No. 10 Ute Football Team Plays at Iowa State

10/4/2010 12:00 AM | Football

Oct. 4, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY

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QUICKLY

> No. 10/10 Utah (4-0, 2-0 MWC) comes off a bye week to play Iowa State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, Oct. 9. Game time is 6 p.m. CT (5 p.m. MT). The game will be televised by Fox College Sports, which is available locally on Comcast's Sports Entertainment Package (channels 262, 263 or 264) and DIRECTV's Sports Pack (channels 617 or 623). Radio is ESPN700 AM (espn700sports.com).

> Iowa State is 3-0 at home this season, with wins over Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Texas Tech. Utah is 1-0 on the road, with a win at New Mexico.

> The Utes jumped to No. 10 in both polls in the latest rankings, moving up three places in the Associated Press poll and two spots in the USA Today Coaches' poll. It marks Utah's highest ranking in two seasons. Utah, which finished the 2008 season ranked No. 2 in the nation, did not crack the top 10 until Oct. 26 that year.

> Utah is winless against the Cyclones in four previous meetings, all played in the 1970s.

> Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's teams are 5-0 coming off regular season bye weeks, with victories over Wyoming (2005, 2007), Colorado State (2006, 2009) and New Mexico (2008).

> Counting bowl games and season openers, Whittingham is 15-2 when he has had extra preparation time. Whittingham is 4-2 in season openers, 5-0 coming off byes and 6-0 in bowl games (his bowl record includes a victory as the co-head coach of the 2005 Fiesta Bowl team).

> Utah is ranked in the top 10 in the nation in both scoring offense (44.2 ppg, tied for No. 6) and scoring defense (12.8 ppg, No. 7). The Utes are also ranked No. 7 in total defense (246.8 yards per game), No. 7 in pass efficiency offense (172.8) and No. 11 in rushing defense (86.8 ypg).

A 9.90 ROUTINE

The Utes averaged 9.9 wins a season from 2003-09, including undefeated seasons in 2004 (12-0) and 2008 (13-0). Of Utah's five 10-win seasons in its 115-year history, four have come in the last seven years. Utah won double-digit games in 1994 (10-2), 2003 (10-2), 2004 (12-0), 2008 (13-0) and 2009 (10-3). The Utes have won nine or more games in each of the last three seasons, which is a school first.

BCS SUCCESS

In its final year as a member of a non-automatic qualifying conference, Utah has more wins against BCS schools than any other NAQ team. Since the BCS began in 1998, the Utes own 20 wins against BCS opponents and are 20-11 overall. Sixth-year head coach Kyle Whittingham is 11-4 against BCS schools. Utah, the original BCS Buster in 2004, is 2-0 in BCS bowl games--and is the only NAQ team with two wins against BCS teams in BCS bowl games (Pitt in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl).

LAST GAME

Jordan Wynn returned from a two-game injury absence to start at quarterback, but he and the rest of the first string gave way to backups in the second half of a 56-3 rout of San Jose State on Sept. 25. Wynn completed 14-of-18 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns in one half of play. Utah scored on its very first offensive play when Reggie Dunn ran a reverse 43 yards for a touchdown. The Spartans responded immediately with a 71-yard kickoff return to Utah's 20-yard line, only to settle for a field goal. They would not score again on a Utah defense that held them to 1-of-12 on third down conversions and just seven first downs. Nearly everyone got into the act for Utah, which piled up 427 yards of total offense and got touchdowns from eight different players.

KYLE STYLE

Now in his sixth year as Utah's head coach, Kyle Whittingham has been honored as the National Coach of the Year (2008), averaged over nine wins a season, is undefeated in bowl games, led Utah to its best season ever and engineered the biggest win in school history. He is just the second Utah coach--and the first in 100 years--to achieve a winning record in each of his first five seasons. He is 52-17 overall mark and 11-4 against BCS schools. His 6-0 bowl record includes the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, when he and Urban Meyer served as co-head coaches. On the staff since 1994, when he coached the defensive line, Whittingham was the team's defensive coordinator from 1995 until his appointment as head coach in 2005. During his 17-year tenure, the Utes have won 70-percent of their games (137-58) and played in 11 bowl games (winning 10). Whittingham has coached four first-team All-Americans--Luther Elliss (1994), Eric Weddle (2006), Louie Sakoda (2008) and Zane Beadles (2009)--and has sent 34 players to the NFL.

UTAH VS. THE BIG 12

The Utes are 28-48-3 all-time against the Big 12. In the past 20 years, Utah is 3-2 against the Big 12, with wins over Kansas in 1993 and 1996, a win over Texas A&M in 2004, and losses to Nebraska in 1992 and Texas A&M in 2003.

OUTSIDE THE LINES

Utah is 1-2 in the state of Iowa with the win over Iowa in 1978 and losses to Iowa State in 1972 and 1976 ... The Utes have pulled in standing room-only crowds in all three games this season in Rice-Eccles Stadium, where they are averaging 45,310 (season high of 45,730 for the Pitt game on Sept. 2). Attendance has now exceeded the 45,017 seating capacity 21 times since Rice-Eccles Stadium opened in 1998.

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Expected to be available this week are tight end Brad Clifford (shoulder, missed San Jose State), defensive end Trevor Reilly (concussion) and offensive lineman Walter Watts (knee, missed SJS). Running back Sausan Shakerin (concussion, missed Pitt, UNLV, UNM, SJS) is questionable, while linebacker J.J. Williams (foot, missed Pitt, UNLV, UNM, SJS) is out ... Utes have collected five MWC Player of the Week citations so far this season: DeVonte Christopher (offense, Sept. 6), Brian Blechen (defense, Sept. 6); Shaky Smithson (special teams, Sept. 13 and 20) and Lamar Chapman (defense, Sept. 20) ... Six true freshmen have played for the Utes: Brian Blechen, Wykie Freeman, Mike Honeycutt, Joe Kruger, Westlee Tonga and Michael Walker.