BYU, Utah have strong showings in football
Despite blowing out Iowa State of the Big Ten Conference 68-27, the Utes stayed put in the national rankings.
In the game, Utah used more than just offense to record the highest point production since a 69-14 win over Wyoming in 1983.
Reggie Dunn returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to go up 51-20, becoming the first Ute to go that distance since Erroll Tucker returned two 100 yard kickoffs for touchdowns in 1985.
“Special teams gave us a big lift,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Reggie Dunn is electrifying when he has the ball in his hands, so we had a lot of production there. That’s what you get when you combine great defense, solid special teams and an offense that is explosive.”
The Utes outscored Iowa State 31-0 in the second quarter, turning a close game into a blowout.
Senior Shaky Smithson had a 78-yard punt return, a 32-yard touchdown pass and a 61-yard TD reception in the first half.
“Tonight was very important for us… and I just do everything I can to help the team,” said the receiver, who also had two receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. “I wanted to make a big play every time I get my hands on the ball and get a lot of momentum for my team. We came out and were successful today.”
Defense was also a big factor for the Utes. Iowa State was 0-for-11 on third down conversions and turned the ball over twice, each leading to scores for Utah.
“Everyone was underestimating us and that’s kind of been the story this whole season,” said linebacker Chad Manis, who led the Utes with nine tackles. “We’re going to go out every game and make a statement. We earned our ranking, although that’s not important to us. We’re going to play hard every week.”
Quarterback Jordan Wynn completed 23 of 31 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns in the rout.
“We did a good job. We went out and did what we needed to do. We did a good job of bouncing back and just executed for the rest of the game,” Wynn said. “I just started seeing things, and I just rolled with it. As a whole, the offense we just started clicking.”
The Utes will next face Wyoming on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The University of Utah wasn’t the only Beehive State team to win this past weekend. Coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Utah State, Brigham Young University took out its frustration on Mountain West rival San Diego State in a 32-12 statement victory.
The homecoming victory is the first win for BYU since the beginning of the season, when the (2-4) Cougars beat Washington 23-17.
Taking the pressure off of freshman quarterback Jake Heaps, the Cougars ran the ball 62 times for 271 yards against San Diego State. Running backs JJ Di Luigi and Bryan Kariya combined for three touchdowns against the Aztecs, and backup Joshua Quezada contributed as well.
“It is hard for me to separate between Kariya, Quezada and JJ. They all ran very effectively. It was fun to watch and they ran very hard,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “Yards after contact, number of players to the ball, how much they celebrate, how involved players are, those things all demonstrate heart.”
The running game helped the Cougars keep the offense on the field, as they dominated the possession clock for 45:01 compared to 14:59 for the Aztecs.
“Bronco did a good job melting the game clock when they were on offense,” said San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke. “(That) is a good coaching strategy, but we had some opportunities we just didn’t capitalize on.”
The Cougars will next face No. 4 TCU on this Saturday. The game can be seen on Versus at 4 p.m. MST.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu