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Show DAILY C4 H El A 10 VMKsdaf.Septmbeti.2004 AROUND TIIE MOUNTAIN WEST TTfTRATiD I.Utah KB) fj (1-- POWER RA1THHTGS 5. New Mexico 0) Last week: 1 Will trip to Arizona be test for Utes? , a true 2. San Diego State V (0-- 1) Last week: 3 Let one slip away against Washington State (1-- Last week: 5 Barely broke a sweat against San Diego State 21-1- 4. Overwhelmed by two freshmen quarterbacks at Tennessee Idaho State , - Conf Ovarii Streak Team taww vvhere Fisher DeBerry Air Fotfe head coach on his team's performance in the seconds of its toss to NoJ3CaLAk Force trailed 4 at halftime, but Cal ran off 35 unanswered points to win, 56-1- Last week: 6 1 Week 2 VV. 6. UNLV(0-1-) 0) " M 0We really didn't ctzvitdh:g3 ' . "I'm jus curious if anybody out there has x ( .jseen bur football team? it kind of ran from lis in second half and " OO Wyoming OO Colorado State 00 UNLV 00 1--0 Wonl Won v ri 0-- 1 i Lost 1 Lpstl I 3. Brigham Young (1-- 7. Wvominad-0- ) 0) I Utah coach Urban Meyer is 84 against career, including a 1 mark at Utah. Last week 4 Beat up poor Appalachian State 4. Colorado State (0--1) 8. Air Force Last week: 2 Last week: 7 TVwkcn't crett x5ynun anv v pacipr Mr ' (0-- 1) ' . Big week for Mountain West MWC coaches share advice on preparing for v""f - opponents and their noisy crowds - e . 12. R hJ'-- -' . Jared Lloyd ' DAILY HERALD Playing at home doesnt always mean victory (just ask BYU head coach Gary Crowton). Haying on the road doesn't always mean defeat. Every road game is different but some places don't just intimidate opponents with the strange surroundings. Try throwing -in tradition, history and not to mention passion NOTEBOOK around 100,000 support ers. After playing six of eight games at home, coaches in the Mountain West Conference spent time in their weekly teleconference giving advice to those going to play in some of the toughest stadiums in the nation. "I admire their atmosphere down there," Utah head coach Urban Meyer told Wyoming, which travels to intimidating Kyle Field to take on Texas A&M. "I think Wyoming needs to hang in there in the first half. If they can be not too far behind at halftime, they'll have a chance. The first 30 minutes are going to be difficult." Crowton told Colorado State, who plays No. 1 USC on Saturday, to not be intimidated by their opponent or Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. "When you go into those storied stadiums, your players are awed a little," he said. "I felt we started out a little slow (last season), then we played pretty good but we didn't have the strength to finish. I think CSU is really good. If they play their "A" game like they've done so many times, they have a chance to upset USC or at least tit? JACK "wX" DEMPSEYAssociated Press Colorado State quarterback Justin Holland remains on the field after his team's 27-2-4 loss to Colorado on Saturday. Colorado State hits the road this week for a game against No. I USC. . stay close." A coach who has spent plenty of time in famous stadiums, UNLV's John Robinson, said teams can use the energy to play at a higher level "Any wins against traditional competition are big for the conference," he said. "The stadium is old, a lot of old coaches have coached there. It's a great place, and I think that will stimulate CSU. I BCS talk: Overall, the coaches thought the league was during last e weekend's games with opponents. "I don't think that there is any question that we're very competitive with any of the conferences," Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry said. "Winning games brings a lot of credibility to our league. Just getting our big-nam- names out in front of America is important because a tot of people dont know about the Mountain West Conference. To have those games at home speaks very well of the league." Commissioner Craig Thompson said the losses were "tough games to lose. Come November or December, it's a loss. You dont get an asterisk if it's close." But he emphasized that "the top priority is winning the conference. It should be first and foremost." Meyer faced the most questions, taking calls from Los Angeles, New Orleans and Syracuse, N. Y., all asking about the possibility of Utah cracking the BCS. "We downplay BCS talk," he said firmly. "There was a lot of discussion during the summer and it disrupted our focus. It's not a distraction any more. There are a tot of great teams in the conference. Look at what BYU did to Notre Dame, New Mexico should've beat Washington State and CSU should've beat CU. The traditional power conference teams are not the hardest teams on our schedule. I'm more worried about beating Colorado State, who's won the conference four out of the last six years. I do hear BCS talk, but not around our program." I Instant replay: SDSU head coach Tom Craft said instant replay will not be used in their game next week at Michigan. "There's probably a place for it but we're not going to use it while it's in its experimental phase," he said "We don't need to have extra stoppage, particularly when we're trying to run the offense. Maybe I'm just traditional, but I have confidence in the flow of the game and the way the officials call it." I Quotable: DeBerry opened up his comments on last Saturday's loss to Cal by saying, "I'm just curious if anybody out there has seen our football team? It kind of ran away from us in the second half and we really didn't know where it went." I Jared Uoyd can be reached at orjlloydheraldextra.com. 344-255- v , t: ;;J : mi . News and notes from BYU's 2004 football opponents: Notre Dame (0-- 1) Last week: Lost to BYU, 20-1This week: vs. Michigan, Sat, 12:30 p.m. (NBC) Fast facts: The Michigan game will be the 138th consecutive Irish football contest on one of the four major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS or ESPN). 7 Stanford (1-- 0) Last week: Defeated San Jose State, 43-- 3 This week: vs. BYU, Saturday, 8 p.m. (KUTV) Fast facts: Stanford threw for 333 yards against San Jose State last week and had 465 yards of total offense. No.1USCfN)J Last week: Bye This week: vs. Colorado St., Sat., 6 p.m. (ABC) Plays BYU: Sept 18 in Provo Fast facts: This is the first ever meeting between USC and Colorado State. Boise State (1-- 0) Last week: Defeated Idaho, 65-This week: vs. Oregon St, Sat., 8 p.m. (ESPN) Plays BYU: Sept 24 in Boise, Idaho , Fast facts: Boise State has won 19 consecutive games at home, the longest streak in the nation. 7 Colorado State (0-Last week: Lost to Colorado, This week: 1) 27-2- 4 at USC, Saturday, 6 Oct 2 in Ft Collins, p.m. (ABC) Colo. Plays BYU: Fast facts: CSU's game against USC is the 950th in school history. UNLV (0-- 1) Last week: Lost to Tennessee, This week: 42-1- 7 at Wisconsin, Sat, 10 a.m. Oct 6 in Provo Wyoming (ESPN) Visit the obituaries online to sign i a Guest (1-- 0) Last week: Defeated Appalachian State, 53--7 at Texas A&M, Sat, 1:30 p.m. (FSN) Plays BYU: Oct 16 in Provo Fast facts: Wyoming gained 537 total yards against Appalachian State. This week: Air Force o (0-- 1) Last week: Lost to Cal, 56-1This week: vs. Eastern Washington, Sat, noon Plays BYU: Oct 23 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Fast facts: This is the first meeting between the two schools. 4 San Diego State (1-- 0) Last week: Defeated Idaho State, 38-2This week: Bye Plays BYU: Nov. 6 in Provo Fast facts: San Diego State scored 24 points in the first quarter against Idaho State. 1 JEREMY HARMONDaily Herald BYU running back Curtis Brown (6 runs a route during Tuesday's practice. I Berry knows bombs: When Berry was told it appeared from the press box he may have overthrown Collie on the touchdown pass, he smiled. "I threw it up high and it hung up enough where he could adjust to it and catch up," Berry said "Football is one place where a bird's eye view doesn't count." I First shot When Colorado State plays USC on Saturday, it will be the first time a Mountain West Conference team has played the No. 1 team in the polls. Three times, MWC teams have played a No. 2: Wyoming at Tennessee in 1999, BYU vs. Florida State in the Pigskm Classic m 2000 and San Diego State at Ohio State last season. BYU will also face USC later this season. I ESPN5 or ESPN6? ESPN has announced the development of another sports diannel called ESPNU, a college sports initiative expected to launch in March of 2005. 42-ya- rd 24-ho- Book or send flowers. 4 New Mexico ESPNU will show mainly men's and . women's college basketball but wfll also broadcast other college sports such as baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, hockey, (0-- 1) . . , Last week: Lost to Washington State, 21-1- 7 This week: vs. Texas Tech, Saturday, 6 p.m. Plays BYU: Nov. 13 in Provo Fast facts: Texas Tech leads the series 33-5-and has won 10 straight wrestling, spring football and select high school football games. This move is significant because the Mountain West Conference will begin its ' new TV deal with CSTV in 2006 for football and basketbalL CSTV broadcasts other e sports as wen and wffl stow its first college football game on Saturday with BYU at Stanford The game can be seen k cally on KUTV, Channel 2. ESPNhasalsoaniwuncedESPN2rID,a second channel for programming. 2 No. 17 Utah (1-- 0) col-teg- Last week: Def. Texas A&M, This week: DkJcson 2555 or by can be reached at 344 at ddicfcsortheraIdextra.com 17-15- -2 ; s Support tbe future of your community, give tbe gift of literacy. a' fi The Scout Team runs in the Daily Herald every Wednesday. 1 , (KJZZ) Plays BYU: , Fast facts: Utah leads the series with Arizona but has lost 8 of the past 10 meetings. high-definiti- I Darnell 41-2- 1 at Arizona, Saturday, 8 p.m. Nov. 20 m Salt Lake City ' i : Plays BYU: Fast facts: Dominique Dorsey had 18 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown against Tennessee. those kind of mistakes for a first game," he said. "We made some progress I thought we would make, progress we didn't make last year." Watkins, meanwhile, is also making a contribution on the punt return team. "I went to Coach (Paul) Tidwell to let him know I'd do whatever it takes to win," Watkins said. "I wanted to do special teams because I can't stand being on the sidelines. I wanted to be involved and be a part of it. "I'm going to get a blocked punt sooner or later and I want to give our returners a better chance to get us better field position for the offense." BYU managed only 22 yards rushing against Notre Dame's outstanding front seven last Saturday, but Crowton said he was pleased nonetheless. "We knew we weren't going to go in and dominate Notre Dame with the run game; we're not ready for that," Crowton said. "But we were still going to run. We were trying to shorten the game. I was very pleased with our ability to let our defense and special teams do their thing and win the game after we turned it over on the interception." I Quarterback shuffle: Starter John Beck, who suffered a slight shoulder separation arid bruise against Notre Dame, said that he could barely lift his throwing arm on Sunday but on Tuesday he had fuD range of motion. "I thought my shoulder came out it hurt so bad" Beck said "I'm going to be in the training room three times a day and doing whatever I can to get ready for Stanford" Beck said he even tried a poultice of crowing tobacco on the shoulder. "It's in the scriptures, right?" he said "It's supposed to heto with bruises." Crowton said he would get Beck mentally ready for Stanford while preparing Berry and junior college transfer Jason Beck for duty with most of the repetitions in practice. See the obituary section www.HarkTheHerald.com Texas Tech at New Mexico, 6 pjk No. 17 Utah at Arizona, 8p.cn, v BYU at Stanford, 8 p.m. 2 Continuedfmm CI ' ; le Watkins , UNLV Wyoming's 41 points in the first half against Appalachian State ranks second in MWC history for most points in a half. I New Mexico RB DonTrefl Moor,e needs 50' yards to become the MWCs career rushing leader. htotreDanMnisbed for only 11 total yardb against BYU on ' ' Saturday. I Colorado State QB Justin Holland passed for 403 yards in his , first collegiate start on Saturday. .. Young defense was helpless against Cal 1 I big-nam- at Wisconsin, 10 a.m. Eastern Washington at Air Force, Noon Wyoming at Texas A&M, 1:30 pjn. . Colorado State at No. 1 USC, 6 hjm. ; BCS opponents in his 3-- Notre Dame win showcased strong defense u Saturday's games |