Had this dream the other night.
There was this highly ranked, undefeated Utah team that went down to Albuquerque to play an average New Mexico team at University Stadium. The Utes jumped out to a quick 21-3 lead and seemed to be on cruise control. But the Lobos hung in there and chipped away at the lead and trailed 21-20 late in the fourth quarter. Then with a little more than a minute left, the Lobos completed a long fourth-down pass and with just seconds remaining, kicked a game-winning field goal to end the Utes' dreams of an undefeated season.
Oh wait a minute. That wasn't a dream.
It actually happened a decade ago and was more like a nightmare that many Ute coaches, players and fans have never forgotten. It ended the hopes of an undefeated season and likely top 5 ranking and hurt Utah's Western Athletic Conference title hopes and chance for a berth in the Holi-
day Bowl.
This week the Utes face a similar scenario to 1994 as they head down to Albuquerque with an undefeated record and a lofty national ranking, favored over a decent, though not great, New Mexico football team. The Utes are 4-0 and ranked 14th in both major polls, while New Mexico is 2-2 with wins over Texas Tech and New Mexico State and losses to Pac-10 teams Washington State and Oregon State. The ESPN-televised game starts at 6 p.m. Friday.
It was 10 years ago on Nov. 5, when the No. 8 Utes traveled down to Albuquerque for what appeared to be, as they say in golf, a gimme against a 3-6 Lobo team. By the day of the game, the Utes had run off eight straight victories and climbed to No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN poll and No. 9 in the AP poll. They were heavy favorites.
New Mexico, meanwhile was just 3-6, although Ute coach Ron McBride called the Lobos a "scary" team because it ranked in the top 10 in the nation in offense behind quarterback Stoney Case and had lost five games by a touchdown or less. The second-largest crowd (30,743) in history packed University Stadium to see the Lobos take on a top 10 team.
It looked like a cakewalk as the Utes jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead while piling up nearly 200 yards of total offense. Mike McCoy hit Kevin Dyson with a 56-yard touchdown pass and Charlie Brown scored from eight yards out. An 80-yard drive in the second quarter capped by a 12-yard TD run by Brown made it 21-3 for the Utes, who at that point may have started dreaming about how far they'd be moving up in the national polls.
But that turned out to be the last time the Utes would score all day.
They had a 39-yard pass interception for a touchdown by Kareem Leary called back and from there the Lobos marched down to score and cut the lead to 21-11 by halftime, thanks in part to a questionable two-point conversion pass that appeared to be out of bounds.
The third quarter, which McBride called "horrendous," was totally dominated by New Mexico, which held the ball for 11 of the 15 minutes while Utah got off just eight plays. Still the Lobos only managed a field goal in the quarter to cut the lead to 21-14.
They scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter but couldn't tie the score when Nathan Vail's PAT kick sailed right. In the fourth quarter, the Utes drove into UNM territory three times, but failed to score, including a 29-yard field goal attempt on a bad snap with just more than four minutes left.
Then it was just up to the Ute defense, which had been ranked in the top 10 in the nation all season, to stop the Lobos. Three plays went for seven yards, but on fourth down, Case found Gavin Pearlman in the right flat where a Utah defensive back missed a tackle.
"I remember that like it was yesterday," said Ute defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, who was defensive line coach at the time. "We blew a coverage on fourth down and it went for a big gain or a touchdown. It was a backup safety — don't put his name in the paper."
It was actually a 56-yard gain down to the Utah 17, and with 32 seconds left, Vail redeemed himself with 32-yard field goal.
The Utes got close enough to try a desperation 68-yard field goal, but it wasn't even close, as the Utes went down 23-21.
So what happened to the Utes that day? Whittingham still shakes his head about it.
"I don't think we were overlooking them, but that could have been the case," he said. "We had guys like Luther Elliss and Mike McCoy, and I think they understood what it was all about. I just think it was one of those deals where they played a good football game and we didn't play so well and they got the win."
Urban Meyer was a receivers coach at Colorado State in 1994. He was standing on the sidelines as the Rams took on Wyoming in Fort Collins when he heard the news of New Mexico's upset win over Utah.
"I remember it very well," Meyer said. "I remember it came over the loudspeaker, and everybody went crazy."
The result had implications for Colorado State, which had lost to Utah two weeks earlier and was trying to work its way into the Holiday Bowl. When Utah lost again the following week at Air Force, the Rams only had to beat Fresno State in the season finale, which they did, to clinch the WAC title and Holiday Bowl berth.
"I was shocked," Meyer said. "I thought the '94 Utah team was one of the best I've ever seen. And New Mexico wasn't like they are now. They were struggling."
Aware of what happened to Utah in 1994 as well as what happened a year ago against New Mexico in Salt Lake, Meyer is doing his darnedest to make sure history doesn't repeat itself Friday night.
"Last year was the only time in two years here we weren't ready to play, for whatever reason," Meyer said. "That won't happen again. We have to make sure we're ready this time."
A little history
On Nov. 5 1994, Utah rolled into Albuquerque, N.M., with an undefeated record and national ranking. The Utes lost that game to the Lobos 23-21. Almost 10 years later, the Utes return to University Stadium with similar stakes. A look back at the 1994 game:
Matchup: No. 8 Utah (8-0) vs. New Mexico (3-6)
Venue: University Stadium; Albuquerque, N.M.
Attendance: 30,743 (homecoming)
Final score: New Mexico 23, Utah 21
How it happened: New Mexico fell behind 21-3 in the second quarter, but the Lobos added a touchdown and two-point conversion before the half. A third-quarter field goal cut the margin to 21-14. On the first play of the fourth quarter, quarterback Stoney Case hit Roy White for a 2-yard touchdown, but kicker Nathan Vail missed the PAT. With :32 left, Vail kicked the game-winning field goal.
Key play: On fourth-and-3 deep in Lobo territory, Case found Gavin Pearlman who, after a missed tackle, turned the play into a 56-yard gain, setting up the winning field goal.
Missed opportunities: Utah moved the ball into New Mexico territory on three possessions in the fourth quarter, but those drives ended with a punt, a fumble and a missed 29-yard field goal.
Quotable: "We were terrible offensively, we were terrible on special teams and we were terrible defensively. In all three phases of the game, we stunk." — Fred Whittingham, Utah defensive coordinator
Source: Deseret News game report
Then and now
On Nov. 5 1994, Utah rolled into Albuquerque, N.M., with an undefeated record and national ranking. The Utes lost that game to the Lobos 23-21. Almost 10 years later, the Utes return to University Stadium with similar stakes.
1994 2004
Utah record 8-0 4-0
Utah ranking 14th 8th
UNM record 3-6 2-2
Of note: New Mexico's last two wins over ranked opponents have come against Utah (1994 and 2003) . . . Current Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione was the coach of the 1994 Lobos . . . Utah hasn't lost since falling to New Mexico in 2003, a span of eight games.
E-mail: sor@desnews.com