Utes turn stadium into Big House of Pain

Michigan’s new era opened in a painfully familiar way for the 108,000-plus fans at the Big House in Ann Arbor – with an ugly-looking loss.

Rich Rodriguez’s debut as Wolverines coach was spoiled when Utah’s Brian Johnson threw for 305 yards and a touchdown and Louie Sakoda kicked four field goals, providing enough scoring to hold on for a 25-23 win Saturday.

“We got a chance to put our names on the map,” Johnson said.

A year ago, Appalachian State stunned the Wolverines. But this was more businesslike than shocking. The Utes were just a three-point underdog and received more votes than Michigan in The Associated Press preseason poll.

“They deserved to win,” Rodriguez said.

Utah decisively outplayed the Wolverines early and took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter, but it had a punt blocked and fumbled to give Michigan a shot to come back.

Georgia Tech transfer Steven Threet, who came in to spell former walk-on Nick Sheridan at quarterback, perfectly lofted a 33-yard pass to Junior Hemingway and Sam McGuffie ran for a score on the next drive to pull Michigan within two points midway through the fourth.

Threet’s pass on the two-point conversion was high and the next two drives ended on three-and-outs. Michigan’s next drive ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down deep in its territory.

“It shouldn’t have been as close as it was,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “It’s a sign of a pretty good football team when you can not play your best and come away with a win, particularly in a venue like this.”

Whittingham is 5-3 against Bowl Championship Series schools and the latest such victory was an important first step in giving the Utes a chance to bust the BCS at the end of the season.

“Non-BCS teams should get a shot at a championship every year,” Sakoda said.

Rodriguez’s spread offense was kept in check, gaining just 36 yards on the ground and 167 through the air with inexperienced players at nearly every position.

“The running game was a huge disappointment,” Rodriguez said. “We never were able to get the defense a rest because we couldn’t move the ball effectively.”

Rodriguez had a lot of success with his scheme at West Virginia, but he doesn’t have anyone remotely resembling Pat White or Steve Slaton to make plays.

Sheridan played for two-plus quarters and was 11 of 19 for 98 yards with one touchdown.

“We were struggling offensively, so I couldn’t blame him a bit,” Sheridan said. “We knew that both of us were going to play, and it was going to be based on how Coach felt.”

Threet completed 8 of 19 passes for 69 yards and a score.