Dec. 20, 1999

For years, we've heard football coaches talk about the importance of line play.

Whether they're the 'Hogs along the offensive line, or the Fearsome Foursome along the defensive line, they're those big, brawny, nameless guys in the trenches whose contribution carries so much weight -- no pun intended -- in the success or failure of a football team.

Coaches love to tell us "It's what's up front that counts."

They told us that again Saturday night following the University of Utah's narrow 17-16 victory over Fresno State in the eighth annual Las Vegas Bowl. And darned if it wasn't true.

On offense, Utah's line opened up huge holes all night long for senior running backs Mike Anderson and Omar Bacon.

All Anderson did was carry the ball 34 times for a career-best and Las Vegas Bowl-record 254 yards -- an average of 7.5 yards per carry -- and scored both the Utes' touchdowns.

"He's a very physical runner," Fresno State defender Terence Brown, who blocked two Utah field goal attempts in the game, said of the durable 6-foot, 232-pound Anderson. "It takes more than one person to bring him down. You have to hit him low, if you hit him high, he'll run right through you."

"Give a lot of credit to the guys up front," Anderson said. "They worked hard tonight and came off the ball. They did their assigments and they didn't give up.

"They kept pushing and kept pushing and giving all that energy, and when you see those guys give that kind of effort and working so hard for you, you want to pay them back and show them that you really appreciate it."

Bacon added 91 yards on just eight carries -- that's more than 11 yards per carry -- as Utah piled up a season-best 334 net yards on the ground.

The Utes added another 214 yards through the air to finish with 548 yards of total offense.

"Give credit to Utah," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "They won the physical battle in the trenches, so give a lot of credit to Utah and their running game. They did a fine, fine job running the football.

"Their O-line did a very good job up front against our D-line. And we missed some tackles today ... but that might've had a lot to do with the way they were running the ball." Hill, after all, knows a little bit about offensive line play himself. He was an all-conference and All-American center at UC Riverside in California, where his offensive line coach and mentor was a guy named Ron McBride.

Yep, the same Ron McBride whose Utes trampled Hill's Bulldogs at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night, although the final score doesn't indicate the way Utah dominated the game statistically.

"Those guys up front gave us a lot of room to run the football," McBride said. "Obviously, it all starts with those guys up on the front line."

While those guys up front on the offensive line can take a well-deserved bow, the Utes' defense did a tremendous job in the win as well.

Keep in mind that Fresno State's first touchdown was scored by its special teams after blocking a Utah field goal attempt, so Utah's defense actually allowed just nine points and 279 total yards to a high-powered FSU offense which had averaged 33 points and almost 400 yards per game this season.

And the Utes' special teams blocked a Bulldog field goal, plus an extra-point attempt, to prevent Fresno State from putting more points on the scoreboard.

"They're the best defensive front we've faced all season," Hill said.

Thanks to those tough guys in the trenches, the pupil and his team had to take their hats -- and helmets -- off to the teacher and his team this time.

The Utes were more physical along the line of scrimmage, and it allowed them to beat their opponents to the punch.

Indeed, if it's true that it's what's up front that counts, then Utah's offensive and defensive lines -- those nameless guys who seldom receive much publicity -- counted big-time in this battle at Las Vegas. And they definitely deserved a big pat on the back for taking the bite out of the Bulldogs.