(22) Utah (9-2) at (18) B-Y-U (9-2)
(22) Utah (9-2) at (18) B-Y-U (9-2)
(22) Utah (9-2) at (18) B-Y-U (9-2)
Saturday, November 28th, 5:00 p.m. (et)
GAME NOTES: In the only game this week pitting two Top-25 programs against each other, the 18th-ranked BYU Cougars entertain the 22nd-ranked Utah Utes in Mountain West Conference action in Provo on Saturday afternoon.
BYU arrives in this regular-season finale having won three straight games since being trounced by TCU (38-7) last month. Most recently the Cougars dismissed Air Force, handing the Falcons a 38-21 loss in the last game of the season for the academy. Aside from the loss to MWC foe TCU, the Cougars also bowed in the second game of the season versus Florida State, back when the Seminoles were fooling people into thinking they were a real threat.
As for the Utes, they bounced back from their disappointing 55-28 setback against the Horned Frogs a couple weeks ago to take down San Diego State in the final home game of the season at Rice-Eccles Stadium, 38-7. The victory was the seventh in the last eight games for a Utah team that also bowed to Oregon by a touchdown on the road in the third game of the season.
Utah doubled up BYU last year in a 48-24 decision, but the Utes still have a 53-33-4 edge in the all-time series.
"Looking back at this past weekend, I thought we played fairly well," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham during his weekly press conference. "We started off fast and got a big 38-0 lead at halftime. I was disappointed in our production in the second half, but we took care of business and got the win."
Being disappointed in the production in the second half might be an understatement, given that the Utes failed to score a single point after intermission. In the first quarter Eddie Wide posted a pair of rushing touchdowns, while Jordan Wynn finished the outing 14-of-28 for 195 yards and a score passing the ball, but barely made a sound following the break. Perhaps coach Whittingham was wondering where his team's killer mentality had gone after the first 30 minutes of action.
For three quarters the Utah defense didn't allowed the Aztecs to get a sniff of the end zone, but the unit finally gave way a few minutes into the fourth period. Nevertheless, even as the secondary surrendered 207 yards through the air, coach Whittingham acknowledged a better effort from the run defense this time around.
"On defense, it was good to see the run defense get back on track. It was very poor the week prior and it was good to see them get back and hold SDSU to 55 yards rushing."
The run defense has been rather sporadic this year, stringing together a couple of strong efforts like they did versus Wyoming and New Mexico when they permitted just 51 and 82 yards, respectively, but then allowing an unsightly 342 yards and five touchdowns to TCU.
The pass defense has been a much safer option for the Utes, ranked 15th in the country and third in the conference with only 176.4 ypg.
Over on the BYU side of things, the Cougars are driven by the experience and pose of quarterback Max Hall who threw for a season-high 377 yards and five touchdowns in the win against the Falcons last week. Hall, who became the program's all-time leader in wins as a starting quarterback with his 31st, also rewrote his own MWC record for 300-yard passing games in a single season with his eighth.
For his efforts Hall was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in 2009 and the 10th time in his career, so it certainly is no fluke when he puts the team on his back and takes them to the victory circle more often than not.
Aside from the opener against Oklahoma in Dallas and the effort versus TCU, the BYU offense seems to have been right on track for much of the season, in spite of what head coach Bronco Mendenhall has said about the unit. Hall has the passing attack clicking on all cylinders right now, averaging 303 ypg to rank first in the Mountain West and ninth in the country.
Hall has gotten himself noticed with his incredible 70.3 percent accuracy and 28 TDs, against 14 interceptions this year. Not only has Hall made a name for himself outside of the MWC, he has also helped tight end Dennis Pitta achieve similar heights by feeding him with 55 receptions, leading to 753 yards and seven touchdowns. Easily Hall's favorite receiver, Pitta leads the nation in five of six stats for tight ends and has been named a finalist for the John Mackey Award as a result.
Since giving up a whopping 313 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to Florida State so long ago, the BYU defense has permitted just one opponent (Air Force) to generate more than 127 yards on the ground, and since the Falcons are one of the top running teams in the country it only makes sense. So through out that performance and it is easy to see the improvements made by the group on the line of scrimmage.
"It's gonna be a great game," coach Mendenhall admits of the meeting with in- state rival Utah. "You have two teams that are having great success, two teams that are in the top-25 in the country and two teams that are 35 miles apart and a state championship on the line with two teams that have played very good football over the last four years."
The advantage in this game has to be given to BYU because of the experience of Hall in the pocket. Not to short-change any of the Utah players, but right now the Utes are still trying to get comfortable with Wynn at quarterback and the Cougars have no such worries.
Predicted Outcome: BYU 35, Utah 21
(22) Utah (9-2) at (18) B-Y-U (9-2)
(22) Utah (9-2) at (18) B-Y-U (9-2)
Saturday, November 28th, 5:00 p.m. (et)
GAME NOTES: In the only game this week pitting two Top-25 programs against each other, the 18th-ranked BYU Cougars entertain the 22nd-ranked Utah Utes in Mountain West Conference action in Provo on Saturday afternoon.
BYU arrives in this regular-season finale having won three straight games since being trounced by TCU (38-7) last month. Most recently the Cougars dismissed Air Force, handing the Falcons a 38-21 loss in the last game of the season for the academy. Aside from the loss to MWC foe TCU, the Cougars also bowed in the second game of the season versus Florida State, back when the Seminoles were fooling people into thinking they were a real threat.
As for the Utes, they bounced back from their disappointing 55-28 setback against the Horned Frogs a couple weeks ago to take down San Diego State in the final home game of the season at Rice-Eccles Stadium, 38-7. The victory was the seventh in the last eight games for a Utah team that also bowed to Oregon by a touchdown on the road in the third game of the season.
Utah doubled up BYU last year in a 48-24 decision, but the Utes still have a 53-33-4 edge in the all-time series.
"Looking back at this past weekend, I thought we played fairly well," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham during his weekly press conference. "We started off fast and got a big 38-0 lead at halftime. I was disappointed in our production in the second half, but we took care of business and got the win."
Being disappointed in the production in the second half might be an understatement, given that the Utes failed to score a single point after intermission. In the first quarter Eddie Wide posted a pair of rushing touchdowns, while Jordan Wynn finished the outing 14-of-28 for 195 yards and a score passing the ball, but barely made a sound following the break. Perhaps coach Whittingham was wondering where his team's killer mentality had gone after the first 30 minutes of action.
For three quarters the Utah defense didn't allowed the Aztecs to get a sniff of the end zone, but the unit finally gave way a few minutes into the fourth period. Nevertheless, even as the secondary surrendered 207 yards through the air, coach Whittingham acknowledged a better effort from the run defense this time around.
"On defense, it was good to see the run defense get back on track. It was very poor the week prior and it was good to see them get back and hold SDSU to 55 yards rushing."
The run defense has been rather sporadic this year, stringing together a couple of strong efforts like they did versus Wyoming and New Mexico when they permitted just 51 and 82 yards, respectively, but then allowing an unsightly 342 yards and five touchdowns to TCU.
The pass defense has been a much safer option for the Utes, ranked 15th in the country and third in the conference with only 176.4 ypg.
Over on the BYU side of things, the Cougars are driven by the experience and pose of quarterback Max Hall who threw for a season-high 377 yards and five touchdowns in the win against the Falcons last week. Hall, who became the program's all-time leader in wins as a starting quarterback with his 31st, also rewrote his own MWC record for 300-yard passing games in a single season with his eighth.
For his efforts Hall was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in 2009 and the 10th time in his career, so it certainly is no fluke when he puts the team on his back and takes them to the victory circle more often than not.
Aside from the opener against Oklahoma in Dallas and the effort versus TCU, the BYU offense seems to have been right on track for much of the season, in spite of what head coach Bronco Mendenhall has said about the unit. Hall has the passing attack clicking on all cylinders right now, averaging 303 ypg to rank first in the Mountain West and ninth in the country.
Hall has gotten himself noticed with his incredible 70.3 percent accuracy and 28 TDs, against 14 interceptions this year. Not only has Hall made a name for himself outside of the MWC, he has also helped tight end Dennis Pitta achieve similar heights by feeding him with 55 receptions, leading to 753 yards and seven touchdowns. Easily Hall's favorite receiver, Pitta leads the nation in five of six stats for tight ends and has been named a finalist for the John Mackey Award as a result.
Since giving up a whopping 313 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to Florida State so long ago, the BYU defense has permitted just one opponent (Air Force) to generate more than 127 yards on the ground, and since the Falcons are one of the top running teams in the country it only makes sense. So through out that performance and it is easy to see the improvements made by the group on the line of scrimmage.
"It's gonna be a great game," coach Mendenhall admits of the meeting with in- state rival Utah. "You have two teams that are having great success, two teams that are in the top-25 in the country and two teams that are 35 miles apart and a state championship on the line with two teams that have played very good football over the last four years."
The advantage in this game has to be given to BYU because of the experience of Hall in the pocket. Not to short-change any of the Utah players, but right now the Utes are still trying to get comfortable with Wynn at quarterback and the Cougars have no such worries.
Predicted Outcome: BYU 35, Utah 21
