Football Hosts Arizona State Saturday Afternoon

10/3/2011 12:00 AM | Football

Oct. 3, 2011

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	Statistics	Gameday Central
Rice-Eccles Stadium	Media Guide	Buy Tickets
TV: FSN/ROOT Sports	Radio: ESPN 700

SALT LAKE CITY

TWO MINUTE DRILL

> Utah (2-2, 0-2 Pac-12) hosts Arizona State (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) on Saturday, Oct. 8 starting at 1:30 p.m. MT in Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game will be televised on FSN (ROOT Sports in Utah). ROOT can be found on these channels locally: DIRECTV 683, Dish 414 and Comcast 52. Radio is ESPN700 AM (espn700sports.com) and SIRIUS/XM.

> With losses to USC and Washington, the Utes are off to their first 0-2 conference start since 2007, when they were members of the Mountain West Conference. After losing to Air Force and UNLV that season, Utah won eight of its last nine games, including a bowl win over Navy.

> ASU leads the series 16-6 (4-3 in Salt Lake City). Utah and ASU have not played in Salt Lake City since 1977--a 47-19 Sun Devil victory when both teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference.

> ASU has won the last seven games (six in Tempe), most recently in 1993 (38-0 in Tempe). For complete series information, see the boxed inset on page 2.

> Utah junior quarterback Jordan Wynn is questionable for Saturday's game with an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder. Wynn was injured at the end of the first half against Washington and was replaced by junior college transfer Jon Hays.

> With two losses against Pac-12 schools this season, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is now 4-5 against league members. Utah's last win against a current Pac-12 school was in 2009 over Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl. The Utes did not play any teams from the conference last season.

DEFENSIVE DIAMONDS

In the latest national rankings, Utah is No. 4 in red-zone defense (5-9, 56%), is tied for fifth in fumbles recovered (8), tied for 7th in turnovers caused (13) and tied for 13th in turnover margin (1.25; 13 takeaways to 8 turnovers). The Utes lead the Pac-12 in all four categories ... Utah's five interceptions ranks second in the conference ... The Utes are third in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense (124.6) ... Utah is second in the Pac-12 and 25th nationally in scoring defense (18.5) ... The Utes are second in the conference and are tied for 17th in the NCAA in fourth-down defense (2-of-8 for a 25% conversion rate).

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

While still listed as questionable, the health status of right tackle Tony Bergstrom (knee) and tight ends Kendrick Moeai (ankle) and Jake Murphy (knee) has improved and they could be available for the ASU game. All three missed last week's game with injury ... Quarterback Jordan Wynn (left shoulder) is questionable for Saturday. If he is sidelined, the quarterback two deep is junior college transfer Jon Hays and true freshman Tyler Shreve ... Three players got their first career starts as Utes against Washington: offensive lineman Latu Heimuli, fullback Karl Williams and safety Quade Chappuis ... Utah has played four true freshmen this season: Safety Eric Rowe, defensive end Nate Fakahafua, running back Harvey Langi and receiver Charles Henderson.

OUTSIDE THE LINES

The Varsity Club will hold its seventh-annual reunion at the ASU game, starting with a reception Friday night. Around 400 former student-athletes are expected to attend the event, which will also feature a tailgate party and pre-game introductions.

U-TWEETS

Utah has three players from Arizona: FB Luke Matthews (Phoenix), DB Greg Bird (Mesa) and K Kenny Golladay (Mesa) ... Utah has not played a home game on Oct. 8 since 1983 (a 35-11 win over UTEP) ... Utah is out-scoring its opponents in every quarter ... Utah is 2-0 when it scores first and when it leads at halftime, and 0-2 when it does not.

LAST WEEK

Utah squandered two scoring opportunities in the second quarter by turning the ball over inside the Washington 5-yard line on back-to-back series and the Utes went on to lose 31-14. With the score tied at 7-7, a Jordan Wynn pass was intercepted at the 4-yard line. After Utah's defense forced the Huskies to punt, Wynn hit Dres Anderson deep in Husky territory, but Anderson fumbled the ball away on the UW 3-yard line. Wynn, who also completed 12-of-17 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown to Anderson, did not return in the second half after injuring his left shoulder. Replacement Jon Hays completed 10-of-16 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown, but had two turnovers. DeVonte Christopher had 125 receiving yards and defensive co-leaders were Brian Blechen and Chaz Walker, each with 12 tackles.