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The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Await Word on Bowl Bid
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Football
November 24, 1998
November 24, 1998
QUICKLY
Utah (7-4, 5-3) won three of its four games ... The Utes tied for second in the WAC Pacific Division ... Utah's four losses were by a total of nine points, including a one-point overtime loss to WAC Pacific Division co-champion San Diego State and a two-point loss to co-champ BYU ... Head Coach Ron McBride recorded the sixth seven-win or better season in his nine-year tenure on the Hill, and his sixth winning season in a row. His teams have finished .500 or better for the last eight years ... The Utes played before their first sell-out crowd in new Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov. 21 vs. BYU. The crowd of 45,634 boosted Utah's six-game home attendance figure to 234,359a school-record average of 39,060 per game.
UTES MAKE ALL-WAC
Junior running back Mike Anderson, who led the WAC in rushing, and senior wide receiver Daniel Jones, the WAC's leading receiver, led Utah's 1998 all-WAC contingent. Anderson and Jones were both named to the Pacific Division's first-team offense, and Jones was an honorable mention special teams pick. First-team all-WAC defensive picks from Utah were junior defensive end John Frank, sophomore linebacker Kautai Olevao and senior strong safety Robert Love. Making the all-WAC second team offense were senior receiver Jerome Anderson and three linemen: seniors Darren Walker and Josh Cochran, and sophomore Sam White. Defensive second-teamers included senior nose tackle Pene Talamaivao and senior linebacker Jason Hooks. Other Utes who received votes: Andy Kassotis (tight end), Mike Thomas (defensive line), Kimball Christianson (free safety) and Chris Hunter (punter).
SEASON FINALE RECAP
Senior wide receiver/kick returner Daniel Jones positioned Utah for a come-from-behind win over BYU, but Ryan Kaneshiro's go-ahead field goal bounced off the upright and Utah came up just short, 26-24 on November 21 in Rice-Eccles Stadium. Jones returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with 2:41 remaining to bring Utah within two. After a defensive stand by his teammates, Jones took a Jonathan Crosswhite pass 43 yards to BYU's 24-yard line, but was flagged for a 15-yard celebration penalty. Crosswhite directed the Utes back to the 15-yard line, setting up the failed 32-yard field goal attempt. Jones finished with six receptions for 77 yards and 1 TD. He also had three kickoff returns for 123 yards and a touchdown. Senior Robert Love led the defense with 12 tackles.
HEAD COACH RON MCBRIDE
In nine years at Utah, Head Coach Ron McBride is the program's second winningest coach. McBride, 62-43, is one of just two coaches in school history to win 60 games. He has six straight winning seasons and just one losing year (1990, his first). McBride's teams have averaged seven wins per year. He has never had a team finish below .500 on the road. 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.
GRIDBITS
Utah will lose nine, possibly 10, starters from its lineup after this year. Seniors starting on the offense are: center Darren Walker, (possibly) right tackle Josh Cochran (will apply for a hardship year), quarterback Jonathan Crosswhite and wide receivers Jerome Anderson and Daniel Jones. The defense loses starting left end Dickie Purcell, right tackle Mike Thomas, nose tackle Pene Talamaivao, stud linebacker Jason Hooks and strong safety Robert Love ... Utah led or was tied in the fourth quarter in three of its four losses. The Utes led against Boise State and Wyoming and were tied with San Diego State ... Utah played the first two overtime games in school history this year, losing to San Diego State (21-20) and defeating UTEP (34-27).
MIKE CHECK
Running back Mike Anderson (6-2, 220), a 24-year-old junior college transfer, finished as the WAC's leading rusher (106.6 ypg) and was named to the all-WAC Pacific Division first team. Anderson's rushing average was the third best ever at Utah. He is just the fourth Ute ever to average 100 yards a game rushing in a season. He finished 19th in the nation in rushing. Anderson, who became just the fourth 1,000-yard rusher in school history on Oct. 31, is the second leading single-season rusher ever at Utah with 1,173 yards. Carl Monroe set the school standard of 1,507 yards in 1982.
Anderson is also second in the books in single-season carries with 244 (Monroe had 309 in 1982). Anderson and Monroe share the school record for consecutive 100-yard games (5). Anderson is one of just two players in school historyand the first in 16 yearsto rush for 100 yards seven times in a season. The record is held by Monroe (9 in 1982). Anderson and Monroe both reached 1,000 yards in eight gamesschool record speed.
Anderson finished with 12 TDs, one shy of the school record held by Mark Stevens (13 in 1984). Utah's rushing leader in all but two games, Anderson led the team in every rushing category: carries (244), yards (1,173), yards per carry (4.8) and touchdowns (12). His 40-yard touchdown run against San Jose State was his longest run from the line of scrimmage. He had a career-best 163 yards against the Spartans. He is Utah's leading scorer with 78 points.
Opponent Rush Yards Avg. TD Long Utah State 32 150 4.7 1 20 Louisville 30 122 4.1 1 13 Hawai'i 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 San Diego St.20 110 5.5 0 25 San Jose St. 29 163 5.6 2 40 UTEP 21 63 3.0 2 16 New Mexico 19 80 4.2 2 15 BYU 14 29 2.1 0 16
HOLY KAUTAI
Sophomore linebacker Kautai Olevao (6-2, 240) made the all-WAC Pacific Division first team in his first year back from an LDS church mission. Olevao, who started as a freshman in 1995 and just returned to the team in August, led the Utes in tackles with 77 (7.0 tpg). He started the first two games at middle linebacker and the last seven games at rover (he did not start the third and fourth games). He was the team leader in double-figure tackle games with four (14 vs. Utah State, 11 vs. San Diego State and 10 vs. Fresno State and UTEP). He also tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (9-14 yards) and interceptions (3-22 yards), and had 2.5 sacks (10 yards), six pass breakups and two caused fumbles. In his first game since 95, 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 Hawai'i 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 San Diego St. 4 7 11 1-3 1-3 0 San Jose St. 4 0 4 1-1 0-0 0 UTEP 6 4 10 3-6 0-0 1 New Mexico 3 3 6 1-1 0-0 0 BYU 5 1 6 0-0 1-8 0
UTES FINISH WITHOUT ARCENEAUX
Starting sophomore quarterback Darnell Arceneaux (6-1, 187) was lost for the year after dislocating his (right) shoulder against UTEP on Nov. 7. He underwent surgery to repair the problem on Nov. 11 and will be out of action for three months. He left with a 5-0 record as a starter (3-0 this year). Arceneaux missed three previous games with a broken finger suffered in practice on Sept. 15, which also required surgery.
He returned against Fresno State on Oct. 17, but exited that game with a concussion after scoring the go-ahead touchdown. He left the San Jose game early, too, this time after re-injuring his finger. Arceneaux finished his shortened sophomore season with nine touchdowns (4 rushing, 5 passing), 198 rushing yards and 687 passing yards (114.5 ypg). He completed 43 of 77 pass attempts (.558). In his final game, he had led Utah to a 20-17 lead over UTEPrushing for a career-high 115 yards and throwing for 121 yards (9 of 18 passing) and 2 touchdownsbefore injuring his shoulder in the third quarter.
COUNTING CROSSWHITE
Senior quarterback Jonathan Crosswhite (6-2, 210), who started the first nine games of last season, started seven games this year, replacing the injured Darnell Arceneaux. Crosswhite was 3-4 as a starter. He played in all but one game (Utah State). He had three 200-yard games (255 yards vs. Hawai'i, 209 vs. Wyoming and 219 vs. New Mexico) and has six career 200-yard games. His best numbers of the year came in a win over Fresno State on October 17, when he completed 14 of 17 passes for 187 yards. His .824 passing percentage in that game ranks fourth in school history. Crosswhite owns two of the top four single-game passing percentages in school history. He was 90% (9-10) against UTEP last yearsecond in school history. He has completed 128-221 passes (.579) for 1,615 yards (161.5 ypg) and 10 touchdowns (9 interceptions) this year. His pass efficiency of 126.1 was 5th in the WAC and 41st nationally. His best game was against TCU in 1997, when he threw for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns.
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
Wyoming 38 17 2 209 1 22
Fresno State 17 14 0 187 0 49
San Diego St. 30 17 2 185 0 29
San Jose State 3 2 0 65 1 34
UTEP 14 8 1 93 0 29
New Mexico 22 16 0 219 1 25
BYU 33 18 2 172 2 43
BACON SIZZLES
Junior running back Omar Bacon (6-1, 208) had a spectacular season, rushing for 718 yards and nine touchdowns. Bacon, who redshirted last year after playing sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, averaged 65.3 yards per gamesecond on the team and 13th in the WAC. He finished second on the team to WAC leader Mike Anderson in all rushing categories: carries (160), yards (718), yards per carry (4.5), yards per game (65.3) and rushing touchdowns (9). He 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. 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 Hawai'i 24 125 5.2 2 27 Boise State 15 88 5.9 0 34 Wyoming 17 57 3.4 0 16 Fresno St. 19 83 4.4 1 19 San Diego St. 17 56 3.3 2 11 San Jose St. 17 69 4.1 0 24 UTEP 12 57 4.8 0 12 New Mexico 19 65 3.4 2 10 BYU 12 43 3.6 0 9
KEEP UP WITH THIS JONES
Senior wide receiver Daniel Jones finished as the WAC's leading receiver (73.5 ypg) and was named first-team all-WAC. He had 57 receptions, tied for most in the WAC, and his 5.2 catches per game was tied for second. Utah's top receiver in catches (57) and yards (809) also caught a team-best four TD passes. He averaged 14.2 yards per catch. Jones finished with four career 100-yard gamesone this year.
His 197 yards against Fresno State on Oct. 17 was the most yards by a Ute receiver since 1991. He led the Ute receivers in four games this year (Louisville, Fresno State, San Jose State and UTEP). He was also Utah's top return man (see Special Teams section below), returning two kickoffs for touchdownstying Erroll Tucker's school record set back in 1985. Jones was an honorable mention all-WAC special teams pick. Jones almost singlehandedly put Utah in position to win its game with BYU in the closing seconds of the game. First, he returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with 2:41 remaining to bring Utah within two (26-24). Then, he took a Jonathan Crosswhite pass 43 yards into BYU territory, helping to put Utah in field goal range.
Rec. Yds Avg. TD Long
Utah State 2 5 2.5 0 7
Louisville 3 87 29.0 1 35
Hawai'i 5 91 18.2 0 57
Boise State 5 60 12.0 1 20
Wyoming 2 16 8.0 0 11
Fresno St. 13 197 15.2 0 49
San Diego St. 5 29 5.8 0 11
San Jose St. 3 98 32.7 1 45
UTEP 6 63 10.5 0 18
New Mexico 7 86 12.3 0 25
BYU 6 77 12.8 1 43
RECEIVING LINE
Senior wide receiver Jerome Anderson and junior slot back Donny Utu combined with Daniel Jones to give Utah one of its most balanced receiving acts ever. Anderson was named second-team all-WAC after a 42-reception, 658-yard season. He was second on the team to Jones in those categories, while Utu had 34 (in 10 games). Anderson led the Utes in yards per catch (15.7) and ranked sixth in the WAC in yards per game (59.8). He had 658 yards and three touchdowns, both second on the team. Anderson led the Utes against Utah State (64 yards), Hawai'i (107) and New Mexico (100). He has two career 100-yard games. Utu fell behind in the team reception race after missing the UTEP game with a concussion. In 10 games, he caught 34 passes for 389 yards (11.4 yards per catch, 38.9 yards per game) and three touchdowns. Utu led the Ute receivers in three games (Boise State, Wyoming and SDSU). His 95 yards vs. the Aztecs was his career best.
LOTS OF LOVE
Senior strong safety Robert Love (5-9, 203) was named first-team all-WAC, after two years on the second team. Love, Utah's tackle leader as a sophomore and junior, finished one tackle short of first this year despite missing the Wyoming game with a knee injury. In 10 games, he recorded 76 tackles, one behind Kautai Olevao's team-leading 77. Love led the team in tackles per game, averaging 7.6, and solo tackles (47). He also had two interceptions and six pass breakups. He had a season-best 13 tackles against UTEP and led Utah with 12 against BYU. 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 INT PBU Utah State 1 2 3 0-0 0 1 Louisville 7 2 9 0-0 0 0 Hawai'i 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 San Diego St. 6 3 9 1-2 0 1 San Jose St. 2 3 5 0-0 0 2 UTEP 7 6 13 0-0 1 0 New Mexico 3 2 5 0-0 1 0 BYU 9 3 12 0-0 0 1
OFFENSIVE INFO
Behind the efforts of junior running backs Mike Anderson (6-2, 220) and Omar Bacon (6-1, 208), the 1998 Utes averaged 206 yards per game. It is first time since 1984 (when the Utes averaged 271.9 ypg) that Utah averaged 200 yards on the ground. Anderson and Bacon accounted for 83% of the rushing yardage ... Utah's 280 rushing yards against San Jose State was its most of the season ... Utah's offense is split down the middle, with 2,302 passing yards and 2,266 rushing yards ... Daniel Jones finished third in the WAC and 18th in the nation in all-purpose yardage (144.3 ypg) ... Utah's best quarter was the second (113 points). The third quarter was its worst (51 points) ... Utah converted 42% of its third down attempts (65-156). The Utes were 7-9 on fourth down conversions (78%) ... Utah held the ball an average of 33 minutes each game.
UTAH ON OFFENSE
Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Offense 206.0 4 17 Passing Offense 209.3 6 56 Total Offense 415.3 1 26 Scoring Offense 30.8 2 31
DEFENSIVE DATA
Utah held opponents to the second lowest single season rushing total in school history (1,071 yards). It was the fewest yards gained in a season by the opposition in 17 years (the 1981 Utes allowed just 995 yards) ... 1997 all-WAC linebacker Phil Glover returned from a five-game injury absence to play against UNM and BYU. He started in Utah's nickel package ... Sophomore free safety Kimball Christianson (honorable mention all-WAC) finished third on Utah's tackle charts with 67 (5.9 tpg) ... junior end John Frank, who was named to the all-WAC first-team, led Utah in sacks (10-57 yards yards) and tied for third in tackles for loss (8-20). Frank also caused 2 fumbles, recovered a fumble and had 4 pass breakups ... corners Teneil Ethridge and Andre Dyson tied for the team lead in pass breakups with 11 ... Dyson, Jamal Allen and Kautai Olevao all had 3 interceptions ... Utah's best quarters were the first (41 points) and second (52 points) ... opponents converted on 33% of their third down attempts (57-174) and 26% of their fourth down attempts (5-19).
UTAH ON DEFENSE
Category Avg. WAC NCAA Rushing Defense 97.4 2 9 Passing Defense 246.3* 4 19 Total Defense 343.6 6 42 Scoring Defense 20.6 7 32 *pass efficiency rating 106.33
SPECIAL TEAMS
At the completion of Utah's regular season on Nov. 21, the Utes led the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 27.1 yards per return. Senior Daniel Jones (20 returns for 507 yards) and freshman Patrick Dyson (11 returns for 362 yards) accounted for all but 51 yards. Jones returned two kickoffs for touchdowns (tying the school record), while Dyson returned one for a score. Jones finished second individually in the WAC in return average (25.4). Dyson (32.9 average) did not have enough returns to qualify for the rankings ... Jones was also Utah's top punt returner, with 31 for 262 yards (8.4 ypr) ... Walk-on freshman kicker Ryan Kaneshiro made 40-42 point after attempts. He made 8 of 13 field goal attempts with a long of 47 vs. Wyoming. He was Utah's second leading scorer with 64 points ... Junior punter Chris Hunter (honorable mention all-WAC) booted 59 punts for 2,444 yards (41.4 average) with a long of 61 yards. He placed a punt on the 1-yard line against Boise State, Wyoming and BYU, and one on the 3-yard line vs. UTEP ... Jason Potter led the Utes in special teams tackles with 16, followed by Colby Knight (15).
RED ZONE REPORT
Utah Offense
Times at or inside 20: 46
Touchdowns: 28
Field Goals: 4
TD percentage: 61%
Utah Defense
Times opponent at or inside 20: 38
Touchdowns: 17
Field Goals: 7
TD percentage: 45%
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