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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE August 2010 D13 1— THE GREAT DEBATE —I Which to am will win the MWC title? Balanced offense puts Utah ahead C hoosing a favorite team to win the Mountain West Conference was easy. TCU will be ranked in the Top To in the preseason, Andy Dalton and most of his high-octane offense is returning, and head coach Gary Patterson's defense is one of the most vicious in football. So with the information at hand, my preseason favorite in the MWC is Utah. Despite sending seven players to the NFL draft and losing nearly its entire starting defense, this pick has quite a bit of gut intuition. But there are still some hard facts that support my selection. First and foremost, Utah's offense has the ingredients to be lethal. Sophomore Jordan Wynn is a year older, more experienced and has some productive games under his belt, including last year's season finale against Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl. Not to mention, he has a big-play threat in wideout Jereme Brooks. Backing up Wynn is Terrance Cain, a proven starter with mobility who had a successful spring. But just in case the sophomore falters a bit, Ute fans don't need to worry. Utah might have the conference's best rush attack in 2010. Having a great running back can do wonders for a team and Utah has the luxury of possessing three. Sausan Shakerin has the speed, Matt Asiata has the power, and Eddie Wide is perhaps the best all-around back in the conference. The mix of running styles will allow multiple run packages and keep defenses on their toes. Utah also has a stellar line to protect Wynn and open holes for the Utah stable of running backs led by Outland Trophy candidates Caleb Schlauderaff and Zane Taylor. The offensive line will by no means be a weak spot in the Utah offensive machine. Balance is the key to great offenses, and thanks to weapons such as Wide on the ground and Brooks through the air, opposing defenses will struggle to keep up. As I said before, there is some speculation JAKE BULLINGER 1 TCU will continue to dominate H — Sophomore, Mass Communication to my choice. The Utes do have some shady areas that need to be addressed. One such issue is defense. The unit returns only four starters (none of whom are linebackers), meaning it will be composed of players who are mostly unproven. There is no way to tell how the new starters' Rice-Eccles baptism will go, but there are some positive indicators. Of the four returning starters, three are linemen. This means that the new linebacker crew will have experienced players in front of them to make plays and keep blockers from reaching the second level. In the backfield, Justin TaplinRoss, who looked strong filling in for Joe Dale in 2009, will join cornerback Brandon Burton, who loves the spotlight, a trait that seems to ooze from successful corners. Another question mark for the Utes is the receiving corps. Brooks is a proven target, but how will Luke Matthews and DeVonte Christopher respond to their newfound starting roles? Just like the defense, these receivers have a strong role model and solid spring performances to boost confidence. Although TCU has locked up the public vote as the MWC favorite, the Utes' assets are hard to ignore. As Utah enters its farewell season in the MWC, Whittingham and Co. will remind the rest of the MWC just why the Pac-ro came calling to the Utes. eading into the 2010-2011 football season, there is one and only one favorite to win the Mountain West Conference. That team is TCU. It's not because the Horned Frogs are returning 16 of 22 total starters, nine of which are on the defensive side of the ball, the same defense that led the nation in total defense the past two years. Or the fact that one of the 16 starters, Andy Dalton, is ranked first among active quarterbacks in wins, with 29. Not to mention that Dalton has also been named to the Johnny Uintas Golden Arm Award watch list for 2010, which is given to the nation's top senior quarterback annually. Although those factors further enhance my point that the Horned Frogs are still the top dogs, or frogs I should say, in the conference, the No. 1 reason these spiky amphibians are the favorites is simple: You have to beat the best to be the best. I know, it sounds cheesy, especially in college sports, when teams lose handfuls of players each year to graduation or the NFL draft and are stuck the next season plugging in Steve Urkel-framed freshmen where men sculpted like Greek gods used to stand. But my point remains the same: He who wears the crown will continue to wear it until he is dethroned. And seeing how there can't be any games played before the season starts, how can TCU not be the preseason favorite in a kingdom that it has already conquered? The Horned Frogs are coming off an undefeated regular season where they played Bowl Championship Series buster by earning a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. The Horned Frogs' journey to the Fiesta Bowl was an easy one as they steam rolled their in-conference competition by an average of 32 points per game. They were men among boys, plain and simple. The fact VS. j.bullinger@ chronicle.utah.edu CORBIN GODFREY Senior, Mass Communication that 16 of those 22 starters are going to be back on the gridiron this year should have the rest of the conference cringing in fear of déjà vu. Although the defense figures to return to top of the national rankings, it is on the offensive side that the Horned Frogs' advantage will show through on the shoulders of Mr. Dalton. I call him "Mr." because I was taught to respect my elders, and this senior stud can ball with the best of them. In college football, if you don't have a quarterback, you've got nothing. It is the single most important position in the collegiate atmosphere and, my-oh-my, do the purple and black have one. Dalton was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Year last year, ranked eighth in the nation in passing efficiency (151.8) and third in lowest career-interception percentage, throwing just 24 in ',ow attempts. TCU is currently ranked sixth in both the AP and USA Today polls, and it looks to have the power to make a run at a national championship, something no nonBCS school has ever done. So let's recap: Nine returning starters on the defensive side and the conference's best quarterback and player returning for the team that dominated the conference last year. Not the favorite? Please. c.godfrey@ chronicle.utah.edu CROSS-COUNTRY Last year's redshirts expected to step up Jeremy Mauss STAFF WRITER This year's cross-country team is going all in this season and is aiming for a stellar campaign as host of the 2010 NCAA Mountain Region Championships. The 2009-2010 season was a trying one that had the Utes running with a limited number of athletes because of head coach Kyle Kepler's decision to redshirt quite a few runners. "Last year was a growing year for the team," Kepler said. "We redshirted four freshmen as well as Alyssa Abbott, who was an All-American, with hopes of finishing in the top six at regionals in 2010." Kepler's goal was to place a strong focus on having a tremendous showing at the regional meet. By having them in the program for a year focusing on training, Kepler hopes it will help the 2009 freshman class once it is in its first race. Then, in the case of Abbott redshirting, she will now be able to showcase her skills on her home campus for regionals and make a run at the NCAAs. "Running only five kids at regionals was real tough as health was an issue last year," Kepler said. "But health is always an issue, and if our top kids are healthy, we can do some damage and get some of them to the national meet. Depending on health and with Alyssa Abbott who was first team all-conference two years ago, we are expecting big things from her and the team." Kepler said if the younger runners step up this year and everyone works together as a team, they should improve their results from last year. "We need other kids to develop as well as the younger ones to be better than they were before," Kepler said. "We need to have veterans step up and create some competition to help make everyone better." Running only a handful of athletes at regionals last year because of injuries and illness led the team to a disappointing 19th-place finish, Offseason ski team is hungry to win Whitney O'Bannon STAFF WRITER Surrounded by mountains and with access to some of the best ski training facilities, the Utah ski team is privileged to say the least. The team also works hard and trains yearround to establish itself as one of the best NCAA teams in the country. "(The team) is really hitting the fitness training hard this summer in preparation for what they know will be hard in the fall and will hopefully reap the benefits in the winter," said director of skiing Eli Brown. As skiing is limited to winter months, these athletes have to prepare during the fall season without snow. Brown said as soon as Fall Semester begins, his team is in the gym running, biking and lifting weights. They also do injury-prevention programs. Although a snow-covered Salt Lake Valley is still months away, the team is motivated and ready for the season, which begins in January. "The team is really hungry to win," Brown said. "We have the talent, so I think it is going to be an exciting year." Utah is looking to match up better against its competition and find consistency throughout the season. Brown hopes that consistency against competitors will give the team the confidence it needs in national competitions. Last year, the Utes finished fourth in the NCAA Championship. In the past, the cornpetition has been dominated by the University of Colorado and University of Denver, which has taken first place the past three years. "I'm psyched that everyone did their best," Brown said. "That's more important to me than what place we ended up getting." Utah has won the national title on II occasions, but the team's last win was in 2003. Nordic skiers Didrik Smith and Zoe Roy led the Utes in the competition and throughout the 2009-2010 season. The two skiers will return for the 2010-2011 season, along with the majority of last year's roster. With the addition of new Nordic skiers, Utah is looking to improve in the cross-country skiing events, which have generally been its weak spot. "We are looking to step it up," Brown said. "We have a couple new athletes coming in that we are really excited about and that will help us a lot." Come January, the Utes will have a chance to see where they stand with their opponents when they host the Utah Invitational, which will be held in Park City. w.obannon@ chronicle.utah.edu compared with 2008 when the team finished sixth. However, the experience the runners attained from running in such a tough environment and with so many of them being young should lead to better results for this season. "I think our squad learned a ton about running at this level this season," Kepler said. "Everyone in Division I is talented. Everyone is a state champion, all-state or a state qualifier. This level is all about working as a team and having the patience to grow steadily." To prepare for the upcoming season, runners Amanda Mergaert, Megan Coomber and Lauryn McKay competed at the Junior National Cham- pionships in Iowa. Each athlete had a good showing, especially Mergaert, who finished fifth overall in the 1,500 meter. The meet consisted of the top collegiate freshmen and high school seniors across the country and was an event that will prepare these runners for championship meets next year. j.mauss@ chronicle.utah.edu RUF is a Christian ministry at the U R F Help child BE GREAT pl, Volunteer BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS We welcome both convinced and skeptical students to join us as we: pursue truth build community serve the U www.utahruf.com 801.560.5335 info@utahruf.com OF GREATER SALT LAKE Call Wendy @ 801.484.0841 reformed university fellowship |