Utes maintain focus despite lengthy prep
The Utes, however, aren't finished getting ready to face Tulsa.
"We're still preparing," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said after Thursday's practice at Burleson High School in suburban Fort Worth. "You're never really done until the ball is in the air."
Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said the Utes will utilize every remaining moment to wrap things up. They have a walk-through today at the bowl site — TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium — and various team meetings before the game.
"We've still got x-amount of hours left," Ludwig said, "We continue to prepare all the way up to kickoff."
Utah practiced 14 times since the 33-31 loss to BYU on Nov. 25. The final week featured two in Salt Lake City and a pair in Texas.
"It's been a good week of practice. The kids have done a fantastic job," defensive coordinator Gary Andersen said. "I think we are prepared and excited to finally play this game."
The Utes, Whittingham acknowledged, are on track. They'll be seeking their sixth consecutive bowl victory — a run that dates back to 1999 and includes wins the past three seasons.
Andersen said the coaching staff has dissected things in preparation for the matchup. That, coupled with the practices, has everyone eager to get on the field.
"It's time to play this game," Andersen said. "I think we're excited and ready to go."
Even so, with ample time to prepare for a bowl game, a few surprises are anticipated. It's almost a case of expect the unexpected.
"I'm sure they'll have a couple of wrinkles for us and they'll be good. We'll have to adjust," offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said. "That's where all that preparation comes in. You prepare for all the things they have done so when they throw something at you that you haven't seen, the adjustment is that much easier."
Tulsa also wrapped up its practices Thursday. The Golden Hurricane held their final session at TCU — a day after arriving by bus from Oklahoma.
"We had a great day out there. It's great to get back on the field and get going again in our new environment, so to speak," Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe said. "We got a lot of things that we needed to accomplish accomplished. Now we just need to put the finishing touches on tomorrow and get ready to play Saturday night."
Kragthorpe has a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Utes.
"No. 1, they're very explosive on the offensive side of the football. They've shown the capabilities to make an extreme amount of big plays. So for us, we're going to have to do a great job of minimizing the big plays that they can make," he said. "On defense, they're very good at pressuring the passer. They play a lot of man defense, and so we've got to find a way to beat man coverage and keep our guy on his feet long enough to deliver the ball."
Armed Forces Bowl
Utah (7-5, 5-3) vs. Tulsa (8-4, 5-3)
Saturday, 6 p.m.
Amon G. Carter Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: 700AM
Contributing: Linda Hamilton
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com
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