|
SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Alex Smith had a happy homecoming while San Diego State wishes he had just stayed home.
Smith threw a career-high five touchdown passes and No. 10 Utah rolled to a 51-28 victory over the Aztecs in a Mountain West Conference matchup.
A standout at nearby Helix High School, Smith completed 22-of-33 passes for 298 yards and added 15 rushes for 45 yards. The junior improved his record as Utah's starter to 17-1.
"It was different, coming to the place where I've lived my whole life," Smith said. "But with this coaching staff, you're so focused on the opponent at hand, you don't get much time to let your mind wander."
"I thought (Smith) played great," Utah coach Urban Meyer said. "He's as good as there is in college football right now."
Utah (8-0, 4-0 MWC) rolled up 548 yards of offense and scored over 50 points for the second consecutive game. Ranked sixth in the Bowl Championship Series standings coming into the game, the Utes may find themselves in an even better position after both Miami and Florida State lost on Saturday.
Meyer refused to comment on anything except the task at hand.
"That was a great win," Meyer said. "When you have a chance to go 8-0, the best thing about it is that you have a chance to go 9-0. That's it; that's the only thing we're thinking about."
"(The rankings are) up to the computers and the voters," Smith said. "We just have to worry about winning the next game."
Smith hit Paris Warren with a five-yard TD pass midway through the first quarter to open the scoring and hooked up with Warren again for a 10-yard score early in the second to give the Utes a 17-7 edge.
"I've never seen an offense that powerful before - they'll probably go to the BCS," Aztecs linebacker Matt McCoy said. "They completed almost every pass."
San Diego State (2-6, 0-4) scored 21 points in the second quarter to stay within striking distance but the Utes capitalized on a blocked punt, recovering the ball at the Aztec 3. Smith hit Travis LaTendresse for a touchdown on the next play to give Utah a 34-21 lead at the half.
"Halftime momentum is such a big thing in college football," Meyer said. "To do that right before the half ... our locker room was out of their mind at halftime. Momentum is a big deal, and I think that was the checkmate of the game."
"The special teams had a couple of critical breakdowns that cost us," Aztecs coach Tom Craft said. "Those things are correctable."
Like everyone else Utah has faced this season, the Aztecs were unable to slow down the Utes' offense. Utah, which entered the game second in the nation in scoring at 42.6 points per game, has produced 40 points or more six times this season.
"We came away feeling that (Utah) is definitely one of the best teams that we have played," Craft said. "Tonight they beat us in a lot of different areas. We just have to have more discipline."
"That is a good defense," Meyer said of the Aztecs. "They have a lot of kids who will be in the NFL. We scored 51 points against the league's best defense, that's pretty good."
Kevin O'Connell completed 21-of-43 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns for the Aztecs but was intercepted twice and sacked four times. Jeff Webb had nine catches for 138 yards and two TDs, while Brandon Bornes turned in San Diego State's best rushing performance of the season with 115 yards on 17 carries.
"I saw some progress on the offensive side of the ball tonight," Craft said. "Our young players are starting to come along a bit."
The Utes, who matched the school-record start of their 1994 squad, have won 12 straight games, the second-longest streak in school history.
|
.
