PROVO, Utah—The Associated Press Top 25 poll was released today with both BYU and Utah strongly representing the Mountain West Conference.
BYU maintained their hold on the eighteenth spot while the neighbors to the north edged their way back in, landing at 24.
Each team faced their own set of challenges Saturday. For the Cougars, it was the mental task of staying focused on an inferior team and not looking ahead to a not-too-distant premiere matchup with fellow top-25 opponent Texas Christian.
"It was one of our best all-around games because we didn't have any turnovers," said quarterback Max Hall in an interview with Deseret News after the game.
By “we” Hall is mainly referring to himself.
Hall had thrown almost as many interceptions in the five games leading into Saturday against UNLV as he had touchdowns, with a TD to INT ratio of 11:10.
“It’s just too bad the game was played in Las Vegas not Provo,” said season ticket holder and BYU graduate Jared Kemp. “But I’ll trade that game for TCU. No question.”
The Cougars will face off with TCU on October 24th, in what will be one of biggest challenges of the season.
The Utes, who have had their share of adversity this season, had nothing short of a heavy dose as they traveled in to below-freezing weather in Fort Collins, Colo.
“As a fan, watching the game… any time you can see the players’ breath you’re glad you stayed put at home,” said Joe Daily, a Mill Creek resident and longtime Ute fan.
Utah trailed by 14 points before thawing enough to make some big plays, most of which came at the hands of defensive back Robert Johnson, who had three picks for the day. Two of those interceptions ignited second-half drives, each resulting in a touchdown as the Utes managed to dodge a close call in frigid Fort Collins, 24-17.
The Utes and the Cougars appear to be slowly and steadily climbing back in the national rankings on their way to what will certainly be another epic battle at the end of the regular season.
No comments:
Post a Comment