Phillips earns MWC weekly honors
Junior Utah place-kicker Joe Phillips was named the Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after his performance against rival BYU on Saturday. Phillips had a career day in Provo, going 5 for 5 against the Cougars, converting from 21, 29, 31, 39 and 40 yards. His 40-yarder forced overtime with only 29 seconds left on the clock.
Phillips is the second player to be named Special Teams Player of the Week, the first being redshirt freshman punter Sean Sellwood, who earned the honor Oct. 26.
Six Utes, including Phillips, earned MWC weekly honors this year. Robert Johnson was named Defensive Player of the Week Oct. 12, thanks to his three interceptions against Colorado State, and safety Joe Dale and defensive end Koa Misi also won the award this year. Dale won it Nov. 23 after his performance against San Diego State, where he brought an interception 35 yards for the score. Misi won it Nov. 2 after he recorded eight tackles and two sacks against Wyoming.
Utah running back Eddie Wide became the only Ute to win Offensive Player of the Week after he rushed for 135 yards at home against Wyoming.
Utes among MWC leaders
With the MWC regular season in the books, some Utes find themselves tops in the league in major statistical categories. Wide finished the 2009 season as the conference’s leader in total rushing yards with 1,032 total yards. Only Wide and BYU running back Harvey Unga broke the 1,000-yard mark on the ground this season. Wide also led the conference in touchdowns with 13 in 2009, despite starting only nine games this season.
Both Wide and Phillips finished in the top 10 in total scoring, averaging 7.7 and 6.5 points per game, respectively, Phillips also finished the season second in field goal percentage, going 85 percent on the year.
Wide receiver David Reed was also among the leaders in almost every major receiving category during the 2009 regular season. He finished the season second in receptions per game with 6.2 receptions a game behind only UNLV’s Ryan Wolfe with 6.7. Not only did the senior finish third in all-purpose yards, but Reed also finished first in the conference in receiving yards per game with 90.4 yards per game and was tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns as well with five. Fellow wideout Jereme Brooks finished the season with six touchdowns and averaged a little more than 50 receiving yards per game.
te finished the season in the top 10 in tackles, but for the second straight season, senior Mike Wright led the Utes in tackles, recording 77 this season.
TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes once again led the league in sacks, this year with 11.5, but two Utes finished in the top 108212;defensive tackle Christian Cox and Misi. Cox finished tied for seventh with 5.5 sacks, and Misi finished at tenth with 4.5. Misi also finished first in the league with 3 forced fumbles.
Finally, Robert Johnson finished top in the conferences with five interceptions on defense, despite not recording an interception since week six against UNLV.
Bowl tickets on sale
Although the Utes still don’t know where they will be bowling this season, Utah fans can now preorder their tickets to see the Utes extend the nation’s longest active bowl-winning streak. The Utes have won the past eight bowl games they have participated in8212;dating back to 19998212;and will likely be invited to San Diego to take part in the Poinsettia Bowl.
Tickets range from $35 to $55 depending on which bowl Utah attends. Bowl matchups will be announced Sunday.
If the Utes get invited to the Poinsettia Bowl, it will be the second time in three seasons that Utah will make the postseason trip to San Diego. The last time Utah played in the Poinsettia Bowl, it knocked off the Naval Academy 35-32 behind strong performances by quarterback Brian Johnson and running back Darrel Mack. The 2009 Poinsettia Bowl will feature a team from the Mountain West Conference matched up against a school from either the Pac-10 or Western Athletic Conference and will be played at Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the San Diego Chargers.
Thien SokDavid Reed led the MWC in most receiving categories this season, including finishing first on the conference for receiving yards per game with 90.4.