2007 Utah Utes football team

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2007 Utah Utes football
Poinsettia Bowl, W 35-32
Conference	MWC
2007 Record	9-4 (5-3 MWC)
Head Coach	Kyle Whittingham
Offensive Coordinator	Andy Ludwig
Offensive Scheme	Spread
Defensive Coordinator	Gary Anderson
Base Defense	4-3
Home Stadium	Rice-Eccles Stadium
Seasons « 2006 2008 »

The 2007 Utah Utes football team will represent the University of Utah in the college football season of 2007-2008. The team will continue to be coached by 3rd year head football coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes will play their homes games in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Contents 1 Preseason 1.1 Recruiting 2 Schedule 3 MWC Standings 4 Game notes 4.1 Oregon State 4.2 Air Force 4.3 UCLA 4.4 UNLV 4.5 Utah State 4.5.1 The Battle of the Brothers 4.6 Louisville 4.7 San Diego State 4.8 TCU 4.9 Colorado State 4.10 Wyoming 4.11 New Mexico 4.11.1 The Bowl 4.12 Brigham Young 4.12.1 The Holy War 5 Navy 6 The Beehive Boot 7 Team 7.1 Roster 8 Statistical Leaders 9 References

[edit] Preseason

[edit] Recruiting

2007 Recruits

Name Hometown High School Height Weight† 40‡ Commit date Griffin Robles QB Spanish Fork, UT Spanish Fork HS 6' 5" 210 4.86 06/05/2006  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 77 Corbin Louks QB Danville, CA San Ramon Valley HS 6' 1" 173 4.53 01/15/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 72 Dallin Rogers TE El Dorado, CA Union Mine HS 6' 4" 200 4.85 8/14/2006  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 71 James Aiono DE Murray, UT Murray HS 6' 4" 225 4.9 06/15/2006  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 70 Jereme Brooks WR League City, TX Clear Creek HS 5' 9" 165 4.45 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Brandon Burton CB League City, TX Clear Creek HS 6' 0" 170 4.5 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Louis Finner OG Plano, TX Plano East Sr. HS 6' 3" 295 5.39 08/09/2006  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Nai Fotu ILB Kahuku, HI Kahuku HS 5' 11" 240 NA 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Mike Honeycutt CB Highland, UT Lone Peak HS 5' 10" 165 NA 11/28/2006  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Jamel King ILB Murrieta, CA Vista Murrieta HS 6' 3" 230 4.6 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Maurice Neal OLB San Leandro, CA San Leandro HS 6' 2" 200 4.5 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Thor Salanoa CB Honolulu, HI Radford HS 6' 2" 170 4.66 01/24/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Derrick Shelby DE Missouri City, TX Hightower HS 6' 3" 200 4.6 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Lei Talamaivao DT Rancho Cucamongo, CA Rancho Cucamongo HS 6' 3" 270 4.7 01/15/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Justin Taplin-Ross S Murrieta, CA Vista Murrieta HS 6' 3" 185 4.6 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Westlee Tonga TE Spring, TX 6' 4" 220 4.6 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Reggie Topps CB Monterey, CA North Monterey County HS 5' 10" 165 4.4 02/07/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Eddie Wide RB Las Vegas, NV Cimarron-Memorial HS 5' 10" 170 4.365 01/14/2007  Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN: 40 Overall Recruiting Rankings: † Weight is in pounds ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, an average of the two was taken. Sources: Utah Commit List 2007. Rivals.com. Scout.com Football Recruiting: Utah. Scout.com. 2007 Player Commitments - Utah. ESPN.com. Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings. Scout.com. 2007 Team Ranking. Rivals.com.

[edit] Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result
August 30*	7:00 pm	at Oregon State		Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR	FSN	L 24-7
September 8	4:00 pm	Air Force		Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT	mtn.	L 20-12
September 15*	3:00 pm	#11 UCLA		Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT	Versus	W 44-6
September 22	7:00 pm	at UNLV		Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV	mtn.	L 27-0
September 29*	1:00 pm	Utah State		Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT	mtn.	W 34-17
October 5*	8:00 pm	at Louisville		Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	ESPN	W 44-35
October 13	1:00 pm	San Diego State		Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT		W 23-7
October 18	7:00 pm	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX	mtn.	W 27-20
October 27	3:30 pm	at Colorado State		Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium • Fort Collins, CO	mtn.	W 27-3
November 10	1:30 pm	Wyoming		Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT	CSTV	W 50-0
November 17	3:30 pm	New Mexico		Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT	mtn.	W 28-10
November 24	12:00 pm	at #23 BYU		Lavell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	CSTV/mtn.	L 17-10
December 20*	9:00 pm	vs. Navy		Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA	ESPN	W 35-32
*Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches. All times are in Mountain Time Zone.

[edit] MWC Standings

Team	Conference				Overall
	Wins	Losses	PF	PA	Wins	Losses	PF	PA
BYU	8	0	148	82	10	2	274	178
Air Force	6	2	173	141	9	3	298	209
Utah	5	3	139	77	9	4	341	202
New Mexico	5	3	124	142	8	4	261	213
San Diego State	3	2	113	117	4	5	218	265
TCU	2	4	141	110	5	5	240	187
Wyoming	2	4	92	162	5	5	195	240
UNLV	1	5	132	170	2	8	202	282
Colorado State	1	6	143	204	1	9	226	307

[edit] Game notes

[edit] Oregon State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	0	7	0	0	7
Beavers	0	7	10	7	24

The Utes opened the season visiting the Oregon State Beavers of the Pacific Ten Conference on a Thursday night game, the first day of the college football season. After ending the first half tied at seven, and having lost starters Matt Assiata and Brian Johnson, the Beavers were able to shut down the Utah offense and score an unanswered 17 points behind running back Yvenson Bernard, who ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns on the night.^[1]

Oregon State Leads Series: 9 - 4 - 1^[2]

[edit] Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	0	7	10	20
Utes	3	0	3	6	12

Air Force Leads Series: 14 - 10 - 0^[2]

[edit] UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bruins	3	3	0	0	6
Utes	7	7	13	17	44

Utah gets first ever win against UCLA in dominating fashion. Fifth Year senior Tommy Grady threw for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns in Utah's huge 44-6 upset of #11 UCLA.

UCLA Leads Series: 8 - 1^[2]

[edit] UNLV

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	0	0	0	0	0
Rebels	3	10	0	14	27

Utah Leads Series: 11 - 2 - 0^[2]

[edit] Utah State

[edit] The Battle of the Brothers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	3	0	8	18
Utes	7	17	7	3	34

Utah Leads Series: 75 - 28 - 4^[2]

[edit] Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	14	13	7	10	44
Cardinals	0	7	14	14	35

Utah Leads Series: 3 - 0 - 0^[2]

[edit] San Diego State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aztecs	0	7	0	0	7
Utes	3	6	14	0	23

Utah Leads Series: 14 - 12 - 1^[2]

[edit] TCU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	10	14	0	3	27
Horned Frogs	0	17	0	3	20

Utah Leads Series: 5 - 1 - 0^[2]

[edit] Colorado State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	14	6		7	27
Rams	3	0	0	0	3

Utah Leads Series: 40 - 16 - 1^[2]

[edit] Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0
Utes	10	30	3	7	50

Utah Leads Series: 47 - 32 - 1^[2]

[edit] New Mexico

[edit] The Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lobos	0	0	10	0	10
Utes	0	14	7	7	28

Utah Leads Series: 30 - 17 - 2^[2]

[edit] Brigham Young

[edit] The Holy War

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utes	0	0	3	7	10
Cougars	0	3	3	11	17

BYU went to Rice-Eccles Stadium having already won the Conference Championship outright and ranked #21 nationally. Led by seniors QB John Beck. RB Curtis Brown, TE Jonny Harline and LB Cameron Jensen the Cougars were the heavy favorite to win the 2006 The Holy War. BYU started out quick by scoring 14 points in the 1st Quarter. The Utes then went on to score 24 un-answered points, holding their lead until Beck connected with Harline on a 4 yard TD pass (PAT failed) and then with less than 10 minutes remaining Beck hit Daniel Coats for another touchdown, making the score 27-24. With 1:19 remaining, Brett Ratliff hit Brent Casteel on an inside screen pass play for a touchdown, giving the Utes a 31-27 advantage. The Cougars then went 75 yards in 10 plays to score the winning touchdown. The final play being a pass from Beck to Harline in the end zone with no time remaining. Thus ending Utah's 4 game winning streak in theThe Holy War. Final score 33-31.^[3]

BYU returns 11 starters (6 Offense, 5 Defense)^[4] and are expected to compete for 2nd place in the Conference^[5]

Utah Leads Series: 52 - 32 - 4^[2]

[edit] Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Utah	0	7	14	14	35
Navy	0	10	7	15	32

Utah started this game looking for their 7th straight bowl win since 1999. They did just that led by Quarterback Brian Johnson who threw and ran for a touchdown to lead the Utes to a 35-32 win. He finished the day going 20-25 for 226 yards and the two touchdowns. Running Back Darrell Mack ran for 76 yards on 22 carries and 2 touchdowns. The Midshipmen were led by Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada who went 7-14 for 122 yards, 2 touchdowns and just 1 interception. Fullback Eric Kettani carried the ball 12 times for 125 yards and 1 touchdown. Utah struck first on a 5 yard Mack run in the 2nd quarter. The Midshipmen then proceeded to score 17 unanswered points with 11:52 to play in the 3rd quarter. The Utes then struck back with three unanswered touchdowns including Brian Johnson's 19 yard scramble with 12:47 to go in the 4th quarter to make it 28-17 in favor of the Utes. Kaheaku-Enhada then hooked up with Shun White for a 10 yard pass that made it 28-25. Mack then had a 1 yard run to make it 35-25 with 1:27 to play. Kaheaku-Enhada then found Zerbin Singleton with 00:57 to play to make it 35-32. Navy then converted the onside kick. Utah safety Joe Dale then intercepted Kaheaku-Enhada to seal the Ute win. ^[6]

[edit] The Beehive Boot

"The Beehive Boot, which signifies instate football supremacy, was conceived in 1971. The authentic pioneer boot is awarded annually to the Utah school with the best record against its instate NCAA Division I foes. The schools who compete for the boot are Utah, Brigham Young and Utah State. In its 32-year history, the Beehive Boot has been awarded to Utah 10 times (1978, 1988, 1993, '94, '95, '99, 2002, 03, 04, and 05)."^[7]

2007 Battle for the Beehive Boot
Date	Home	Road	Site	Result
September 29, 2007	Utah	Utah State	Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah	W 34-18
November 24, 2007	Brigham Young	Utah	Lavell Edwards Stadium • Provo, Utah	L 17-10
Records
Utah	Utah State	BYU	Notes
0-0	0-0	0-0	BYU and Utah State will not compete against each other this year

[edit] Team

[edit] Roster

Wide Receiver  2 Marquis Wilson - Junior  3 John Peel - Junior  5 Brent Casteel - Junior 11 David Cravens - Freshman 12 Sam Ewalefo - Freshman 16 Brian Hernandez - Senior 19 Ben Macey - Freshman 21 Mychal Robinson - Freshman 26 Derrek Richards - Senior 81 Bradon Godfrey - Junior 82 A.J. Reilly - Freshman 85 Jereme Brooks - Freshman 86 Mike Hicken - Freshman 87 Collin Robinson - Freshman 88 Freddie Brown - Junior Tight End 45 Colt Sampson - Junior 48 Matt Sims - Senior 80 Chris Joppru - Sophomore 83 Ben Hendy - Junior 84 Peter Tuitupou - Freshman 84 Brad Clifford - Freshman 89 Dallin Rogers - Freshman Offensive Line 57 Tyler Williams - Junior 62 Michael Steckling - Freshman 63 Kyle Gunther - Senior 64 Mike Lehr - Freshman 65 Dustin Hensel - Junior 66 Robert Conley - Junior 68 Zane Beadles - Sophomore 69 Jason Boone - Senior 70 Jordan Nelson - Freshman 71 Walter Watts - Freshman 72 Caleb Schlauderaff - Freshman 73 Daniel Bukarau - Freshman 74 Corey Seiuli - Junior 76 David Astle - Freshman 77 Zane Taylor - Freshman 78 Louie Finner - Freshman Quarterback  3 Brian Johnson - Junior  8 Chad Mannis - Sophomore 12 Corbin Louks - Freshman 15 Tommy Grady - Senior 19 Kyle Bowen - Freshman Running Back  4 Matt Asiata - Junior  6 Darrell Mack - Junior  9 Darryl Poston - Senior 20 Jake Cook - Freshman 21 Trevor Moss - Sophomore 24 Ray Stowers - Junior 36 Eddie Wide - Freshman 40 Zac Eldridge - Freshman Defensive Line 11 Paul Kruger - Freshman 13 Alex Puccinelli - Senior 41 Koa Misi - Sophomore 42 Nai Fotu - Freshman 43 Lei Talamaivao - Freshman 49 Ryan Taylor - Senior 56 Greg Newman - Junior 58 Matt Black - Freshman 90 Kerrick Shelby - Freshman 91 Casey Sutera - Senior 92 Kenape Eliapo - Sophomore 93 Martail Burnett - Senior 94 Gabe Long - Senior 95 Neli A'asa - Freshman 96 Nano Tonga - Junior 97 Isley Filiaga - Sophomore 98 Aaron Tonga - Junior 99 Zeke Tuinei-Wily - Sophomore Defensive Back  1 Brice McCain - Junior  2 Lisiate Leota - Junior  4 Sean Smith - Sophomore  6 Nick Morrell - Freshman  7 RJ Rice - Junior  8 Elijah Wesson - Sophomore 12 Joe Dale - Sophomore 15 Nick Liefting - Freshman 17 Robert Johnson - Sophomore 18 Josh Broughton - Junior 21 Damilyn Tanner - Junior 23 Mookie Murphey - Freshman 24 Chaz Walker - Freshman 25 RJ Stanford - Sophomore 27 Brandon Burton - Freshman 28 Steve Tate - Senior 29 Justin Jones - Sophomore 31 Deshawn Richard - Junior 33 Chris Jones - Freshman 34 Tysen Clements - Freshman 36 Tyler Cahoon - Freshman Linebacker" 10 Stevenson Sylvester - Sophomore 14 Kyle Brady - Senior 19 Matt Martinez - Freshman 20 Mike Wright - Sophomore 22 Malakai Mokofisi - Senior 37 Loma Olevao - Senior 38 Toby Titus - Freshman 44 Joe Jiannoni - Senior 46 Justin Taplin-Ross - Freshman 47 Kevin Freestone - Sophomore 48 Troy Bunting - Sophomore 50 Nate Empey - Sophomore 51 Jamel King - Freshman 52 Vilisoni Kotobalavu - Freshman� 53 Mo Neal - Freshman 54 Christian Cox - Sophomore 55 Tatum Drecksel - Sophomore 59 Kepa Gaison - Sophomore Long snapper 39 Clint Mower - Junior 60 Scott Coleman - Junior Kicker / Punter 30 Ben Vroman - Junior 35 Louie Sakoda - Junior 59 Mike Langston - Freshman

[edit] Statistical Leaders

Passing
Player	COMP	ATT	Pct.	YDS	TD	INT	QB Rating
Brian Johnson	111	162	68.5	1160	8	5	138.8
Tommy Grady	57	114	53.6	662	4	3	105.1

Rushing
Player	ATT	YDS	YPC	TD
Darrell Mack	254	1126	5.0	6
Ray Stowers	35	215	6.1	1
Corbin Louks	17	90	5.3	1

Receiving
Player	REC	YDS	YPC	TD
Derrick Richards	37	413	11.2	1
Brandon Godfrey	33	337	10.2	0
Brian Hernandez	28	302	10.8	0

Tackles
Player	Solo	Asst	Total
			'
			'
			'

[edit] References

v • d • e Mountain West Conference (MWC) Air Force (Falcons) • BYU (Cougars) • Colorado State (Rams) • New Mexico (Lobos) • San Diego State (Aztecs) • TCU (Horned Frogs & Lady Frogs) • UNLV (Rebels) • Utah (Utes) • Wyoming (Cowboys & Cowgirls) MountainWest Sports Network (mtn.)