ESPN’s College GameDay program will broadcast live from the Air Force Academy on Saturday from 8-10 a.m.

The show, which features the crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and Desmond Howard, will set up on the academy Terrazzo and is open to the public.

TO GO: The academy’s north gate will open at 6 a.m. Park in the Cadet Field House’s East Lot. Shuttle buses will begin taking fans from the front of the Cadet Field House to the Terrazzo starting at 6:30 a.m.

The shuttle is the only option for the public to gain admittance to the event.

WHAT YOU CAN BRING: Hand-held cameras, but only ones with lenses that are four inches or smaller. Food, drinks and bags of any kind are NOT permitted. Signs will be permitted, but they must meet approval by ESPN and the academy.

The Terrazzo will be cleared immediately following the show.

Utah running back Eddie Wide scored from a yard out on the first possession of overtime, and the Utes’ defense stuffed Air Force quarterback Connor Dietz on a fourth-and-2 play from the 7-yard line on the Falcons’ possession to secure a 23-16 victory in front of an announced crowd of 45,129.

Air Force out-gained Utah, 318-267, picked up 20 first downs to the Utes’ eight and had a time of possession advantage of 17 minutes 54 seconds.

But the Utes made the big plays – especially in overtime – to defeat the Falcons for the sixth time in the teams’ last seven meetings.

Air Force, which fell to 4-4 and 3-2 in the Mountain West Conference, has lost its four games by a combined 20 points.

Check Gazette.com later this evening for more coverage.

Air Force played perhaps its most complete half of the season and leads No. 19 Utah at halftime, 10-6.

The Falcons’ outstanding defense limited Utah to 107 yards and just six first downs, while its offense came alive behind sophomore quarterback Connor Dietz. Making his third career start, Dietz rushed for 68 yards on 13 carries, while fullback Jared Tew added 27 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

Air Force holds a four-and-a-half minute advantage in time of possession.

The Utes scored their lone touchdown on their first possession, when quarterback Terrance Cain went right on an option and lost the ball as he was tackled. It bounced right to running back Eddie Wide, however, and Wide scooped it up and raced 44 yards for a score. The Utes missed the extra point.

Air Force responded by driving from its own 18-yard line to the Utah 10 in 12 plays and then got a field goal from sophomore Erik Soderberg to cut the Utes’ lead in half.

The Falcons took the lead late in the first quarter thanks in large part to a Utah miscue. Utes punt returner Luke Matthews dropped Brandon Geyer’s punt, and Air Force sophomore Jon Davis pounced on it at the Utah 11-yard line.

My main preview story for today’s edition of The Gazette deals with the Falcons’ standout defense and how Air Force has gone from being a team that leaned on a high-scoring offense to a team that leans on a stingy defense. It also looks at a description of the unit used by no less a defensive authority than TCU coach Gary Patterson.

Also in today’s paper were my 3 Things to Watch and more and this story about Air Force hockey recording its first victory of the season.

Finally, The Salt Lake Tribune looks at why Air Force has been a headache for Utah.

The Mountain West Conference’s top four teams will square off in a pair of games on Saturday, as Air Force will visit No. 19 Utah and No. 16 BYU plays host to No. 10 TCU.

Both games are on Versus, however, which currently is unavailable on DirecTV. The network can be accessed if you have DISH Network or Comcast. But if you don’t, here are some bars/restaurants in the areas around the academy that carry Versus on DISH:

Black Hawk
-Red Dolly Casino
-The Lodge Casino

Colorado Springs
-California Pizza Kitchen, 1645 Briargate
-CiCi’s Pizza, 8135 State Hwy 83
-Dean Ant Tavern, 4348 Montbello
-Fox and the Hound, 3101 New Center Point
-Halftime Sport Bar & Grill, 1840 Academy
-Mason Jar, 5905 Corporate
-Solo’s The Airplane Restaurant, 1665 Newport
-Texas Roadhouse, 3120 Powers and 595 8th
-3 Margaritas, 6385, 3956 and 310 Academy

Monument
-Texas Roadhouse, 16196 Jackson Creek
-3 Margaritas, 1749 Lake Woodmoor

Pueblo
-Bob & Pat’s Hideaway, 503 Northern
-Dad’s BBQ & Grill, 2126 Prairie

In today’s paper, I take a look back at the most significant victory of the Calhoun Era.

No, not the 2007 triumph over TCU – which arguably is the biggest and most memorable – but the win a week earlier at Utah. That was the game that folks inside the program said restored the belief in players that they could beat the big boys.

“It definitely got us believing in ourselves if nothing else,” said senior inside linebacker Justin Moore. “Because Utah, BYU and TCU were obviously the big guys in the conference, and once we were able to beat Utah in Utah, it was like, we can play with some of these teams. And that’s just built over the past two years and gotten us to the point where we are right now.”

Also, I lead off my notebook by looking at junior fullback Jared Tew, who is carrying a big load for the Falcons this season.

Finally, the Deseret Morning News looks at Utah safety Robert Johnson, who is tied for the national lead in interceptions with .83 per game (he has five on the season).  Air Force coach Troy Calhoun called Johnnson “as good a free safety as there is in college football.”

ESPN’s popular College GameDay program will broadcast live from the Air Force Academy on Nov. 7, when the Falcons play host to Army.

The appearance is kicking off a special week of programming by the network in conjunction with Veterans Day.

It will be GameDay’s third appearance at the academy (it also was there for the 2001 Army game and the 2002 Notre Dame game) and second appearance at a Mountain West Conference school in three weeks. This Saturday the show will broadcast live from Provo, Utah, site of BYU’s game against TCU.

An official announcement is expected later today.

Air Force Basketball Kids Day 2009 is set for Saturday at Clune Arena.

At the event, which will run from noon to 1:30 p.m., kids can meet and get autographs from Air Force men’s and women’s basketball players and coaches Jeff Reynolds and Ardie McInelly. They also can participate in a free clinic with players.