Final
Utah-Iowa St. Preview
Oct 5, 2010 - 9:52 PM By NOEY KUPCHAN STATS WriterNo. 23 Utah (4-0) at Iowa State (3-2), 7:00 p.m. EDT
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's teams have never lost coming off a bye week. This one has provided ample time to prepare his squad for its toughest road test thus far.
The No. 10 Utes will try to improve to 6-0 under Whittingham after a regular-season bye when they face Iowa State on Saturday night.
"Our success in those situations is attributed to the players and their work ethic and focus," said Whittingham, whose record with extra time off is even better when counting his 6-0 mark in bowl games. "I don't believe that we have any corner on the market as far as preparation or what we get done, but it's about how the guys go about it. That's probably the biggest factor."
While Utah (4-0) has won 11 consecutive games against unranked opponents, Whittingham knows Saturday's matchup won't be easy against a Cyclones team that is 3-0 at home with each win coming by at least 14 points.
"It'll be a challenge for us. We have played Iowa State four times, all in the 70's, and gone 0-4," he said. "We are going there with a big challenge ahead of us but as long as our guys stay focused and have a good day of practice, we will show up and compete."
When the Utes last played Sept. 25, starting quarterback Jordan Wynn returned after missing two games with a sprained right thumb and seemed to pick up right where he left off. The sophomore completed a career-high 77.8 percent of his passes and threw for two touchdowns, playing less than three quarters as Utah defeated San Jose State 56-3.
"I felt good out there. My arm felt good," said Wynn, who threw for 283 yards and three TDs in a Sept. 2 overtime win over then-No. 15 Pittsburgh in his only other game this season.
"We are right where we need to be. We played a complete game and I feel really good about where we are."
Utah is averaging 44.3 points, tied for sixth-best in the nation, and shouldn't have issues moving the ball against an Iowa State team allowing 384.4 yards per game - 84th in the FBS.
On the other hand, the Utes' seventh-ranked defense could be tested by an Iowa State ground game which had a season-high 251 yards last week and includes mobile quarterback Austen Arnaud.
A week after playing only one series due to a shoulder injury in a win over Northern Iowa, Arnaud completed 20 of 28 passes for 190 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in a 52-38 win over Texas Tech last Saturday.
"He is a dual-threat guy," Whittingham said. "His shoulder has been injured a little - he didn't run much at all against Texas Tech, but he is very capable. He had a nice day throwing the football. He made good decisions. He's a quarterback who is much like what we see in spread offenses."
After Iowa State recorded its highest scoring output since Sept. 7, 2002, coach Paul Rhoads knows a repeat performance is unlikely against a Utah defense surrendering 12.8 points a game.
"It will be a big showcase because it comes against a top-10 opponent, and people will take notice of that," he said. "They're undefeated, they're ranked 10 for a good reason."
The Cyclones (3-2) will look to open 4-0 at home for first time in eight years, but they haven't beaten a top-10 team since Sept. 10, 2005, when they defeated then-No. 8 Iowa 23-3.
"We just have to continue to practice well," wide receiver Josh Lenz said. "If we do that, hopefully we can come out on Saturdays and keep doing the same thing."
The Utes are 28-48-3 against Big 12 foes but haven't faced one since 2004.
- NCAAF FINAL
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
UTAH (10) 10 31 17 10 68
IOWA ST 14 0 6 7 27 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: IOWA ST - TD, ALEXANDER ROBINSON 2 YD RUN
(GRANT MAHONEY KICK), 4:14.
IOWA ST 7-0
UTAH - FG, JOE PHILLIPS 23 YD, 6:07.
IOWA ST 7-3
UTAH - TD, EDDIE WIDE 2 YD PASS FROM
JORDAN
Oct 9 10:22 PM - NCAAF
UTAH (10) 68
IOWA ST 27 0:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Oct 9 10:22 PM
TD IOWA ST JAMES CAPELLO 19 YD RUN (GRANT MAHONEY KICK)
Utah(10) 68, Iowa State 27 4th - 5:13Oct 9 10:12 PM
TD IOWA ST JAMES CAPELLO 19 YD RUN (GRANT MAHONEY KICK)
Utah(10) 68, Iowa State 27 4th - 5:13Oct 9 10:12 PM- NCAAF
UTAH (10) 58
IOWA ST 20 0:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Oct 9 9:43 PM
TD IOWA ST COLLIN FRANKLIN 36 YD PASS FROM AUSTEN ARNAUD (PAT BLOCKED)
Utah(10) 44, Iowa State 20 3rd - 7:53Oct 9 9:24 PM
TD IOWA ST COLLIN FRANKLIN 36 YD PASS FROM AUSTEN ARNAUD (PAT BLOCKED)
Utah(10) 44, Iowa State 20 3rd - 7:53Oct 9 9:24 PM- NCAAF
UTAH (10) 10
IOWA ST 14 0:00 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Oct 9 7:55 PM
TD IOWA ST JAKE WILLIAMS 20 YD PASS FROM AUSTEN ARNAUD (GRANT MAHONEY KICK)
Utah(10) 10, Iowa State 14 1st - 3:28Oct 9 7:45 PM
TD IOWA ST JAKE WILLIAMS 20 YD PASS FROM AUSTEN ARNAUD (GRANT MAHONEY KICK)
Utah(10) 10, Iowa State 14 1st - 3:28Oct 9 7:45 PM
TD IOWA ST JAKE WILLIAMS 20 YD PASS FROM AUSTEN ARNAUD (GRANT MAHONEY KICK)
Utah(10) 10, Iowa State 14 1st - 3:28Oct 9 7:45 PM
TD IOWA ST ALEXANDER ROBINSON 2 YD RUN (GRANT MAHONEY KICK)
Utah(10) 0, Iowa State 7 1st - 10:46Oct 9 7:20 PM
TD IOWA ST ALEXANDER ROBINSON 2 YD RUN (GRANT MAHONEY KICK)
Utah(10) 0, Iowa State 7 1st - 10:46Oct 9 7:20 PM
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