Outside of in-state enemies BYU and Utah State, Utah's biggest rival over the years has been Wyoming.
The Utes have a longer and more consistent rivalry with the Cowboys than any out-of-state school. Utah and Wyoming have been getting together every year since the end of World War II and a total of 69 times since they first played in 1904.However, the long streak ends with this Saturday's game in Laramie and the storied series won't continue until the next century.
That's right, the Utes and Cowboys will be in different quadrants in the new Western Athletic Conference and it won't be until the 2000 and 2001 seasons that their quadrants will be matched up.
GRASS PASSES: The big test is over for SportGrass, the new turf at Rice Stadium, which combines some principles of artificial turf with real grass.
Not only did it survive the entire home season with flying colors, it also survived four straight weeks of home games in October.
"It held up exceptionally well," said Rick Bouillon, a SportGrass sales representative. "The university grounds crew has done a great job with it."
Bouillon said people have to keep in mind that it is "still a young turf." having just been installed last May. "As it matures it will get better and better," said Bouillon.
Fans who saw every game probably noticed a few instances where a player would slip on the SportGrass for no apparent reason. Bouillon also noticed, but he has an explanation for it.
He said it mainly had to do with the young turf and the fact that they had to install rye grass as well as bluegrass, because bluegrass takes longer to come in. However next year, the field will be primarily bluegrass instead of a mixture and shouldn't cause as much slipping.
"Next year the turf will be so much better," said Bouillon.
According to Bouillon, several dozen clients have come in from around the world to check out Utah's SportGrass, but he doesn't know it any major colleges of franchises have committed to use it.
STRONG RECEPTION Kevin Dyson and Rocky Henry are waging a battle for the Ute reception lead, similar to what Deron Claiborne and Curtis Marsh did last year.
Through nine games, Dyson has 45 catches for 626 yards, while Henry has 44 catches for 731 yards. Last year Claiborne finished with 63 catches to 61 for Marsh.
Henry Lusk, who everyone figured would be the Utes' reception leader this year, has just 27 catches for 438 yards. He'll be hard pressed to match his sophomore and junior year totals (44 and 42 respectively).
UTE NOTES: The Utes continue to lead the WAC in scoring defense at 21.0 points per game, which ranks them 40th in the nation. They are also 40th in the nation in passing defense and second behind Wyoming in the WAC . . . Daniel Pulsipher is back up to 21st in the nation in field goals after making four last week. He trails just on Cory Wedel of Wyoming among WAC players . . . Pulsipher has the two longest field goals in the WAC this year at 52 and 48 yards . . . Mike Fouts ranks 29th in the nation in passing efficiency and 31st in total offense . . . Following his big day against Utah State, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala has passed up Juan Johnson as the Utes' rushing leader. He has 622 net yards to 601 for Johnson. Teneil Ethridge is a distant third with 164 yards . . . Except for New Mexico every Ute opponent this year has scored between 19 and 27 points . . . For seven home games the Utes averaged 30,185 fans . . . In each of the next two years, the Utes will play just five games at home.