Recent News | Popular News | Subscribe

FACTS & STATS: Site: Hughes Stadium (34,400) -- Fort Collins, Colorado. Television:The Mtn. Home Record: Utah 2-0, CSU 2-0. Away Record: Utah 1-1, CSU 1-2 Neutral Record: Utah 0-0, CSU 0-0. Conference Record: Utah 0-0, CSU 0-1. Series Record: Utah leads, 53-22-2.

GAME NOTES: The Utah Utes begin defense of their Mountain West Conference title this weekend, as they storm into Forth Collins to tussle with the Colorado State Rams at Hughes Stadium.

The Utes were idle this past week as they began preparation for their upcoming MWC slate. Utah went 3-1 during its non-conference schedule, most recently picking up a 30-14 victory over Louisville on September 26th. The win gives the club a little momentum heading into MWC play, where Utah went undefeated at 8-0 last year.

The Utes are 2-2 in conference openers under head coach Kyle Whittingham, whose teams are also 4-0 coming off a bye week. As for the Rams, they have the daunting task of playing their first three MWC games against the top three teams in the league. CSU already suffered a 42-23 loss to BYU in its league opener on September 26th and it will face another nationally ranked opponent in TCU next weekend. After opening the season with three wins in a row, the Rams have now dropped two straight, including a narrow 31-29 decision at Idaho over the weekend.

CSU has dropped the last three meetings with Utah, which holds a 53-22-2 lead in the head-to-head series.

On the season, Utah is averaging a hardy 432.8 total ypg, including 204.2 ypg on the ground, but those numbers could see a dip now that leading rusher Matt Asiata is out for the year. The solid back, who had already rushed for over 300 yards, suffered a season-ending injury last game at Louisville, although the team still went on to rush for 214 yards in that game. Eddie Wide stepped in for Asiata and he had a successful performance, rushing for a career-high 129 yards behind a 6.8 yard per carry average. It was certainly an encouraging effort and Wide will now be asked to shoulder a majority of the work out the backfield. He, however, won't have to do it all himself, as quarterback Terrance Cain can get the job done with his legs as well as arm. Cain has rushed for 210 yards on the year, in addition to throwing for 914 yards and six scores. The dual-threat had 253 total yards and two touchdowns against Louisville and he completed an efficient 17-of-22 pass attempts in the win. David Reed hauled in six balls for 78 yards and a score in the win and he continues to lead the team with 26 catches and 360 receiving yards on the season.

Utah has done a solid job on the defensive side of the ball this season and is limiting opponents to only 294.8 total ypg, including just 159.8 ypg through the air. The defense has recorded nine takeaways and eight sacks, while allowing foes to convert only 19 percent of the time on third down. The Utes are also coming off a stout defensive performance in which they held Louisville to only 261 total yards. The unit came up with three turnovers and four sacks and held Louisville to a mere 4-of-14 effort on third downs. Mike Wright notched his second interception of the year in the win and he added five tackles to give him 22 stops on the season.

Trailing 31-23 late in the game, the Rams marched 89 yards in just five plays and capped off the drive with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Grant Stucker to Lou Greenwood. Unfortunately, CSU was unable to convert the two-point try, as tailback John Mosure was stopped just short of the goal line. The Rams actually got the ball back with 1:23 to go, but Stucker was picked off moments later and Idaho ran out the clock to seal the game. CSU racked up 436 yards of total offense, above its season average of 385.0 total ypg, yet couldn't get the job done. Despite the setback, Stucker found success under center and threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns. It was a fine effort by Stucker, who has now thrown for 1,245 yards with 10 scores and six picks on the season. Rashaun Greer has been in favorite target and he has big-play potential, with 403 receiving yards on just 19 catches. Greer led the team with seven receptions for 125 yards in last weekend's loss. In the backfield, Leonard Mason went for 85 yards last weekend and he leads the club with 339 rushing yards through five games.

CSU's defense had a successful start to the season, but the unit has been exposed in each of the last two weeks, allowing a combined 73 points to BYU and Idaho. The Rams, who are now allowing 352.6 total ypg on the campaign, were beat for 403 total yards by Idaho. The defense allowed 333 of those yards to come through the air and that has been a big problem for CSU, which is surrendering 261.0 passing ypg this season. The defense, however, has been able to make up for some of the yards it has allowed with big plays, recording 13 sacks and the same amount of takeaways. Mychel Sisson leads the team in sacks (three) and ranks second in tackles (36), while Elijah-Blu Smith is tops on the roster with three interceptions. Last weekend, Sisson had three TFLs and a sacks and Smith finished with seven stops.

The Utes are one of the premier teams in the MWC and they should be able to get league play under way with a win, courtesy of a balanced offense and sound defense.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Utah 33, Colorado State 20