Utah recovered a UTEP fumble, so Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala sprinted 35 yards for a TD to put the Utes up 28-0 with 1:14 left in Saturday's first quarter. It was party night at Rice Stadium.
On the sideline, reality suddenly hit a redshirt freshman quarterback who's still a little homesick for Hawaii. "When I saw 28 on the board in the first quarter, I thought, `Oh, my gosh, I'm going to go in the game.' My palms started getting sweaty; my heart started beating,' " says Darnell Arceneaux. He says he waited his whole life for that first college snap. It was better than winning the state high school championship.Soon it was 35-0. Arceneaux time.
"I went in there and didn't know there was a TV timeout. I was calling the play," he says, still pumped many days later and bemused at his own frenzy. "TV timeout. Everybody's telling me to calm down. Offensive linemen hugging me. They told me after the game my eyes were as big as golf balls.
"But now I know how it feels to play college ball. Next time I probably won't be as excited. I got that first hit out of the way. It was an honor just to play in front of the Utah fans.
"I was so happy to get in the game. I still haven't gotten over it. My first college game; my first college snap. It was a big thrill. I'll never forget it, and to throw two touchdowns, too."
Arceneaux completed all seven of his passes for 152 yards and two scores (25 yards to Jones, 66 yards to Boo Bendinger) and was part of a three-QB team with starter Jonathan Crosswhite (9-for-10-164, three TDs) and Scott Styles (1-for-1-1, one TD) that set a Utah completion-percentage record (.944).
"I stayed focused. I didn't make mistakes. Playing Saturday showed me a lot of things. I can play D-I football," says Arceneaux. He'd been frustrated most his first year at Utah. He broke a shin bone in high school and had surgery for it while redshirting. "I started to not practice as hard, got homesick," he says. This fall, he imagined a chance to start but let that pressure him into a poor preseason.
Arceneaux has made steady progress since but knows Cross-white's the man for the next two years. The freshman's content to observe the cool junior-college transfer. "He's like a Joe Montana," Arceneaux says. "Give him time, he'll pick you apart. I learn a lot from him.
"I would love to be in there," Arceneaux says, but he's grateful for Crosswhite's nurturing.
Coaches are looking for ways to get Arceneaux, an exceptional athlete, on the field. He's No. 2 wide receiver on the scout team and wouldn't mind catching a few in the next two years. He says being on the other end of passes makes him a smarter QB. But, he says, "I'm here to be a quarterback."
Besides, he's found out how fast Jones and Kevin Dyson are. Saturday Jones outran Arceneaux's considerable arm and had to come back on the TD pass. "I can throw 70 yards," Arceneaux says. "In high school, I thought I had an arm. I've got to get the ball to them earlier."