Ute Football Team Will Face Indiana In Home Opener Saturday

Sept. 1, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY -

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Utah (1-0, 0-0 MWC) begins its "BCS" part of the schedule this Saturday by hosting Indiana (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in Rice-Eccles Stadium ... The game, which kicks off at 6:00 p.m. MDT, is the first of three straight for Utah against BCS opponents (the following two weeks have Utah facing Arizona and Michigan on the road) ... It is the home opener for Utah, which beat Utah State 23-3 in Logan last Saturday ... Indiana started its 2002 season with a 25-17 home victory over William & Mary ... Utah Head Coach Ron McBride is going after win No. 85 on Saturday. He is 84-57 in his 13th year at Utah ... The Utah-Indiana game will be televised live by KJZZ and on ESPN Game Plan. It will also be broadcast on KALL 910 (AM) radio and on the Internet (www.kall910.com).

LAST WEEK

Utah's defense was magnificent from the start and the offense scored 16 points in the fourth quarter in a 23-3 Utah win over Utah State in Logan last Saturday. The Utes allowed USU practically nothing offensively, holding the Aggies to minus 9 yards rushing, 162 total yards and three points. The 22-yard field goal came on USU's only trip into the "red zone" on a night when it managed just nine first downs. Defensive end Josh Savage had two sacks for 18 yards and free safety Antwoine Sanders grabbed an interception. Running back Marty Johnson rushed for a career-high 176 yards on 30 carries. His 176 net yards was the 18th-best rushing game in school history.

HEAD COACH RON MCBRIDE

Ron McBride has an 84-57 record in his 13th 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 has 10 winning seasons. He has taken the Utes to six bowl games and has a 3-3 bowl record. Utah capped last year's 8-4 season with a 10-6 win over USC in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Day. McBride is 1-0 against Indiana.

MAC AND THE BIG TEN

Utah's 13th-year head coach Ron McBride has first-hand knowledge of Big Ten football, as he coached the offensive line at Wisconsin from 1983-84. At Utah, his only head coaching job, McBride is 2-1 against Big Ten schools. He won at Minnesota in 1990, his first year as head Ute coach; lost to Wisconsin in the 1996 Freedom Bowl and beat Indiana last year in Bloomington.

UTAH AGAINST THE BIG TEN

Utah is 5-7 all-time against Big Ten football teams. Utah's record against Big Ten schools follows: Illinois (0-1), Indiana (1-1), Iowa (1-0), Minnesota (1-1), Ohio State (0-1), Northwestern (1-1), Wisconsin (1-2). Utah played Illinois in 1988, Indiana in 1975 and 2001, Iowa in 1978, Minnesota in 1967 and 1990, Ohio State in 1986, Northwestern in 1927 and 1981, and Wisconsin in 1987 and 1996.

SERIES HISTORY

Both previous games between Utah and Indiana were in Bloomington, with IU winning in 1975 (31-7) and Utah winning last year (28-26).

NOWHERE TO RUN

Saturday's game between Utah and Indiana will feature two of the nation's best teams against the run in the early going. Utah held Utah State to minus 9 yards rushing, ranking third in the nation this week. Just ahead of the Utes? Indiana, which held William & Mary to minus 32 yards rushing in its season opener. On the flip side, Utah rolled up 282 yards rushing against the Aggies, 16th in the nation, while IU managed 103 yards against W&M.

GRIDBITS

Utah is 8-4 in home openers under Head Coach Ron McBride ... Indiana is the first Big Ten opponent ever to visit Salt Lake City ... All-time Ute record is 531-395-31. The Utes are 245-128-10 at home, 14-8 in Rice-Eccles Stadium (1998-on) and 286-267-21 in road/neutral games.

UTAH BY THE NUMBERS

The Utes opened their 2002 season in similar fashion to their statistical finish last year: Namely, the defense held a good Aggie offense to 162 yards of total offense and just three points, and the offense rolled up 282 rushing yards. Last year, Utah finished 17th in the nation in total defense (308.2 ypg), 13th in scoring defense (18.5 ppg) and12th in rushing offense (218.9 ypg). The Utes led the MWC in the first two categories in 2001 and were second in rushing offense.

RUNNING BACKS' NOTEBOOK

> Senior running back Marty Johnson (5-11, 222) rushed for a career-high 176 yards, the 18th-best total in school history, and scored 2 touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 receiving) against Utah State. Johnson rushed 30 times for an average of 5.9 yards per carry and had a long run of 23 yards. He also caught 2 passes for 28 yards and 1 TD.

> Johnson's 176-yard rushing effort against Utah State is tops in the conference and fifth-best in the nation this year.

> Senior running back J.R. Peroulis (6-1, 207) rushed 15 times against Utah State for a career-best 93 yards and 1 TD. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Peroulis, in his second year at Utah after transferring from Arizona State, rushed for 86 total yards last year.

QUARTERBACKS' NOTEBOOK

> Junior quarterback Lance Rice (6-2, 203), who has started since the last three games of his freshman year, is now 11-5 as Utah's starter. Second in the MWC in pass efficiency a year ago, Rice opened his junior campaign by completing 16-of-30 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown against Utah State last Saturday.

> Rice's backup is Brett Elliott (6-3, 194, So.), who beat out junior Ryan Breska (6-4, 220) in the preseason camp.

RECEIVERS' NOTEBOOK

> Senior receiver Josh Lyman (6-0, 197) led Utah with 6 catches for 66 yards against USU. Last year, Lyman ranked second on the team with 36 catches for 382 yards and was first in touchdowns (5) and yards per catch (16.2).

> In his first NCAA D-I game, Linfield College transfer Travis LaTendresse (6-1, 191, So.) caught 3 passes for 40 yards.

> Five different receivers played in the USU game: Lyman, LaTendresse, Devin Houston, Anthony Arceneaux and Paris Jackson.

OFFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK

> Senior offensive lineman Jordan Gross (6-5, 306) made the preseason all-MWC team and is an All-America candidate. He starts at left tackle but is equally adept at guard. He is on the "Watch List" for the Rotary Lombardi Award.

> Junior center Dustin McQuivey (6-3, 294) sprained his right MCL against Utah State and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. McQuivey was recently named to the Rimington Trophy "Watch List," which awards the nation's best center.

DEFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK

> Senior defensive tackle Garrett Smith (6-3, 297), a 2001 first-team all-MWC and 2002 preseason all-MWC defender, made his 32nd career start against Utah State. On the "Watch List" for the Outland Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award, Smith had 2 tackles, both for a loss, and 1 pass breakup vs. Utah State.

> Junior defensive end Jason Kaufusi (6-3, 250) began what the media predicted will be another all-MWC season with 2 tackles, 1 sack and 1 tackle for loss against Utah State. Kaufusi, the 2000 MWC Defensive Freshman of the Year, was first-team all-MWC in 2001. He is on the Rotary Lombardi Award "Watch List."

LINEBACKERS' NOTEBOOK

> Senior linebacker Sheldon Deckart (6-2, 240), a returning first-team all-MWC selection and Utah's leading tackler a year ago with 86, had 4 tackles against Utah State last Saturday. Deckart, picked in the preseason to repeat as a first-team all-conference linebacker, is on the "Watch List" for the Bronko Nagurski and Rotary Lombardi awards.

DEFENSIVE BACKS' NOTEBOOK

> Junior free safety Antwoine Sanders (6-2, 200, Jr.), Utah's interception leader last year with 4, picked off his first of the year last week against Utah State. Sanders, a preseason all-conference selection, also had 2 tackles, 1 for a loss, against the Aggies.

> Junior defensive back Arnold Parker (6-2, 210), the fastest player on the team (4.39 second 40), started at left corner against USU and tallied 3 tackles and a pass breakup. Parker, a preseason all-conference selection, practiced very little in the preseason due to a lower abdominal/upper groin strain.

> Senior Cody Weight (5-11, 186) got his first career start and did a nice job at right corner with 3 tackles, 1 for a loss.

> Strong safety Dave Revill (5-11, 203, Jr.) led all Ute defenders with 5 tackles (1 for a loss) against USU.

SPECIAL TEAMS' NOTEBOOK

> Senior Brian Lewis punted 6 times against Utah State for an average of 31.7 yards per punt (long of 50 yards). He dropped 1 punt inside the 20-yard line. Lewis, who also handles kickoffs, had 1 touchback on 5 kickoffs.

> Redshirt freshman kicker Bryan Borreson was 1-of-3 in his NCAA field goal kicking debut, making a 27-yarder and missing from 46 and 28 yards. Borreson made 2 PATs and had another blocked against the Aggies.

THIS GAME LAST YEAR

A 14 point fourth quarter and a goal line stand on a two-point conversion attempt sparked Utah to a 28-26 win over Indiana. Quarterback Lance Rice (21-29 for 278 yards and 2 TDs) and running back Dameon Hunter (164 yards, 2 TDs) both turned in career efforts in a 447-yard day by the Ute offense. Defensive end Jason Kaufusi (7 tackles, 3 for a loss) and free safety Antwoine Sanders (11 tackles) helped limit Heisman candidate Antwaan Randle El to just 157 passing and 69 rushing yards.

MCBRIDE SAYS

"Obviously, we need to execute better on offense and our kicking game needs to improve. Defensively, we need to keep an edge.

"Lance (Rice) is our starter. He had a few bad throws but I thought he came back and finished strong. He also had guys drop some balls right in their hands. In my opinion, he didn't play that poorly. The timing was a little off in the throw game, partially because we had new receivers getting used to a game situation. We'll fine tune the offense this week in practice.

"The positive was we finished well. We took over the game in the fourth quarter after letting them hang around in the first half. Fortunately, our defense just kept playing. I liked how the offense took the game over with a 16-play drive there at the end.

"We're excited to play at home and we're looking forward to improving from our first game. It's great to bring a team like Indiana in here. With this stadium, we can bring in teams our fans haven't gotten to see before.

"The Big Ten has changed a lot in the last decade. It used to be a smash mouth conference. The teams are a little more wide open now than in the old days. You used to know pretty much what you were going to get from most of the teams, but (Indiana Head Coach) Jerry DiNardo is a former Colorado/LSU guy and the offensive coordinator (Al Borges) has coached at several Pac-10 schools and is a wide-open West Coast offense type of guy."

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