Weekly Gridiron Notes

Three conference games and one non-conference contest highlight Week 10

Alex Smith leads the Utes vs. Colorado State this week.
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Nov. 1, 2004

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Week 10 Preview
Three conference games and one non-conference contest highlight Week 10 of the 2004 season. In the lone non-league game of the week, Air Force travels to West Point, N.Y., to face Service Academy rival Army. The Falcons have won seven straight against the Black Knights.

In conference action, 7th-ranked Utah will try to remain perfect when it hosts Colorado State. The Utes are 4-0 in league play, while the Rams are 2-2. BYU returns to the field after a week off and welcomes San Diego State to Provo. The Cougars are 3-1 in MWC play, while the Aztecs are in search of their first conference win (0-4). UNLV, currently 1-3 in the MWC, and hosts 2-2 Wyoming. In league games, the Rebels are 0-2 at home, while the Cowboys are 0-2 on the road.

Week 9 Wrap
Utah improved to 8-0 with a 51-28 win at San Diego State. The Utes compiled 375 offensive yards to the Aztecs 252 in the victory. New Mexico kept its bowl hopes alive with a 26-17 win at Colorado State. It was the Lobos' second straight win over Colorado State. Wyoming improved to 2-0 in conference play at home with a 43-26 win against Air Force. The Cowboys racked-up 559 yards of total offense in the victory.

ESPN+Plus Game of the Week
The ESPN+Plus Game of the Week will feature San Diego State at BYU Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. Trey Bender (play-by-play), Kelly Stouffer (color) and Anne-Marie Anderson (sidelines) will call the action beginning at 1 p.m. MT.

Let's Talk About Rankings
Utah moved up to #7 in the AP Poll and #8 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week. The Utes' No. 7 ranking is the highest for a Mountain West team since Nov. 25, 2001 when BYU was 7th in the Coaches Poll.

Bowl Game Chatter
Utah is currently bowl eligible with its 8-0 record. New Mexico and Wyoming are within one win of being eligible for a bowl game, with two and three games remaining, respectively. BYU needs two victories in its final three games, while Air Force and Colorado State must win each of their last three contests.

No Overtime For You
There have been 20 overtime games played this season in NCAA Division I-A football. Nine of the 11 conferences have played at least one extra period contest, with the ACC leading the way with a high of four. The Mountain West and Sun Belt are the only two conferences that have yet to play an overtime contest this season. The MWC has had at least one overtime game in each of its five years of existence, with a record high four in 2002.

Wins Against Automatic Qualifying BCS Conferences
With six wins vs. automatic qualifying BCS conference teams, the MWC is tied for third among the 11 Divsion I-A leagues in non-conference wins against BCS opponents.

Big Ten 7
Conference USA 7
MWC 6
ACC 6
Big XII 6
Big East 6
Pac-10 4
MAC 3
WAC 3
SEC 2
Sun Belt 1

Inside the Numbers

91% - Utah head coach Urban Meyer's winning percentage against automatic qualifying BCS opponents. In 11 career games, Meyer is 10-1 against BCS teams. The win over Texas A&M in the season opener avenged his only loss to a BCS school. Meyer is 5-1 against the BCS as Utah's head coach.

17 - Wyoming's current MWC road losing streak, dating back to a 43-29 win at Utah on Nov. 6, 1999.

17 - The number of 100 yard rushing games for New Mexico running back DonTrell Moore, surpassing Winslow Oliver's (1992-95) school record of 16. Moore, the MWC's all-time leading rusher, also passed Oliver for second place on the school's career rushing list with 3,415 yards.

15 - The total number of pass breakups by New Mexico CB Brandon Payne. He leads both the Mountain West and NCAA in pass breakups this season. He broke Eric Jack's single-season school record of 14 set in 1993 after posting one pass deflection at Colorado State Saturday. Fellow MWC mates Derrick Martin of Wyoming and Donny Baker of San Diego State are also ranked in the top 10 nationally. Martin has nine pass deflections, while Baker has eight.

12 - The number of consecutive field goals between 40 and 49 yards for BYU's Matt Payne, tying the NCAA record. Payne's 46-yard, second-quarter field goal tied John Carney of Notre Dame, who set the record with 12 straight field goals during the 1984-85 seasons.

12 - Utah's current win streak that ranks third nationally (Boise State-19, Southern California-17). The Utes won their final four games in 2003 and are 8-0 this season. The 12-game streak is the second-longest in school history. The school record is 16 straight wins from 1928-30. The Utes' last loss was Oct. 25, 2003 against New Mexico, 47-35.

9 - The Utes' consecutive road or neutral site win streak that started on Sept. 27, 2003 at Colorado State.

6 - The current number of undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA in 2004, including Utah at 8-0 (Auburn, Boise State, Oklahoma, Southern California and Wisconsin).

6 - Utah is sixth in the latest BCS Poll released Monday, Nov. 1. The Utes had the highest debut by a non-automatic qualifying BCS team ever in the initial poll of a season at number seven on Oct. 18. The previous high was Northern Illinois at No. 10 in 2003. Only one non-automatic qualifying BCS school to be ranked in the initial Top 15 has ever completed the regular season undefeated (Marshall in 1999).

4 - The number of touchdowns BYU wide receiver Todd Watkins has caught in excess of 69 yards this season. This past week at Air Force, Watkins had a 70-yard touchdown reception, and finished the day with six catches for 153 yards. It was his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the year and his fourth touchdown of the season.

3 - The total number of points Wyoming's defense has allowed in the third quarter this season (3-Colorado State).

2 -Utah ranks second in the nation in scoring offense and total offense. The Utes are currently averaging 43.63 points per game, which trails only Boise State (47.25) nationally, and are on pace to break their school record of 42.5 ppg. Utah's 496.25 yards per game of total offense is second behind only Louisville (506.5 ypg) this season.

2 - BYU's current win streak, marking the first back-to-back wins for the Cougars since the 2002 season. That year, BYU defeated San Diego State on Nov. 2, followed by a win over Wyoming on Nov. 9. Last week's win over Air Force ends a streak of 21 straight games without consecutive victories.

Wyoming's Trenton Franz Garners National Scholar-Athlete Award
Wyoming senior offensive lineman Trenton Franz was one of 15 student-athletes named to the 2004 National Scholar-Athlete Class by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced Nov. 1. The 15 student-athletes come from all NCAA divisions, I-A, I-AA, II, and III and averaged a 3.7 GPA as a group. To be eligible for a National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame post-graduate fellowship, the nominee must be a senior or graduate student in his final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have shown superior academic application and performance, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The 2004 Division I-A Scholar-Athlete Award Class is below.

Trenton Franz, Wyoming, OL, Civil Engineering
William Bajema, Oklahoma State, TE, General Business
Jeffrey Berk, West Virginia, OL, Education
David Greene, Georgia, QB, Risk Management
Josh Haldi, Northern Illinois, QB, Accounting
James Leonhard, Wisconsin, FS, Kinesiology
Michael Munoz, Tennessee, OL, Political Science
Bryan Randall, Virginia Tech, QB, Sociology