This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Laramie, Wyo. • If Pac-10-bound Utah played its final game against Wyoming, Matt Asiata gave the Cowboys something to remember.
Asiata gained a season-high 109 yards on 16 carries Saturday, when the Utes used a punishing ground game to pound Wyoming into submission.
Asiata carried 12 times for 74 yards in the first half — nine more than his previous best this season.
"That's what we expect from him," center Zane Taylor said. "He's a great guy to block for. He scrimps for every yard he can get."
Said quarterback Jordan Wynn: "He ran well today. The offensive line did a great job. The running lanes were pretty big. … It was definitely Matt's best game of the year."
Sidelined with injuries during the 2007 and 2009 seasons, Asiata's performance against Wyoming was a testimony to perseverance.
"I feel great," Asiata said. "It's a blessing to be out here, playing with my teammates … and going through this successful year that we're having right now."
Up front, Utah owned a huge size advantage over Wyoming.
The Utes' starting offensive linemen average 298 pounds, and junior college transfer John Cullen is the smallest of the group at 285.
Meanwhile, none of Wyoming's starters along the defensive line weighs more than 269 pounds.
According to Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, however, the plan was not necessarily to pound the Cowboys with a steady diet of Asiata, who weighs 230 pounds.
"We didn't go into the game with any plan to run him more than Eddie [Wide]," Whittingham said. "He just got the hot hand and was doing a nice job, so you stick with the hot hand."
Wide finished with 59 yards on 13 carries as Utah finished with 188 rushing yards.
"We don't really look at stuff like size or anything," Asiata said. "We just come out and play. We get our mind right and just dig in there and play."
In the decisive second quarter, when they turned a 7-point lead into a 23-0 advantage, the Utes' running game enabled them to hold the ball for 9:03.
"Going into it, Wyoming's rush defense hasn't been stellar," said Wynn. "So that was part of the game plan — establish the running game early — and we did that. … We ran the ball very well and just kept going with it."
Asiata was the focus of the game's first drive, when Utah went 70 yards in five plays.
He opened with runs of seven and 10 yards.
After a motion penalty, Asiata caught a pass out of the backfield for a gain of 12 before a 1-yard run moved the ball to the Wyoming 45.
On third-and-2, Asiata started a flea-flicker than ended with Wynn's touchdown pass to a completely open Luke Matthews.
"It was a good play because they bit on the run real bad," Asiata said. " … We work on that play every week and it worked today."
Said Wynn: "That formation, and the success we had running out of it, brought everybody in. It was a gutsy call by coach [Aaron] Roderick and it was wide open."
The first series was the launching pad for Asiata, whose continuing contribution will be a key for the Utes.
"Matt is a team captain — a team leader — and to see him have the success he had today is very rewarding," said Whittingham. "We hope it continues the second half of the season."
What a rush
Utah running back Matt Asiata, game by game:
Opp Att Yds Avg TDs
vs. Pitt 16 65 4.1 0
vs. UNLV 8 39 4.9 0
at New Mex. 9 32 3.6 1
vs. San Jose 11 51 4.6 1
at Iowa State 11 58 5.3 1
at Wyoming 16 109 6.8 0