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Utah-Air Force Preview

Oct 26, 2010 - 4:47 PM By NOEY KUPCHAN STATS Writer

No. 8 Utah (7-0) at Air Force (5-3), 7:30 p.m. EDT

To keep alive its chances of a second undefeated season in three years, Utah must come out on top of what has regularly been a very close rivalry.

Though a big showdown looms next weekend, the eighth-ranked Utes won't be looking past this matchup with Air Force and its No. 1 rushing attack Saturday night.

These Mountain West foes are meeting at the Air Force Academy for the first time since the Falcons nearly handed Utah its only loss in what turned out to be a perfect 2008 season, falling 30-23 on a touchdown with 58 seconds left. It was even closer last season in Utah, with the Utes winning 23-16 in overtime on Daniel Wide's one-yard touchdown run.

The total point differential between these teams over 26 games is 19, as 12 of the previous 13 meetings have been decided by less than 10 points.

"It's been back and forth. Last year was a great example of that playing in overtime," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Most every year it goes down to the wire. A lot of that is attributed to the toughness of an Air Force team that never quits, ever."

That means Whittingham won't let his players look ahead to next Saturday's home game against fourth-ranked TCU, a matchup which may determine the conference champion and possibly a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

Utah (7-0, 4-0) hopes to take the wave of momentum into that game that it does into this one following last Saturday's 59-6 win over Colorado State. Wide rushed for 71 yards and a score and caught one of Jordan Wynn's three touchdown passes, helping the Utes to a sixth consecutive win by at least 24 points.

Wide, who had 121 yards on 17 carries against Air Force last year, could be in line for another big day against a Falcons defense allowing 205.8 rushing yards per game.

"We're playing our best right now," Whittingham said. "We played a good game in all three phases but we have a lot of tough challenges ahead of us, starting this week."

Wynn completed 23 of 29 passes for 321 yards last Saturday, improving his conference-leading quarterback rating to 168.6. The sophomore now faces an Air Force defense allowing 166.0 passing yards per game - 12th-best in the FBS.

While the Utes offense can be effective running and throwing the ball, Air Force focuses strictly on the run, averaging 326.5 yards on the ground to lead the country. The Utes, though, have displayed a stout run defense, allowing 87.4 yards per game to rank sixth nationally and 2.5 per carry to rank third.

"The triple option attack is a big departure from what we see every week," Whittingham said. "... Any breakdowns and you are looking at a potential big play. We have to match their toughness and discipline to defend it."

This will be Utah's first time facing quarterback Tim Jefferson, who is third on the Falcons (5-3, 3-2) with 503 rushing yards and leads the team with eight rushing touchdowns.

"He is a very good athlete. He is running the offense very well and his running ability is his strong suit," Whittingham said. "They have had some great quarterbacks throughout the years and he is another in a long list of guys adept at running the triple."

Jefferson had one of his worst games of the season last Saturday against TCU, throwing for a season-low 47 yards and rushing for 39 in a 38-7 loss. The Falcons surrendered 377 rushing yards - the most they've allowed since giving up 382 to Utah in 2001.

Air Force is looking to avoid losing three straight for the first time since doing so to close the 2008 season, but it has dropped 16 in a row to ranked teams since a win at California on Sept. 21, 2002.

The Falcons lead the all-time series 14-12 but have lost six of the previous seven meetings, including the last three in Colorado Springs.