The one good thing about the first-place Runnin' Utes' upcoming schedule is that if they can get through the next two weeks, they'll keep that spot.

The 13-0 Utah football team was honored at halftime. It must have been good karma for the Runnin' Utes, who are now tied with TCU atop the Mountain West Conference at 3-1 after running Colorado State out of the Huntsman Center, 82-66.

Over the three-week break, the Utes have gone 6-2, beating the likes of Gonzaga and Louisiana State in solid fashion. In conference play, they are 1-1, with their win coming at home against Wyoming, 91-67, and their most recent loss to San Diego State, 72-63.

After jumping out to a quick 3-0 advantage, the Utes never saw the lead again after giving up too many turnovers (16) and too many second-chance points (13 offensive rebounds) to the Aztecs in the 72-63 loss in San Diego.

Luke Neville has looked unstoppable in the Runnin' Utes last three wins over UC Irvine, Gonzaga and Wyoming. It was no different in Tuesday's game against the LSU Tigers.

It was not a warm homecoming for former Ute assistant Trent Johnson as the Utes pummeled Louisiana State 91-61, giving Utah its 10th win of the season and fourth in as many games.

Foxsports.com recently did a story on how difficult it is for most good teams to schedule games with one another, especially teams that are members of a mid-major conference like the Mountain West Conference.

Utah (5-3) has to, once again, toss aside the memory of a tough loss to focus on a difficult road game this weekend, as it takes on the No. 5 and 9-0 Oklahoma Sooners.

The most hyped game to date this season for the Runnin' Utes came down to a desperation 3-point attempt by Tyler Kepkay. He missed, allowing Cal to exact revenge on last year's last-second loss to Utah.

Seven different Utes missed free throws en route to their 72-69 loss to the visiting California Golden Bears. Utah shot 20-for-31 from the charity stripe, an unimpressive 64.5 percent from the line.