With Utah taking the week off just past the halfway point of the regular season, it's a good time to look back at the first half, which finds the Utes at 5-1 and wishing they could play that August game with the Aggies over again.
Here's a few bests, worsts and mosts of the first six weeks:Most valuable player, offense: Mike Fouts. A case could be made for Chris Fuamatu- Ma'afala, but the senior quarterback is playing better than anyone expected, completing 62 percent of his passes with just three interceptions in six games. His only poor outing was at UTEP where he had a sore arm much of the game.
Most valuable player, defense: Robert Love. The little linebacker (5-9, 197 pounds) leads the Utes in tackles and has been the most consistent player on an inconsistent defense. His big hit late in the UTEP game, caused a fumble that led to the tying score. "He's a special player," says Ron McBride of Love.
Best gameplan: Kansas game. It was bombs away against the 20th-ranked Jayhawks with eight passes going for more than 30 yards.
Worst gameplan: Utah State game. The Utes appeared to be using their vanilla offense and saving their best plays for tougher games down the line. Whoops!
Unsung heroes, offense: After a slow start, the offensive line of Chad Folk, Danny Davis, Darren Walker, Todd Jackson, Barry Sims and Nate Sybrowsky have been a big part of the Utes offensive resurgence.
Unsung heroes, defense: Lineman Nate Kia, linebacker Chris Godfrey and DB cornerback Clarence Lawson do the job week in and week out without much fanfare.
Most pleasant surprise: Freshman receiver Boo Bendinger, who just a year out of East High School, passed up several players at Utah's deepest position to become a key player.
He's currently 4th on the team in receptions.
Smartest uniform idea: Changing from white pants to red after the Utah State loss. Utah is 5-0 wearing red pants, but will likely jump back to whites after their next loss.
Dumbest uniform idea: The Utes' use of duplicate numbers. Not only are the fans confused by the eight sets of duplicate numbers, but it drives the statistics crews and media folks crazy.
Best sideline move: Shielded by teammates, Fouts relieving himself just prior to the winning touchdown drive against Kansas.
Best coaching decision: McBride deciding to move 4th-string tight end Richard Seals to defensive tackle. Ten days later, Seals was a starter and doing very well on the injury- plagued defensive line.
Most prophetic quote: McBride after the opening loss at Utah State - "Maybe this might be a good thing for us. If you've got to lose, that's the best time to lose."
VOLLEYBALL NEWS: Despite an 0-2 WAC mark, coach Beth Launiere insists this is the best team she's had at Utah. The good news is, the Utes have two of their toughest matches out of the way, against No. 1 in the nation Hawaii and perennial WAC champ BYU. At 9-7 overall and coming off a road win at Weber State, the Utes get some respite this weekend at SMU and TCU, the two weakest teams in their division. Stacie Greenwelt leads the team in hitting efficiency (.295), while Brenda Barton leads in service aces, kills and digs.
FOOTBALL NOTES: If the Utes were hoping to move up in the football polls on their week off, this isn't the week to do it. A lot of lower top 25 teams are idle this week including No. 17 West Virginia, No. 20 Virginia, No. 21 California, No. 23 Georgia Tech and No. 19 BYU (ok, not technically idle, but the Cougars might as well be, playing 0-6 UNLV) . . . With the extra week off to recover from knee injuries, defensive linemen Jeff Kaufusi and Chad Kauhaahaa are expected to be back in action against TCU next week . . . That game on Oct. 19 will be the first-ever meeting between the TCU and Utah . . . After five night games and a late- afternoon contest with Stanford, the next five Utah games are all early-afternoon affairs.