Jeffrey Allred, Deseret Morning News

The Utah Football team moved up 3 spots from 20 to 17 in both the AP and USA Today/Coaches poll with their 7 point victory over the previously undefeated Air Force Falcons.  This is the third straight week that the Utes have been ranked this year.

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David Zalubowski, Associated Press

The Utes came out firing on all cylinders as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and if it wasn't for a great defensive play by Air Force, they would have had a 16-0 advantage.  With that interception, all the momentum shifted to Air Force and they jumped ahead of the Utes 16-9 by the end of the first half.

After being inspired by Kyle Whittingham at halftime, the Utes came out and took the opening drive in for a touchdown to even things up at 16-16.  Utah and Air Force traded touchdowns in the 4th quarter before the Utes took the lead for good when Darrel Mack scored on a 9 yard rushing TD with 58 seconds left in the game.  The Utah defense sealed the victory when Joe Dale intercepted a pass from Air Force's Shea Smith.

David Zalubowski, Associated Press

The Ute defense dominated Air Force's rushing attack by holding them to 53 total yards on the ground.  Utah's defensive front seven were awesome and played assignment sound defense.  Paul Kruger had another awesome game and showed that he will continue to be one of the defensive leaders on this team.  Utah's offense was also able to move the length of the field all night by scoring touchdown's on drives of 81, 69, 67 and 80.  The only problem with this was that means we lost the field position battle.  We were lucky that the Utes dominated in all the other aspects of the game.

The Utes have plenty to work on in the upcoming weeks.  The Utes face Weber State this week, which will allow them work on putting together a complete game.  We have show signs of brilliance this season so far, but we've also showed signs of real struggle.  We will need to improve on this if we are to make our push for a second BCS bid.

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The 20th ranked Utah Utes travel to Colorado Springs this Saturday to take on Troy Calhoun's Air Force Falcons. The game is scheduled to kick at 2:00 PM mountain time. Going into this game, both teams carry a 3-0 record.

The Utes haven't faired well against the Falcons over the history of the matchup. Air Force is the only team in the Mountain West Conference to have a winning record against the Utes. Perhaps the Utes can avenge a disappointing loss to the Falcons on the second week of the season, last year. The Falcons won that game in Rice-Eccles Stadium 20-12 and held off a drive by Utah in which the Falcons kept the Utes out of the endzone on four straight downs late in the game.

One thing to watch this week is whether the Utes have found anyone that can catch a punt. From the sounds of what was going on at Ute practice, it was narrowed down to Casteel, Cole, or Reed. My vote is for David Reed. He returned punts in JC and has lightning speed. Guess we'll see on Saturday.

Another thing to watch is how well the Ute defense can stop the running attack of the Falcons. Traditionally, the Falcons run a triple option attack and run the ball probably 90-95% of the snaps on offense. So far this year the Ute's defense has been stifling when defending the run. However the D-tackles have been a bit injury plagued and Air Force likes to use that full back through the A-gaps. Will the D-line be able to clog the middle and will the linebacking corps for the Utes string out the swing pitches? Time will tell.

Finally, will the weather be a factor? Utah's offense has been very balanced this year. And with the bruising duo of Darrel Mack and Matt Asiata in the backfield, if the weather is sloppy, the Utes should be able to grind it out on the ground behind the experienced front five the the O-line. This one should be a battle.

Go Utes.

The game can be seen at 2PM MT on Versus and heard on KALL 700 Sports .

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Here we go again.  Another battle of the brothers...or should I say...beating up on my little brother?  The Utes head up to Logan, Utah on Saturday to take on the Aggies of Utah State.  Utah State has been a horrible team the past decade and this year they continue the trend.

Two years ago the Utes went up to Logan and pummeled the Aggies 48-0.  Will that happen again this year?  We'll have to see, but I do think the Aggies will maybe score a touchdown this year.

This is a great opportunity for the Utes to work on meshing as a team and building more team unity.  They need to show that they can come out and dominate an entire game from the start.  They have allowed both Michigan and UNLV to score on their opening drives this year, so the defense needs to come out fired up and put that mini-streak to an end.

The Utes should be able to rest some players this week and get the inexperienced players to good playing time.  Utah should control every aspect of this game and win easily.  The Utes are favored by 25, but I expect them to cover that.

Go Utes and we'll see you in Logan!!

The game can be seen at 6 PM on KJZZ or heard on KALL 700.

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Jeffrey D Allred, Deseret Morning News

The Utes came out flat and it looked like it was going to be a repeat of last year after UNLV took their opening drive the length of the field for a touchdown.  Fred Summers continued right where he left off and ran all over the Ute defense.  Utah's offense was pretty flat most of the first half, but they were able to keep up with UNLV and keep the game tied 14-14 going in at half.

The second half was completely different!  The Utes defense stiffened up and shut down the UNLV offense and Fred Summers.  Utah's offense took control of the game by scoring a touchdown on their first 4 possessions of the second half.  They dominated UNLV all over the field in the second half and played with a chip on their shoulder.  They were out to prove that they can be a force to reckon with this year as they beat UNLV 42-21.

Jeffrey D Allred, Deseret Morning News

The only question I still have is can they put it together for a full game.  They played fantastic against Michigan in the first half and gave the same performance in the second half against UNLV.  How will the rest of the season play out?  The 2004 attitude of "You ain't seen nothing yet" or will they have a let down like years past.  Only time will tell, but I want to see the killer instinct of this team present itself.

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Utah comes into this game coming off a big victory over the Michigan Wolverines at the "Big House".  Utah is also looking to get revenge from last year's embarrassment at UNLV.  The Utes lost 27-0 last year at UNLV.  They had a major let down for that game after destroying #11 UCLA the week prior.   Another let down like that will ruin any chance for the Utes to even be considered for a BCS bowl game.

UNLV has a strong receiving corp and a strong tailback in Frank Summers.  Summers destroyed the Utes last year and comments were made after the game that the Ute defenders were afraid to tackle him.  I can guarantee that those thoughts are still on the minds of the Utah defense and they'll be out to prove that they are not afraid of anyone on this UNLV team.

Utah had a great offensive performance in the first half last week against Michigan.  The second half was an offensive let down and I see them putting together of a full offensive game this week.  The Utes come in ranked #22 in the country and I anticipate them doing what they can to prove they deserve that ranking.

This game should be a blowout!  This is Utah's home opener this year and they want revenge for yesterday's embarrassment.

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