The consensus last August was that the University of Utah's young football team would finish among the bottom two or three teams in the Western Athletic Conference. The Utes were thought to be good for four or five wins, tops, but wide receiver Bryan Rowley wasn't buying it.
"I promise we'll win nine games," he said during training camp in Price. "I guarantee it." Then, after a pause, he hedged. "Well, maybe not nine. But I promise we'll have a winning season. We'll win at least seven games."That was precisely what the Utes did. Saturday's season-ending 48-17 loss to BYU left the Utes with a 7-5 record - their best since 1985 - and they finished fourth in the WAC. With any luck and a better showing during crunchtime, they would have won nine games or more.
"Our goal at the start of the year was to go into the fourth quarter of every game with a chance to win," Utah coach Ron McBride said on many occasions. Except for Saturday's 31-point loss to BYU, the Utes met that goal in every outing.
The Utes squandered their timeouts and then had a last-second, game-tying field goal blocked in a three-point loss to Air Force. They lost to Arizona State by six. They took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter against San Diego State and lost by three. They trailed Hawaii by five going into the fourth quarter and lost by 26. But they never had a chance against BYU. The Utes scored 17 points in the first quarter and never scored again.
Just minutes after the game ended, defensive end Mike Lewis already was looking ahead. "Next year we're going to have a good team," he said.
The Utes will return all but four defensive starters from this year's team. They will miss defensive ends Keith Embray and Jimmy Bellamy, who led the WAC in sacks with 15, and linebacker Anthony Davis. But even in the late stages of this season, younger players already were bidding for playing time. Defensive tackle Luther Elliss, a 6-foot-5, 258-pound freshman, made his first start on Saturday. He is a star of the future, as is freshman defensive back Jeff Kirkman and freshman defensive back/running back Henry Lusk. Sophomore cornerback Ed Miller, a late-season addition to the starting lineup, made three interceptions.
The Utes made their biggest improvement on defense this season, climbing from last in the WAC (and in the nation) two years ago to first this year. Sharrieff Shah, LaVon Edwards, Reggie Alston, Dave Chaytors, along with Davis, Bellamy and Embray, all produced stellar seasons.
The offense, a major problem a year ago, also improved considerably, although it is still the weakness of the team. The Utes managed to score more than 30 points only once this season. But they did discover two new stars: quarterback Frank Dolce and tailback Keith Williams.
Dolce, who missed the last 11/2 games with a broken ankle, completed 56 percent of his passes for 2,444 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, giving the Utes the kind of consistent play at quarterback that they so desperately needed a year ago. Williams rushed for 1,076 yards and six TDs, averaging 5 yards per carry. He and Charlie Brown give the Utes a potentially strong running attack, provided the offensive line continues to mature.
Rowley's star continued to ascend this year. He caught 60 passes for 1,012 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also ran 60 yards for another score. Only a junior, he already has career totals of 121 catches, 2,304 yards and 19 touchdowns.
"We should be better next year," says McBride. "We certainly will have the experience. But you never know until you line up."
On Sunday, the Ute coaching staff already was meeting to discuss recruiting. The Utes' shopping list will include young defensive backs ("We need to start rebuilding for the future," says McBride), one "quality" receiver ("for better depth"), offensive linemen ("We still need to build there") and a running back ("We need one big back, a fullback type").
The Utes have several players waiting in the wings who could help them next season - freshman defensive lineman Toele Fa'amoe (a redshirt in '91), defensive end Willie Burton (a late arrival and a 1989 first-team junior college All-American), running back Pierre Corner-Jones (an academic casualty), offensive linemen Anthony Brown and Eddie Castillo (redshirt JC transfers). McBride already has a commitment from a former junior college/returned missionary inside linebacker who could help the Utes next season.
Looking back, McBride says the Utes' biggest weakness this season was their failure to score from inside the 20-yard line. "We need to get stronger up front," he says. That was clear on Saturday when the Utes rushed for minus-5 yards in the first half.
"We were getting no push up front," said McBride. "BYU was controlling the line."
But after back-to-back four-win seasons, at least the Utes are headed in the right direction. Now McBride and his staff have an entire off-season to make further adjustments on their team.