Utah Football Team Hosts New Mexico This Saturday.

Oct. 20, 2003

SALT LAKE CITY -

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> Utah (6-1, 3-0 MWC) hosts New Mexico (4-3, 1-1 MWC) in a key Mountain West Conference match-up, Saturday. Game time is 1:00 p.m. MDT in Rice Eccles Stadium.

> Utah broke into the national rankings for the first time since 1996 on Sunday. The Utes are ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

> Utah took sole possession of first place in the MWC with its 28-10 win over UNLV last Saturday. The Utes (3-0) are the only team without a league loss.

> Utah has won five straight and is off to its first 6-1 start (and 3-0 MWC start) since 1999. The last time Utah won seven of its first eight games was in 1996.

> With six wins, Utah is now bowl eligible.

> In the MWC preseason poll, New Mexico was picked to finish second, while Utah was picked fifth.

UTES AND THE POLLS

After its fifth-consecutive victory, a 28-10 victory over UNLV last Saturday, the Utah football team has moved into the national rankings for the first time since 1996. Utah checked in at No. 24 in the Associated Press rankings and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Utah's inclusion in the Oct. 19 rankings marks its first appearance in the polls since 1996. The Utes were ranked for four weeks in the A.P. poll and five weeks in the USA Today/Coaches poll that year. Utah rose as high as No. 20 in the A.P. poll and No. 19 in the coaches poll on Oct. 28, 1996 before losing to Rice on Nov. 2. Utah's best season with the pollsters was 1994, when the Utes were ranked for 11 straight weeks by the A.P. and 12 straight weeks by the coaches. Utah earned a final A.P. ranking of No. 10 and coaches ranking of No. 8 on Jan. 3. Utah's best-ever A.P. ranking was No. 9 on Oct. 30, 1994. The coaches poll twice ranked Utah No. 8 that year (Oct. 30 and Jan. 3). Utah's only other appearance in the A.P. rankings, which began in 1936, was in 1947, when the Utes were ranked 18th for one week.

PACKIN' THE HOUSE

Utah is on target to break its home attendance record, averaging 42,568 fans per game in its four home games this season. The school attendance record is 39,249 set in 1999. Already the 2003 Utes have played before the largest (46,768 vs. California) and sixth-largest (44,676 vs. Oregon) crowds in school history. Rice-Eccles Stadium seats 45,017. Here are Utah's season attendance averages since Rice-Eccles Stadium opened six years ago: 1998-39,060, 1999-39,249, 2000-39,121, 2001-34,458, 2002-35,429.

MARKING MEYER

Urban Meyer is 6-1 at Utah and 23-7 in his third year as a head coach. Widely considered one of the up-and-comers in the college coaching ranks, Meyer, 39, was hired by Utah on Dec. 12, 2002 after leading Bowling Green to a two-year record of 17-6. At BGSU, Meyer went 5-0 against BCS teams, including two wins over ranked opponents, and his team cracked the AP Top 20 after starting the 2002 season with eight straight wins. Named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year as a first-year head coach in 2001, Meyer went 8-3 and 9-3 in his two years at BG. His previous coaching stops included assistantships at Ohio State (graduate assistant), Illinois State, Colorado State and Notre Dame. Meyer is 0-0 against New Mexico.

LAST WEEK

Quarterback Alex Smith moved the Utes by ground and by air and the Utah defense took care of the rest in a 28-10 Utah victory over UNLV. Smith rushed for a career-high 97 yards (averaging 5.1 yards per carry) and passed for another 204 yards and a touchdown. He set up Utah's first score with the eighth-longest pass play in school history, a 79-yard bomb to tight end Ben Moa, and directed another scoring drive on the next series. The 14-0 first quarter lead was all that the defense needed, as it stuffed a Rebel team to the tune of just 16 first downs, 85 rushing yards and 312 total yards. Four Ute defenders had 7 tackles and six had a tackle for loss. Freshman corner Eric Weddle had 6 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble. Running back Brandon Warfield rushed for 96 yards and 2 TDs in Utah's most balanced offensive game of the season (220 yards rushing, 221 yards passing).

SERIES HISTORY

New Mexico won in double overtime last year, but Utah has won five of the last seven. Utah leads the series 28-14-2 and has a 16-3-1 advantage in Salt Lake City.

UTAH VS. THE MWC

Utah's all-time record against current MWC teams is 195-121-10. Here's how Utah has fared against its MWC rivals: Air Force 6-13, Brigham Young 49-31-4, Colorado State 49-21-2, New Mexico 28-14-2, San Diego State 11-11-1, UNLV 8-1 and Wyoming 44-30-1.

THIS GAME LAST YEAR

Brett Elliott passed for a career-high 440 yards and 4 touchdowns, but Utah lost 42-35 to the Lobos in double overtime in Albuquerque. Utah led 28-21 at halftime before both defenses settled down. Neither team scored in the third quarter and Utah also put up a donut in the fourth. The Lobos tied the game with 0:46 left in regulation for their only score of the second half. Both teams scored in the first overtime and UNM opened the second OT period with a touchdown that Utah could not match.

SMITH STREAK

Sophomore quarterback Alex Smith has now gone seven games and 139 passes without an interception, dating back to last fall. He has thrown 138 passes without a pick this year. Smith's lone career interception came in his first game as a true freshman last year against San Diego State, when he played in two series in the third quarter. He took five total snaps against the Aztecs in that game and was 2-3 passing for 4 yards. Smith also came in for one play against New Mexico in 2002 and threw an incompletion. He relieved then starter Brett Elliott in the first game of this season, taking 18 snaps and completing 5-7 passes for 86 yards and 2 TDs vs. Utah State. In the five games since Elliott was injured against Texas A&M on Sept. 6-a game in which Smith did not play-he has taken every snap.

NOT IN OUR END ZONE

Utah is tied for sixth in the nation in defensive touchdowns allowed since 1999. The Utes, who have allowed 14 defensive touchdowns this year, have given up 105 total points in defensive touchdowns since 1999. The top 10 teams since 1999 in defensive touchdowns allowed: 1. Southern Mississippi (81), 2. Oklahoma (91), 3. Miami, Fla. (94), 4. TCU, Tennessee (102), 6. Kansas State, Florida State, Utah, Virginia Tech (105), 10. Nebraska (109).

BY THE NUMBERS

Utah is second in the MWC and 12th in the nation in turnover margin (+8) ... Utah has run 75 more plays than its foes (529-454) and has held the ball for almost nine more minutes a game (34:09-25:51) ... Utah has scored 26 touchdowns to its opponents' 14 ... Utah's best offensive quarter is the fourth (77 points) and its worst is the first (38 points). Utah's defense has allowed just 20 first-quarter points. The top scoring opponent quarter is the second (44 points).

THE UTE ZONE

Utah has scored on its last 8 trips inside the red zone and is scoring 79% of the time it crosses inside the 20-yard line. The Utes have scored 20 touchdowns and 6 field goals in 33 trips into the red zone. Utah's defense has let foes inside the 20 just 18 times and they have scored on 14 (9 touchdowns, 5 field goals).

GRIDBITS

Last year's loss to New Mexico was the first double overtime game in school history ... Utah is 10-5 all-time in games televised by ESPN+Plus ... Utah's all-time record is 542-402-31. The Utes are 339-167-16 at home, 21-10 in Rice-Eccles Stadium (1998-on), 192-221-13 in road games and 11-14-2 in games played at neutral sites.

COACH Urban Meyer SAYS

"While a ranking doesn't have any real tangible meaning, it does show that people respect what you're doing and it is a great tool for recruiting. I am very happy that we are ranked this week.

"New Mexico had an impressive win at San Diego State and I thought San Diego State was a very good team when we played them. We just beat a good UNLV team. This is a very strong league from top to bottom and there is not enough time in the day to think about anyone except our next opponent.

"Our offense is getting much more balanced. We have threats in Brandon Warfield, our throwing game and a quarterback who can run. Most of Alex's (Smith's) runs were designed in the last game. He continues to show every week that he is smart enough and talented enough to run this offense.

"Our defense has been outstanding and I am particularly pleased with the way freshman Eric Weddle has been playing. New Mexico has been very effective moving the ball, so we will need another solid defensive effort this week."

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