When U center Dustin McQuivey went down with 4:04 in the second quarter of the U’s win over Utah State, the team lost an experienced junior that had started since his freshman year.
In came Max Petersen, a 6-foot-3, 286 lb. sophomore back-up, who filled in without a fumbled snap as the Utes reeled off 16 fourth quarter points. Petersen will again get the call this week, as McQuivey is out two to three weeks with a sprained right mediate cruciate ligament.
“It was bad when we lost Dustin, but we feel Max was just as good of a player to replace him,” starting offensive guard Tevita Vakalahi said.
The position is the most important one on the offensive line.
“The center is the leader of the offensive front?he makes calls for the lineman,” quarterback Lance Rice said.
And with the type of smash mouth football the Utes depend on, the center position is a focal point.
“That’s what our trademark is?the power style running game,” Rice said.
Still, the U offensive line nearly allowed more sacks in its defeat of USU (3), than it did all of last season (4).
Here’s the Kicker
The man is on the field for maybe 15 seconds and already he’s the center of critique. Freshman kicker Bryan Borreson missed field goals of 46 and 28 yards and was 2-3 on extra points versus Utah State, which raised some criticism from his coach.
“What we need to do is kick it through the uprights,” coach Ron McBride said. “[But] you need to be positive with the kickers. You can’t get down on them.”
McBride said preseason No. 1 kicker Ford Hall will start practicing in a couple days, and he may be back for the game this week.
“All they have to do is kick like they did in camp,” McBride said.
Labor Pains
With the Labor Day extended weekend, there was a mix-up with a courier getting game tapes of Indiana’s 25-17 win over William & Mary to the U.
“It’s hard for me to get a feel for the team because we got the video late Monday night,” McBride said.
He said more than anything, the delay will stall his coaching schedule and rhythm.
“Mentally, it puts you in a little bit of a bind,” he said. “It gets you out of rhythm of what you like to do.”