Ute Football Team Has A Break From Competition This Week

Oct. 8, 2001

SALT LAKE CITY -

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QUICKLY

Utah (4-1, 1-0 MWC) has a "bye" this week ... The Utes will return to action on October 20, playing Mountain West Conference foe Wyoming (2-3, 0-2 MWC) in a 1:00 p.m. contest in Rice-Eccles Stadium ... The game will be regionally televised on ESPN+Plus, which is shown on KJZZ in Utah ... Utah is on a three-game win streak, with wins over Indiana (28-26), New Mexico (37-16) and South Florida (52-21) ... Utah's sole loss was to then No. 7 ranked Oregon, in Eugene, 24-10 ... Utah is 3-0 at home this year ... In addition to the regional television coverage, the Utah-Wyoming game will also be broadcast live on KALL 910 (AM) radio and on the Internet www.kall910.com.

"MAC"-ING HIS MARK

Utah Head Coach Ron McBride will go after career win No. 80 when the Utes play Wyoming on October 20. McBride, the second-winningest coach in Utah football history, is 79-54 in 12 years.

LAST WEEK

Utah pummeled a respectable South Florida team 52-21 in a game where nearly every Ute that suited up played. The Utes led 31-0 at the half, holding the ball for all but seven minutes and racking up 320 yards of total offense to USF's 137. The teams played to a 21-21 tie in the second half after USF scored with just 0:08 left in the game against Utah's second string defense. But for penalties (Utah had 13 for 158 yards), the Utes might have pitched a shutout. Wide receiver Josh Lyman had a career night with seven catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns and Adam Tate rushed for a season-high 122 yards and a TD. Tate also caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Lance Rice, who was 16 for 21 for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Utah's 509 total yards was a season-best and its 52 points, its most in a game since 1999, was the most ever scored against USF.

HEAD COACH RON MCBRIDE

Ron McBride has a 79-54 record in his 12th year as head Ute coach. He has the second most wins of any coach in Utah football history. McBride has won a share of two conference titles (1995 and 1999) and his teams have finished at .500 or better nine times, with eight winning seasons. He has taken the Utes to five bowl games and has a 2-3 bowl record. Utah's most recent bowl appearance was in 1999, when the Utes beat Fresno State 17-16 in the Las Vegas Bowl. McBride is 5-4 vs. Wyoming and 1-0 vs. UW coach Vic Koenning.

MAC IN LEAGUE PLAY

Ron McBride is 52-35 against conference teams. Since Utah joined the Mountain West Conference in 1999, McBride's conference mark is 14-10. He is .500 or better against every conference school except Brigham Young-and he's just a game under .500 in that series (5-6).

SERIES SHORTS

Utah has turned the tide in this series under Ron McBride. Before McBride, Wyoming won 7 of 10 from 1980-89. Since 1990, Utah leads 5-4. At 73 games, this is the third-longest series in Utah football history. Utah dominated early, winning 22 games and tying once from 1904-48. Wyoming's first win came in 1949. The Utes snapped a two-game losing streak last year in Laramie. Utah leads 26-11-1 in Salt Lake City.

ON UTAH TIME

Utah leads the Mountain West Conference in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 34:49 minutes per game. Utah has won the time of possession battle in every game, but never was it more noticeable than in the first quarter of the October 6 game vs. South Florida. The Utes held the ball for all but two minutes in the opening quarter and finished the game with a 36:17-23:43 edge. Here is the time of possession "score" for the games to date: 35:20-24:40 vs. Utah State, 35:44-24:16 vs. Oregon, 32:15-27:45 vs. Indiana, 34:29-25:31 vs. New Mexico, 36:17-23:43 vs. South Florida.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Utes are tied for fifth in the nation in sacks allowed per game (.60) and are one of just seven teams in the country to allow three or less sacks so far this year. Utah's defense has accumulated nine sacks to date ... Utah is close to balanced between rushing and passing offense. The Utes, who average 430.8 yards of total offense per game, get 200.6 on the ground and 230.2 by air ... Utah is converting on 41% of its third down attempts (33-81) compared to 29% by its opponents (20-69).

GRIDBITS

Utah is 1-0 in ERT games this year (beat New Mexico on ESPN+Plus on Sept. 29) and 6-1 all-time on ESPN+Plus ...Utah's 3-0 home record this year is a far sight better than last year, when the Utes went 1-5 in Rice-Eccles Stadium ... Utah is off to a 4-1 start for the fifth time in head coach Ron McBride's 12-year career, most recently in 1999 ... all-time Ute record is 526-392-31 ... Utes are 243-128-10 in home games, 12-8 in Rice-Eccles Stadium (1998-on) and 283-264-21 in road/neutral games.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

> Senior running back Dameon Hunter (5-11, 223) is Utah's leading rusher and the third-leading rusher in the Mountain West Conference, averaging 116.4 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry. He is tied for Utah's touchdown lead with 5 rushing TDs. He has rushed 117 times for 582 yards, both team bests.

> Dameon Hunter saw his string of consecutive 100-yard rushing games end at 3, but he still ran for 77 yards and 1 TD vs. South Florida on Oct. 6. He had three straight career games prior to that: 104 vs. Oregon, 164 vs. Indiana and 177 vs. New Mexico, which was the nation's No. 2 ranked defense against the rush entering the game (allowing just 27.0 yards rushing per game).

> Senior running back Adam Tate (6-1, 230) returned to his all-conference form of a year ago against USF on Oct. 6, rushing for a season-high 122 yards and averaging 8.1 yards per carry. Tate had 2 touchdowns against USF, one a 62-yard pass and one a 1-yard run.

> Adam Tate is Utah's second-leading rusher, carrying the ball 59 times for 301 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and 5 TDs. He averages 60.2 rushing yards per game. Tate has also caught 8 passes for 122 yards (1 TD), third on the team. > Senior wide receiver Cliff Russell (6-0, 185), the fastest player ever at Utah (runs a 4.27 40), has a team-high 21 receptions for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns. He averages 14.2 yards per catch and 59.8 yards per game. His best game this year was against Oregon, when he caught 7 balls for 100 yards, his fourth career 100-yard game.

> Junior receiver Josh Lyman (6-0, 196), a one-time walk-on, had a career-high 117 yards on 7 catches vs. USF on Oct. 6. He averaged 16.7 yards per catch, slightly better than his team best season average of 16.1 yards per catch. His 2 receiving touchdowns is tied for second on the team (both were against USF). Lyman is Utah's second-leading receiver with 18 catches for 290 yards (58.0 yards per game).

> Sophomore quarterback Lance Rice (6-2, 200) has taken most of the snaps this year and is completing nearly 60 percent of his pass attempts. Rice is 86 of 147 (58.5%) for 980 yards and 6 touchdowns (3 interceptions). He averages 196.0 passing yards per game and has a pass efficiency rating of 123.89. His 4 touchdown passes against South Florida is tied for the third-most in school history.

> Lance Rice is 6-2 as Utah's starter, having started all five games this year and three games as a freshman in 2000.

> Sophomore backup quarterback Ryan Breska has seen time in three games this year (Oregon, New Mexico and South Florida) and has completed 7 of 18 passes for 145 yards and 1 touchdown (no interceptions). His best game was against UNM, when he was 3 of 4 for 63 yards and his first college touchdown.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

> Utah's tackle leader is linebacker Sheldon Deckart (6-2, 239, Jr.), who plays rover. Deckart has 40 total tackles, 15 which came in a career game against Utah State on Sept. 1. He has 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and a team high 4 pass breakups.

> It's safety first for the Utes, who have a pair of all-conference candidates roaming the backfield. Sophomore safeties Antwoine Sanders (6-3, 193) and Arnold Parker (6-2, 214) are second and third on Utah's tackle charts. Sanders, the free safety, has 31 total tackles and a team-best 3 interceptions (69 return yards). Parker, who plays both strong safety and nickel back, has 29 total tackles and 3 tackles for loss.

> Sophomore defensive end Jason Kaufusi (6-2, 249) leads Utah in tackles for loss (7) and sacks (3). He also has 17 tackles and a pass breakup. The all-conference candidate's best game this year was against Indiana, when he had 7 tackles and 3 tackles for a loss.

> Junior defensive lineman Garrett Smith (6-3, 285), a preseason all-MWC pick, has 18 tackles, 5 for a loss. He also has a sack.

> Utah's top tackling cornerback is converted running back D'Shaun Crockett. Crockett, who in his first start at defensive back led the Utes with 9 tackles against USF, has 25 total tackles, fifth most on the team.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

> Senior Ryan Kaneshiro has taken all 10 of Utah's field goal attempts this year and has made 6. He is 18-19 in PATs, with the lone miss coming against UNM on Sept. 29. He has made two 33-yard field goals, for a season long, and is 4-5 from 39 yards and in. Three of his misses were from 40-49 yards.

> Brian Lewis booted a 75-yard punt vs. Oregon, which is tied for the sixth-longest punt in school history. It was the second-longest punt in Mountain West Conference history. Lewis has punted 26 times this season for 1,013 yards, an average of 39.0 yards per punt. He has placed 5 punts inside the 20.

> Brian Lewis has handled all of the kickoffs this year. He has 30 kickoffs and 11 touchbacks.

> Freshman Morgan Scalley is Utah's No. 1 returner. He has all 14 of Utah's punt returns and averages 7.4 yards per return. He has returned a team-high 4 kickoffs and averages 19.2 yards per return. He returned his first collegiate kickoff 44 yards against Indiana.

RED ZONE REPORT

Utah OffenseTimes at or inside 20: 22(USU 6, UO 2, IU 3, NM 5, SF 6)Touchdowns: 12(USU 2, UO 1, IU 3, NM 3, SF 3)Field Goals: 6(USU 3, UO 1, IU 0, NM 1, SF 1)Scoring percentage: 82%TD percentage: 55%
Utah DefenseTimes opponent at or inside 20: 19(USU 3, UO 3, IU 6, NM 3, SF 4)Touchdowns: 11(USU 1, UO 2, IU 4, NM 1, SF 3)Field Goals: 3(USU 2, UO 1, IU 0, NM 0, SF 0)Scoring percentage: 74%TD percentage: 58%

THIS GAME LAST YEAR

Utah scored early and put the big freeze on Wyoming, winning 34-0 on a frigid day in Laramie, where the temperatures dipped below zero. Adam Tate rushed for two touchdowns and Josh Lyman skated into the end zone with a pass from Lance Rice in the win. The Utes spent most of the chilly second half grinding down the clock, with an interception return by senior Andre Dyson their only score. Wyoming fared worse, compiling just 249 yards of total offense and no points. Arnold Parker had two sacks for Utah.

UW PREVIEW

2-3, 0-2 MWC ... wins were over Furman (20-14) and Utah State (43-42) ... Pokes are wearing an emblem on their helmets in honor of eight members of the UW cross country team who died in a car accident on September 16 ... Head Coach Vic Koenning is 3-13 in his second season ... Koenning is 0-1 against Utah.

MCBRIDE SAYS

"This is a good time for us to have a bye week. We're a little nicked up in a couple of areas. It will give us time to take a good look at Wyoming and work at developing some young players. It's really ideal because we're heading into a stretch of all the important games, the conference games.

"Wyoming has had some tough losses, but they're putting up some impressive numbers on offense. Wyoming threw the ball a ton against us last year, but in the ice and cold they couldn't complete many passes. This is a much better Wyoming team than last year.

"We're looking forward to moving full speed into the conference race. It's important that we win at home and have some momentum going on the road."

POSTPONED PAST

The Utah-Air Force game that was scheduled for September 15, only to be postponed after the tragic events in New York City and Washington, D.C., is the fifth postponed or canceled game in Utah football history. The others involved Utah State (once) and Hawaii (three times). Those scenarios follow: The Utes were to play Utah State on Thanksgiving Day in 1919, but the game was postponed for two days due to high winds in Salt Lake City. Newspapers reported that head Ute coach Thomas Fitzpatrick kicked a football toward the east end zone and the ball landed in the west end zone seats, at which point the decision to postpone the game was made. Utah beat the Aggies two days later, 10-0. Utah was scheduled to host Hawaii for Homecoming on Nov. 14, 1936, but the Rainbows could not depart the Islands due to a ship strike. Texas A&M filled in on one week's notice and beat Utah 20-7. In 1941-42, Utah was scheduled to play two games in Hawaii, the first on December 20, and the second (the Pineapple Bowl) on January 1. Both games were canceled due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

OH BROTHER

Utah's starting brother team of Doug and Jason Kaufusi are already in the picture for postseason recognition. Doug, a senior offensive lineman and Utah's only returning first-team all-conference player, is a candidate for the Lombardi Award. He made the preliminary cut of 52 candidates back in May and is now one of 81 players named to the watch list. The Lombardi Award recognizes the top lineman or linebacker in the country. Jason, a sophomore linebacker/defensive lineman and the 2000 MWC co-Freshman of the Year, is one of 69 candidates named to the Butkus Award watch list. The Butkus Award is presented to the nation's top linebacker.

COACHING LOCATIONS

Utah's offensive coaching staff will man these positions: On the field is running backs/receivers coach Vincent White, tight ends/offensive tackles coach Alex Gerke and graduate assistant Jay Hill. In the box is offensive coordinator Craig Ver Steeg, offensive guards/centers coach Don Eck and graduate assistant Kevin Clune. The defensive coaches can be found here: On the field is defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, defensive tackles/special teams coach Gary Andersen and cornerbacks coach Jugi Hogue. In the box is defensive ends coach Steve Kaufusi and safeties coach Bill Busch.

KAUFUSI, SMITH WIN PRESEASON NOTICE

Senior offensive tackle Doug Kaufusi and junior defensive lineman Garrett Smith were named to the 2001 preseason all-Mountain West Conference team at the MWC Football Media Preview, held in Las Vegas in late July. Kaufusi (6-6, 300) is Utah's only returning first-team all-conference pick and is a four-year starter. Smith (6-3, 285) made the honorable mention all-conference team as a sophomore last year after recording 72 tackles, 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss.

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