This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Albuquerque, N.M. • Even with a makeshift offensive line, the Utah Utes obviously expected to pound the ball at New Mexico's defense with running backs Eddie Wide and Matt Asiata.
Terrance Cain's statistics pretty much tell the story of how well the running game worked.
Cain passed for 248 yards in three quarters Saturday night, accounting for a huge chunk of the Utes' 318 total yards to that point of a 56-14 win over New Mexico at University Stadium.
Zane Taylor, Utah's third-year starting center, missed the game with a knee injury. That resulted in some shuffling for the line, which protected Cain well — allowing no sacks, for the third week in a row — but failed to open holes consistently.
The Utes ran the ball on 11 of their 17 plays in the first quarter, before opening up the offense in Cain's favor in the second and third quarters and then closing out the game on the ground.
Coach Kyle Whittingham liked the final tally of 180 rushing yards, but that overlooked the regulars' meager production. Asiata and Wide combined for only 57 yards on 17 carries and each fumbled once, although teammate Brad Clifford recovered Asiata's bobble near the Lobos' goal line in the first quarter. Asiata caught five passes for 54 yards and sparked a two-minute drive that pushed Utah's lead to 21-0 at halftime, but he and Wide did not get into much of a running rhythm.
Third-string quarterback Griff Robles and third-string running back Tauni Vakapuna accounted for 71 of Utah's rushing yards on consecutive plays early in the fourth quarter. Vakapuna also lost a fumble, though.
By the numbers
U.'s running statistics, by position:
Pos. Att. Yds. TD
RBs 26 106 2
QBs 7 76 1
WRs 1 1 0