Comparable programs – Utes, Beavers look a lot alike

Utah on four-game winning streak vs. Pac-10; OSU prepares for altitude, more work for Quizz

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Sep 29, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

GREGORY SHAMUS / GETTY IMAGES

Utah quarterback Brian Johnson celebrates with fans after the Utes' 25-23 win at Michigan on Aug. 30.

CORVALLIS – In many ways, Oregon State will be looking at a mirror image when it visits Salt Lake City Thursday night to face 15th-ranked Utah.

Each school has had a winning program for the past decade but has been underrated from a national respect standpoint.

While Oregon State has had winning seasons and gone to bowl games seven of the past nine years, Utah has done exactly the same.

Each school had one breakout season during that span – Oregon State in 2000, going 11-1 while winning the Fiesta Bowl, and Utah in 2004, going 12-0 while winning the Fiesta Bowl. Each team finished the season ranked No. 4 nationally.

Utah has gone a remarkable 7-0 bowl games since 1999. Mike Riley is 4-0 in bowl games as head coach at Oregon State and 7-0 overall, including three wins as an offensive coordinator at Southern Cal.

Utah’s Alex Smith was a Heisman Trophy finalist and Sports Illustrated player of the year and was the first pick in the 2005 draft. Oregon State’s Mike Hass and Alexis Serna won the Biletnikoff and Groza awards, respectively.

“There really is a parallel in our programs, and that’s not a bad thing,” Riley says. “I really like their program, and I like their coach (Kyle Whittingham). He is as solid as they come. They’ve built this thing up for years. I respect that.”

The coaches have bonded during recent Nike coaches trips, the latest to Mexico last spring. In that one, Riley’s wife, Dee, played tennis with the Utah coach, and they, too, formed a friendship.

Whittingham, 48, was the Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the year in 1981 as a linebacker at Brigham Young. He served as a Utah assistant coach for 11 years – the last 10 as defensive coordinator – before taking over the program when Urban Meyer left in 2005. Since then, the Utes are 29-14, including a 5-0 start to this season.

Mindful of the potential of an emotional letdown after last Thursday’s 27-21 upset of top-ranked USC, Riley calls Thursday’s visit to Salt Lake City a “trap game” for 2-2 Oregon State.

“Our approach mentally is big,” Riley says. Beating the Trojans “gives you a chance to begin building toward what you are capable of doing. That part is good.

“Now you cannot cross the line over to complacency, where you think you can just show up and win games. I think our (players are) grounded. They understand every game and every opportunity is unique. So the preparation for this game, like the last game, will be the key to our success.”

Utah is led by quarterback Brian Johnson, a 6-1, 200-pound senior who was offensive MVP of the Poinsetta Bowl last season. Johnson has completed 92 of 133 passes (.692) for 1,129 yards and eight touchdowns with five interceptions in Utah’s spread offense this season. In a 37-21 win over Division I-AA Weber State – it was 37-7 before Whittingham eased up on the throttle – Johnson was 18 of 22 for 194 yards and two TDs.

“He is the right quarterback for them – a guy with experience who throws the ball effectively, can makes plays throwing and is a very good athlete,” Riley says.

Time at tailback has been divided equally between Matt Asiata, a 5-11, 230-pound junior, and Darrell Mack, a 6-0, 220-pound senior. Asiata has carried 64 times for 320 yards and six TDs; Mack has 65 attempts for 319 yards and three scores.

The Utes use a variety of defenses and blitz often.

“They’ll play a four-man front, then a three-man front, and sometimes they’ll rush just two guys,” Riley says. “They’ll run the gamut, from all-out pressure to all-out coverage.

“Being balanced offensively will be huge for us, and getting things done on first and second down, too. If you get into a third-down game with them, it’s hard.”

Utah will also have a revenge factor going. Last season, Oregon State won at Corvallis 24-7 in the season opener for both teams. In that game, Johnson was knocked out of action with a separated shoulder – he missed the next two games – and Asiata was lost for the year with a broken leg.

• Much has been made of the Mountain West Conference dominance of the Pac-10 this season. The tally reads 5-1 after California’s 42-7 thumping of Colorado State last Saturday. Prior results: Brigham Young 28, Washington 27; Brigham Young 59, UCLA 0; New Mexico 36, Arizona 28; Texas Christian 31, Stanford 14 and Nevada-Las Vegas 23, Arizona State 20. In addition, Utah holds a 25-23 victory over Michigan.

The Utes have also won their last four meetings with Pac-10 opponents in Salt Lake City, beating California and Oregon in 2003, Arizona in 2005 and UCLA in 2007.

“You bet we have pointed that out to our players,” Riley says. “We’ve seen what (Mountain West teams) have done to the Pac-10 this season, and what Utah has done at home. The challenge for us is not only playing a good Utah team, it’s playing the game in Salt Lake City. We have to get ready to play our best game of the year.”

• The air gets thin in Salt Lake City, where the altitude (4,226 feet) can play a factor late in a football game. Oregon State safety Greg Laybourn knows a little about such things. He played his freshman year at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz., elevation 6,910.

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