Utah @ San Diego State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 21, 2009 ) San Diego State 7, Utah 38

With their dreams of another undefeated season and a BCS Bowl berth down the drain, No. 24 Utah looks as though it has taken its collective foot off the gas.

The Utes will be looking to recover from back-to-back loses when they visit San Diego State on Saturday.

Utah (8-2, 5-1 MWC) was up to No. 5 in the BCS standings and had an outside shot at the National Championship game and at the least an at-large BCS Bowl berth before hosting TCU on November 6 and getting crushed, 47-7. Their championship hopes gone, the Utes limped into South Bend and got blasted again, 28-3, by a Notre Dame team that was starting a second-string quarterback and had no business beating a top-ranked opponent.

The most disappointing aspect of the last two games has been the play of the offense, which entered the TCU game averaging 45.3 points. The Utes managed just 199 yards against the Horned Frogs and were held to 265 by the Fighting Irish. The Utes had not gone without a touchdown before last weekend since September 2007, which is also the last time they dropped back-to-back games.

Even the special teams have suffered recently, as Utah had a punt blocked and fumbled away a kickoff return at Notre Dame.

The Utes’ only score in South Bend came on their first possession when Joe Phillips kicked a 46-yard field goal after Utah had taken control at their own 49-yard line. Quarterback Jordan Wynn went 24-of-39 passing for 194 yards and an interception and had the wind knocked out of him on a particularly hard hit in the fourth quarter.

Heading into what will become the Pac-12 next season, the Utes could have used a strong finish and a BCS berth to shake off critics of their program but will now have to scramble to be invited to any prominent Bowl.

The Aztecs (7-3, 4-2 MWC) are no pushovers, having just given TCU all it could handle in a 40-35 loss in Texas. They led that game 14-0 in the first quarter and rallied from three scores down in the fourth but came up just short, failing to get the defensive stop they needed in the final five minutes to give Ryan Lindley and the offense a chance.

It was not the first time this season that San Diego State has given a ranked opponent a scare, having come within a field goal of beating Missouri, 27-24, back in September. That time the defense again let the team down, allowing the Tigers to complete a 68-yard scoring play with under two minutes left.

They insist that moral victories are not something in which the team is taking pride, and a win over Utah would give the Aztecs a shot at second place behind TCU in the Mountain West.

The Utes have won the last four meetings between the schools, including a 38-7 triumph at home last season.