by Phil Parker
Daily Lobo
UNM travels to Salt Lake City this weekend to battle the Mountain West Conference leading Utah Utes.
Both teams are going into the game on a roll. The Lobos (4-3, 1-1) have won three in a row, while No. 23 Utah (6-1, 3-0) hasn't lost in its last five contests.
The game pits the MWC's leading rusher, Utah running back Brandon Warfield, against one of the stingiest run defenses in the country.
Warfield has carved up opponents for an average of 118 yards per game this season.
UNM's defense, however, is the best in the conference, allowing only 16.3 points per game, and giving up just 74-rushing yards each time out. The team's Rushing defense is good enough to rank sixth in the nation.
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Lobo head coach Rocky Long said Tuesday at the media luncheon that planning against Utah's offense is one of the tougher tasks he's faced this year.
"They want to run the ball first and then throw it second," he said. "They spread all the receivers out, so if you go out and cover them, they hand it to the running back. Then they have a blocker on a blocker with a running back that's really good and doesn't have to break a tackle to get into the secondary."
For Long and his staff the decision is a tough one. If UNM puts too much pressure on Warfield, the Utah receivers will be left wide open and the team's quarterback is the most efficient in the conference.
Sophomore Alex Smith is completing 70 percent of his attempts this year, and hasn't thrown an interception.
"Their offense is more of a finesse offense," Long said. "They're running the ball very well, but it's not a power running game, it's all finesse."
Junior nose tackle Kyle Coulter has similar observations.
"Utah used to be a team you could just go at as a physical team," he said. "Now they have changed it up and spread the field."
Despite the Utes' tricky offense, the Lobos have reason to be optimistic about their chances. With 14 turnovers forced in the last three games, the UNM defense is playing its best football of the season.
Last week, at San Diego State, UNM defenders had five interceptions and a recovered fumble.
Cornerback Gabriel Fulbright picked off three of the Ute's passes and matched a MWC record, en route to being named MWC Defensive Player of the Week. Fulbright said for Saturday's game against an unfamiliar Utah offense, preparation will be key.
"It is pretty difficult because this is like coming into a game where you don't know about what they are running," he said. "It takes so much more preparation to get ready and more film work than usual."
A win this weekend would continue UNM's streak and drop an important division rival out of the national rankings.
The Lobos have five conference games remaining this season, and in each of the last two years they have gone 4-1 over their last five. If UNM beats Utah this weekend, the Utes will drop into a first-place tie with Air Force, which has a bye this week. The win would move the Lobos up to a tie for second with Colorado State, which also has a bye this weekend.
Kickoff against the Utes will be at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on KRQE Channel 13.
