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Show ▪ ▪ TIME FOR THE ROAD TEST Through the first three weeks of the season, I am pretty confident saying that Utah has a more talented team than the Wolverines. Despite not competing against the same talent level, the Utes just look like the team with more skill. To put it simply, Utah passes the eye test. But the last couple of seasons, it's almost like an entirely different team takes the field on the road instead of the home Utes that the fans grow to love. Is it just me or have these first three weeks played out very similarly to the beginning weeks of the previous two seasons? Win the first game against a terrible team — check. Win the second game against a better, but still inferior opponent — check. Give Utah fans something to gawk over and claim this year is different — check. Go on the road and lose —TBD. The first road trip is typically where things have gone south for the Utes. In recent seasons, the biggest road win was a victory in Provo against BYU. Yes, it is always important to GRIFFIN ADAMS ie.. t's no secret Kyle Whittingham and the Utes have not exactly met fans' expectations the last couple of seasons. With two consecutive losing campaigns, there are a number of things Utah needs to work on in order to make it back to the postseason in 2014. The most important aspect that needs to be addressed, though, is the team's play on the road. Last season, the Utes recorded a 1-4 record away from Rice-Eccles Stadium. The season before that saw a 1-5 record away from the confines of the Utes' sanctuary. Utah fans will find out just how improved this squad is on the road when the Utes travel to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan on Saturday. UTES PREP FOR IN-STATE "WORLD CUP" beat your rival, and yes, it was a big win for Utah, but the fact of the matter is the Utes have only won a single Pac-12 game away from Salt Lake City in the past two years. To make things even worse, that game was against Colorado, the punching bag of the conference, and Utah narrowly got by, 42-35. As my astute colleague, assistant sports editor Ryan Miller, pointed out to me, a fully healthy Travis Wilson really hasn't played in a road game outside of Utah since his freshman season, so the Michigan game will tell us a lot about the junior signal caller. He is much improved since coming into this season, and if the Utes want to become a contender rather than a pretender, it starts with Wilson's play in this game. Like I said, on paper, this Utah squad should have no problem against a struggling Michigan team. However, if the last few seasons are any indication, the game will be a lot closer than it probably should be. g.adams@chronicle.utah.edu @GriffDoug VANDALS DISSECT BIKES NEAR DORMS BY COURTNEY TANNER /NEWS EDITOR ate into the night on Sept. 11, U Police found bike tires, seats and parts strewn haphazardly in the rass on upper campus. The bicycles were vandalised near the bicycle racks of the Sage Point and Chapel Glen dorms. Todd Justesen, associate director for the U's Housing and Residential Education, said nearly 40 bikes were disassembled that evening. "We're hoping that whoever did this will not do it again," he said. U Police and housing staff helped match some of the parts to the correct bikes, Justesen said, putting them back together to "assist the students so they didn't wake up to a bad surprise:' The miscellaneous parts leftover were taken to the U Police office, where students can reclaim them. Sgt. Garth Smith with U Police said there are currently no suspects in the case. He also said during the same time window as the bike incident, someone allegedly damaged window screens by the dorms, with $100 in damage near buildings 802, 803 and 804. Smith did not have an estimated cost for the vandalism to the bikes. Justesen suggests students use indoor bike storage to avoid a recurrence of the vandalism. Students can purchase a year-long pass to the interior storage areas for $42. Those who use this space must scan their UCard to enter, making it more secure. If you have any information related to the case, contact U Police at (801) 585-2677. c.tanner@chronicle.utah.edu @CourtneyLTanner L' • e- • .• .• Fe" • • ' • •oe PL .• . • • CV.f•TI SR 2 03 804 ,-rer • SR 6.2T S5S25' • e" 5P• 820,, C.13•8•620 •.. •. • • - FD .• FD FD 66_6 e H • . [ e H CTR • • ••••-• • . •-• • -• re • • • Fe BY DOMINIC GARCIA /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY CHRIS SAMUELS P81 W m re• - rer: P • frjAe ....edre- FD 61 D 0.2 OF. ' • • ••• - • z • - .:1•3"11-. F V2". -• •F F C' Cr26 • F 11'07 re. .. 4].• • SP 81.1 •• .•F 93y 1,7 Bikes from racks between Sage Point and Chapel Glen were vandalized the night of Sept. 11. 6 THECHRONY a1)2 .r" SP. 8; r .7. 17.-;. • • • .. •• es P .,8,12 _• ith their defeat of BYU, the Utes began their trek for state dominance. This weekend Utah will look to finish it. The Utes will travel up to Logan on Friday to take on Utah State, before concluding their weekend with a home game against UVU on Sunday. "I'm just excited for this weekend:' said junior Baylee Nielsen. "Our coach called it the World Cup, because it's going to be a big weekend. It's going to prove who the best team in Utah is for sure:' The Aggies appear to be the tougher opponent for Utah, especially since the Utes will be playing in front of a hostile crowd. Cache Valley hasn't treated Utah very well lately, seeing as it's been seven years since the Utes last won a game in Logan. Manning thinks his team needs to pay attention to the details of the game if they hope to come away with a victory. "They're going to put great pressure on us, defensively, on our offense:' Manning said. "We're going to have to try and make plays and keep the ball under tremendous pressure:' Though the Utes have struggled to dispatch the Aggies in Logan as of late, they have been dominant over the Wolverines. Utah has yet to drop a game to UVU, and with the Utes' current unbeaten streak at home, it seems unlikely UVU will produce an upset. The Wolverines and the Utes have faced two common opponents this season — Boise State and UNLV. UVU tied the Broncos and defeated UNLV, while Utah beat Boise but was only able to produce a tie against the Rebels. Manning doesn't expect either game to be an easy one and predicts he will see two very different games this weekend. "We know when we play Utah State that it's going to be a physical, passionate game:' Manning said. "Utah Valley probably has a more finesse style, but they are really good at it. You're going to see that same passion come out in a different way. They are all intense in different ways. The level of soccer in Utah has gotten better.They both improved tremendously' Even with the Utes' win over the Cougars, both the Aggies and Wolverines want to prove they are the top team in the state. Utah being a member of the Pac-12 adds to the significance for both Utah State and UVU. "Moving to the Mountain West for Utah State and moving to the WAC for Utah Valley has been great for them:' Manning said. "So the games have become even more intense as everybody has gotten better:' The players know what is at stake as well. "In-state teams are always big games, sometimes I don't really consider them rivals, but they are always big games:' Nielsen said. "Especially because as a Pac-12 school in Utah, we have a big target on our back:' The two in-state games are also Utah's last contests before conference play begins next weekend. This weekend will be Manning's last chance to see his team compete and make adjustments before beginning the Pac-12 gauntlet. "We've got to score some goals:' Manning said. "We need some attacking players that want to score some goals and that are going to make plays:' Players are also getting excited for conference play to start. Nielsen is trying to not look past this weekend but can't help it sometimes. "I'm done with preseason, and I'm ready to go to conference," Nielsen said. No matter who the Utes are playing, Manning always has the same thing in mind — try and get to the NCAA tournament. "Three points in every game:' Manning said. "Win the game — it doesn't matter how. Every game is going to be close, but they will probably have different rhythms based on the different styles of the opponent. All that matters is that we do what it takes to win the game:' d.garcia@chronicle.utah.edu @dominic2295 7 |