Utah Utes football notebook: Whittingham has little insight on BYU vs. TCU

Saturday's game in Provo between nationally ranked TCU and BYU has drawn enough interest to bring ESPN's "College Football Gameday" show back to Utah for the first time since the Utes played host to the show in 2004.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, however, didn't offer a lot of insight when asked about the battle between other Mountain West Conference contenders.

"No take on the game other than it should be a great game," he said. "They're both playing well right now and it should be a very entertaining and competitive game."

As for the conference race, Whittingham noted that the Horned Frogs, Cougars and Utes are all playing well right now.

Utah faces both TCU (Nov. 14) and BYU (Nov. 28) on the road when the season winds down.

"It makes for some exciting games towards the end of the year," Whittingham said.

RUN EDDIE, RUN: Running back Eddie Wide is filling in nicely for the injured Matt Asiata. In three games as the primary ball carrier, the junior has netted 341 yards and averaged 6.3 per carry.

"He's doing exactly what we need him to do in the absence of Matt Asiata," Whittingham said. "He has stepped in and done a great job."

INJURY UPDATE: Starting strong safety Joe Dale, who is Utah's fourth-leading tackler with 27 stops, will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks with an unspecified knee injury from the UNLV game.

Wide receiver Shaky Smithson didn't see any action against the Rebels because of a high ankle sprain. Whittingham said he could have played in an emergency situation, however, and should be good to go against Air Force.

Quarterback Terrance Cain tweaked his ankle in Vegas, but Whittingham doesn't expect it to be an issue.

The news isn't as positive for defensive tackle Lei Talamaivao (cracked fibula) and offensive lineman Walter Watts (re-aggravated knee injury). Both are making progress, but are considered doubtful to Saturday.

DEFENDING THE FALCONS: Dale's injury will have an impact on Utah's defensive game plan against Air Force. Whittingham said he would have been a vital part of the scheme.

While Justin Taplin-Ross has moved to the top of the depth chart, it remains to be seen who will be enlisted to help slow Air Force's offense.

"The bottom line is we've got to get our 11 best defenders out there," Whittingham said. "We're in the process of getting that done and getting that sorted."

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com