The Utah women's volleyball team is looking to solidify its lineup and defense this weekend as they host the annual Ute Invitational.

The U offense will look to take advantage of a beaten Aggie defense that gave up an astounding 688 yards last week to Oregon8212;408 being accumulated on the ground. The Utes have yet to have a 100-yard rusher this season, and the tandem tailbacks of Matt Asiata and Darrell Mack should be looking to blow the game open for the Utes, using their brute size and open-field toughness to wear down the Aggies.

It's only about an hour and a half away. Take a road trip, enjoy some pizza at The Factory Pizzeria, eat some twice-baked fries at Papa Kelsey's and Henry Restaurant and take home a cheese curd or two. Don't worry if you're scared of strangers. There will be more Ute fans in Logan than Aggie fans.

Captain Alton "Moose" Carmen and his Ute warriors carried the Crimson aggregation to a smashing 20 to 0 victory over Utah Aggies in the big Turkey Day annual classic in the Ute stadium before 17,000 spectators, Thursday. Their victory netted them the Rocky Mountain Conference championship crown.

No mystery this week, sorry. Utes definitely have the edge against the Aggies.

I have a confession to make. I actually cheered for BYU to block that potential game-tying extra point against Washington last week. I know I gave my only Cougar friend a load of crap for BYU's luck, or what tight end Dennis Pitta called destiny, but secretly I was glad. It turns out BYU was living right off the field last week, and for once I'm OK with that.

For years, the U cross country team has traveled south to participate in rival BYU's Autumn Classic. This year, head coach Kyle Kepler decided to forgo the trip to Provo in hopes of keeping his team fresh.

The worst thing in the entire world has happened. No, I'm not talking about John McCain choosing a hockey mom and causing old white people to dance badly. I'm not talking about the hurricane alphabet ripping one by one through the southern coasts either. I'm talking about Tom Brady. He's out for the entire season.

The Utes are coming off a two-game road trip, where their current losing streak was extended to four games after they dropped two close games to Oregon and Oregon State.

After defensive tackles Kenape Eliapo and Lei Talamaivo sustained indefinite injuries in the first two weeks of the season, the question heading into this week against Utah State was, who's going to play on the line?