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Record: 7-4, 4-3 Mountain West (T3 in league)
Coach: Ron McBride (12th season)
Key players: RB Dameon Hunter (1,396 yards, 9 TDs), QB Lance Rice (2,086 yards, 16 TDs), LB Sheldon Deckart (86 tackles, 13 for loss)
Season summary: The year began with McBride on the hot seat following a 4-7 campaign, but the Utes put those days to rest quickly, hanging tough on the road with Oregon and knocking off Indiana 28-26, the first of four consecutive victories and six in seven games. The high point was a 42-14 demolition of UNLV. But Utah fell short in each of its matchups with the Mountain West's top teams, falling 19-17 to Colorado State, 24-21 to in-state rival BYU and 38-37 to Air Force in the season finale.
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Team Page
Stats
Schedule
Roster
Record: 12-1, 7-0 Mountain West (conference champion)
Coach: Gary Crowton (first season)
Key players: QB Brandon Doman (3,618 total yards, 36 TDs), RB Luke Staley (1,433 yards, 24 TDs), WR Reno Mahe (1,022 yards, 7 TDs)
Season summary: The Cougars had a dream season -- until the last game. Crowton installed one of the country's most explosive offenses, led by Doman and Staley, as the Cougars rolled off 12 consecutive victories by scores like 70-35 (Tulane), 63-33 (Air Force) and 59-21 (San Diego State). But the defense got shoddier as the season went on, and BYU needed last-second heroics to beat Wyoming, Utah and Mississippi State before falling apart in the season finale, losing 72-45 to Hawaii. Staley, who won the Doak Walker Award, missed that game but is expected back for the bowl.
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