SALT LAKE CITY - The Utes overcame some home-opener jitters in a hurry en route to a 45-17 blowout of Fresno State. Trailing 14-0 less than six minutes into the game, Utah roared back to score 24 unanswered points before FSU got on the board again. But for a 55-yard Fresno field goal with 0:01 left in the first half, the Utes held Fresno State scoreless for the final 54 minutes of play.
Utah dominated by land and by air. On the ground, sophomore running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala rolled up 169 yards and junior running back Juan Johnson added 91 yards and a school record-tying four touchdowns. In the air, quarterback Mike Fouts completed 18 of 23 passes (no interceptions) for 214 yards and two scores. Rocky Henry caught five of Fouts' throws for 75 yards and one TD.
Once the defense settled in, FSU paid dearly--committing six turnovers. Harold Lusk tied the school career interception record when he grabbed his 17th career pick (fourth of the year) and returned it 19 yards. Three other Utes also pulled down interceptions. Brandon Dart had a huge game, with seven tackles, two pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Fresno State 14 3 0 0 - 17
Utah 7 17 14 7 - 45
Scoring Summary
FS--Kimbrough 6 run (Torigian kick), 13:18, 1st
FS--Roberson 53 pass from Arellanes (Torigian kick), 8:38, 1st
UU--J. Johnson 3 run (Pulsipher kick), 5:30, 1st
UU--Pulsipher 34 field goal, 14:51, 2nd
UU--J. Johnson 2 run (Pulsipher kick), 4:38, 2nd
UU--J. Johnson 4 run (Pulsipher kick), 0:32, 2nd
FS--Torigian 55 field goal, 0:01, 2nd
UU--Henry 15 pass from Fouts (Pulsipher kick), 7:01, 3rd
UU--Keehan 28 pass from Fouts (Pulsipher kick), 2:25, 3rd
UU--J. Johnson 5 run (Pulsipher kick), 6:45, 4th
Team Statistics UU FS
First Downs 27 19
Net Rushing 55-275 27-125
Passing 23-18-0 34-20-4
Passing Yards 214 216
Total Offense 489 341
Fumbles 2-1 3-2
Penalties 6-45 7-63
Interceptions 4-19 0-0
Punting 4-37.3 4-47.0
Punt Returns 3-34 0-0
Kickoff Returns 0-0 1-58
Time of Possession 36:19 23:41
Third Down Conversions 9-16 2-8
Fourth Down Conversions 2-2 0-0
Sacks By 1-9 0-0
Individual Leaders
Rushing (Att-Yds-TD)--Utah: Fuamatu-Ma'afala 29-169-0, Johnson 19-91-4. Fresno State: Gray 13-75-0, Pittman 5-27-0, Kimbrough 6-18-1.
Passing (Att-Comp-I-Yds-TD)--Utah: Fouts 23-18-0-214-2. Fresno State: Arellanes 28-16-3-189-1, Donati 6-4-1-27-0.
Receiving (Rec-Yds-TD)--Utah: Henry 5-75-1, Keehan 4-44-1, Bendinger 3-39-0. Fresno State: Roberson 10-142-1, Tucker 3-48-0.
Kickoff Returns--Utah: None. Fresno State: Ollis 1-58-0.
Punt Returns--Utah: Lusk 3-34-0. Fresno State: None.
Defensive Leaders--Utah: Tackles: Love 9, Dart 7, Boglin 6. Sacks: Kauhaahaa 1-9. Interceptions: Lusk 1-19, Richards 1-0, Boglin 1-0, Dart 1-0.
