Utah sustains major injuries in season-opening loss
So much for Utah being a Mountain West Conference contender, or so it would seem.
The Utes not only lost their opener 24-7 to Oregon State, they also watched quarterback Brian Johnson go out with a separated shoulder and lost tailback Matt Asiata with a broken leg. Asiata is gone for the season, but Johnson could return in three to five weeks.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham issued the usual statements about moving forward and not getting caught up in who won’t be on the field Saturday when the Utes host Air Force.
“Outward appearances indicate we have gotten over it,” Whittingham said Tuesday. “We had a good practice yesterday.”
Johnson’s injury forces Whittingham and his staff to change the offense from a predominate option attack to one that emphasizes traditional quarterback play.
“It’s still within the framework of the spread offense, so it’s not a complete departure from what we planned on doing with Brian,” Whittingham said. “We were fairly successful last year with Brett Ratliff, who had a similar style.”
With Johnson out all of last season because of knee surgery, Ratliff started every game and led the Utes to an 8-5 record.
Replacing Asiata probably will be even more difficult. Utah will go with a committee of Darrell Mack, Darryl Poston and Ray Stowers.
“That’s not my first choice,” Whittingham said. “They went live with camp. Now the only time they get live work is in the football games. As they plays the games, we’ll see if there is a natural separation.”
• TCU ALSO SHORT-HANDED — No. 19 Texas Christian also has plenty of questions as it prepares for Saturday’s showdown at No. 7 Texas.
Tailback Aaron Brown, who averaged 116.8 all-purpose yards per game last season, injured his knee in Saturday’s 27-0 victory over Baylor. His status might not be known until near kickoff.
The Horned Frogs also are waiting to see if defensive end Tommy Blake, probably the league’s best defender, will suit up. He did not play against Baylor because of an undisclosed illness.
Frogs coach Gary Patterson said the team has been through so much after a tumultuous offseason that he didn’t expect his players to be shaken over the uncertainty of two of TCU’s better players.
Patterson also said he didn’t expect his team to be overwhelmed heading into Texas’ stadium because of so much recent experience against Big 12 Conference teams. In 2005, TCU went to No. 5 Oklahoma and won, 17-10.
“We feel like we can go into any situation and play well,” Patterson said. “We know what we have a chance to do this Saturday is play a nationally ranked team with a great tradition that’s won a national championship in the last two or three years. It’s a measuring-stick game for us. We’re not really trying to make it any more than that.”
• FROM COUGAR TO BRUIN — Brigham Young will see one of its own when the Cougars play at UCLA. The Bruins will be quarterbacked by Ben Olson, who was at BYU before leaving for a two-year Mormon mission.
Bronco Mendenhall, who is in his third season, did not coach Olson but discovered early after being hired not to expect the quarterback back.
It was probably just as well since Olson’s absence probably enabled John Beck — last year’s MWC Offensive Player of the Year — to develop.
“I think in both cases probably neither (school) has any regrets,” Mendenhall said.
MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALLTHE CONFERENCE STANDINGS
The Mountain West from top to bottom:
Air Force (1-0, 0-0 Mountain West) at Utah (0-1, 0-0): The Falcons have scored in 169 consecutive games, currently the nation’s eighth-longest streak.
No. 19 Texas Christian (1-0) at No. 7 Texas (1-0): The Horned Frogs are coming off their second shutout victory in four games.
Wyoming (1-0) vs. Utah State (0-1): Eight of the Cowboys’ past 13 opponents failed to break 100 yards rushing.
Brigham Young (1-0) at No. 13 UCLA (1-0): The Cougars beat their past two Pacific-10 Conference opponents by a combined 58-15.
UNLV (1-0) vs. No. 5 Wisconsin (1-0): Wisconsin is the highest-ranked team to visit the Rebels.
San Diego State (0-0) vs. Washington State (0-1) in Seattle: The Aztecs play Washington State for the first time, the first of three such opponents.
Colorado State (0-1) vs. No. 10 California (1-0): The Rams have lost eight straight games for the first time since 1981.
New Mexico (0-1) vs. New Mexico State (1-0): Lobos tailback Rodney Ferguson has four consecutive 100-yard rushing games.
Utah (0-1, 0-0) vs. Air Force (1-0, 0-0): This is the earliest MWC game ever for the Utes.
FIVE BEST PLAYERS
1. Tommy Blake, DL, TCU: The Frogs need him to have a legitimate shot to beat Texas.
2. Chase Ortiz, DL, TCU: Did little in the opener but still is a tremendous player.
3. Rodney Ferguson, RB, New Mexico: Had a strong opening with 128 yards.
4. Beau Bell, LB, UNLV: Had nine tackles and two forced fumbles at Utah State.
5. Kyle Bell, RB, Colorado State: Outstanding comeback from knee injury with 135-yard effort against Colorado.
THEY WROTE IT …
Salt Lake Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe, on Utah’s 24-7 loss to Oregon State and the losses of two main players: “With (tailback Matt) Asiata likely out for the season, offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is back to relying on creativity to deliver rushing yards. And with (quarterback Brian) Johnson expected to miss at least three weeks, Utah’s passing game is the temporary responsibility of (Tommy) Grady, the Oklahoma transfer who has yet to live up to his promise as a highly recruited prep quarterback. The consolation: The Utes were probably not going to beat UCLA, unless Alex Smith was quarterbacking them. With Grady, they are still good enough to beat Air Force and UNLV, which will get them through most of September — still in position to challenge for the league title if Johnson returns soon afterward.”
Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram columnist Gil LeBreton, on Saturday’s TCU-Texas game: “Horned Frogs fans have been hearing it since the Coach Fran-led renaissance of TCU football. As TCU’s won-loss record would climb each season to 7-1, 8-1 or 10-0, Texas fans would shrug and say, ‘Yeah, but who have they played?’ This would sometimes come the week after the Longhorns defeated Kansas or Rice or Louisiana-Lafayette. Yeah, but who has Appalachian State played? Until last weekend, the answer was Elon, Wofford, The Citadel.”
Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla, on the off-field health blows and eight-game losing streak suffered by Colorado State: “(Sonny) Lubick is a football legend at Colorado State. Sometimes, we forget how vulnerable, how weary and how human a legend can be.”
THEY SAID IT …
Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick, on the Rams’ 31-28 overtime loss to Colorado: “I can’t come in here and start swearing at the players and get mad at them. Heck, they played as hard as we can. But the way we lost this one? It hurts. I’ll be standing out there at practice on Monday, when the players are running, and I’ll be thinking, ‘Why did we make this call in the game? Why didn’t we call that instead? What the heck were we thinking?’ ”
Wyoming coach Joe Glenn, on the Cowboys’ 23-3 victory over Virginia: “The Pokes were way too much for the Cavaliers. A Cowboy is tougher than a Cavalier anyway, we all know that.”
TCU coach Gary Patterson, after a 27-0 victory over Baylor that was preceded by a difficult offseason: “I’m going to go home, get a sandwich and go to sleep.”
