The annual showdown with archrival BYU is just eight days away, but the U football team isn’t focusing on the Cougars.
Right now, head coach Urban Meyer has kept his team focused squarely on the Wyoming Cowboys, who will invade Rice-Eccles Stadium this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the Utes’ final home contest of the season.
A few weeks ago, it might have been easy to say that the Utes wouldn’t have too much trouble with the Cowboys, who lost four of their first five games of the year.
But Wyoming has won three of its last four, thanks in large part to quarterback Casey Bramlet, who leads the top-ranked passing offense in the Mountain West Conference.
In their last game two weeks ago, the Cowboys pulled off a 35-28 upset of the defending MWC champion Colorado State Rams in Laramie, giving them plenty of confidence going into the bye week and their meeting with the first-place Utes.
“I’m glad they beat Colorado State last week, because now I know we’re not going to be thinking about BYU or anybody else except Wyoming,” coach Meyer said.
The U has a couple of big opportunities with the game this Saturday. First, the team can break the school’s all time single season attendance record with another strong showing from dedicated Ute fans.
But perhaps even more importantly, the Utes can clinch at least a share of the Mountain West Conference’s regular-season title, giving them a chance to clinch the crown outright next weekend at BYU.
Such a performance was not anticipated by many pundits prior to the season, most of who picked Utah to finish in fourth, fifth or sixth place in the MWC.
But Meyer has proven that the underachieving squad from last year was capable of a quick turnaround-but the team faces yet another difficult test from Bramlet and the Cowboys.
One thing is clear for the Utes: It’s up to them, plain and simple.
Two wins to close out the season means the team’s first outright conference title since 1957.
With so much pressure riding on these last two games, Meyer and his coaching staff have had their work cut out for them this week.
“It’s a championship atmosphere, but it’s a work atmosphere,” Meyer said. “These are workdays. You bring your lunch pail, and we come out and work. It’s just been a typical week. The work ethic is there, but other than that, you wouldn’t know that something special is about to happen this week if we take care of business.”
Meyer knows that there’s always the possibility of a letdown once spirits get this high.
The Utes learned the hard way on Oct. 25, losing to New Mexico 47-35 just six days after breaking into the national top 25 for the first time all year.
“After our New Mexico game, we learned that we just didn’t play well that week,” Meyer said. “I don’t think it was a lack of effort. If there’s a lack of effort, then you have some issues you’ve got to take care of.”
In that loss to the Lobos, the Utes lost starting tailback Brandon Warfield to a sprained MCL. He went into the game as the MWC’s leading rusher, and his early loss was definitely felt throughout the rest of the game.
Utah will be without his services again this weekend, though he did return to the practice field for some light workouts this week.
“It kind of picked our team up to see No. 5 out there running,” Meyer said.
“He didn’t do a whole lot, but he was running, which is a good sign. But he did run better than I thought he would.”
In his absence, the Utes have found other ways to get their running game going.
In their win over Air Force last week, new starter Mike Liti rushed for just 47 yards on 12 carries, and lost one crucial fumble in the fourth quarter.
But quarterback Alex Smith rushed for 89 yards-the second time this season he has led the team in rushing.
The biggest contribution came from senior tight end Ben Moa, who was inserted into the lineup at fullback and wound up rushing for three touchdowns and passing for the game-winning two-point conversion in the game’s third overtime period.
Moa will once again have a sizeable role out of the backfield in addition to his receiving duties.
“His role is expanding every week, and it’s well deserved,” Meyer said. “We reward players who do well and work hard. He’s more dedicated than he’s ever been and that’s why he’s had this success.”
As the season has gone along, the Utes have continued to find ways to win practically every week.
This weekend against Wyoming, they have plenty of motivation.
“This is huge. All our concentration this week is for Wyoming because we don’t want to overlook them,” freshman cornerback Eric Weddle said.
“Coaches are getting on us every day to get ready for this game because if we win it, we get a share of the championship. We want to get it outright, and that starts with Wyoming.”
