Utah Football Team Plays MWC Game At New Mexico Saturday

Oct. 21, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY -

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QUICKLY

Utah (2-5, 0-3 MWC) will try to win its first Mountain West Conference game of 2002 in Albuquerque, N.M., this Saturday against New Mexico (3-5, 1-1 MWC) ... Game time is 1:00 p.m. in University Stadium (37,370) ... Utah needs to win its four remaining games for a winning season and to become bowl eligible. Utah last won four straight to end the season in 1995 ... The Utah-UNM game will be televised live on ESPN+Plus and ESPN GamePlan ... It will also be broadcast on KALL 910 (AM) radio and on the Internet (www.kall910.com).

FAST FACT

Utah's current five-game losing streak is the longest of Head Coach Ron McBride's 13-year tenure. The last time Utah lost five straight was back in 1986, when the Utes lost their first seven games under then-head coach Jim Fassel.

BREAKING NEWS

All-conference defensive end Jason Kaufusi will not play after suffering a concussion against Colorado State last Saturday ... Watch for Utah's two best receivers-Josh Lyman and Paris Jackson-to be on the field at the same time in some situations this week. Lyman and Jackson both play 'X' receiver, but with the emergence of Lynzell Jackson providing depth on that side, Lyman may play 'Z' receiver in certain instances ... Senior offensive lineman Jordan Gross has been named by CNNSI.com as a Midseason Honorable Mention All-American.

ON THE DEFENSE

Midway through the 2002 season, Utah is the MWC's clear defensive leader. The Utes rank in the top two in the league in three of the four major defensive categories. They are No. 1 in rush defense and total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense. Utah ranks fourth in pass defense. Utah is a top 25 team nationally in rush defense (16th), total defense (25th) and scoring defense (25th). Utah led the conference in scoring defense from 1998-2001 and in total defense for the past two years.

LAST WEEK

A second half comeback came up just short and Utah fell to Colorado State 28-20 after failing to score with first and goal on the 7-yard line with a minute left. For the second straight year, Utah dominated CSU on the stat sheet, gaining 481 yards to CSU's 252 total yards. In his second start, sophomore QB Brett Elliott threw for 265 yards and rushed for 2 touchdowns. Brandon Warfield rushed for 111 yards and 1 TD and Paris Jackson had a career-high 128 receiving yards. Linebacker Sheldon Deckart (9 tackles) led a defensive effort that held the MWC's leading rusher, Cecil Sapp, to 71 yards, 51 below his average.

SERIES HISTORY

Utah has won six of the last seven and 11 of the last 15 games with longtime rival New Mexico. Since 1995, UNM has won just once, 10-3 in 2000. Utah leads the series 28-13-2 and is 11-10-1 in Albuquerque.

GRIDBITS

Utah's loss to Colorado State was the 400th loss in school history ... The Utes are 1-3 in road games this year. Utah's last road win was on Aug. 31 at Utah State ... Utah is 0-3 in day games ... Sophomore defensive back and former high school rugby star Morgan Scalley lined up as punter six times against CSU, actually punting three of those times for an average of 25.7 yards per punt. The other three times, Scalley took off running and picked up first downs each time, gaining 21 yards total ... All-time Ute record is 532-400-31. The Utes are 246-130-10 at home, 15-10 in Rice-Eccles Stadium (1998-on) and 286-269-22 in road/neutral games.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Utah's best quarter offensively is the second (57 points). Defensively, Utah is best in the third quarter (34 points) ... Utah is averaging 34,484 spectators a game at home and has played before crowds averaging 51,286 on the road ... Utah is converting on 36% of its third down attempts and holding opponents to a 38% third-down success rate ... Utah has scored 18 touchdowns this year to its foes' 17 and has the edge in points (150-143) ... After seven games, Utah's leading rusher is still Marty Johnson, who gained 405 yards in just two games.

COMMON FOES

Utah and New Mexico have played two common foes this year: Utah State and Air Force. Utah is 1-1 against the duo, beating Utah State in Logan (23-3) and losing to Air Force in Salt Lake City (30-26). New Mexico is 0-2, with both games going overtime on the road. The Lobos lost 38-31 to Air Force and 45-44 to Utah State.

HEAD COACH RON MCBRIDE

Ron McBride has an 85-62 record in his 13th year as head Ute coach. He has the second most wins of any coach in Utah football history. McBride has won a share of two conference titles (1995 and 1999) and has 10 winning seasons. He has taken the Utes to six bowl games and has a 3-3 bowl record. Utah capped last year's 8-4 season with a 10-6 win over USC in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Day. McBride is 8-4 vs. New Mexico.

MAC IN LEAGUE PLAY

Ron McBride is 55-41 all-time in conference games. Since Utah joined the Mountain West Conference in 1999, McBride's conference mark is 12-12. All-time against current MWC members, he is 35-32. McBride's record breakdown vs. the MWC schools: Air Force (4-6), Brigham Young (5-7), Colorado State (4-6), New Mexico (8-4), San Diego State (5-5), UNLV (3-0), Wyoming (6-4).

QUARTERBACKS' NOTEBOOK

> Sophomore Brett Elliott (6-3, 194) is 0-2 as the starter but has played well against both San Diego State and CSU. In his first significant playing time, he completed 28-50 pass attempts for 272 yards and 2 TDs (3 interceptions) against San Diego State on Oct. 12. Last week against CSU, he completed 21-40 passes for 265 yards (2 interceptions) and ran for 2 touchdowns. Elliott's only previous college experience was a few series against both Indiana and Air Force. For the season, he is 49-91 (53.8%) for 537 yards (134.2 ypg), 2 TDs and 5 interceptions.

> True freshman Alex Smith (6-4, 185) relinquished his redshirt year by making a fourth-quarter appearance against SDSU on Oct. 12. Smith was 2-3 for 4 yards (1 interception) in his NCAA debut. The true freshman was a two-time conference offensive player of the year for nearby Helix HS (La Mesa, Calif.). Smith is the nephew of John L. Smith, the head football coach at Louisville.

RUNNING BACKS' NOTEBOOK

> Juco transfer Brandon Warfield (6-0, 200, Jr.), who has played in the last 5 games after pulling out of a redshirt year when starter Marty Johnson was injured in the second game, has started the last two games. Utah's second-leading rusher behind Johnson, Warfield has 85 carries for 378 yards and 4 TDs. He is averaging 75.6 ypg and 4.4 yards per rush. He has two 100-yard games: 193 yards vs. Air Force on Sept. 28 and 111 yards vs. CSU on Oct. 19.

RECEIVERS' NOTEBOOK

> Senior Paris Jackson (6-3, 216) assumed first place on Utah's receiving charts after a career-best 128 yards against CSU last week. Jackson, who has put together two straight 100-yard and career-high games (he had 110 receiving yards vs. SDSU on Oct. 12), now has 30 receptions for 325 yards. He is also first on the team in TD catches (3) and receiving yards per game (46.4).

> Senior receiver Josh Lyman (6-0, 197) slipped to No. 2 on the team with 27 receptions for 288 yards and 2 TDs. Lyman, the only Ute receiver to start all 7 games, is averaging 41.1 ypg. Lyman, the starting 'X' receiver, may also play some 'Z' from here on out.

OFFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK

> Senior offensive lineman Jordan Gross (6-5, 306) made the preseason all-MWC team and is an All-America candidate. He was recently named to the honorable mention Midseason All-America team by CNNSI.com. The CNNSI.com team is one of seven polls officially recognized by the NCAA in honoring consensus All-Americans. Gross starts at left tackle but is equally adept at guard. He is on the "Watch List" for the Football Writers (FWAA) All-America team and the Rotary Lombardi Award.

> Gross has 77 de-cleaters for an average of 11.0 per game. He had a career-high 20 de-cleaters vs. Air Force. Gross has not allowed a sack this year.

DEFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK

> Senior defensive tackle Garrett Smith (6-3, 297), a 2001 first-team all-MWC and 2002 preseason all-MWC defender, has started the last 40 games (includes 2 bowl games) for Utah. On the "Watch List" for the Outland Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award, Smith has 22 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 3 pass breakups this year.

> Junior defensive end Jason Kaufusi (6-3, 250), a 2001 first-team all-MWC and 2002 preseason all-MWC defensive end, is Utah's leader in tackles for loss (7.5) and sacks (4). He has 28 total tackles, 2 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles. He is playing with an elbow that he dislocated against Air Force on Sept. 28 and that bars him from contact drills in practice. He will miss this Saturday's game after suffering a concussion against CSU.

LINEBACKERS' NOTEBOOK

> Senior Sheldon Deckart (6-2, 240) moved from rover to middle linebacker two games ago and led Utah with 9 tackles last week vs. CSU. Deckart, a 2001 first-team all-MWC linebacker and Utah's leading tackler as a junior, currently ranks third with 38 tackles. He also has 4.5 TFL, 1 sack and 1 pass breakup. He was named to the preseason all-conference team and is on the "Watch List" for the Bronko Nagurski and Rotary Lombardi awards.

DEFENSIVE BACKS' NOTEBOOK

> Strong safety Dave Revill (5-11, 203, Jr.) leads all Utes with 66 total tackles. He has 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup and 1 fumble recovery. He had a career-best 15 tackles in back-to-back games against Michigan and Air Force. The one-time walk-on was named MWC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 23 after totaling 15 tackles, including a school record 14 solo tackles, against Michigan.

> Junior free safety Antwoine Sanders (6-2, 200, Jr.), a preseason all-conference selection, has 39 tackles (second on the team), 2 tackles for loss, 1 interception (vs. USU) and 3 pass breakups.

SPECIAL TEAMS' NOTEBOOK

> Redshirt freshman kicker Bryan Borreson is 8-11 (73%) in field goals and 16-18 in PATs. He made 8 straight field goals before missing a 36-yard attempt against SDSU. His string of 13 straight PATs was snapped against CSU. > Senior punter Brian Lewis has 41 punts for 1,688 yards, an average of 41.2 yards per punt. Lewis has three punts of 60 yards or longer this year. He has placed 7 punts inside the 20.

> Lewis' 11 punts against Michigan, tied for second in school history, is the most punts in a game by a Ute since 1981. His 465 punting yards Michigan also ranks second in the school record books. His 10 punts against Arizona on Sept. 14 is tied for third all-time. > Bo Nagahi leads Utah with 7 kickoff returns for 199 yards (28.4 yards per return). He is first in the MWC in return average but does not have enough returns to figure in the NCAA rankings.

> Morgan Scalley is Utah's leader in punt returns with 15-189 yards (12.6 yards per return).

THIS GAME LAST YEAR

Dameon Hunter (177 yards 2 TDs) and Adam Tate (76 yards, 2 TDs) tore apart the nation's second-best team against the rush and Utah won its conference opener against New Mexico 37-16. It was the third straight career-rushing day for Hunter, who spearheaded a Ute offense that scored on its first possession, but then stalled until backup quarterback Ryan Breska checked in midway through the second quarter. Breska hit Cliff Russell for a 46-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute left in the half. Starting QB Lance Rice finished the game and directed three more touchdown drives. Utah finished with 465 yards of total offense to UNM's 311. Sheldon Deckart (8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 1 caused fumble) led the defense, which recovered two Lobo fumbles in the red zone and shut out the Lobos in the first and fourth quarters.

MCBRIDE SAYS

"There were some real positives to take out of the last game although the result was obviously not what we wanted. We really did a nice job offensively. We had a balanced effort, rushing and passing, and the effort was good. The protection was good and we had a good mix in play calling that kept CSU off balance. Those two turnovers were what really hurt us.

"Defensively, we did another good job, especially in the second half. I liked what Gary (Andersen) came up with as far as using Morgan Scalley as the punter to stop (CSU returner) Dexter Wynn.

"Brett Elliott does a lot of good things. He's going to be a very good college quarterback. He escapes a lot and he makes plays on the move. He does some things you can't teach. The main thing with him is going to be getting him to cut down on turnovers.

"New Mexico is a hard team to figure out. They played really well against UNLV, holding them to a couple of touchdowns, and then gave up 45 points to Utah State."

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