Utes coming on strong after getting tough in ground game

That school from the Beehive State is doing it again, playing its best football when it’s starting to matter most.

Brigham Young?

No, the other team. Utah, after a shaky start, might be the team no one else wants to face. The Utes, thanks mostly to the return of quarterback Brian Johnson from a shoulder injury, have won five in a row.

Utah (6-3, 3-2 Mountain West) won’t win the conference title, but after this week off hopes to continue momentum through a final stretch against Wyoming, New Mexico and BYU.

Coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t credit Johnson for the Utes’ resurgence, but instead praised the team’s running game and run defense.

“We were soft against the run early in the year, and we think we’ve got that shored up,” he said. “The essence of football is running the football and stopping the run.”

In the five games since UNLV’s Frank Summers rushed for 190 yards against them, the Utes have given up an average of 90.6 yards on the ground. Utah tailback Darrell Mack also has rushed for 100 yards in all five games.

Whittingham said running and stopping the run is all about toughness.

“I think the physicality that we’ve played with over the last five or six weeks has been a part of our transformation of our mentality,” Whittingham said. “Not that we were a soft team … but we didn’t have anything to hang our hats on the first few weeks of the season.”

• RUN, RUN, RUN — UNLV coach Mike Sanford said those responsible for committing the six personal fouls in Saturday’s 29-24 loss at Wyoming will pay a big price physically after practices this week and next.

As for any punishment Nov. 10 against San Diego State, Sanford indicated none would take place. Such punishment, Sanford said, is for players with multiple personal fouls, though center Joe Hawley committed his fifth this season.

“His was a hands to the face, which is different than a stupid personal foul like hitting someone late after the whistle,” Sanford said.

Also, Sanford said he has not yet received the MRI results on linebacker Starr Fuimaono’s right shoulder.

• STILL A LITTLE HOT — Wyoming coach Joe Glenn was furious over a no-call late in his team’s victory over UNLV, and he wasn’t over it Tuesday, though he said he graded the officials favorably.

The Cowboys trailed 24-23 midway through the fourth quarter when wide receiver David Leonard beat Rebels cornerback Geoffery Howard deep. Howard grabbed Leonard’s jersey, but no flag came out. Wyoming still wound up scoring the winning touchdown on the drive, but Glenn was still so upset after the game he gestured angrily at the officials.

“They just didn’t see it or else they would’ve called it, but it was definitely a reach out and grab the guy,” Glenn said. “I don’t see how they could’ve missed it.

“I’ve got coaches with children, and these games are awful important whether you win or lose. You’ve got a team and bunch of people that want to go to a bowl game. We just want to get it right, that’s all. Had we lost the game because of that, it would’ve made me sick.”

A week earlier, a controversial 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown went against Wyoming in a 20-12 loss at Air Force.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2914.