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Show StatesmanSpottS Pace 10 Monday, Jan. 5, 2009 Pour some sugar on U Utes thump Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to finish undefeated NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Undefeated, and uninvited. Led by Brian Johnson and a swarming defense, No. 7 Utah completed its perfect season by upsetting fourthranked Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. After piling up wins in the Mountain West Conference against a schedule deemed soft, the Utes (13-0) were left out of the BCS national championship game in favor of perennial powers Florida and Oklahoma, even though both have one loss. But at the Sugar Bowl, Utah showed it could do more than just hang with the big boys, it could dominate one of them. "I know where I'm voting us. I'm voting us No. 1. End of story," coach Kyle Whittingham said afterward. Utah's only chance for a piece of the national title - albeit a remote possibility - is in The Associated Press poll. The AP, not part of the BCS, awards its own national champion. The Utes are the only team in the AP Top 25 that remains unbeaten. "What else do we have to prove?" said Johnson, selected the game's most outstanding player. "Without question, we're one of best, if not the best team in the country." Johnson threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and the Utes took charge from the start by bolting to a stunning, 21-point lead. With the victory, Utah became the first team from a non-BCS conference to win two BCS bowls. The Utes beat Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl under coach Urban Meyer, going for his second BCS national title with Florida when his Gators play Oklahoma on Thursday in Miami. Johnson's pinpoint passing led Utah to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and the Utes refused to wilt when Alabama pulled to 21-17 early in the second half. Utah's defense was equally impressive, intercepting John Parker Wilson twice and sacking him eight times, with the seventh sack forcing a fumble that sent crimson-clad Alabama fans streaming for the exits with just more than five minutes to go. After surging to No. 1 in the rankings with a 12-0 regular season, Alabama closed the season with two consecutive losses, the first against Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Following that first loss, Saban noted that his club still was the only team to have an undefeated regular season in a "real BCS conference." The comment wasn't aimed specifically at the Utes, but it clearly motivated them. "From my perspective, I was angry, not just because of what Saban said but everything that was out there," Johnson said. "I just felt like we were being completely disrespected." Johnson and the rest of the Utes played with an angry edge, much to Saban's chagrin. "I apologize if anybody was offended by that. We had a tremendous amount of respect for Utah," Saban said. "I certainly misstated that.... So if that s what gave them all their intensity, then I guess I'm responsible for the way they played and I'm responsible for the way we played." Alabama could have used suspended All-America left tackle Andre Smith, but even he might not have been enough to stop a Utah defense that played with speed, ferocity and discipline. The Utes' front seven was significantly outweighed by Alabama's offensive line, but refused to give ground to the Tide's normally powerful running game that averaged 196.5 yards per game coming into the Sugar Bowl. Glen Coffee was held to 36 yards on 13 carries, while Mark Ingram rushed eight times for only 26 yards. The Utes' array of stunts and blitzes appeared to upset Wilson's rhythm. He overthrew a couple of open receivers downfield and finished 18-of-30 for 177 yards and a touchdown. Utah didn't seem very interested in running the ball, and who could blame them the way Johnson adeptly spread the ball around to seven receivers. He hit Freddie Brown 12 times for 125 yards. Johnson was 27-of-41 and was not intercepted. His touchdowns went for 7 yards to Brent Casteel, 18 yards to Bradon Godfrey and 28 yards to David Reed. Matt Asiata ran for a 2-yard TD, a score set up by Reed s leaping catch at the 2. An Alabama comeback appeared to be building early in the second half, when Dont'a Hightower stripped Johnson and Bobby Greenwood recovered at the Utah 30. Wilson methodically drove the Tide for a score, hitting Coffee for an easy 4-yard score on a rollout to close the gap to 21-17. At the point, Alabama had scored 17 straight points, and it appeared to be only a matter of time before the Tide, favored by more than a touchdown, would overtake the underdog Utes. Johnson had other ideas, opening Utah's next drive with a 33-yard pass over the middle to Brown. The completion kick-started a 71-yard scoring drive that ended with Reed's touchdown. KYLE WHITTINGHAM AND BRIAN JOHNSON celebrate after the Utes shocked the nation by beating national power Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, 31-17, to finish as the only undefeated FBS team this season. AP photo The Tide drove right back into Utah territory, but Ingram was stuffed for no gain on third-and-2 from the Utah 32. Leigh Tiffen then missed his second long field goal of the game, hooking a 49-yarder just left of the upright. Only a year ago, the Sugar Bowl saw its first BCS buster in Hawaii, which took a 41-10 beating from Georgia. Utah calmly dismissed any comparisons to last year's game during the leadup to the game, and wasted no time proving it on the field. The Utes stalled Alabama's gameopening drive by blitzing linebacker Stevenson Sylvester from the side vacated by the suspended Smith, resulting in a jarring sack from Wilson's blind side. Johnson then completed his first five passes for a combined 68 yards, the last his TD pass to Casteel. The heavily outnumbered Utah fans had barely stopped cheering the TD when safety Robert Johnson intercept- ed Wilson in Alabama territory and returned it to the 32. Two plays later, Reed made a leaping, 30-yard catch along the sideline, setting up Asiata's plunge through the line for a 14-0 Utah lead with more than 8 minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Saban was pacing and grimacing already-and things were about to get even worse. Replacement left tackle Mike Johnson limped off the field on Alabama's next series, forcing the Tide to move tackle Drew Davis to the left side and insert freshman lineman John Michael Boswell on the right. Soon after, Wilson was hurried into an incompletion, then sacked on the next play, forcing another punt. Utah's 21-0 lead, the largest deficit the Tide faced all season, stood until Tiffin hit a 52-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter. Recap: Quayle heats up for Aggies No. 6 Wake Forest snaps [] continued from page 8 BYU's home win streak the Duel in the Desert would normally equal plenty of playing time for the backups. Not quite. Though the Aggies 94-77 victory would lead some to think otherwise, USU got all it could handle from the winless Houston-Baptist Huskies. After never trailing in their last five games, the Aggies quickly fell behind the Huskies and remained there. The Huskies shot a blistering 75 percent (9-of-12) from 3-point land in the first half and sent the USU to the locker room trailing by eight. It took a while, but the Aggies eventually woke up. A Matt Formisano jumper with 13:35 in the second half gave the Ags a 51-50 lead and their first since leading 2-0. From there USU continued to pull away for the victory. With the injury to Niang, freshman Brady Jardine shed his redshirt and saw his first action of the season against the Huskies. USU vs. Wyoming - Dec. 31,2008 Led by continued impressive play of Quayle, the Aggies stayed undefeated at home on the season and won their own tournament with a hard fought victory over the Wyoming Cowboys, 90-85, in overtime. The Aggies led by five at the break and had built a 10-point lead with just under 13 minutes to play, but couldn't put away the pesky Cowboys. Wyoming guard Brandon Ewing nailed a contested 3-point attempt as time expired in regulation to tie the game at 76. In the extra session the Ags jumped out quickly on four straight points by sophomore Pooh Williams and never trailed as they locked up their seventh straight victory. Quayle finished with a game best and a season-high 24 points while three other Aggies scored in double figures. The emergence of Jared Quayle After struggling to find his rhythm and adjust to running the point, the junior guard has really stepped up his game. During USU's past six games Quayle has averaged 17.7 points and 7.7 rebounds a contest, culminating his effort with the Duel in the Desert's MVP trophy. Quayle's improvement has made it even harder to guard the Aggies who are currently leading the nation in field goal percentage at 52.3 percent. ESPN recognizes USU's success During the recent Duel in the Desert sponsored by Gossner Foods, ESPN contributing writer and midmajority.com founder Kyle Whelliston visited the Spectrum. Despite the less than capacity student section, Whelliston said he enjoyed the tournament and left impressed with the Aggie's and their program. "Helped by one of the top home-court advantages in the land (the Aggies are 150-12 here in the Morrill era) and a fan base that nearly filled the Spectrum despite the university's holiday break, USU swept the mini-tourney with its new-found depth," he said in a recent ESPN, com article. "With a scorching 12-1 start, which includes a signature win over recent Gonzagabeater Utah, the program is poised to earn its 10th straight season with 23 or more wins (the Zags and Kansas are the only other two with active streaks of nine). With a strong season in the WAC, Utah State likely will capture its 10th consecutive postseason bid." -t.olsen@aggiemail.usu.edu FANS AT THE SPECTRUM give a warning to opposing teams. CAMERON PETERSON photo PROVO, Utah (AP)-Wake Forest feels pretty-well tested for the Atlantic Coast Conference season to begin. The sixth-ranked Demon Deacons just won where no opponent had for more than three years, beating BYU 9487 Saturday and ending the nation's longest home winning streak at 53. Wake Forest had to rally from an eight-point deficit in the second half and an entire game of deafening taunts and chants from the home fans, who were loud and rowdy throughout the night. "In the ACC, there's some great crowds but this one was amazing," said Jeff Teague, who led Wake Forest with 30 points, one off his career high. James Johnson had 22 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for Wake Forest, who pulled away with an 8-0 run near the end and improved to 13-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The Deacons have a week off before top-ranked North Carolina visits WinstonSalem on Jan. 11. They can use the rest. Wake Forest won despite going 16-for-25 from the foul line in the second half, allowing the Cougars (11-2) to stay within range until the final minute. The crowd of 26,096 was the second-largest in Marriott Center history and the fans, thousands in matching white BYU T-shirts, were loud and rowdy from the time the Deacons started warming up until the game ended. "That parallels anything you'll see in the ACC," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "I told my team that was not a good win tonight - that was a great win against a great team." Teague said the ACC crowds aren't as loud as what he faced Saturday. The fans were mostly well behaved until a few calls went Wake Forest's way in the second half and someone threw a water bottle on the floor. BYU coach Dave Rose took the public address microphone and told the fans to leave the game to the players and officials. BYU had not lost at the Marriott Center since Nov. 18 2005, against LoyolaMarymount in Dave Rose's coaching debut for the Cougars. Notre Dame now has the nation's longest home win streak at 43. "We didn't want it to end any time soon," said Jimmer Fredette, who scored 23 for BYU. "We knew this was going to be a tough opponent. We came out here and we played pretty well. We just didn't make some plays at the end." Al-Farouq Aminu had 12 points and L.D. Williams scored 11 for the Demon Deacons. Jonathan Tavernari had 18 points and nine rebounds and Lee Cummard scored 17 for the Cougars (11-2). |