Utah is ranked No. 7 in the BCS standings.
Nov. 10, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
> No. 7/8 Utah (10-0, 6-0 MWC) plays at San Diego State (1-9, 0-6 MWC) on Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is 5:00 p.m. PT (6:00 p.m. MT) in Qualcomm Stadium. The game will be televised on The Mtn. Radio is KALL700 AM.
> Utah is ranked No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll and the BCS Standings (Utah received a No. 4 average computer ranking). The Utes are No. 8 in the Associated Press and Harris polls. It marks Utah's best BCS standing since the 2004 Utes climbed to No. 6.
> Utah can clinch at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title with a win Saturday. Utah won back-to-back championships in 2003-04 and has three total MWC titles to date, including a tie for first in 1999--the first year of the league.
> Utah is 10-0 for just the second time in school history. The 2004 Utes finished the season at 12-0.
> Dating back to last year's Poinsettia Bowl victory, Utah has won 11 straight games, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak in the country with Alabama (behind Texas Tech with 12). Utah has won 18 of its last 19 games.
> The win over then No. 11 TCU last week improved Utah's record to 5-0 all-time in games when both Utah and its opponent were nationally ranked.
> Utah leads the series with San Diego State 14-12-1 and has won four of the last five. The Utes are 6-6-1 in San Diego (see page 2 for more).
KING LOUIE
Louie Sakoda, a leading candidate for first-team All-America honors as a kicker this year, was a first-team All-America punter in 2007 (FWAA, CBSSports.com). Sakoda was selected as the 2008 Midseason All-America placekicker by CBSSports.com, The Sporting News and Rivals.com. He is a top-20 semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award (nation's top placekicker) and top-10 semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award (nation's top punter). The most decorated weekly performer in Mountain West Conference history, Sakoda has won 11 career special teams player of the week awards, including four this season. He is also a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, a Draddy Trophy finalist (which comes with an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship) and a finalist for the Lowe's Senior Class Award.
JOHNSON FINALIST FOR GOLDEN ARM AWARD
Brian Johnson has been named a finalist for the Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top senior college quarterback by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica. He joins an elite field that includes Chase Daniel (Missouri), Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), Parker Wilson (Alabama) and Pat White (West Virginia). The 2008 winner will be presented with the Golden Arm Award on Friday, December 5 at the Tremont Grand Meeting & Banquet Facility in downtown Baltimore.
LAST WEEK
Brian Johnson capped a last-minute, 80-yard drive by throwing a touchdown strike to Freddie Brown and Utah came from behind to beat No. 11 TCU 13-10. The Utes never led in the game until their final drive, which began with 2:48 remaining and Utah trailing 10-6. Johnson completed 7-of-9 passes in the last two minutes--including an 11-yard completion to Brown on fourth and five that got Utah to the TCU 15-yard line. Brown finished with a career-high 105 yards on nine catches. Others who made big plays on the game-winning drive were receivers Bradon Godfrey and Brent Casteel. But most of the game centered on two of the best defenses in the nation. After relinquishing 10 points in the first nine minutes of the game, Utah held the Horned Frogs scoreless the remainder of the way. TCU rushed for 99 yards and a 10-3 first quarter lead before the defense settled in--holding the Horned Frogs to minus-one yard in the second quarter and 15 rushing yards in the third quarter. Stevenson Sylvester led Utah with a season-high 10 tackles, and chipped in on one of the team's four sacks, which counted for a total 48 lost yards. Joe Dale had nine tackles and a 16-yard sack, and Sean Smith had an interception (which he returned 37 yards to set up a Louie Sakoda field goal) and two pass breakups.
KYLE STYLE
Fourth-year Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is 34-14 overall and 3-0 in bowl games. He is a candidate for the George Munger, Bobby Dodd and Paul `Bear' Bryant national coach of the year awards. Since he joined the staff as a Ute assistant in 1994, Utah has won nearly 70-percent of its games (120-55). Utah has played in nine bowl games during Whittingham's tenure--winning eight. Prior to becoming Utah's head coach in 2005, he spent one season as the defensive line coach and 10 years as the defensive coordinator.
OUTSIDE THE LINES
Utah drew 45,666 mostly-black clad fans to its `Blackout Game' victory over TCU on Nov. 6. It was the second-largest home crowd in school history. The 2008 Utes will set a school season attendance record after concluding the regular season on Nov. 22 before a sellout crowd in Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utah-BYU game--sold out for weeks--will give Utah five sellouts in six home games this season. Utah's 45,352 attendance average exceeds the capacity of 45,017-seat Rice-Eccles Stadium. The previous season attendance record was 44,112 set in 2004.
INSIDE THE HUDDLE
Senior quarterback Brian Johnson was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 10 for his role in Utah's win over No. 11 TCU. It is the second MWC weekly honor for Johnson this year and the third of his career ... Kicker Louie Sakoda leads the Utes in scoring with 94 points, followed by running back Matt Asiata (60), receiver Freddie Brown (30), and a combination of defense and special teams (26) ... Starters Johnson, Sakoda, Zane Beadles and Colt Sampson have all been named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic all-District first team. As first-team selections, they are automatically placed on the Academic All-American ballot ... Utah has 32 California natives on its roster ... 15 different players have scored a touchdown for the Utes. Here's a breakdown of how Utah has scored its touchdowns: rushing (20), receiving (16), punt return (1), interception return (1) and fumble return (2) ... Six Utes have completed a pass: quarterbacks Brian Johnson (184-279), Corbin Louks (3-5) and Chad Manis (3-4); receiver Jereme Brooks (1-1); punter/kicker Louie Sakoda (1-2) and running back Matt Asiata (1-2) ... Two true freshmen have played in games: OL Tony Bergstrom and DT Sealver Siliga. Six redshirt freshmen have played, including starting nose tackle Derrick Shelby.
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