Utah-BYU Preview

11/20/2007 4:41 PM

By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Writer

A two-month surge has helped BYU earn at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title and its first ranking of the season.

The No. 23 Cougars look to claim the league title outright with a home win Saturday over rival Utah in a matchup of teams each looking for their eighth straight victories.

BYU (8-2, 6-0) clinched a share of its second straight Mountain West title with a 35-10 win at Wyoming last Saturday. The Cougars will be the lone champion with a victory Saturday or at San Diego State on Dec. 1 - a game from Oct. 27 that was postponed due to the California wildfires.

The Cougars, who haven't lost since a 55-47 defeat at Tulsa on Sept. 15, will also play as a ranked team for the first time since finishing last season at No. 16.

"Being ranked is an indicator that we are taking the right steps and doing the right things to restore the national prominence of this program," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall told the school's official Web site. "Having said that, we're not finished, nor do I think we have reached our potential."

The Cougars will be looking for their 15th straight conference victory since a 41-34 loss to Utah on Nov. 19, 2005 in these teams' most recent meeting in Provo. That won't be easy as they try for their second consecutive win over the Utes (8-3, 5-2), who haven't lost since a 27-0 defeat at UNLV on Sept. 22.

"This game just feeds off of itself," Utah coach and former BYU player Kyle Whittingham said. "This is a big game in the state of Utah and there's no need to use anything else than that. The juices are flowing. The presence of this game is all we need."

Though Utah leads 52-32-4 in the all-time series, BYU won the last meeting 33-31 on Nov. 25 when Jonny Harline caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from John Beck as time expired to snap a four-game losing streak in the series.

The Cougars will count on sophomore quarterback Max Hall to help lead them to a another win Saturday. Hall was 26-for-37 for 331 yards and three touchdowns against Wyoming.

"Everyone made big plays," Hall said. "There were times when I was scrambling around and I would find one of them. My hats' off to my receivers. They made me look good."

Hall, who has thrown seven touchdowns and one interception in his last three contests, has passed for 3,121 yards - the most by a sophomore in Mountain West history.

Hall has many receiving options, led by sophomore Austin Collie, who caught eight passes for 103 yards last week and will be looking for his fourth straight 100-yard game Saturday.

Freshman Harvey Unga ran for 110 yards and two TDs on 23 carries against Wyoming and needs 91 yards to reach 1,000.

While BYU's offense continues to play well, its defense is allowing just 18.8 points per game, including 14.1 during the winning streak.

Utah, though, has been even stingier on defense, ranking fifth in the nation with 15.5 points allowed per game.

The Utes have outscored their opponents 105-13 in their last three contests and are coming off a 28-10 home win over New Mexico last Saturday.

Defensive lineman Koa Misi returned a fumble 28 yards for a touchdown last weekend as Utah forced four turnovers. Nine of the 28 turnovers the Utes have forced this season have come in their last two games.

Offensively, junior Darrell Mack rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown, giving him 1,095 yards on the season.

Utah, which is looking for its third straight win at BYU, will try for its second victory over a ranked team this season. The Utes beat then-No. 11 UCLA 44-6 on Sept. 15.