Utah Utes football: Utes play tough in 3rd quarters

Something caught Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's eye while reviewing his team's cumulative statistics after seven games. In third quarters this season, the Utes have outscored opponents by a whopping 62-9 margin.

After joking that it was his halftime speeches that were getting the job done, Whittingham offered a couple of explanations.

"I think our assistant coaches have done a very good job with adjustments," he said, while noting that good third quarters are usually indicative of halftime adjustments. "That has been our strongest quarter by far."

Conditioning, he added, also may be a factor.

"Our guys work hard all summer long on conditioning and all during the season so we don't lose our edge," Whittingham said. "I think that might be a product of that as well."

Besides third quarters, Utah has outscored the opposition 52-34 in the first and 94-35 in the second. The Utes are an even 55-55 in fourth quarters.

A BIT OF A BREAK: The Utes didn't practice Monday. They did, however, begin film study on Colorado State after some conditioning and lifting.

"We do it periodically as the season wears on," said Whittingham, who added that it's something the program likes to do about every three weeks or so this time of year. "We're banged up a little bit. We probably have half a dozen guys that would not be ready to go."

Linebacker Kepa Gaison is out 3-4 weeks with a knee injury, Whittingham noted, and is the only player who played against Wyoming that is definitely sidelined for the CSU game.

Koa Misi, Terrell Cole, Trevor Moss, Joe Dale and Zane Taylor are among several Utes with minor injuries, mostly bumps and bruises, who are considered "day-to-day" this week. Moss, however, has a concussion and is likely not to play. Misi has a sore hip and sat out the second half of last Saturday's victory.

POLL POSITION: Utah was one of four teams to receive a first- place vote in the latest Harris Interactive Poll. The Utes topped one ballot and are 14th overall in the rankings. No. 1 Texas (73), No. 2 Alabama (37) and No. 3 Penn State (4) received the other first-place votes. The Harris Poll, which was created to replace the AP Top 25 in BCS consideration, is comprised of voters who are former players, coaches, administrators and members of the media.

"That's news to me," Whittingham said when asked about Utah's first-place vote. "I guess somebody out there loves us. We'll take it."

The identity of the voter is unknown.

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