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The University of Utah Athletics
Football Prepares for Wyoming
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Football
Sept. 28, 1998
The Utes (3-1) renew acquaintance with an old foe when they play Wyoming (2-1) in Laramie at 1 p.m. ... The teams are in different divisions (Utah, Pacific; Wyoming, Mountain) in the Western Athletic Conference, but the game counts in the WAC standings ... The third-longest series in Utah football history has been on hold since 1995, when the WAC went to a divisional format that separated Utah and Wyoming ... It is the second WAC game for the Utes and Wyoming's WAC opener .... The game will televised on KJZZ ... It can also be heard on K-news radio (570 AM).
Utah vs. Wyoming, Oct. 3, 1:00 p.m.
Laramie, Wyo.
[War Memorial Stadium-33,500]
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 appeared on its way to a fourth straight win when it took a 28-24 lead over Boise State in the fourth quarter. But a 99-yard Bronco scoring drive that began with 2:08 remaining sent Utah reeling to its first loss, 31-28. Boise State's winning drive negated two great comebacks from the Utes, who tied the game at 14 after giving up two quick BSU touchdowns to start the game. Later, down 24-14, Utah again scored two straight touchdowns to take the lead. Mike Anderson went over 100 yards rushing for the third time in four games (110 yards), Omar Bacon added 88 rushing yards and receiver Donny Utu had a career day with 65 yards and two TDs. But penalties (10-81 yards) and injuries to key starters (linebacker Phil Glover, offensive tackle Doug Kaufusi and strong safety Robert Love) proved too much for the Utes.
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, 58-40, 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). 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 4-2 against Wyoming (0-0 against Wyoming coach Dana Dimel).
SERIES SHORTS Utah leads 41-28-1 ... Utes have won last two and four of the last five ... Wyoming won five straight from 1986-90 ... Utah leads 19-13 in Laramie, but had lost 10 straight there until McBride became head coach ... Utah's 57-42 win in 1991 was its first in Laramie since 1972 ... McBride is 2-0 in Laramie ... this is the third-longest series in Utah football history (70 games) ... series started in 1904 with 23-0 Ute win ... Utah was 22-0-1 before losing.
Overall Series: 41-28-1 (Utah)
First Game: 1904 (Utah, 23-0)
Series Streak: Utah 2
In Laramie: 19-13 (Utah)
Last Ute Win: 1995 (30-24)
Last UW Win: 1993 (28-12)
Last Ute Win in Laramie: 1995 (30-24)
Last UW Win in Laramie: 1993 (28-12)
GRIDBITS Utah has a "bye" week coming up after the Wyoming game ... Utah's win over Hawai'i on Sept. 19 marked its 225th WAC win. The Utes are 225-162-10 all-time in WAC games ... Utah has been 3-1 at this point for the last three years.
ARCENEAUX OUT Sophomore quarterback Darnell Arceneaux (6-1, 187), who is 4-0 as a starter including two wins this year (Utah State and Louisville), is out for at least another three weeks following finger surgery. The earliest he could return to action would be Utah's Oct. 17 game vs. Fresno State. Arceneaux broke the index finger on his throwing hand in practice on Sept. 15 and underwent surgery the next day. The finger was fractured at the joint. Screws were put in the bone to stabilize the fracture. In two games, his passing totals were 21 of 38 (.553) for 341 yards (170.5 ypg) and 2 touchdowns (2 interceptions). He had 146 yards against Utah State and 195 yards and 2 TDs versus Louisville. He also carried the ball 19 times for 24 yards and two scores.
COUNTING CROSSWHITE Senior quarterback Jonathan Crosswhite (6-2, 210), who started the first nine games of last season, has started the last two games in place of Darnell Arceneaux. He also got playing time against Louisville. Crosswhite is 1-1 as a starter this year, with a win over Hawai'i (30-21) and a loss to Boise State (31-28). He is completing 56-percent of his pass attempts (36-64) and has five touchdown passes to two interceptions. Crosswhite has thrown for 485 yards, an average of 161.7 ypg. His passing efficiency rating is 139.44-second in the WAC and 23rd in the nation. He passed for 255 yards vs. Hawai'i and 195 vs. BSU. Crosswhite has four 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 Hawai'i 28 17 1 255 2 57 Boise State 30 16 0 195 3 40
LINEBACKER U. All-America and Butkus Award candidate Phil Glover (6-0, 237, Sr.), Utah's 1997 Defensive MVP, left the Utah-BSU game with a severe high ankle sprain. Glover is projected to miss at least four weeks with the injury. Named to the Butkus Award "Watch List" in the preseason, Glover has 18 tackles (4.5 tpg). He also has three pass breakups and two tackles for loss. His best game was against Louisville, when he had seven tackles (five unassisted), a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and two hurries. With Glover out, more attention will be directed towards sophomore linebacker Kautai Olevao (6-2, 240). Olevao has moved ahead of Cyrus Satoafaiga as the starting middle linebacker. He has 25 total tackles (6.3 tpg), third on the team and one out of first. He also has two sacks for seven yards, a tackle for loss, three pass breakups and a fumble caused. He was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week in his first game back as a Ute (he played as a freshman in 1995, then went on a two-year LDS church mission), when he tied his career high of 14 tackles vs. Utah State.
BACK ATTACK Juniors Mike Anderson (6-2, 220) and Omar Bacon (6-1, 208) have made Utah's ground game one of its best in years. The Utes are averaging 214.3 yards per game-the most since 1984 (when they averaged 271.9 ypg)-with 87 percent of that coming from Anderson and Bacon. Anderson, a 24-year-old junior college transfer, is averaging a team-best 114.3 ypg (second in the WAC and 20th in the nation). He has led all Ute rushers in three games, going over 100 yards each time, including a career-high 150 against Utah State in the season opener. Last week against BSU, he led all rushers with 110 yards (1 TD).
He has three touchdowns and averages 4.8 yards per rush. Bacon, coming off a redshirt year, is averaging 72.0 ypg (10th in the WAC) and has a team-high four touchdowns. His four TDs is second best (tie) in the WAC. He played only for special teams in the season-opener due to an ankle injury. Bacon rushed for a career-high 125 yards (his first 100-yard game) against Hawai'i. His 27-yard TD run against Hawai'i with 1:14 left in the game sealed Utah's win. Anderson started the first two games and Bacon started against BSU. Bacon, who rushed for 88 yards against the Broncos, is scheduled to start again this week. He averages 6.1 yards per rush-best of the regulars.
RECEIVING LINE Senior wide receivers Jerome Anderson (5-11, 178, Sr.) and Daniel Jones (5-11, 182) are neck-in-neck through four games, with the former catching 19 balls for 293 yards and 1 TD, and the latter grabbing 15 balls for 243 yards and 2 TDs. Each has led the team in yards in two games-Anderson against Utah State and Hawai'i and Jones against Louisville and Boise State. Jones averages a team-high 16.2 yards per catch, with Anderson close behind at 15.4. Anderson averages 73.3 ypg-third in the WAC, while Jones averages 60.8 ypg (9th).
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, is back in the lead this year with 26 (tying him with Kimball Christianson). His 15 unassisted tackles is also tops on the team. He has two pass breakups. Love is questionable to play against Wyoming after spraining his knee against BSU. His season high of nine tackles was against Louisville (led Utah). 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.
OFFENSIVE INFO T.D. Croshaw (6-1, 188, So.), who walked on to the team last year and redshirted, is now Utah's backup quarterback behind Crosswhite ... Sam White and Luis Park, who have taken turns starting at left guard, both started against BSU and will again this week. Park has moved to right guard ... Devin Grant (6-8, 300, Sr.) will get his first career start against Wyoming. Grant will replace the injured Doug Kaufusi at left tackle ... Junior receiver/slot back Donny Utu is enjoying his best year. Utu, Utah's nominee for WAC player of the week after a career game against BSU (6 catches for 65 yards and 2 TDs) leads the Utes in TD catches with three. He is third in receiving with 11 catches for 143 yards (13.0 ypc) ...
Utah scored its first third quarter touchdown of the year last week. The Utes are best in the second quarter (41 points), followed by the first (35) and fourth (34) ... Utah, which last rushed for an average of 200 yards a game back in 1984 (271.9), is averaging 214.3 ypg ... Utah is 4-4 in fourth down conversions-all against Boise State.
UTAH ON OFFENSE Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Offense 214.3 6 29 Passing Offense 206.5 6 56 Total Offense 420.8 2 24 Scoring Offense 30.8 4 34
DEFENSIVE DATA Sophomore free safety Kimball Christianson is tied for Utah's tackle lead with Robert Love (26) ... Senior Linebacker Dicky Purcell leads Utah in tackles for loss with 5 (14 yards) ... Defensive tackle Richard Seals got his first significant playing time in two years against Boise State and had a career game. Seals had 5 tackles, 2.5 sacks for 25 yards, 2 pass breakups and 2 hurries. He played in only the season opener last year before having ankle surgery and missing the remainder of the year. He will back up at nose guard again this week ...
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 second and fourth (15 points each). Its worst is the third (35 points) ... Opponents are converting on just 31% of their third down attempts (21-67).
UTAH ON DEFENSE Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Defense 78.0 2 11 Passing Defense 275.0 4 46 Total Defense 353.0 6 59 Scoring Defense 21.5 4 42
SPECIAL TEAMS Walk-on freshman kicker Ryan Kaneshiro is perfect on extra point attempts (15-15) and field goal attempts (3-3). His long field goal is 41 yards vs. Hawai'i ... Junior All-America candidate Chris Hunter has 25 punts for 1,041 yards (41.6 ypg). He has three punts of 50 yards or more (61 vs. Hawai'i, 55 vs. Utah State and 52 vs. Boise State) ... In his first year on the return teams, Daniel Jones has all nine Ute punt returns (115 yards, 12.8 yards per return) and 10 of 14 kickoff returns (192 yards, 19.2 yards per return) ... Utah's leader in special teams tackles is Colby Knight with 8. Jamal Allen is second with 6.
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). Key players out for the Wyoming game: quarterback Darnell Arceneaux (finger surgery), linebacker Phil Glover (ankle), offensive tackle Doug Kaufusi (foot) and running back Nick Morgan (knee). Questionable is strong safety Robert Love (knee), strong safety Sitivi Laulu (hamstring) and defensive end John Frank (knee).
RED ZONE REPORT Utah Offense Times at or inside 20: 12 Touchdowns: 9 Field Goals: 1 TD percentage: 75% Utah Defense Times opponent at or inside 20: 17 Touchdowns: 7 Field Goals: 4 TD percentage: 24%
ON THE SCALES Utah's offensive front five averages 300 pounds [UW's offensive line averages 289 pounds]. Utah's defensive down linemen average 292 pounds per man [UW's defensive line averages 252 pounds].
THESE TEAMS LAST TIME Utah won 30-24 in Laramie on Nov. 4, 1995, but it wasn't close until the end. Utah held the ball an amazing 44:32 of play, had 422 yards of total offense and allowed just 308 yards. Up 30-10 in the waning minutes of the game, a special teams breakdown resulted in an 83-yard Wyoming punt return for a touchdown. The Pokes then made things interesting by falling on an on-side kick and going on to score. But time ran out for Wyoming in a game that Utah dominated until the final five minutes.
COWBOY QUICK LOOK Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Offense 166.3 8 50 Passing Offense 230.0 4 37 Total Offense 396.3 4 40 Scoring Offense 19.0 12 86 Rushing Defense 108.3 4 27 Passing Defense 274.0 11 83 Total Defense 382.3 10 75 Scoring Defense 14.7 1 18
COWBOY REVIEW 2-1 ... Head Coach Dana Dimel is 10-6 in his second season at Wyoming (same career record). He is 0-0 against Utah and McBride ... beat Montana State (17-9) and Louisiana Tech (31-19) and lost to Georgia (16-9) .... 2-0 at home ... running back Marques Brigham (5-11, 196, Sr.) averages 73.3 ypg ... QB Jay Stoner (6-1, 206, So.) has completed 57 of 91 yards (2 interceptions) for 652 yards (217.3 ypg) and 5 TDs.
RICE-ECCLES STADIUM IN ITS DEBUT SEASON The 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 "The penalties against Boise State, while a concern, are correctable. Our penalties had been on the offense for the most part until that game ...We were really hit hard with injuries. We'll have to look at our personnel and make some adjustments ... Our problem so far is that we're not playing the kind of football we're capable of throughout the game ... I look forward to playing a day game because the players aren't waiting around so long. They get up and go play. I think it's a good time for us to play a road game where there aren't so many distractions. We have played well in Laramie in the past and we will need to do so again if we want to win."
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