneaux (concussion, day to day evaluation) and offensive tackle Doug Kaufusi (foot).
RED ZONE REPORT
Utah Offense
Times at or inside 20: 21 Touchdowns: 14 Field Goals: 2 TD percentage: 67%Utah Defense
Times opponent at or inside 20: 23 Touchdowns: 11 Field Goals: 4 TD percentage: 48%
ON THE SCALES
Utah,s offensive front five averages 300 pounds [SDSU,s offensive line averages 299 pounds]. Utah,s defensive down linemen average 292 pounds per man [SDSU,s defensive line averages 268 pounds].
THESE TEAMS LAST TIME
On Oct. 7, 1995 in Salt Lake City, Utah blew a 14-0 fourth quarter lead, losing 24-21 to the Aztecs. Utah scored just four minutes into the game and struck again less than two minutes later. But the Utes wouldn,t reach pay dirt again until the fourth quarter, when they came back to take a 21-17 lead after SDSU had gone up 17-14. The Aztecs scored the winning touchdown on a 48-yard pass with 9:27 left in the game. It was Utah,s first WAC loss of the season. The Utes would win four of their next five and tie for the WAC championship with a 6-2 league mark.
AZTEC QUICK LOOK
Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Offense 205.3 6 24 Passing Offense 132.3 12 95 Total Offense 337.7 10 68 Scoring Offense 21.8 7 69 Rushing Defense 157.7 9 70 Passing Defense 228.8 13 84 Total Defense 386.5 12 77 Scoring Defense 26.0 11 62
SDSU REVIEW
3-3 (3-0 WAC) ...1-2 at home ... Head Coach Ted Tollner is 28-24 in his fifth year. His career record is 54-44-1 (9 years) ... Aztecs have won three straightall against WAC opponents ... running backs Larry Ned (105.2 ypg) and Jonas Lewis (109.5 ypg) are behind SDSU,s 205.3 ypg rushing average ... Ned has rushed 115 times for 631 yards and 4 TDs. Lewis has 72 rushes for 438 yards and 4 TDs ... at quarterback, Brian Russell has taken most of the snaps. He has completed 46 or 101 passes (.455) for 616 yards (102.7 ypg) and 5 touchdowns (5 interceptions) ... Aztecs convert on just .25% of third down conversions (20-79).
RICE-ECCLES STADIUM IN ITS DEBUT SEASON
Utah,s new 45,634-seat Rice-Eccles Stadium opened its gates on September 5 for a game between Utah and Louisville. A crowd of 44,112 broke the old record of 36,250 set against Brigham Young back in 1982 in old Rice Stadium. Although Rice-Eccles stands on the same ground as Rice Stadium (built in 1927 as Ute Stadium), only the south end zone and the field surface (SportGrass) remain. The expansion and rebuilding of the stadium began in June 1997. Work was done throughout the 1997 football season, stopping only on home game days. The actual demolition of Rice Stadium occurred on November 17, 1997. Stadium attractions include the three-level Stadium Box, which has the scholarship box as its first level, luxury suites on the second level and the press area on top. In 2002, temporary bleachers will be brought in to expand the stadium,s capacity to 50,000 for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games.
MAC-QUOTES
Offensively, both quarterbacks played extremely well against Fresno, our offensive line really picked up movement well, Daniel Jones was exceptional and both running backs were outstanding. We had bad field position all day and still made some huge drives. We,re starting to execute pretty well on offense. Our fourth quarter play was the key. The team was tested and it responded. That was a good sign. The guys were mentally prepared. We,ll keep working on fourth quarter drills in practice ... San Diego State is playing really well right now. They,ve won three straight and won a tight game at New Mexico. They made the plays when they had to, which is why they won. We,ve had a good rivalry with San Diego State. The games have been close for the most part. It,s good to have them back on our schedule ... At the midpoint of our season, we,re pretty healthy. It really helped getting John Frank, Robert Love and Darnell Arceneaux back. It looks like we may have Doug Kaufusi back this weekend.0/00
UTAH TWO DEEP VS. SDSU
OFFENSE
C 55 Darren Walker (6-3,295, Sr.)
66 Steve McKane (6-1, 244, So.)
LG 76 Luis Park (6-2, 300, Jr.)
77 Fisi Moleni (6-3, 298, Jr.)
RG 50 Sam White (6-3, 280, So.)
69 Todd Jackson (6-3, 300, Jr.)
LT 74 Devin Grant (6-8, 300, Sr.)
59 Doug Kaufusi (6-7, 300, Fr.)
RT 58 Josh Cochran (6-5, 307, Sr.)
61 Kevin Wilson (6-7, 306, Fr.)
TE 44 Andy Kassotis (6-3, 273, Jr.)
89 Matt Nickel (6-6, 257, So.)
QB 16 Jonathan Crosswhite (6-2, 210, Sr.)
or 14 Darnell Arceneaux (6-1, 187, So.)
WR 5 Jerome Anderson (5-11, 178, Sr.)
25 Donny Utu (6-1, 196, Jr.)
WR 80 Daniel Jones (5-11, 182, Sr.)
18 Chris Christensen (5-11, 177, So.)
SL 25 Donny Utu (6-1, 196, Jr.)
9 Boo Bendinger (6-0, 222, Jr.)
RB 22 Mike Anderson (6-2, 220, Jr.)
24 Omar Bacon (6-1, 208, Jr.)
DEFENSE
E 93 John Frank (6-5, 271, Jr.)
90 Ed Ta'amu (6-2, 280, So.)
OE 39 Dicky Purcell (6-1, 238, Sr.)
60 Chuck Pine (6-2, 220, Jr.)
RT 99 Mike Thomas (6-1, 303, Sr.)
98 Maake Kemoeatu (6-5, 276, So.)
NT 91 Pene Talamaivao (6-4, 313, Sr.)
87 Richard Seals (6-2, 308, Jr.)
ROV 43 Kautai Olevao (6-2, 240, So.)
12 Wes Tufaga (6-0, 216, So.)
MLB 31 Cyrus Satoafaiga (6-2, 240, Jr.)
85 Taulia Lave (6-1, 255, Jr.)
SLB 49 Jason Hooks (6-3, 262, Sr.)
52 Everestt Matagi (6-3, 241, Jr.)
RC 40 Jay Hill (6-1,186, Jr.)
30 Teneil Ethridge (5-10, 188, Jr.)
LC 21 Andre Dyson (5-10, 184, So.)
34 David Richards (6-0, 187, Sr.)
FS 10 Kimball Christianson (6-3, 209, So.)
28 Jamal Allen (5-11, 207, Sr.)
SS 35 Robert Love (5-9, 203, Sr.)
3 Sitivi Laulu (6-0, 210, Jr.)
SPECIALISTS
K 19 Ryan Kaneshiro (5-6, 172, Fr.) and
22 Cletus Truhe (5-11, 201, Jr.)
PAT 19 Ryan Kaneshiro (5-6, 172, Fr.)
22 Cletus Truhe (5-11, 201, Jr.)
P 86 Chris Hunter (6-5, 232, Jr.)
15 Scott Styles (6-3, 207, Jr.)
LS 92 Brian Bachhuber (6-1, 247, So.)
90 Ed Ta'amu (6-2, 280, So.)
H 22 Cletus Truhe (5-11, 201, Jr.) and
19 Ryan Kaneshiro (5-6, 172, Fr.)
PR 80 Daniel Jones (5-11, 182, Sr.)
5 Jerome Anderson (5-11, 178, Sr.)
KR 80 Daniel Jones (5-11, 182, Sr.) and
4 Patrick Dyson (6-0, 186, Fr.)
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