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Show THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE! Friday, September 8,2006 16 Season Stats Rushing NAU-Henderson NAU-Sayles Utah-Liti Utah-Casteel Utah-Poston Passing NAU-Hurrietta Utah-Ratliff Receiving NAU-Watson NAU-Moore Utah-Hernandez Utah-Richards Utah-Wilson Utah-Casteel Punting NAU-Hadrid Utah-Sakoda Field goals NAU-Dehaze Utah-Sakoda Art. 14 2 8 7 2 Yds. 44 8 57 46 0 Avq. TD Long 3.1 0 14 4.0 0 8 7.1 0 28 6.6 0 17 0.0 0 1 Cmp-Att-Int Yds. TD Long 15-20 1(75%) 259 2 80 13-31- (41.9%) 162 I 34 Catches 11 2 4 4 3 3 Yds. Avg TD Long 206 18.7 I 80 34 17.0 0 39 31 7.80 15 20 5.0 0 9 67 22.3 0 34 57 19.0 1 26 No. Avg. Long Blocked 0 5 40.2 68 0 6 42.7 54 FG made/Att Lone Blocked 0-2 N/A 0 1-1 44 0 UTES HAVE TO PROVE THEMSELVES continued from Game Guide 2 l.t-:.NNIL MAHLfcR///WWv Utah ChnmicU Not only can the football team not afford to take the Lumberjacks lightly, but it is very important that the team look better than it did against UCLA. Equally important is for the fans to not hit the panic button after one game. "One game never makes or breaks us; it's a 12-game season. Our main objective is to win the Mountain West Conference," Whittingham said. "We stubbed our toe against UCLA, but one game is not a season ender." The interesting aspect about Saturday's game is that the Utes face a similar catch-22 situation that the team faced in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl. When the Utes were lined up to play Pittsburgh, they faced a lose-lose situation. If the Utes had won, everyone would have said it was a game they should have won no matter what. If the Utes had lost, then everyone would have said the Utes didn't belong in a BCS bowl. A similar situation faces the Utes in front of their own fans Saturday. If the Utes destroy Northern Arizona, then many will say they should have. If the Utes win it closely, or don't win at all, then many people will continue to doubt the Utes until they prove themselves. The bright side is that the Utes now have game film, which allows the team to make changes, work on weaknesses and polish rough edges. U fans can be assured that Whittingham and his staff have the team working just as hard as it ever has to prove to itself and to the fans that this team has the ability to be a quality football team. t.pizza@ chronicle.utah.edu The 2005 Utah offensive line prepares to repel New Mexico defenders last year against New Mexico. Notice they're wearing their fabulous crimson uniforms. Apparently, they usually win when they were red. Except this game. They lost this one. Red hot pants 7s there something lucky about the Utes' dazzling crimson unis? When Michael Jordan won big games, people used to say that it had to be the shoes. As far as Utah's football team is concerned, a growing number of students believe that a piece of its equipment may have a similar effect. This time, it's got to be the pants. Some fans insist that the Utes are at their best if, and only if, they don their red pants on game day, something that didn't happen in last week's loss to UCLA. "I knew that we were in trouble the second they stepped on the field," said Melissa Lawrence, a junior English major. "When we're on the road, we always do better when we wear the red pants. No doubt about it." Those who subscribe to this theory tend to cite a few specific examples to prove their point, the most convincing of THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Linebackers Chris Hunsaker (45) and DJ. Wade celebrate a big play during NAU's 35-14 loss to Arizona State last week. LUMBERJACKS ARE NO PUSHOVER continued from Game Guide 2 week and is expected to get the majority of the carries this week. Watson is a marquee wide receiver whose speed will create a lot of problems for the Ute defense this week. The junior led the Lumberjacks last year with 50 catches for 566 yards and was named All-Big Sky honorable mention. Northern Arizona's offensive line will be another strong point in the offense, as four starters from last year's club return this year. possibly affect his performance on the footWith their T O M ball field. backs against Q U I N N Although the wall, the ^ the theory Utes overcame regarding injuries to key pant color players such may not be as Brian Johnson and John Madsen en route logical, everyone knows that to a 41-34 overtime victory that logic has no place in sports. saved the season by making The football gods work in mysUtah bowl eligible. And they terious ways, and history sugdid it wearing red pants. gests that wearing red pants There is do denying that the might be one way to appease win was a small miracle, es- them. pecially considering the Utes' First of all, while pondering annoying habit of losing close over the merit of this theory, games in 2005. one must completely disregard "I would say the pants defi- the Urban Meyer era; his teams nitely helped them out a little," were so good that they would have won with pink pants, yelLawrence said. Anal fans and/or stats majors low pants or even no pants at are quick to point out the dubi- all. ous nature of the relationship; Looking even further back, there is no logical way that the one might note that the last color of a player's pants could time the Utes wore white pants which is last fall's showdown at BYU. It will try to improve upon a measly 53 rushing yards against the Sun Devils. On defense, the Lumberjacks field one of the most experienced units in Souers' tenure, especially on the line. Blair Boynton recorded 38 tackles and 4.5 sacks last year to anchor the line. Drew Hoffman and Josh Williams will also make considerable contributions up front for the Lumberjacks. The linebacker unit should once again be one of the stronger units on the team. Chris Hunsaker and DJ. Wade both return this season after combining for 123 tackles, with 18 for loss last season. Junior cornerback KJ. Gerard had an impressive season last year for the Lumberjacks, leading the team in tackles (73) and the Big Sky Conference in interceptions (4). Joining Gerard in the secondary will be senior Kris Theus and Houston transfer Ricky Wilson. Senior punter Rhian Madrid is also coming back to bolster the special teams unit. Madrid was elected All-Big Sky first team last season after averaging 43.0 yards/punt (fourth in the nation). With Murrieta and Watson leading a potent passing attack, as well as 10 returning defensive starters, the Lumberjacks have all of the tools necessary to make a run at a Big Sky conference title. c.brunnen p chronicle.utah.ee u UTES FOCUS ON FIXING PASS DEFENSE continued from Game Guide I single sack despite an erratic passing attack. Of course, strong efforts hi the trenches didn't do the Utes much good last week. This Saturday, Whittingham and Co. consistently in both home and away games was during Ron McBride's stint at the coaching helm, and everyone knows how those seasons turned out. Observant fans point out that the teams with the best records aren't just good, they're also lucky, and McBride's squads were some of the unluckiest Utah has ever seen. No one can say with certainty that wearing red pants would have changed the outcome of last week's game at UCLA. Nevertheless, some fans insist that the Utes caught an inordinate number of bad breaks and that they were one lucky rabbit's foot away from a win. "I know that wearing the red pants isn't going to guarantee a win," admitted Lawrence. "But still, it's kind of like praying. What have we got to lose?" tquinn@ chronicle.utah.edu will be looking for an improved performance from the receiving corps—in which the coach expressed disappointment after Saturday's loss—and the defensive backfield. With junior wideout Brian Hernandez and senior safety Steve Tate out of action this Saturday, those two tasks may be a little more difficult—but the Utes are confident they can erase last week's loss from their minds and get their, briefly derailed season bacl^ on track. j "If we play like we dic( Saturday, it's a toss of the; coin who wins this ballgame," Whittingham said] "If we play like we're ca-j pable of playing, then I likej our chances." j •-y\ c.bellamy(5) chronicle.utah.edu BUFFALO WIN Northern Arizona Utah 5O* JUMBO BUFFALO WINGS From one hour before kick-off to one hour after the Utah football game. Dine in only. ELBOW 1 O 6 3 E 2 1 O O S - Fiddlerselbowslc.com • 8 O " L 4 6 3 . 9 3 9 3 |
