Utah offensive coordinator Mike Sanford cringed at the question.
After two games, he was asked, how have the Utes managed to avoid a single interception or fumble?
They enter Saturday's game at Utah State as one of just eight teams in the country without a turnover.
"I don't really want to put any kind of hex on ourselves or anything," Sanford said. "We coach it hard. Our players care about it. We emphasize it and so far we've gotten what we've emphasized. And we're going to continue doing that."
Head coach Urban Meyer offered a similar response after dismissing the notion that his 15th-ranked squad might just be lucky.
"You know how I feel about luck. I always keep that rabbit's foot in my hat and rub people's bald heads and those kinds of things," Meyer said.
"No. I think our players just take it very seriously, and our coaches beat them up about it."
When a ball is dropped in practice, Meyer explained, practice stops and the problem is corrected.
Last season, the Utes turned the ball over at least once in all 12 games they played — losing 15 fumbles and throwing five interceptions by season's end.
Not a ton, acknowledges quarterback Alex Smith, but a lot more than zero. He credits better familiarity with the spread offense for the improvement.
"I think it's the maturity. All around, we're a little more secure with the ball," said Smith, whose career interception ratio is among the nation's best. "I think when we do take chances, they're better timed. We aren't having to force things."
Early leads against both Texas A&M and Arizona have negated the need for risky play-calling Even so, wide receiver Paris Warren said the Utes are ahead of the game compared to last year when the offense was new.
"I don't think we've got a big secret," he said of the lack of turnovers. "We really work on ball security during practice, and we really focus a lot on not turning the ball over. That's basically it."
Meyer acknowledges that every team in the nation tries to avoid fumbles and interceptions. Utah's success, he explained, is a tribute to the players and position coaches.
Smith, for example, fumbled the ball away four times last season when he'd break from the pocket. And tailback Marty Johnson is taking care of the ball despite being sidelined for two years.
"That's the difference. It's high emphasis," said Meyer. "A lot of programs say that, so it's a credit to players that are buying into."
Minimizing turnovers is one of many reasons why he favors a spread offense.
"We don't throw into coverage. We're a match-up. We throw to the best match-up . I-formation teams throw into coverage. Same thing running. If you're in an I-formation, there's a safety sitting there at four yards. He's unblocked," explained Meyer. "We try to spread you out so we have hats on hats. So I think it all ties together."
EXTRA POINTS: A New York Times reporter is in town to do a feature story on Smith. It'll run in the newspaper sometime next week . . . Senior safety Morgan Scalley has been named to the American Football Coaches Association's "Good Works Team." The award honors players for their involvement in community service activities . . . Construction on Utah's indoor practice field is progressing at a brisk pace. The roof is nearly complete, as are the exterior walls.
Utes on the air
Utah (2-0) at Utah State (1-1)
Saturday, 5 p.m.
TV: KJZZ, Ch. 14
RADIO: KALL 700AM (SLC), KVNU 610AM (Logan)
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com