OCR Text |
Show DAILY HE I AID C4 Wednesday, September 29, 2004 :i AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST POWER RANKINGS U i I.Utah 5. NewMexko Had to rally to beat AFA Lookirtg 2. to knock off ranked Utes again & San Diego State How much will losing Hamilton hurt? 6. Colorado State ' Finally got a win against 7. Wyoming i "f Air Force Stoomirfi New Mexico Tom Craft San BYU 58 Coach Continued from Cl he's been in the league; has been inspirational to all the coaches in the conference." Robinson explained his decision to reporters by saying he didn't want his status to be a distraction for his players. "The reason you do it now is so that every time a kid walks down the hall there aren't question about something outside of football," said the farmer Los Angeles Rams head coach. "My wife and I both have some health problems w&need to fo cus on, and announcing it now allows :thq team tO;pcusndak lows the administration to have more time to find a new coach." MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson said he admired Robinson for what he had done at UNLV, both as a coach and as art athletic director. "I never met a coach as astute and as knowledgeable of the issues," Thompson said. "He was the right person for (0ND$ UNLV. Look at what he did with fund raising, getting the improvements to Sam Boyd Stadium, and they got a couple of prominent wins." Lubick said the retirement of Robinson means the conference has lost two irreplaceable coaches in the last few years. "It's an honor for me to coach on the same field as Coach Robinson," Lubick said. "I have so much admiration and respect for him. He and LaVell Edwards are two coaches that will be sorely missed in our profession." Robinson said his team ' seems focused, although change is sometimes difficult. He approached the subject with his typical humor: "We tried to reassure them the guy they bring in won't be as good looking as I am or as young as I am," he said. 9-- I Ground game injuries: Both New Mexico and San Diego State are dealing with key injuries to their running backs. Lobo head coach Rocky Long said running back Don- - dlHIllliHiMUlillilJ . "We're going to see if he can practice today," Long said. "Depending on how he looks on Thursday, we'll decide if he can play on Friday. But we plan to keep the same game plan, rotating at running back." San Diego State decided to redshirt running back Lynell. Hamilton because of lingering health problems. "I think we're all disappointed that Lynell is unable to go," Aztec head coach Tom Craft said. "It's a mental and physical issue, but the good part is we're going to have him for three more years." Even with all the injuries to running backs and quarterbacks, Utah head coach Urban Meyer said he plans to continue letting quarterback Alex Smith run the ball "As bad as injuries are, you still have to put the ball in your best player's hands," he said. "Our offense is designed that he can do things with running plays. The positive thing is that I I Quotable: Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn, when asked about the Cowboy defense in the win over Ole Miss, quoted Dizzy Dean: "The bottom line is throw away the stat book and hand me the score." I Quotable: Air Force coach Fisher. DeBerryj when asked if he would follow Robinson into retirement: "You're asking me a question I don't have an answer for. Maybe.you better ask my wife about that." ) Jared Uoyd can be reached at or jlloydheraldextra.com Offense S) (fa r, they were singled on the outside. Late in the game, they (zone) and played a two-ma- n we started going to our inside receivers. "If they (defenses) start rolling over and doubling up our outside guys, our running game will open up. We can also throw to our inside guys, tight ends and backs." This weekend's game at Colorado State is key for both teams as the Mountain West Conference opener. It would appear Colorado State's defense is weak against the run. The Rams gave up 255 yards rushing against Colorado, 322 against USC and 360 against Minnesota. . "We have to be ready," Young said. "Our most important games are in front of us and our preseason games are behind us. We hit our conference schedule this week, and as an offense, we have to score a lot. Last week, we proved we can score." "" v' Payne's big hits against Boise State fired up the team. "He's the best kicker I've ever seen," Young said. "I think I could see the frustration in his eyes when we're down 16-- He wanted to go out and show the younger guys that this is no joke. After that, the whole momentum of the game turned around." I Beck update: Crowton said Beck's health is still improving after suffering a shoulder injury against Notre Dame in Week 1. "He still has some bruising in his shoulder," Crowton said. "But little by little that's going . away. He had a little turf toe but he's good to go. "The air of confidence is coming for John. He's just maturing and I can see it in our conversations and preparations. He made some good adjustments in the second half and the drill against Boise State." in the game: Crowton said he was happy that punter Matt Payne had two hard tackles against Boise State. "But I was unhappy that Boise State got the ball that far up the field," Crowton said. "We had a breakdown twice on the edge. One time our guy got pushed out of bounds and the other time he couldn't get loose from his blocker. "Matt is 225 pounds and runs a 4.6 dash. 1 v t i JJ 2 I More Payne: Young said I Payne I- 344-255- There's not too many punters as big and strong and physical as he is. That's a strength for us. Boise State got through our first line of defenders on the punt and he was right there." Continued from Cl : Quotable: BYU head coach Gary Crowton, when asked if the number of important field goals and extra points missed this season caused a psychological difficulty for kicker Matt Payne: "I just think he missed the kick. I don't think there's any more to it than that." two-minu- te I Going inside: With thunder and lightning threatening on Tuesday, Crowton took his team to the indoor practice facility after about 20 minutes, just beating the rain. I Darnell Dickson can be 5 reached at or by 344-255- at 6-- 4, ddick8onheraldextra.com 40-ya- CtalitHlTD 00 UNLV 0-- .000 - J. V fi&x: rvT Notre Dame (3-- 1) This week: No. 15 Purdue at Notre Dame, .Saturday 11:30 a.m. (NBC) Fast Fact: Notre Dame has won three straight games since opening with a loss at BYU. ... . Notre Dame leads the series with Purdue all-ti- 49-24-- Stanford (2-- 1) This week: Washington at Stanford, Saturday 3 p.m. USC Fast Fact: Stanford led at halftime. ... Washington leads the 28-1- 7 d series with Stanford USC e 39-32-- (4-- 0) This week: Bye Fast Fact: Quarterback Matt Leinart was named Pac 10 Offensive Player of the Week for directing his team's comeback victory over Stanford. Leinart was 23 of 30 for 284 yards and a touchdown. Boise State (4-- 0) This week: SMU at Boise State, Saturday 6:05 p.m. Fast Fact: Boise State fell two spots in the AP poll after its narrow victory over BYU. ... Boise State beat last season. SMU 45-- 3 Colorado State 0--0) (1-- 3, at Colorado State, Saturday 8p.m.(KSL) Fast Fact: Colorado State has gained 400 or more yards of offense in three of its four games this season. This week: BYU UNLV 0-- 1) (0-- 4, u This week: Nevada at UNLV, Saturday 8 p.m. Plays BYU: Oct 8 in Provo Fast Fact Head coach John Robinson has announced he will retire at the end of the season. ... UNLV is off to an 04 start for the second time in four years. Wyoming 0-- 0) (2-- 1, This week: LouisianaMonroe at Wyoming, Saturday 1 p.m. Plays BYU: Oct 16 in Provo Fast Fact: Wyoming's win over Mississippi was r its victory over an SEC schooL ...Wyoming had four interceptions against first-eve- Mississippi. 'Jtlni., Air Force (2-- 1-- 2, 1) this week: Navy at Air Force, Thursday 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) Plays BYU: Oct 23 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Fast Fact Air Force leads the series with Navy 25-1... Air Force has won eight of the past 10 games against Navy. 2, 0--0) This week: San Diego State at UCLA, Saturday 5 p.m. Plays BYU: Nov. 6 in Provo Fast Fact San Diego State is 5-- in its past seven games. ... The Aztecs have lost 13 , straight games to Pac 10 opponents. (FSN-West- (2-2,0-- 0) This week: New Mexico at No. 14 Utah, Friday , 6 p.m. (ESPN2) ... . Plays BYU: Nov. 13 in Provo Fast Fact New Mexico allowed just 124 yards of total offense to New Mepcico State. ...The Lobos upset Utah 47-3in Salt Lake City last f.; 5 season. (4-- 0, (ESPN2) at Hark The IMaM i iy 1-- 0) This week: New Mexico at Utah, Online Classified Ad Building .. 1 New Mexico ' . News and notes from BYU's 2004 football opponents: Utah CIX)(Mt!IiniB9!IinBfimi r 2 llfllll Q'y 5 2--2 Colorado State f '" 00 ,.- San Diego State (2-- By word of mouse... .500 1 SaM Tea his backup is getting some experience, having played in the last two or three games." Utah. ;; ' Pet 0fcrd . opponents. I In nine career games, Urban Meyer is 1 against BCS teams. Meyer is 1 against the BCS as Utah's head coach. I The New Mexico Lobos have knocked off the Utah Utes each of the last two times they have entered the game with a national ranking. The two meet Friday. Trell Moore is still questionable for Friday's home game with till J! sjtsm T ivil.l l iiuimuij gams ' at Air Force, 5:30 p.m. t n j ! Friday' games i .. New Mexico at Utah, 6 p.m. j . Saturday' games LouisianaMonroe at Wyoming, 1 Rtm.,T i San Diego State at UCLA,-p.m. c) I BYU at Colorado State, 8 p.m. q sw ' Nevada at UNLV, 8 p,m. ii ait nO . I AH eight teams will be in action in week five. Two conference games are on tap, while the four other teams will play Utah State loss a shocker ' Pe'StijMSSsSw 00 TL.. 4-- Offense showing progress ' i Conf Team Navy 8.UNLV 4.BYU : Week 5 WEEK 5 NOTES Tmnrpcsivp virinrvJ nupr y Mississippi Getting better every game - - San Diego State's head coach on going into Saturday's game against UCLA (2-- 1 ). The two teams are meeting for the third straight season. Montana State 3. Air Force standings Two years ago, we got clobbered. I think we , have dosed the gap and have done what we - needed to do recruiting wise to compete with them. We're not at full strength, but we're excited and anxious to play. " Fast Fact v. Friday 6 p.m. - Utah is 4-- for the first time since .1994. ... Utah leads the MWC in total offense while New Mexico leads the conference in total v; defense. ,i : J j7 The Scout Team runs In the Daily Herald every Wednesday. '1 ,1 |