#21 Utah Travels to Oregon State

Saturday, October 15

Corvallis, Ore.

2:00 PM

University of Utah

Oregon State

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10/10/2016 11:42 AM | Football

Game Notes QUOTES FROM KYLE WHITTINGHAM’S WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE

The Game
> No. 21 Utah (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) vs. Oregon State (2-3, 1-2 Pac-12)
> Saturday, Oct. 15, 1 p.m. PDT/2 p.m. MDT, Corvallis, Ore.
> Televised on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Mountain, Pac-12 Oregon
> Search #OSUvsUTAH for conversation

Whitt 100
> Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham earned his 100th career victory last week against Arizona.
> Whittingham, 100-47 in his 12th season at the helm, is the second-winningest head coach in Utah history behind Ike Armstrong (141-55-15 from 1925-49).
> Whittingham, in his 23rd season overall at Utah, has participated in more wins (185) than any football coach in school history.
> Nine of Whittingham's 100 career wins as a head coach have come in bowl games and he has the best bowl win percentage (.900) in NCAA history. He is 9-1 in bowl games and 2-0 in BCS bowls (predecessor to the College Football Playoff games).

Five Facts
> In their fourth-straight week in the Top 25, the Utes moved up three positions in the AP poll to No. 21. The Coaches' Poll will be released later today. See pages 16-18 for Utah's history in the national rankings.
> At 5-1 overall, Utah needs one win to become bowl eligible.
> Utah is tied for the Pac-12 South Division lead with Arizona State and Colorado, all with 2-1 league records.
> Sophomore Mitch Wishnowsky was named the Ray Guy Punter of the Week for the second time this season after his key role in Utah's win over Arizona last Saturday. Wishnowsky, who averaged 50 yards on six punts against the Wildcats (and leads the nation in punting average), placed five punts inside the 20, including one at the 1-, 2- and 5-yard lines. See Wish Come True for more.
> Kyle Whittingham reunites with his former defensive coordinator Gary Andersen this Saturday in Corvallis, Ore. The duo coached together in various capacities at Utah for 11 years. For more Utah-OSU ties, see Connections.

Statchat
> Utah ranks No. 1 in the nation in net punting (48.12).
> Utah is No. 3 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in time of possession (36:09).
> Utah is tied for No. 4 in the nation (No. 2 Pac-12) in takeaways with 15 (9 INT, 6 FR).
> Utah is No. 4 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in fourth down conversion percentage (.900, 9-for-10).
> Utah is tied for No. 6 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in total fourth down conversions (9).
> Utah is tied for No. 8 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in interceptions (9).
> Utah is tied for the Pac-12 lead in fewest sacks (8) and sacks allowed per game (1.33).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (19.0).
> Utah is No. 2 in the Pac-12 in sacks (18) and sacks per game (3.00).
> Utah is tied for No. 2 in the Pac-12 in fumbles recovered (6).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (119.0).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss (40.0) and TFL per game (6.67).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in first downs (23.5).
> Utah is No. 3 in the Pac-12 in first down defense (17.2).
> See sidebar on page 3 for complete Utah rankings.

Wish Come True
First-year Ute sophomore Mitch Wishnowsky is bidding to become Utah's third-straight Ray Guy Award winner as the country's best punter. Wishnowsky, who has won the Ray Guy Punter of the Week twice this season (including this week)—leads the nation in punt average (50.5). The replacement for Utah's two-time Ray Guy Award winner and consensus All-American Tom Hackett (2014-15), Wishnowsky has led the nation in punt average for the entire season. Of his 26 punts, he has placed 13 inside the 20-yard line and has booted 14 punts of 50+ yard (both figures lead the Pac-12). Ten of his last 12 punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line, including six inside the 10-yard line and five at or inside the 5-yard line (1-, 2-, 3- and 5*-yard lines; *twice). He has not had a touchback since the first game of the season and has helped Utah to a No. 1 national ranking in net punting (48.12).

In the Huddle
Utah has lost starting running back and leading rusher Armand Shyne for the season to an injury suffered in last week's win over Arizona. The Utes hope to get true freshman Zack Moss back this week and he is tentatively scheduled to start at running back. Behind Moss is redshirt freshman Marcel Manalo. Manalo made his first NCAA appearance late in last week's game against Arizona … At rover linebacker, Kavika Luafatasaga has replaced Cody Barton as the starter … Changes to the special teams two deep this week have Andy Phillips backing up Mitch Wishnowsky at punter, Demari Simpkins moving into the two deep on punt returns and Julian Blackmon joining Cory Butler-Byrd as the kick returners … Eight true freshmen have played: Moss, Blackmon, Simpkins, Bradlee Anae, Terrell Burgess, Leki Fotu, Tyler Huntley and Donavan Thompson … Utah has two Pac-12 and national weekly award winners this season: punter Mitch Wishnowsky (Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week and Ray Guy Punter of the Week vs. Southern Utah; Ray Guy Punter of the Week vs. Arizona) and linebacker Sunia Tauteoli (Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week vs. BYU).

Season-Ending Injuries
Utah has lost five starters for the season, most recently starting running back Armand Shyne, who was injured in the fourth quarter against Arizona. Also lost are senior centers Hiva Lutui (in spring camp) and J.J. Dielman (on Oct. 1 vs. Cal). Dielman was second-team All-Pac-12 at right tackle in 2015 before replacing Lutui at center after his injury. Neither has a redshirt year available. Two injured senior starters who plan to apply for a medical extension are tight end Siale Fakailoatonga and defensive end Kylie Fitts.

Two-Minute Drill
Utah's first win as a member of the Pac-12 Conference came against Oregon State on Oct. 29, 2011 in Salt Lake City (27-8). Utah would win four straight games before losing the regular-season finale … Utah's Kyle Whittingham is 2-1 against Oregon State head coach Gary Andersen. They split two games while Andersen was at Utah State (Utah won in 2009 and lost in 2012) and Whittingham's Utes beat Andersen's OSU team last year … Four of Utah's final six games, including the next two (Oregon State, Oct. 15 and UCLA, Oct. 22), are on the road. Utah is 1-1 on the road, with a 34-17 win over San Jose State and a 28-23 loss to California … Utah is outscoring its opponents in every quarter but the first and is winning the second half by an 85-46 score … Utah's win last week over Arizona was the 400th home win in school history. The Utes are 400-186-16 at home in 123 seasons dating back to 1892 and 82-29 in Rice-Eccles Stadium, which opened in 1998 … The Utes have sold out 42 straight games in Rice-Eccles Stadium since the 2010 season opener. Of those sellouts, 39 have been standing room-only crowds. See Standing Ovation for more on Utah's home attendance.

Connections
Utah assistant head coach and running backs coach Dennis Erickson was the head coach at Oregon State from 1999-2002, posting a 31-17 mark. He was the Sporting News National Coach of the Year and Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2000 when the Beavers went 11-1 and beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl … Oregon State's football staff includes seven members with Utah football ties. Head coach Gary Andersen, safeties coach Derrick Odum, linebacker coach Chad Kauha'aha'a and graduate assistant Kameron Yancy all played and coached at Utah. Defensive coordinator Kevin Clune was a Ute graduate assistant from 2001-02. Strength coach Evan Simon and director of player personnel Vince Guinta also worked for the Utes.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZyqVUsvQjmU