BYU’s Morris will be ready for the Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1999 | 10:31 a.m.

Coach LaVell Edwards says he isn't sure if Butkus Award candidate Rob Morris will be able to play for BYU in Saturday night's Mountain West Conference game at New Mexico.

That could be good news for the Lobos (2-3, 1-0), who find themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the MWC this week with the Cougars (4-1, 1-0) and Utah (4-1, 1-0), thanks to their stunning 24-21 upset of San Diego State last weekend.

But Edwards believes that his star middle linebacker, who has missed three games with a pulled abdominal muscle, will be back by next week for sure.

And that could be bad news for UNLV, which hosts BYU at Sam Boyd Stadium on Oct. 23.

"He's getting better," Edwards said of Morris during Tuesday's weekly MWC coaches' conference call. "He was a lot better (Monday) night than he was a week ago. I think there's a good chance he'll be ready (for New Mexico). If not, certainly next week."

* BAD BLOOD: Shortly after Air Force hung on for its 19-14 win over Navy last Saturday, Falcons' coach Fisher DeBerry and Navy head coach Charlie Weatherbie got into a heated exchange. Weatherbie eventually walked away.

"That was just an incident between me and him from a long time ago," DeBerry told a reporter.

* BIG-GAME TIME: The best game in the Mountain West Conference this week features Air Force (4-1, 1-1) hosting Utah (4-1, 1-0) in Colorado Springs on Saturday night at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.

"I think it will be a classic matchup," said Edwards, who will be a very interested neutral observer. "Utah is very solid on defense and Air Force is Air Force. I think it will be a very good game."

A game the Falcons, who already have one conference loss, can't afford to lose.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep very well this week," DeBerry said. "I think it will be a great game. It always is."

Both teams should have their starting quarterbacks back for the contest.

Utah starter Darnell Arceneaux, who injured his ankle in a loss at Boise State two weeks ago and left last week's 42-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe after re-injuring it, is expected to play, according to Utes' coach Ron McBride.

Perhaps even more important is the fact that Utah running back Mike Anderson, who is second in the MWC in rushing (96.8 yards per game) and sat out last week's game with a foot sprain, will also play.

"He's fine," McBride said. "He could have played the last game but we wanted to save him for the big games coming up."

Meanwhile, DeBerry said Cale Bonds, who suffered a high ankle sprain on Oct. 2 at San Diego State, also should be ready to go.

"Cale is very probable for the game," DeBerry said. "He's made a lot of progress. But he still has to be 100 percent to play."

* TRIPLE SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE FOOT? Wyoming coach Dana Dimel said he will take a more active role in his team's offensive game plan in the wake of the Cowboys' 35-32 loss to UNLV.

The much vaunted Triple Shoot Offense has been a disaster for the Cowboys (3-2, 1-1) so far, and the cold and windy winter weather has yet to hit Laramie.

In the 'Pokes first five games, Wyoming has fumbled 18 times (losing seven), thrown eight interceptions and given up 25 quarterback sacks.

"I've tried to stay in the background, but it's time for me to get more involved in what we are doing," Dimel said.

* AZTEC RUINS: San Diego State (2-4, 0-2), which appeared in the Las Vegas Bowl last year and was considered a legitimate contender for the Mountain West title this season, is already out of the race after opening MWC play with back-to-back home losses to Air Force and New Mexico.

Still, Aztec players say they won't be throwing in the towel.

"We're going to have to finish strong," wide receiver Damon Gourdine said. "With the guys we have, we're not going to pout."

Added safety Rico Curtis: "We've got five more games. People might say we have nothing to play for, but I've got everything to play for. We're not out of it. Anything can happen in this league. We've just got to keep going. It hurts. We'll see how the guys react. We'll get back to work."

San Diego State travels to Colorado State (3-2, 0-1) on Saturday.