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Weekly Gridiron Notes
Three conference matchups on tap this week.
Oct. 4, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Week 6 Preview Week 5 Wrap Let's Talk About Rankings 90% - Utah head coach Urban Meyer's winning percentage against BCS opponents. In nine career games, Meyer is 9-1 against BCS teams. The win over Texas A&M in the season opener avenged his only loss to a BCS school. Meyer is 4-1 against the BCS as Utah's head coach. 18 - The current number of undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA in 2004. Utah is the highest ranked of the five non-BCS teams without a loss (Boise State, Louisville, Navy, Southern Miss.). 9 - Utah's current win streak that ranks third nationally (Boise State-16, Southern California-13). The Utes won their final four games in 2003 and are 5-0 this season. The Utes' last loss was Oct. 25, 2003 against New Mexico, 47-35. 8 - The Utes' consecutive road or neutral site win streak that started on Sept. 27, 2003 at Colorado State. 6 - Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney's national ranking in pass efficiency (177.0). Falcon QBs are usually known for their running game, but this year Carney is also making it happen through the air. In five games played, he has completed 57-of-78 passes for 746 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. 4 - Interceptions by New Mexico DB Brandon Payne through the first five games. Payne is three picks shy of tying the MWC single-season record of seven held by Kevin Thomas of UNLV in 2001. 3 - Colorado State wide receiver David Anderson's current NCAA ranking for yards receiving and receptions in a single game. Anderson had 12 catches for 232 yards in the Rams loss to BYU last Saturday. 2 - Colorado State wide receiver David Anderson's national ranking in receiving yards per game (133.00). The MWC is one of three conferences (Big Ten, Pac 10) with at least two players ranked in the top 10. BYU's Todd Watkins is ninth with 107.60 yards per game. Must Be The Air New Mexico's Moore Looking for Third Straight 1,000-Yard Rushing Season BYU's Matt Payne is Mountain West's All-Time Field Goal Leader,
CSU's Babcock Close Behind UNLV's Robinson to Retire at the End of Season AIR FORCE What You Should Know: * Sophomore CB Chris Sutton's interception in the first quarter against Navy was the first of his career and AFA's fourth interception of the season. * Senior WR Alec Messerall set a new career high for receptions with 10 against Navy. His previous high was three set three times last season and once this season against Utah. Messerall's 10 catches are the most since Ryan Fleming caught 10 for 104 yards vs. New Mexico, Oct. 21, 2000. * Freshman Shaun Carney had a career-high 221 passing yards on 17-of-21 completions and two touchdowns against Navy. Carney recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard passing performance of the year. Carney threw for 139 yards each of the last two weeks vs. Eastern Washington and UNLV, and 158 yards at Utah. * Air Force has blocked 88 kicks since 1990 to rank second nationally behind Virginia Tech, which has 89. BYU What You Should Know: * BYU's 31-21 win over Colorado State marked its first victory in Fort Collins since 1995. * Sophomore RB Curtis Brown scored two rushing touchdowns in the win over Colorado State, marking the first time a BYU player has rushed for two scores in a game since Brown tallied three TDs against Utah State on Oct. 4, 2002. * BYU posted a season-high 207 yards rushing vs. CSU. Entering the game, the Cougars were averaging an MWC-low 28.8 yards per contest. * True freshman WR Austin Collie scored his team leading third touchdown of the season on a 40-yard strike from QB John Beck vs. CSU. All three of his TD receptions have been for 40 yards or more. * BYU's defense held Colorado State scoreless through the first quarter, marking the third time this season the Cougars have held their opponents scoreless in the opening quarter. The other first-quarter shutouts came against No. 1 USC and Notre Dame. COLORADO STATE What You Should Know: * Colorado State has gained 400 or more offensive yards in four of five games this season. The Rams are 42-10 when gaining more than 400 yards under coach Sonny Lubick. * Junior QB Justin Holland has thrown for 200 or more yards in all five games in 2004. Holland threw for 359 yards in the game with BYU, his third career 300-yard passing game and second in a row. * Colorado State has committed 14 turnovers in 2004, leading to 62 opponent points. * Junior WR David Anderson set new career marks with 12 receptions for 232 yards and a touchdown against BYU. Anderson's reception total ties for the second most in a game in school history, as does his receiving yardage total. Anderson now has nine career 100-yard receiving games including three in 2004. He has also caught at least one pass in 18 consecutive games dating back to the 2003 season. * Junior RB Uldis Jaunarajs has led CSU in rushing each of the past four games and leads the Rams with 340 total yards this season, 68 yards per game. Jaunarajs is the first CSU back since RB Cecil Sapp in 2002 to lead the Rams four games in succession in rushing. * CSU has had at least one 100-yard receiver in each of five games to date, including three by WR David Anderson and two by WR Dustin Osborn. * Junior S Ben Stratton had a career-most 15 tackles, 11 unassisted against BYU. * Colorado State entered 2004 with a streak of five consecutive bowl game appearances, the longest active streak in the MWC. NEW MEXICO What You Should Know: * Utah's 278 yards rushing were the most allowed by the Lobos this year and the highest by an opponent since Air Force recorded 283 yards in 1999. Lobo opponents have gained over 200 yards on the ground just four times in the past 51 games. * UNM failed to score on offense for the second time in three games Saturday against Utah. In both of those contests, a fumble return provided the Lobos' lone touchdown. * Junior CB Gabriel Fulbright's 68-yard fumble return against Utah was the Lobos' second fumble return of at least 60 yards in the last three games. Senior S Josh Bazinet scored on a 70-yard return for UNM at Oregon State (17-7 loss). * Senior cornerback Brandon Payne had a career-high four pass deflections vs. the Utes, and increased his Mountain West lead to 12 this season. He is two deflections shy of Eric Jack's single season school record of 14 set in 1993. * UNM is 19-3 when scoring first under Rocky Long, including 2-0 this fall. * After finishing with season-highs of 409 total offensive yards and 321 rushing yards at New Mexico State last week, the Lobo offense posted just 157 total yards against Utah. UNM's defense also gave up a season-high 466 total yards after allowing NMSU just 124 yards of total offense. * New Mexico was 8-5 last year, increasing its win total for the fifth straight season, a feat no other team in the country can claim. UNM was 3-9 in 1998, 4-7 in 1999, 5-7 in 2000, 6-5 in 2001, 7-7 in 2002 and 8-5 in 2003. * Only six players have rushed for over 100 yards against New Mexico since the 2000 season, a span of 42 games. * Playing in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2002 and `03, New Mexico has made consecutive bowl appearances for only the second time in school history, the first occurrence being after the 1945 and `46 seasons. SAN DIEGO STATE What You Should Know: * Junior QB Matt Dlugolecki was 23-of-42 for 215 yards and was intercepted twice at UCLA. Junior RB Michael Franklin had a combined 94 yards on 11 rushes and eight receptions. * San Diego State closed the 2003 MWC race by winning three of its final four league games, including a 25-20 victory over Wyoming. The Aztec defense has allowed just two offensive touchdowns in their last 12 quarters of league play. * SDSU is 3-2 in MWC openers with the two losses by a combined nine points. * The Aztecs broke up 12 passes against Nevada to go along with DB Marv Underwood's two interceptions. * SDSU has nine interceptions in four games this season after recording 12 interceptions in 12 contests last season. The Aztecs rank fifth nationally with their nine interceptions. Kansas and Michigan are tied for the national lead in that category with 11. * Senior DB Josh Dean picked off his third pass of the season in the loss at UCLA and ranks fourth nationally in interceptions. He has a pick in five of his last seven games. * Since the beginning of the 2003 season, San Diego State opponents have started in Aztec territory 27 times and come away with points just 12 times, including just four touchdowns. * San Diego State is likely the only program in the country that will practice in the mornings throughout the football season. Due to class conflicts in the afternoon, SDSU will have morning practices, beginning at 7 a.m., throughout the season. UNLV What You Should Know: * Senior RB Dominique Dorsey ran for 141 yards on 21 carries for a 6.7 yards per carry average. Dorsey became the fifth back in UNLV history to reach the 2,000-yard career rushing mark and then moved into fourth place on the school's all-time list with 2,135 yards. Dorsey -- who only has eight career starts as a Rebel -- posted his eighth career 100-yard game vs. the Pack. * John Robinson is 4-1 all-time vs. UNR while Wolf Pack head coach and former UNLV assistant Chris Ault is 7-6 vs. the Rebels (3-4 in Las Vegas). * UNLV defeated Nevada, Reno in Las Vegas for the third consecutive time. * Senior punter Gary Cook had a career-long 76-yard kick that stopped on the Nevada two-yard line Saturday. The punt yardage is the third-longest boot in UNLV history and fourth best ever in the MWC history. Cook currently stands ninth in the nation with a 44.3 average. * Senior DB Jamaal Brimmer became this year's recipient of the Tom Wiesner Award and will have the honor of wearing the special Wiesner Jersey throughout the season. The award, which debuted in 2002, is voted on by the team's senior class and was created to honor one senior player who best exemplifies the late Mr. Wiesner's courage, enthusiasm, dedication and toughness. * Senior strong safety Jamaal Brimmer is the first football All-American to return to UNLV for another year since QB/P Randall Cunningham came back for his senior campaign in 1984. He is also a Jim Thorpe Award candidate. UTAH What You Should Know: * QB Alex Smith ran for two touchdowns and WR Steve Savoy caught 11 passes for 150 yards in win over UNM. * Junior RB Quinton Ganther recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game in a Utah uniform with 106 yards on 22 carries at New Mexico. * Utah's defense held New Mexico to a total of 157 offensive yards. The Lobos had more punts (14) than first downs (8), while the Ute offense racked-up a total of 466 yards. * The Utes successfully faked a punt on third-and-14 from their own 20 in the first quarter vs. New Mexico. Punter Matt Kovacevich ran 21 yards to the Ute 41. Later that drive, Alex Smith hit WR Paris Warren with a 21-yard pass to the 13 and three plays later scored on a quarterback draw. * Utah is 5-0 for the first time since 1994, when it began the year 8-0. The Utes have started a season 5-0 eight times. * Utah climbed to #11 in both the ESPN/USA Today and AP Polls this week. The Utes will aim for their first top 10 ranking since 1994, when they were ranked No. 9 (AP) and No. 8 (Coaches), when they face North Carolina Oct. 16 in Salt Lake City. * After concluding the best season in Utah history in 2003, Urban Meyer was named the MWC Coach of the Year and The Sporting News' National Coach of the Year. In July, he received the prestigious Victor Award as the 2003 College Coach of the Year. WYOMING What You Should Know: * Wyoming has begun the 2004 season 3-0 at home. That is the first time since 1998 the Cowboys have started 3-0 in Laramie. Wyoming went on to post a 5-1 home record in `98. * Wyoming's offense has scored 30 or more points in each of its three home games to date. UW defeated Appalachian State 53-7, posted a 37-32 home victory over Ole Miss and defeated Louisiana-Monroe 31-10. * The Wyoming defense has held all four opponents this season scoreless in the third quarter. * The Pokes shutout ULM in the second half, marking the second time this season they have shutout a team in a half. Wyoming shutout Appalachian State in the first half on Sept. 4, 2004. * Junior WR Jovon Bouknight moved into sole possession of eighth place on the Wyoming career reception list with five catches for 84 yards against ULM. He now has 128 career receptions, passing Steve Martinez, who caught 124 career passes from 1979-82. Next on the list is former tight end Gordy Wood, who had 151 receptions from 1987-90. Bouknight has also caught at least two passes in every game of his career -- 28 consecutive games. * The win over ULM was the first time this season that Wyoming won when not forcing an opponent turnover. In both of Cowboys' previous two wins this season, they forced five turnovers against Appalachian State and five against Ole Miss. The only other game the Pokes didn't force a turnover was a 31-0 loss at Texas A&M.
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