After one game, the prospects for the University of Utah's young football team look a little brighter. The Utes' running game finally appears to be in working order, the defense looks better than it has in years, the offense seems able to rack up yards (if not points) and control the ball (OK, the goal-line offense needs work). The Utes also have the hail Mary pass down pat, a win in the bank and a beatable opponent up next.
The Utes travel to Corvallis, Oregon, next week to meet Oregon State, the doormat of the Pac 10 Conference. The Beavers haven't won more than four games in a season in 20 years, and last year's 1-10 season cost Dave Kragthrope his head coaching job. New coach Jerry Pettibone inherits 15 starters from last year's team, but who knows what that means.For the Beavers, Saturday's game will be their season opener. The Utes have the advantage of having played a game already. On Saturday night they defeated Utah State 12-7.
Despite what the score says, the Utes thoroughly outplayed the Aggies. They outgained them 458 yards to 222 and punted only three times all evening. Quarterback Frank Dolce threw for 270 yards, completing passes to eight different receivers. Dolce's lone interception was a deflection, but then so was his lone touchdown pass. With no time left in the second half, Dolce reared back at midfield and threw a deep prayer of a pass in the direction of tight end Greg Hoffman. The ball bounced off a USU defender into the hands of Utah wideout Bryan Rowley, who lateralled the ball to Hoffman for the touchdown.
In the meantime, sophomore tailbacks Charlie Brown and Keith Williams rolled up 177 of Utah's 188 rushing yards - a big improvement for a team that averaged a paltry 85 yards rushing per game last year. The running game kept USU off the field for all but eight plays in the first quarter.
"We controlled the ball much better this year than last year with the run and the pass," said Utah coach Ron McBride. "I feel real good about beating a good Utah State team."
Still, for all their passing and running, the Utes managed just one touchdown, and they were lucky to get that. They were stopped three times inside the 15-yard line, twice at the goal line. On third and one at the Ute 1-yard line, Toby Tyler tackled Brown in the backfield for a five-yard loss, forcing Utah to settle for a field goal. The Utes drove to the one-yard line again on their next possession, but this time fullback Steve Abrams was stacked up for no gain on fourth-and-one.
"We'll be all right once we learn to score at the goal line," said Rowley.
"We've got to score in those situations," said Dolce.
If most of the attention was focused on Utah's new offense, it was because the Utes already were fairly confident in their defense, and with good reason. They held a good, experienced USU offense to a sub 300-yard game for the second time in two years. Roger Grant was able to rush for 112 yards, but quarterback Ron Lopez could complete just 7 of 24 passes for 93 yards.
Defensive end Jimmy Bellamy, who earned second-team all-conference honors last season with 10 sacks, sacked Lopez three times on Saturday night and totaled 6 tackles. Star linebacker Anthony Davis had 6 tackles. Pita Tonga and Dave Chaytors had 4 unassisted tackles each, and Mark Swanson, LaVon Edwards and Sharrieff Shah each broke up two passes.