Until the final miraculous minute of Saturday's game with Air Force, the Utah football season was over, for all intents and purposes.
A loss would have left the Utes out of the Western Athletic Conference title picture and in danger of an overall losing season at 3-5. The Utes would have had little motivation left except for the season-ending game with archrival BYU.However, the unbelievable 22-21 victory, which included 15 points in 10 seconds inside the final minute, put the Utes at 4-4 overall and more importantly, in a tie for second place in the WAC at 4-2. Now the Utah coaches still have ammunition left to keep their troops motivated for a few more weeks.
Utah coach Ron McBride said Sunday that the Utes now control their own destiny, which isn't quite right. While they have a chance to knock off WAC leader BYU on Nov. 18, they need help from someone else to defeat San Diego State, which is 2-1 with five straight WAC games left, in order to have a chance at the WAC title.
Overall, though, things are looking much brighter for the Utes.
The defense just gets better and better each week. Young players such as freshman linebacker Kautai Oleveo and junior defensive end Chad Kauhaahaa keep improving, while veterans such as Jeff Kirkman and Harold Lusk play solid games every week. The Utes lead the WAC in scoring defense.
On the offensive side, they could get three key linemen back this week - center Chad Folk, guard Barry Sims and tight end Rick Tucker, who have missed one or both of the last two games. That will provide added depth to an offensive line that has been inconsistent in recent games.
Also, after six consecutive WAC games, including three straight hand-wringers at home, the Utes get a breather of sorts when Utah State visits Rice Stadium Saturday. Not that the resurgent Aggies won't pose a challenge, but one thing's for certain, they can't hurt the Utes' WAC title hopes.
UTE NOTES: The final stats Saturday showed the Utes dominating with 472 yards to 339 for Air Force. However, it was actually quite even until the Utes picked up 130 yards in the final 1:30 of the game . . . Kevin Dyson, who caught two touchdown passes from Mike Fouts including the game-winner, had eight catches on the day for 166 yards. Rocky Henry also had eight catches for 104 yards . . . Juan Johnson came back with a fine game, gaining 83 yards on 17 carries . . . Lusk led the defense with 16 tackles, while Brian Gibson had 12 and Olevao 10.