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Aggies Face 18th-Ranked Ducks Saturday
Sept. 1, 2008 LOGAN, Utah - Complete USU FB Notes at Oregon in PDF Format
UTAH STATE at #18 OREGON Saturday, Sept. 6, 1:30 p.m. (MT) Autzen Stadium (54,000) - Eugene, Ore.
QUICKLY -- Utah State (0-1, 0-0 WAC) continues its season-opening two game road swing by heading to Eugene, Ore., to tangle with No. 18 Oregon (1-0, 1-0 PAC-10)... The battle between the Aggies and the Ducks starts at 1:30 p.m. (MT) at UO's Autzen Stadium (54,000)... Saturday's game will not be broadcast on local television, but fans can follow the game on the radio or through live stats on the Internet. ON THE ROAD AGAIN -- Dating back to last season, Utah State is in a stretch of road games that would make Willie Nelson proud, as Saturday will be the Aggies' fourth game in a row on the road, after playing the final two games of the 2007 season away from home and the first two games of this year... Saturday will also be USU's fifth road games in its last six contests. BEAVER STATE BOUND -- Utah State is making its first trip to the state of Oregon since playing at Oregon State in 1998... Saturday will be the Aggies' first trip to Eugene since 1990, when USU lost to Oregon, 52-7. ON THE AIR -- All Utah State football games are carried on KVNU 610 AM and KLZX 95.9 FM in Logan; 1230 AM in Salt Lake City; on KLZX 105.3 FM in Montpelier, Idaho, and at www.UtahStateAggies.com with Al Lewis calling the play-by-play and Craig Hislop providing analysis this week. GAMETRACKER - Fans can Saturday's game through Live Stats... Fans can follow all Aggie home games through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game. USU VS. THE TOP 25 -- Utah State will be playing its 46th game all-time against a ranked team (Oregon is No. 18 in this week's AP poll) and is just 1-44 against teams in the AP poll... Included in that stretch is a 38-21 loss in 2001 to Oregon, who was ranked No. 6 at the time... The Aggies' lone win against a ranked team was a 20-19 upset of 25th-ranked Fresno State in 1991... Since then, USU has lost 19 straight games against ranked team... Saturday marks the seventh time in the Brent Guy era that USU has faced a ranked team - here is a look at those games: Sept. 18, 2004 - L 6-48 #15 Utah SERIES HISTORY -- Saturday will be the fourth meeting between Utah State and Oregon, with the Ducks leading the series, 3-0... USU is 0-2 at Eugene, losing 27-9 in 1976 and 52-7 in 1990... The Aggies hosted the sixth-ranked Ducks in 2001, losing, 38-21. USU IN THE NINTH MONTH -- Utah State will be trying to snap a nine-game September losing streak... The Aggies lost all four of their games in September last season and all five games in September in 2006, with USU's last win in the month coming on Sept. 24, 2005 against UNLV... Saturday is USU's first game on Sept. 6 since 2003, when the Aggies lost at #23 Nebraska, 31-7... Overall the Aggies are 1-3 on Sept. 6 since 1957, including 0-3 on Sept. 6 on the road as well as 0-2 vs. ranked teams on Sept. 6... Here's a look at how USU has fared on Sept. 6: 1980 - L 10-17 at Kentucky 1997 - W 41-7 vs Idaho State 1986 - L 0-52 at #18 BYU 2003 - L 7-31 at #23 NebraskaCOACHES SHOW ON THE ROAD -- For the fourth straight year the Brent Guy radio show on Thursday nights (6:05-6:45 p.m. on 610 AM KVNU), will be held at different locations on campus. The show gives USU students an opportunity to ask questions and interact with Coach Guy and players. Food will be available at each show at a reduced rate from University Food Services. The final show was last week as there will not be a show this week due to Thanksgiving. Coaches Show Schedule: Sept. 4 (Quad) / Sept. 11 (MarketPlace) UP NEXT -- Utah State hosts in-state rival Utah in the Aggies' home-opener on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. (MT). OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN -- Each week Utah State will select game captains. Those selected for the Oregon game will be announced later this week. ROAD WOE-IORS -- Life on the road has been tough for the Aggies, who are 3-19 under head coach Brent Guy... The win at New Mexico State on Nov. 17, 2007 snapped a 13-game road losing skid, as two of USU's three road wins are at NMSU, with the 35-17 victory last year plus winning on the road in the 2005 season finale at New Mexico State, 24-21, along with the 24-19 win at Idaho on Nov. 24 of last year. SWEET HOME? -- Utah State has just one home win in its last 12 home games, currently on a seven-game home losing skein... The Aggies are 3-12 at home under head coach Brent Guy. USU-OREGON NOTE-ABLE -- Utah State is meeting Oregon for the first time since 2001 and playing at Eugene for the first time since 1990... USU has one player from the state of Oregon: senior QB Sean Setzer, a Portland, Ore. native, who went to Wilson HS... The Ducks match that with one player from the state of Utah: junior DE Will Tukuafo, a native of Salt Lake City (East HS/Scottsdale CC). AGGIE-DUCK TIES -- Utah State's team physician Dr. Trek Lyons is an Oregon native... Aggie cornerbacks/punt return coach John Rushing played at Washington State from 1991-94, going 1-3 vs. Oregon during his time with the Cougars... USU wide receivers coach Greg Stevens earned team MVP honors at Eastern Oregon in 1991 and is a 1992 graduate of EOU... USU assistant AD/business operations Jeff Crosbie was a back-up QB for USU when the Aggies faced the Ducks in 2001... Charlie Denson was a USU lettermen from 1976-77 and received his bachelor's degree in marketing from Utah State in 1978... Denson is currently Nike Brand President, the official footwear and apparel brand of both Utah State and Oregon. COACH GUY TIES -- Utah State head coach Brent Guy and Oregon special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Tom Osborne coached together at Arizona State from 2001-04, when Guy left to become the Aggies' head coach... Osborne stayed at Arizona State until 2006 when he joined the Oregon staff. USU BESTS VS. OREGON -- Here's a look at some of the top USU statistical individual performances against the Ducks over the years: Jose Fuentes had 356 yards passing vs. Oregon in 2001, a total that is tied for No. 25 on USU's single-game passing list... It was one of Fuentes' 10 300+ passing outings, which is tied for the school record... The Aggies finishing with 378 total yards passing in 2001, a mark that is 18th on USU's single-game passing offense list... USU's 45-point loss in a 52-7 game at Oregon in 1990 is the Aggies' 28th-largest losing margin. USU VS. THE PAC-10 -- Utah State is playing a member of the PAC-10 for the first time since playing at Arizona State in 2003... Overall, USU is 5-31 against current conference teams... Utah State's last win vs. a PAC-10 school was a 13-0 win over Arizona State in 1965... Since then, USU has lost 15 in a row to PAC-10 teams... USU has played all the PAC-10 schools at least once except California... Saturday's Utah State at Oregon game is one of seven WAC-PAC-10 match-ups this season, as Idaho lost, 70-0, at Arizona on Saturday, Hawai'i plays at Oregon State on Sept. 13, Boise State plays at Oregon and San Jose State plays at Stanford on Sept. 20, Fresno State is at UCLA on Sept. 27 and Washington State is at Hawai'i on Nov. 29. USU IN THE BEAVER STATE AKA "ORYGUN" -- The Aggies are a combined 0-4 in 33rd state of the Union, going 0-2 at Oregon and 0-2 at Oregon State. ABOUT UTAH STATE -- The Aggies are 0-1 after losing, 27-17, at UNLV on Saturday... USU and UNLV were identical in all the major statistical categories, but the Aggies had two costly turnovers which the Rebels converted into 10 points which was the difference in the game... Senior QB Sean Setzer started the game by completing nine of his first 10 passes for 114 yards for Utah State and led the Aggies on a 12-play, 82-yard drive that spanned 6:21, culminating with a one-yard touchdown run by Robert Turbin to tie the game at seven-all early in the second quarter... Sophomore QB Diondre Borel highlighted Utah State's offense as he gained 70 yards rushing on 15 carries and added 80 yards passing (8-16-0) after entering the game early in the third quarter... Borel also threw his first career TD, completing a six-yard pass to junior WR Nnamdi Gwacham late in the fourth quarter to make the final margin 10 points... It was also Gwacham's first career TD... Senior LB Jake Hutton had a team-high 12 tackles to lead a trio of Aggie defenders with double-digit stops. The 12 tackles for Hutton marks the third-straight game he has record at least 10 tackles dating back to 2007. USU at UNLV NOTE-ABLE -- -- USU trailed at halftime for the 20th time in last 21 games... USU is now 1-19 when trailing at the break, with the lone second-half rally for a win coming at New Mexico State last year, when the Aggies rallied from a 10-7 halftime deficit for a 35-17 win, USU's first win of the season. -- USU yielded two scores for a total of 10 points off two turnovers Saturday, after giving up 11 scores on 22 possessions (50.0 percent) last year. -- With the loss, USU is now 3-19 in its last 22 season-openers, having lost 11 in a row. -- After just one punt over 50 yards in his four punts last year, sophomore Peter Caldwell had two 50+ yarders of his five punts Saturday, a 56 and a 54-yarder, plus a 49-yarder. -- The Aggies have lost seven in a row against a Mountain West Conference opponent, and are now 146-204-14 against current members of the league, including just 3-13 in the last 16 games against MWC teams. -- The loss snapped USU's two-game win streak, denying the Aggies their first three-game road winning streak since a three-game road span overlapping the 1996-97 seasons - and its first three-game win streak overall since 2001. ABOUT #18 OREGON -- The Ducks moved up three spots in this week's AP poll from No. 21 to 18... Oregon pulled away from a 14-10 halftime lead with 30 points in the second half to wallop Washington, 44-10, Saturday... Senior RB Jeremiah Johnson bounced back from a knee injury that shortened his 2007 season but rushed for a career-high 124 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns... Sophomore starting QB Justin Roper sustained a concussion in the first quarter and was replaced in the second stanza by classmate Jeremiah Masoli, who was 9-of-17 passing for 126 yards with two TD's... Roper was 7-of-11 for 114 yards with one TD... Senior WR Terence Scott had six catches for 117 yards and one TD, a 60-yard catch from Roper in the first quarter... Sophomore LB Spencer Paysinger had 12 tackles while three other Ducks had nine stops each and the UO defense limited Washington to just 242 total offense yards. USU-UO LAST TIME - Sept. 29, 2001 - LOGAN, UTAH -- After a scoreless first quarter, USU struck first and led the sixth-ranked team in the country, 7-0 before Oregon scored 17 points in the second quarter to lead 17-14 at halftime. USU battled back and trailed just 24-21 entering the fourth quarter. Oregon scored the game's final two touchdowns to gain the win. USU produced 455 yards of total offense, including 356 passing yards by Jose Fuentes. The Aggies "limited" Heisman Trophy candidate Joey Harrington to 261 yards on 17-of-24 passing. The Ducks resorted to their ground game and were led by Maurice Morris with 175 yards. The Ducks (4-0), venturing on the road after three home games, needed two fourth-quarter scores after the Aggies (0-4) pulled to 24-21 on an 8-yard TD pass from Jose Fuentes to Gary Coleman late in the third quarter. Harrington answered by directing a six-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Onterrio Smith's 4-yard run early in the fourth. Morris put it out of reach when he broke free on a 69-yard scamper for a 38-21 lead with 8:19 remaining. Smith had 98 rushing yards as the Ducks finished with 289 on the ground. Harrington was 17-of-24 with no interceptions and scored on a 1-yard sneak in the second quarter. Fuentes nearly outperformed Harrington, going 26-of-46 for 356 yards and two scores. But three of his four interceptions came in the fourth quarter, ending Utah State scoring threats. Garrett Graham and Kevin Mitchell made the late pick-offs inside the 20 for Oregon, while Steve Smith caught another in the end zone. The Ducks held Utah State standout runner Emmett White to 83 yards rushing. For three quarters, it was a shootout. The undersized Aggies, giving up more than 40 pounds on their defensive front to an Oregon line that averaged 295 pounds, made up the difference with a swarming defense. Utah State came in ranked 108th among 117 Division I-A schools in total defense. But the Aggies, who fell to 1-33 against ranked opponents, held the quicker Ducks in check much of the night. The Aggies confused Oregon's defense with overloaded receiver sets and throwing slants to move the ball. A few times, Fuentes burned standout cornerbacks Rashad Bauman and Steve Smith by completing deep passes. USU even showed some razzle-dazzle, letting Chris Curtis take a third-quarter lateral from Fuentes to throw a 21-yard strike to White at Oregon's 3. White ran into the end zone on the next play, drawing the Aggies to 17-14 four minutes into the second half. But Harrington came back with an 86-yard drive, topped by a 27-yard TD pass to tight end Justin Peelle for a 24-14 lead. Fuentes found Coleman on the TD strike to cut Oregon's lead to 24-21 with 3:47 to play in the third, but that was as close as Utah State got. The Aggies were driving again when Fuentes threw to tight end J.R. Suguturaga but the ball bounced off his shoulder and into Graham's hands at the 10-yard line. Mitchell's late pick sent a near-sellout crowd of 28,243 for the exits. Oregon was the highest-ranked team ever to play in Logan, and the Ducks brought a legion of fans who flew green and yellow flags atop their recreational vehicles, a line that stretched 200 yards outside Romney Stadium. AGGIES-DUCKS LAST TIME AT EUGENE - Oct. 6, 1990 -- In front of 32,554 fans, Oregon blasted Utah State, 52-7. The Ducks led 35-0 at halftime and 49-0 before the Aggies scored late in the third quarter. UO had the ball for twice as long (40:02 to 19:58) and rang up 301 yards rushing as part of 508 yards of total offense while limiting USU to 243. Ron Lopez was 13-of-32 passing for 22 yards with one TD and two INT. Floyd Foreman led USU with 44 rushing yards while Toney Jenkins had three catches for 90 yards, including an 11-yard TD reception. Defensively, Scott Munson led USU with 11 tackles while Del Lyles added 10 stops. Oregon was led by Bill Musgrave's 187 yards passing on 15-of-23 with three TD's, while Sean Burwell had 20 carries for 129 yards and one TD. Jeff Thomason had six catches for 72 yards. Defensively, Eric Castle led the Ducks with six tackles.
TONNEMACHER ON RIMINGTON TROPHY WATCH LIST -- For the second year in a row, offensive center Ryan Tonnemacher has been named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List, given annually to the nation's most outstanding center in college football.. Tonnemacher (pronounced Tawn-uh-mawker), a 6-3, 292-pound senior from Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton HS), is one of 43 players named to the Watch List. Tonnemacher is one of four centers from the Western Athletic Conference to be recognized, as he's joined by John Estes from Hawai'i, Adam Korby of Idaho and Nevada's Dominic Green. Tonnemacher is the only center from the state of Utah on this season's list. As a junior last season, Tonnemacher started all 12 games at center, one of eight Aggies to start every contest. His 759 offensive plays tied him with offensive guard Shawn Murphy and offensive tackle Derek Hoke for most on the offense and were the fourth-most on the team. Tonnemacher enters his senior season with a team-leading 24 consecutive starts after starting all 12 games in both 2006 and 2007. He is a three-year letterwinner after starting three games as a freshman in 2005. A total of 17 centers were repeat selections from last year's preseason Watch List, including Tonnemacher, Korby and Green, as well as last year's winner, Jonathan Luigs from Arkansas. The Rimington Trophy has not had a repeat winner in its history. HUTTON AND IGBOELI IN BUTKUS TROPHY WATCH LIST -- Utah State linebackers Jake Hutton and Paul Igboeli were both named to the 2008 Butkus Award watch list, given annually to the top linebacker in college football, announced by the Butkus Foundation. Hutton, a senior, and Igboeli, a junior, were one of 10 sets of teammates on the 66 player list. The Aggie duo were two of four Western Athletic Conference players on the watch list, joining Adam Leonard of Hawai'i and Josh Mauga of Nevada. Hutton and Igboeli are also two of the three players from Utah schools, joining Utah's Stevenson Sylvester. Hutton, a native of Pocatello, Idaho (Pocatello HS), earned second-team all-WAC honors last year after he led USU and ranked eighth in the WAC as well as tied for 71st in the NCAA with 102 tackles, including 58 solo stops. The 58 solo tackles ranked tied for fifth in the league. His 58 solo tackles were also the most for an Aggie since Jesse Busta had 64 in 2002. Hutton registered a USU single-game season-best 16 stops at New Mexico State. Igboeli (pronounced Ig-bo-lee), a Grand Prairie, Texas (South Grand Prairie HS) native was second on the team and 13th in the WAC with 95 tackles, including 51 solo stops, which ranked among the top 15 in league. He was tied for second on the team with eight tackles for loss and also tallied three pass break-ups and one fumble recovery. Igboeli posted two of USU's top five tackle outings on the year with 15 at New Mexico State and 12 at Fresno State. In 2006, Igboeli was the WAC Freshman of the Year. The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985, has been given annually to the top linebacker in college football. The Award, named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, is regarded as one of the elite individual honors in college football. This year, the Butkus family has taken stewardship of the Butkus Award to fully realize it's original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community. It will be presented by the Butkus Foundation. The Butkus Award will be presented January 13, 2009, at the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago.
HEAD COACH Brent Guy -- Brent Guy (Oklahoma State, 1983) is in his fourth year as head coach after coming to Utah State from Arizona State where he was the defensive coordinator for four years. Guy was an assistant coach (linebackers) at Utah State from 1992-94 under then head coach Charlie Weatherbie. During that time, USU posted its only bowl victory in school history, claiming the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl. Guy was involved in eight bowl games in 19 years as a collegiate assistant coach. Previous stops include Oklahoma State (1986-91 - graduate assistant 1986-87, recruiting coordinator 1988, linebackers 1989-91), Utah State (1992-94 - linebackers), Oklahoma State (1995-97 - linebackers), Boise State (1998-2000 - defensive coordinator) and Arizona State (2001-04 - defensive coordinator) before being named the Aggies' 25th head coach in December of 2004. In his first year at USU, the Aggies were 3-8 overall and 2-6 in the Western Athletic Conference. Utah State Head Coach All WAC 2005 3-8 2-6 2006 1-11 1-7 2007 2-10 2-6 2008 0-1 0-0 Total 6-30 5-19GUY VS. OREGON -- Aggie head coach Brent Guy has coached against Oregon four times in his career, going 3-1 overall, with all four meetings coming as an assistant at Arizona State, including winning three in a row as well as going 3-1 at Eugene. Here is a closer look: 2001 ASU Asst. - L 24-24 at Eugene 2003 ASU Asst. - W 59-14 at Tempe 2002 ASU Asst. - W 45-42 at Eugene 2004 ASU Asst. - W 28-13 at EugeneAGGIE ASSISTANT COACHES -- Utah State had one changes on its coaching staff from last year, as Thomas Dunson joined the staff. Offensive Coordinator - Darrell Dickey (Kansas State, 1984, 2nd Year)... Former head coach at North Texas... Guided Mean Green to four consecutive conference championships from 2001-04. Wide Receivers - Greg Stevens (Eastern Oregon, 1992, 4th Year)... Former offensive coordinator at S.F. Austin... USU interim off. coord. for eight games. Running Backs - Shaun Johnson (Utah State, 1995, 3rd Year)... Former Aggie wide receiver, coached Division I-AA rushing leader at Brown in 2005. Tight Ends - Tracy Smith (LSU, 2003, 3rd Year)... Worked with LSU quarterbacks in 2005... Is son of former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Carl Smith. Offensive Line - Vance Vice (Oklahoma State, 1990, 4th Year)... As an Oklahoma State tight end was a key to Barry Sanders winning the Heisman in 1988. Def. Coord./LB - Mark Johnson (UC Davis, 1990, 4th Year)... Has coached at four different WAC schools (San Jose State, Boise State, Nevada and USU). Def. Line - Danilo Robinson (Utah State, 1997, 4th Year)... Holds USU single-game sacks record with five vs. San Jose State in 1995. Safeties - Jeff Copp (Boise State, 2001, 4th Year)... Was an all-conference defensive end while playing at Boise State. Cornerbacks - John Rushing (Washington State, 1995, 6th Year)... Was a freshman All-America corner at Washington State... Older brother of former USU WR Kevin Robinson. GA-Offense - Thomas Dunson (LSU, 2003, 1st Year)... Comes to USU after one season at Rice... Was on Darrell Dickey's staff at North Texas for three seasons (2004- 06). GA-Defense/Special Teams - Tony Flores (Utah State, 3rd Year)... Moved up from serving as a work study in the football office in 2005. DID YOU KNOW? -- Utah State offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was 2-2 vs. Utah State while head coach of North Texas from 1998-2005. DID YOU KNOW? -- USU head coach Brent Guy and offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey played against each other when Guy was a linebacker at Oklahoma State and Dickey was a quarterback at Kansas State... Oklahoma State won all four meetings during Guy and Dickey's tenures, winning 42-15 in 1979, 10-0 in 1980, 31-10 in '81 and 24-16 in '82... Oct. 20 marked the 25th anniversary of Guy and Dickey's last meeting of 1982 when Oklahoma State hosts Kansas State... In the 1982 Cowboy-Wildcat clash, Guy had 18 tackles, including one TFL and two pass break-ups while Dickey was 17-of-35 passing for 185 yards with two TD's and one INT. 2007 NOTES OFFENSIVE NOTES -- The USU offense accumulated 1,499 rushing yards, the most for a USU offense since 1999 when the Aggies had 1,941 rushing yards... The 124.9 rushing yards per game was the highest average since 1999 as well, when USU had a 176.5 ypg average... With 14 rushing TD's, that is the most for the USU offense since 2003 when the Aggies also had 14 TD's... The 272 passing attempts were the fewest attempts since 1975 when USU had 174... The Aggies' 247 points scored was the most since 264 in 2003, while the 20.6 ppg were also the most since 2003 when USU averaged 22.0 ppg... USU produced 300 or more yards in just four games, one fewer than last year, with a season-high 370 at Hawai'i... USU threw for 200 or more yards in three games, led by a season-high 247 at Hawai'i... The Aggies did not have a 200-yard rushing outing, with a season-high 175 against San Jose State... USU had 20 or more first downs twice, with a season-high 21 at Hawai'i... The Aggies scored three or more TD's in six games including seven of the last eight games, highlighted by a season-high four at New Mexico State... After being shutout four times in 2006, the Aggies were only blanked once in '07, by Boise State... The USU opponent's defense only scored once in 2007 after tallying eight scores in '06, as the Oklahoma defense had a 45-yard INT return for a TD. DEFENSIVE NOTES -- USU yielded more than 400 yards of total offense in eight games including the last three and six of the last seven, with a season-high 617 by Oklahoma in week three... The Aggies' opposition hung at least 40 points on the board in three games, giving up six offensive TD's in all three games... USU held the opposing offense to less that 100 yards rushing twice on the year, including 88 at New Mexico State and a season-low 47 at Hawai'i... The Aggie defense limited the other teams' offense to less than 200 yards passing in six games, including a season-low 131 at Fresno State... USU scored one defensive TD on the year, a 38-yard INT return for a TD by LB De'von Hall at Wyoming. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES -- The 13 FG's is the most since 2002 when USU had 14, while the 21 FG attempts is the most since 27 in 1999... USU had a school-record four special teams TD's, with three kick returns and one punt return for TD. USU NOTE-ABLE -- A CHANGE IN ALTITUDE -- There are nine Division I schools that are located in cities with an elevation of at least 4,000 feet about sea level... Utah State's home of Logan ranks seventh on the list with an elevation of 4,534 feet... This season the Aggies will play at only one of those other locations giving USU seven games this season at 4,000 feet above sea level after playing eight in 2006 and seven last year. USU will play at Reno, Nev. (#8 at 4,505 feet) against Nevada on Oct. 18... The Aggies will face two of the other teams on the list in #6 BYU (Oct. 3) and #9 Utah (Sept. 13). School City, State Elevation 1. Wyoming Laramie, Wyo. 7,220 2. Air Force Colorado Springs, Colo. 6,010 3. Colorado Boulder, Colo. 5,328 4. Colorado State Fort Collins, Colo. 5,003 5. New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. 4,957 6. Brigham Young Provo, Utah 4,550 7. UTAH STATE LOGAN, UTAH 4,534 8. Nevada Reno, Nev. 4,505 9. Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 4,262RECORD BOOK WATCH -- Senior linebacker Jake Hutton entered his final season in Aggie blue and white with 218 career tackles, in need of 95 more to reach USU's top 10 list, as Blake Eagal currently holds the No. 10 spot with 313 career stops from 1997-2000... After 12 stops Saturday at UNLV, Hutton currently as 230 career tackles. NUMBER CHANGES -- Utah State had several jersey number changes prior to this season and/or from the media guide: Doug Barbour from 80 to 87 Brian Mason from 91 to 49 James Brindley from 26 to 3 Kejon Murphy from 9 to 1 Marquis Butler from 19 to 13 Emmanual Ojeriakhi from 88 to 19 Peter Caldwell from 38 to 8 Jake Poulson from 20 to 30 Marquise Charles from 3 to 26 Chris Randle from 24 to 7 Greg Clark from 93 to 91 Robert Turbin from 30 to 6 Levi Koskan from 91 to 93 Chris Williams from 10 to 9 Junior Keiaho from 92 to 59 Zac Zimmerman from 70 to 48 VETERAN EXPERIENCE -- USU has 17 seniors on its roster which matches last season as the biggest senior class in head coach Brent Guy's three seasons at USU and the largest Aggie senior class since 1999's 21 seniors. THREE "A" AGGIES -- Out of the 17 seniors on the roster, 12 of them are three-year letterwinners. TIME TRAVELERS -- Utah State will play in three different time zones this season: Central (at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 15), Mountain (all home games, at Boise State on Nov. 8) and Pacific (at UNLV on Aug. 30, at Oregon on Sept. 6, at San Jose State on Oct. 11 and at Nevada on Oct. 18). While Utah State only plays in three different time zones this season (Mountain for all home games and at Boise State, Pacific at UNLV, at Oregon, at San Jose State and at Nevada, Central at Louisiana Tech), the Aggies have at least one player from five different time zones, Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific and Hawaiian-Aleutian. BEEHIVE BUNCH -- Utah State has 23 players from the state of Utah on its roster. TALL HOKE -- Senior offensive tackle Derek Hoke is the tallest player on USU's roster at 6'9" - Hoke is one of seven players on the Aggie roster listed at 6'5" or taller... He is also unofficially, the second-tallest player in NCAA Division I this season, behind 6'10" Alejandro Villanueva of Army. BIG BOOKENDS -- Utah State's bookends at offensive tackle, senior Derek Hoke on the left and sophomore Spencer Johnson on the right, are two of the combined tallest tackles in the country, with Hoke towering at 6'9" and Johnson at 6'5"... The Aggie duo's combined height of 13'2" unofficially trails the 13'5" Colorado tandem of Nate Solder (6'8") and Ryan Miller (6'7") and the 13'3" Wisconsin duo of Gabe Carimi (6'8") and Eric Vanden Heuvel (6'7"). BIRTHDAY BOYS -- In all 20 Aggie players have birthdays from the time camp opened on Aug. 1 to the end of the season... Two Aggies have a birthday on a football game day: senior RB Chris Forbes (Sept. 13 vs Utah) and senior DE Gregg Clark (Oct. 11 at San Jose State). SEVEN 2008 OPPONENTS WENT BOWLING -- USU will face seven teams that went to a bowl game last year, including a stretch a four weeks in a row. Oregon (Sept. 6) - Sun Bowl vs. South Florida - W, 56-21
USU is one of four WAC teams to play three non-conference games against a team that was in bowl game last year, joining Boise State, Fresno State and Hawai'i. 2008 OPPONENTS IN THE POLLS -- Utah State will face three teams ranked in the top 25, though the four different polls have different teams, with the two constants in all four major polls, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and AP, with BYU and Oregon the constants, while Fresno State is ranked in both the USA Today and ESPN polls but not by Sports Illustrated and is among others receiving votes in the AP poll, while Hawai'i is only in the Sports Illustrated poll and is also among others receiving votes in the AP poll... Other USU opponents in the others receiving votes list include Utah and Boise State. Utah State and Nevada are the only two WAC teams to play more than one Top 25 team in the AP poll, the "official" poll of college football... The Aggies tangle with No. 16 BYU (Oct. 3) and 21st-ranked Oregon (Sept. 6), while the Wolf Pack of Nevada plays sixth-ranked Missouri and No. 12 Texas Tech... Four other conference teams play one AP Top 25 team: Boise State (No. 21 Oregon), Fresno State (No. 13 Wisconsin), Hawai'i (No. 5 Florida) and Louisiana Tech (No. 14 Kansas). |
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