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Show 6 Wednesday December 5, 2012 SPORTS www.dailyutahchronicle.corn 41i = TODAY'S SKI REPORT Alta 32° / 9 a.m. 33° / 3 p.m. conditions & weather from utahskiweather.com Very wet snow or even rain makes this day no fun. Brighton 32° / 9 a.m. 330 / 3 p.m. Canyons 3379:// 93 apimm i Deer Valley CLOSED Snowbird 32° / 9 a.m. 33° / 3 p.m. Solitude a.m. 33" .m. 34° / 3 p FOOTBALL Dunn proves himself in 2012 Derek Siddoway STAFF WRITER "Reggie!" "Reggie!" "Reggie!" The blackout crowds chant cascaded down to the north end zone of Rice-Eccles Stadium where kick returner Reggie Dunn eagerly awaited Cal's kickoff. Would he do it again? Of course he would. Sprinting into Utah and NCAA history books, Dunn took the ball to the house, his second ioo-yard touchdown return of the night. Of course, as Ute fans would learn a week later, he wasn't done yet. "After I did it once I was real confident in being able to run the ball," Dunn said. Like clockwork, the chants began, this time as Washington State prepared to kick off one week later. "I didn't think they'd kick to him," said head coach Kyle Whittingham after Dunn returned another ioo-yarder against the Cougars. For Dunn, the feeling was almost surreal. "To have the MUSS and the crowd cheering your name — it's an unbelievable feeling knowing you've got all those people behind you," Dunn said. The feat netted Dunn his second straight Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week Award and cemented his place as one of college football's greatest kick returners of all time. Dunn became the record holder for career touchdown returns with four, adding to a résumé that already included most ioo-yard returns in a game, highest kick return average and most returns for touchdowns in a game. And then, it seemed Dunn's magic was over. In the next two weeks, Washington and Arizona kicked the ball to everyone but Dunn. Utah lost both games and with them, the chance of a loth consecutive bowl appearance. "It was frustrating, very, very frustrating," Dunn said of the Washington and Arizona losses. "I wasn't able to get the ball in my hands and make a play for my team." With nothing but pride left on the line, the Utes prepared for their final game of the 2012 season against the Colorado Buffaloes. After a heartbreaking upset in 2011, it appeared the Utes woes could continue CHAD ZAVALA/The Daily Utah Chronicle Kick returner Reggie Dunn has been named to the first-team All-Americans by Athlon Sports. Dunn set an NCAA single-season record with four 100-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns. against Colorado when Buffaloes' kick returner Marques Mosley's too-yard return tied the game 35-35 in the middle of the fourth quarter. Little did Mosley and the rest of his teammates know, they were playing with fire. Just 13 seconds later, Dunn and the Utah kick return unit took the field and burned the Buffs with a mo-yard return of their own. The touchdown was the difference in a 42-35 Utah victory. "The whole kickoff return team [believed] if I got a chance to return it we were going to score," Dunn said. "We knew as a unit that were we going to score if we got the opportunity. It was like one of those weird things were you knew something was going to happen and it happened for us." Three days later, Dunn, along with teammate Star Lotulelei, was voted to the All-Pac-12 First Team. On Monday, Dunn earned All-American honors from See DUNN Page 8 CHRISTOPHER REEVES/The Daily Utah Chronicle Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei finished the season with 42 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. Lotulelei has been named to the first-team All-Americans by Athlon Sports. MEN'S BASKETBALL Utes fortify to keep Bronco offense in check Ryan McDonald TODAY: Men's Basketball Utah vs. Boise State ASST. SPORTS EDITOR After observing a moment of silence tonight to honor former Utah head coach Rick Majerus who passed away Saturday, the Runnin' Utes will undoubtedly face their toughest test of the season thus far in the Boise State Broncos. Jarred DuBois said the game will be important, not because of the strength of the opponent, but simply because it's the next game on the schedule. However, head coach Larry Krystkowiak recognizes the Broncos are a different animal from the competition Utah has faced so far. "We're going to have our hands full," Krystkowiak said. "We haven't seen this kind of firepower before." Boise State (6-0 comes into the game as one of the biggest surprise teams in the country. The Broncos beat then-No. ii Creighton a week ago and nearly knocked off No. 19 Michigan State eight days before that. Both games were on the road. In the game against the Bluejays, sophomore guard Derrick Marks scored 18 straight points in the second half en route to a 35-point performance in the win. "He's obviously going to score the basketball," DuBois said. "Good offense will always beat good defense but [we need to] try to make it tough for him, give him different looks, contest all his shots and try not to give him easy buckets or foul him, bail him out. Just try to stay solid." Marks is averaging 18.7 points per game, but the Broncos' offensive attack is not just a onetrick pony. Fellow guard Anthony Drmic is averaging 15.9 points per contest while both Jeff Elorriaga and Mikey Thompson are posting fewer than io points per game. "Marks was the lead character [against Creighton] but they've got guys 1-5 that have carried the load, and I think that's the sign of a good team," Krystkowiak said. "They're not trying to necessarily do it a certain way but they're able to read how the game is going, who might have the hot hand. That's an example of a veteran team. It's good basketball ... It's a great challenge for us." Boise State is averaging nearly 78 points per game compared to Utah, which is averaging just more than 70. DuBois said the Utes won't necessarily need to reach 8o points to win, but it will be imperative to keep the Broncos from reach- UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS 6:30 p.m. Huntsman Center FRIDAY: Gymnastics Utah vs. Red Rocks Preview 7 p.m. Huntsman Center SATURDAY: Men's Basketball Utah @ BYU 7 p.m. Provo Women's Basketball Utah vs. BYU 3 p.m. Huntsman Center PAC-12 STANDINGS BASKETBALL TEAM OVERALL CHAD ZAVALA/The Daily Utah Chronicle Utah guard Cedric Martin and the Utes will need to step up their defensive game to match the strength of the Boise State Broncos on Wednesday at the Huntsman Center. ing that number. If Krystkowiak's assessment of his team is accurate, the defense had better hold Boise State to fewer than 8o points. After examining film from Utah's trip to Texas last week, Krystkowiak said his team's defense is ahead of its offense in terms of successfully executing the game plan. DuBois knows keeping the Broncos offense in check will be crucial, particularly in transition and on the boards. The Utes have struggled on the glass thus far but hold a significant statistical advantage against Boise State in the category. Utah is averaging 39.7 rebounds per game compared to just 33.3 per contest for the Broncos. Oftentimes the rebounding battle comes down to which team is being the most competitive. DuBois said the importance of staying competitive for 4o minutes is something the Utes learned last week in Texas and they hope to apply this strategy going forward. "I think to win at this level, you have to compete at every minute, every possession and if not you'll get exposed," DuBois said. "I think if we come into every game competing ... we'll have a much better chance at winning." r.mcdonald@chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @ryanwmcdonald Arizona 5-0 7-1 Oregon Arizona St. 6-1 California 6-1 6-1 Colorado Utah 5-2 Stanford 6-3 4-2 Oregon St. 5-3 UCLA Washington St. 5-3 Washington 4-3 USC 3-4 |
