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Utah hosts Weber State in reunion with former coach

Sep 27, 2008 - 10:08 AM Weber St (3-1) at (17) Utah (4-0), 8:00 pm EDT

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- It has been nearly six years since Ron McBride last walked off the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium. This weekend, he finally gets a chance to go home again.

The Weber State head coach leads his Wildcats into Salt Lake City on Saturday to take on 17th-ranked Utah, a team that he guided for 13 seasons.

McBride was fired after a disappointing 2002 season during which the Utes went 5-6 and failed to qualify for a bowl game. He was replaced by Urban Meyer, who posted a 22-2 record and coached the Utes to a victory over Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl.

Now coached by Kyle Whittingham, Utah (4-0) is making noise once again. The Utes remained undefeated last week in its second conference game, as Darrell Mack's late touchdown run with 58 seconds to play lifted Utah to a 30-23 win over Air Force.

Mack and Matt Asiata have formed a potent rushing attack for the Utes, combining for 544 yards and seven touchdowns in four games this season.

The Utes have a two-week reprieve from their Mountain West Conference schedule, beginning with Saturday's tilt with Weber State.

McBride, who went 88-63 during his 13 seasons at the helm at Utah, is in his fourth season leading the Wildcats.

After three mediocre seasons in which he compiled a 15-18 record, McBride has guided Weber State (3-1) to a strong first month. It opened the season with a 62-6 triumph over Montana-Western, and its only blemish is a 36-17 loss to Hawaii in the second week of the season.

The Utes have never lost to an opponent from the Big Sky Conference, posting a 30-0 record in those games. The Utes' only two meetings with Weber State were both lopsided victories, most recently a 52-16 blowout in 1984.

Weber State is led by quarterback Cameron Higgins, who has completed 65 percent of his passes this year with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. His favorite target has been 5-10, 165-pound Tim Toone, who has 23 catches for 417 yards.