Utah Utes football: Offense hits on all cylinders in blowout win over Rams

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham didn't really want to talk about the Bowl Championship Series rankings after Saturday's 49-16 win over Colorado State at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

He said it's a topic the 14th-ranked Utes really don't discuss — even with an 8-0 record on the eve of the first posted BCS standings of the season.

"People don't believe us, but we don't ever talk about that — ever. We just talk about the next opponent and talk about trying to improve each week," Whittingham said. "There is none of that banter in our building. We're focused. You only control what you control, and that's going out and playing your best football every Saturday."

Utah's absolute best, though, has yet to come — even after racking up 549 yards in total offense and shutting down the Rams (298 yards).

"It was our cleanest performance as an offense this season. It was our most consistent performance of the season," said Whittingham, who noted that the defensive numbers were also pretty good. "We were not as dominant on special teams as I would have liked, so there are things that we have to work on."

The Utes, who are now 4-0 in Mountain West Conference play, have plenty of time to iron things out. They have a bye week before returning to action Nov. 1 at New Mexico.

The Rams, meanwhile, fell to 3-4 and 1-2.

"We came in and played a great football team," said CSU coach Steve Fairchild. "We came out in the first half with our physical-ness and

effort, but it got out of our hands."

Utah held a 28-13 advantage at halftime.

The Utes scored twice down the stretch after having their lead cut to four points on a 25-yard field goal by CSU's Jason Smith with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. It followed Brian Johnson's seventh interception of the season and a 55-yard return by cornerback Nick Oppenneer that put the Rams in scoring position.

Oppenneer wasn't as fortunate when Utah got the ball back. The Utes set up Matt Asiata's second 3-yard touchdown run of the game when receiver David Reed jumped higher than Oppenneer for a 37-yard reception near the right sideline.

Before the half was complete, Reed teamed with Johnson on a 33-yard touchdown pass to give Utah an increased margin of comfort with 1:18 to go.

CSU did close the gap, though, on a 38-yard field goal by Smith as time expired in the first half.