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Football
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The University of Utah Athletics
3-0 Utes Play Non-Conference Foe Boise State
9/27/1999 12:00 AM | Football
Sept. 27, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY -
Game 4: Utah (3-0) vs. Boise State (2-2) Date: Sat., Oct. 2 Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (MT) Site: Boise, Idaho (Bronco Stadium?30,000) TV: KJZZ Radio: K-news AM 570, KALL 910
QUICKLY
Utah (3-0, 1-0 MWC) returns to its non-conference schedule this Saturday, playing at Boise State (2-2) on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. in Boise, Idaho ... The game will be played on the blue Astro turf of Bronco Stadium ... Utah is 1-0 on artificial turf this year ... The winner of Saturday's game will break a 2-2 series tie ... Ute starting quarterback Darnell Arceneaux did not play in last year's game against Boise due to a broken finger on his throwing hand ... The Utes are playing their third road game in four games ... Utah is 2-0 on the road ... 3-0 overall, Utah is the only remaining undefeated Mountain West team ... In MWC games only, Utah is tied with Brigham Young and Wyoming at the top of the standings, each with a 1-0 record ... Utah also leads the league in both scoring offense (39.0 ppg) and scoring defense (13.0 ppg) ... The Utah-BSU game will be televised live on KJZZ TV and can be heard on K-news radio (KNRS 570 AM) and KALL 910.LAST WEEK
Utah won its first Mountain West Conference game in history in a romp, 52-14 over UNLV. Led by running backs Mike Anderson (116 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Omar Bacon (92 yards, 1 TD), and receiver Steve Smith (110 yards, 1 TD), the Utes piled up 475 yards in total offense. Anderson tied the school record with four rushing TDs. Defensively, Utah held UNLV to 153 yards?just 68 of those came in the first three quarters against the Utes' first string. Utah led 24-7 at the half and put the game away with a 21-0 third quarter. Defensive back Jay Hill kept his string of games with a turnover alive at three, intercepting his third pass of the season.LOST CAUSE
The big win over UNLV brought a couple of big losses too. Starting wide receiver Chris Christensen and punt returner/receiver Courtney Richins both suffered season-ending injuries. Christensen, who was Utah's leading receiver entering the game, averaging 84.0 yards per game, broke his left fibula. Richins, who leads the league and ranks 14th nationally in punt returns, averaging 13.3 yards per return, tore his ACL. Richins will undergo surgery, which is also a possibility for Christensen.HEAD COACH RON MCBRIDE
Head Coach Ron McBride is 65-43 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 six 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. McBride is 0-1 against Boise State Head Coach Dirk Koetter.SERIES SHORTS
Tied 2-2 ... Boise State overcame a 28-24 Ute lead in the last two minutes to win 31-28 in Salt Lake City last year (see Last Year) ... The 1998 loss was Utah's first in its new stadium (Rice-Eccles on Sept. 26) ... Utah is 1-0 in Boise, with a 31-27 win there in 1987.GRIDBITS
A win over Boise State would give Head Ute Coach Ron McBride the second 4-0 start of his 10-year Ute career: The other time was in 1994, when Utah won a school record eight straight ... Utah was 3-0 last year before losing to Boise State ... Ron McBride picked up career win No. 65 against UNLV last Saturday. In Ute football history, only Ike Armstrong (141-55-17 from 1925-49) has more wins ... Utah is 88-48-7 (65%) all-time against Big West Conference schools ... There are two Idaho natives on Utah's roster (Jordan Gross and Shawn Tidwell). Gross, an offensive tackle, got his first playing time against Utah State on Sept. 18 and also played last week against UNLV ... Utah's all-time record is 514-380-31 ... Utah leads the MWC in turnover margin (plus 4).MIKE CHECK
Running back Mike Anderson (6-0, 232, Sr.), the preseason Mountain West Conference offensive player of the year and a Doak Walker candidate, leads the MWC in rushing, averaging 107.0 yards per game. His seven touchdowns and 6.1 yards per carry average are also league bests, and he is tied for the MWC scoring lead with 42 points. He is fifth in the nation in scoring. He has rushed 53 times for 321 yards. Anderson's 116 yards against UNLV on Saturday marked his ninth 100-yard game in 14 games as a Ute. He had four rushing TDs at UNLV, which ties him for first in the school record book (with four others) for rushing touchdowns in a game. He now has 19 career rushing TDs?the fifth most ever at Utah. He needs three more to tie for fourth (22 by Juan Johnson 1994-97 and Chris 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. His 12 rushing touchdowns was the second best single season tally ever at Utah. His career-best rushing game is 163 yards vs. San Jose State in 1998.HOLY KAUTAI
Junior linebacker Kautai Olevao (6-2, 245), first-team all-WAC in 1998, has 16 tackles after two games, which ranks him second on the team. He had a season-best eight tackles in the opener against Washington State. Olevao also has a tackle for loss, 2 pass breakups, 2 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. A year ago, he was Utah's leading tackler (77) and its defensive MVP.FRANKLY SPEAKING
Senior defensive end John Frank (6-5, 277), a preseason all-Mountain West Conference pick, has 14 tackles?best of the linemen and fourth on the team. He leads Utah in tackles for loss (2-12 yards) and sacks (2-9 yards). His 8-yard sack against Utah State brought his career total to 16. Frank, first-team all-WAC last year, finished second in the league in sacks with 10 in 1998.ARCENEAUX'S ARSENAL
Junior quarterback Darnell Arceneaux (6-1, 194) is now 9-0 as a starter after leading Utah to victory over UNLV. In three quarters, Arceneaux completed 8 of 15 passes for 143 yards and 1 score. In three games this year, he is 42 of 75 (56%) for 571 yards (190.3 ypg) and 4 TDs (4 interceptions). His pass efficiency rating is 126.89. Arceneaux had a career-best 249 yards in the season-opener against Washington State. Also a running threat, Arceneaux has looked to throw first this year, with his 17 ground yards against UNLV a season best. He rushed for 406 yards and seven scores his first two years and had a career-best rushing game of 115 yards against UTEP in 1998.UTE INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Name Category (stats) MWC NCAA Mike Anderson Rushing 1 22 Mike Anderson Scoring 1 5 Jay Hill Interceptions 1 2 Courtney Richins Punt Returns 1 14 Golden Whetman Field Goals 1 28 Jay Hill Passes Defended 1 Steve Smith All Purpose Yards 1
OFFENSIVE INFO
Utah has lost three wide receivers in the last two weeks to injuries: Cliff Russell (sprained knee), Chris Christensen (broken fibula) and Courtney Richins (torn ACL). Only Russell is expected back (this weekend). Christensen and Richins are gone for the year ... Juco transfer Steve Smith leads the Ute receivers and ranks second in the MWC in receiving yards per game (80.3). Smith has 13 receptions for 241 yards (18.5 yards per catch). He had a career game against UNLV, grabbing 4 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Smith leads the league in all-purpose yards, averaging 115.0 ypg ... Senior running back Omar Bacon, who rushed for 718 yards and 9 TDs last year, returned to his junior year form against UNLV. Bacon rushed 14 times for 92 yards, an average of 6.6 yards per carry. He is Utah's second leading rusher with 41 carries for 161 yards and 2 TDs ... Backup junior QBs TD Croshaw and Tony Alvarez were the triggermen for Utah in the fourth quarter against UNLV. Croshaw completed his first pass attempts as a Ute, going 3 for 3 for 48 yards. Alvarez, a juco transfer, did not attempt a pass ... Utah ranks in the top three in the MWC in three statistical categories, including a No. 1 ranking in scoring offense (39.0 ppg) ... The Utes are 20 of 44 (45%) on third down conversions ... They have 66 first downs, an average of 22 per game.UTAH ON OFFENSE
Category Avg. MWC NCAA Rushing Offense 198.7 2 24 Passing Offense 206.3 5 57 Total Offense 405.0 3 37 Scoring Offense 39.0 1 15
DEFENSIVE DATA
Senior strong safety Colby Knight leads Utah in tackles (18) ... Senior cornerback Jay Hill has at least one takeaway in all three games. Hill leads the MWC with 3 interceptions and he has forced 2 fumbles (and recovered 1). He is tied for Utah's lead in pass breakups (4) and is the MWC leader in passes defended (7, includes breakups and interceptions) ... Of Richard Seals' 5 tackles, 2 were for a loss and 2 were sacks ... Redshirt freshman Garrett Smith got his first career start at UNLV and responded with 2 tackles and 2 pass breakups ... Utah ranks in the top two of the five major defensive categories, including No. 1 rankings in pass efficiency defense (89.3) and scoring defense (13.0 ppg) ... Opponents are converting on just 36% of their third down attempts (16-44) and are 0-3 on fourth downs.
UTAH ON DEFENSE
Category Avg. MWC NCAA Rushing Defense 109.3 2 33 Passing Defense 172.3 2 n/a Pass Efficiency Defense 89.3 1 14 Total Defense 281.7 2 22 Scoring Defense 13.0 1 12
SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior kicker Golden Whetman, perfect in field goals and PATs through three games, leads the Mountain West kickers. He is 15-15 on PATs and 4-4 on field goals. Whetman's field goals are from 48, 45, 26 and 23 yards out. The first two were at Washington State in his NCAA debut ... Steve Smith will replace injured punt returner Courtney Richins at that position. Smith, who also returns kicks, has 1 punt return for 20 yards ... Senior punter Chris Hunter has 15 punts for 625 yards, an average of 41.7 yards per punt, with a long of 55. He has one touchback and has landed five inside the 20-yard line. A third of his punts (5) have resulted in fair catches ... Dylan Bird and Stewart Carvalho are Utah's leading special teams tacklers, each with 3.
INJURY REPORT
Player, Pos. Injury/Status/GM Brooks Bahr, LB knee (dislocation)/out for season+ Courtney Richins, PR/WR knee (torn ACL)/out for season+ Chris Christensen, WR leg (broken fibula)/out for season Brandon Dart, DB hamstring/doubtful/2* Fisi Moleni, OC knee scope (Sept. 7)/questionable/3 +Scheduled for surgery *Missed WSU game, re-injured vs. Utah State
ON THE SCALES
Utah's offensive front five averages 288 pounds [BSU's offensive line averages 306 pounds]. Utah's defensive down linemen average 290 pounds [BSU's average 258 pounds].
RED ZONE REPORT
Utah Offense Times at or inside 20: 15 Touchdowns: 12 Field Goals: 2 Scoring percentage: 93% TD percentage: 80% Utah Defense Times opponent at or inside 20: 8 Touchdowns: 4 Field Goals: 1 Scoring Percentage: 63% TD percentage: 50%LAST YEAR
Utah appeared on its way to a 4-0 start to the 1998 season, holding a 28-24 lead over Boise State with 2:08 remaining in the game and BSU on its own 1-yard line. But the Broncos marched 99 yards for a touchdown on their final drive for the 31-28 upset win?the first win by an opponent in Utah's new Rice-Eccles Stadium. The late game heroics by BSU negated two comebacks by the Utes, who came back from a 14-0 hole to tie the game in the second quarter and again scored two straight touchdowns after falling behind 24-14 in the second half. Mike Anderson rushed for 110 yards to lead Utah's offense, while Richard Seals (5 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 pass breakups) led the defense.BSU BY THE NUMBERS
Category Avg. NCAA Rushing Offense 125.0 77 Passing Offense 223.8 43 Total Offense 348.8 70 Scoring Offense 20.3 85 Rushing Defense 125.0 45 Passing Defense 228.8 54 Total Defense 347.8 53 Scoring Defense 27.0 71
BRONCO UPDATE
2-0 ... 1-0 vs. the Mountain West (defeated New Mexico last Saturday in Boise, 20-9) ... also 1-0 against the state of Utah (defeated Southern Utah 35-27) ... 2-0 at home ... leading rusher is Davy Malaythong with 50 carries for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns ... QB Bart Hendricks has completed 70 of 121 pass attempts (58%) for 809 yards. He averages 202.3 ypg and has 5 TDs and 5 interceptions ... Head Coach Dirk Koetter is 1-0 against Utah and Ron McBride.
MCBRIDE SAYS
"Our injury situation is bad at wide receiver, but it helps that we should have Cliff Russell back this week. Johnny Lundy is going to have to step up and be ready to contribute ...Our guys did a great job of playing team offense and team defense at UNLV. UNLV's offensive line actually played better against us than it did against Iowa State and we still just dominated. We really preached to the players to play hard from start to finish and they responded ... The only thing that concerns me about our history with Boise is that they beat us last year. The guys should understand the importance of this game for that reason alone. Boise's coach is a really smart guy and he has a physical team that appears to have a well balanced offense. They have had more success passing this year, but they like to make sure you know they can run."
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