Utah narrowly wins game against Air Force, 30-23

By By Tony Pizza, Sports Editor

September 19, 2008

By Tony Pizza, Sports Editor

Utah has been shooting itself in the foot all season. It almost killed the Utes’ BCS hopes this weekend.

Darrell Mack had 101 yards and three touchdowns and Matt Asiata added another 116 on the ground as the Utes (4-0, 2-0 MWC) beat Air Force 30-23 and opened the season 4-0 for the first time since 2004. The Utes useThe win, however, did not come without several anxious moments on the Ute sideline.

After going down 7-0 early in each of its last three games, Utah’s defense held Air Force (3-1, 1-1 MWC) into two-straight three-and-outs to open the game. Utah capitalized on the second short possession with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Brian Johnson to David Reed. The Utes then extended that lead to 9-0 on a fumbled punt by the Falcons in their own endzone that resulted in a safety.

While the Utes managed to overcome their early game woes, the problems merely waited to show until the end of the opening quarter.

Brian Johnson threw an interception in the endzone on highlight reel pick by Reggie Rembert with the Utes driving on the Falcon 22-yard line. After Utah’s Brice McCain stole the ball back moments later, Johnson fumbled the ball on a unlikely third-down conversion try, which eventually led to an Air Force field goal. After the Falcons scored a touchdown on their next possession, Johnson fumbled once again, which Air Force’s Jake Paulson scooped up for a 25-yard touchdown return.

Once again, Utah entered halftime in need of some adjustments, and just like before Utah came out a better team.

Though Air Force had yet to allow a point in an opening drive in either half, the Utes opened the third quarter with an efficient 8-play 69-yard touchdown romp that ended with Mack carrying the ball eight yards untouched to tie the score at 16-16.

Utah made it 23-16 at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a series that looked eerily familiar to the end of Air Force’s 20-12 win from a year ago.

With Utah holding the ball on second-and-goal from the Falcon’s 2-yard line, Mack and Johnson combined for 1-yard on the next two plays to set up a fourth-and-goal from the one. Unlike last season, which ended with Utah’s Darrell Poston being stone-walled on a fourth down from the same distance, Johnson flipped a perfectly timed left-handed option toss to Mack for his second untouched score of the game.

Air Force then went against its own convention and threw the ball six times in their game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter, which covered more ground then the Falcon’s had in all the first half combined. The score left the game at 23-23 and the Utes a little more than five minutes to break the tie.

Johnson, who went 7-for-8 in the second half, threaded a needle to Freddie Brown on a crucial long third-down to extend Utah’s final go-ahead drive. Utah then put the ball in the hands of Asiata and Mack’s hands to complete Utah’s 80-yard, 11-play drive to give Utah a touchdown lead with less than a minute to go. Joe Dale’s interception on Air Force’s first ensuing offensive play put the nail in Utah’s toughest win of the season thus far.

While Johnson’s turnover woes ended at the half, the pressure on him did not. Johnson was dropped to the turf five times, including two-straight to negate a 28-yard rush by Asiata in the third quarter. Mack and Asiata both eclipsed 100 yards for the first time this season.

While the Utah tailbacks both had career afternoons, it was Utah’s defense that once again became the difference maker. Despite allowing Air Force to get a season-high 138 yards through the air, Utah held the No. 2 rushing team in the country to 53 yards on the ground and did not allow Air Force’s offense to control the tempo or time of possession. Defensive end Paul Kruger had another impressive night with five tackles, including 2.5 for loss. Nai Fotu moved from his typical linebacker spot to the opposite side of Kruger and added another tackle for loss. Koa Misi, who moved to the inside of the defensive line to bolster Utah’s speed in the front four, had nine tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage. Despite escaping from Colorado Springs, Colo., with the win Utah did no help shed the image as one of the most undisciplined teams in the country. Utah was penalized seven times for 40 yards, including two holding penalties the helped fizzle offensive drives.

The Utes came into the game second to last in total yards penalized in the country at 284 total. The Utes had averaged 10 penalties per game, which was good for 117th out of 119 FBS schools.