Aug. 27, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

Aggie Tidbit of the Day:
Utah State enters the 2008 season with a two-game win streak after being victorious in the last two games of the 2007 season. The Aggies currently have the second-longest streak among Western Athletic Conference teams both overall and in conference games, trailing the 15-game WAC winning streak by Hawai'i and Fresno State's three-game overall win streak. Overall, the Aggies are tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in NCAA Division I.

Aggie Fact of the Day:
USU senior C Ryan Tonnemacher and UNLV sophomore QB/DB Travis Dixon were high school teammates in Chandler, Ariz. at Hamilton HS, where they led the Huskies to the Arizona State 5A championship in 2004.

By the time Utah State football practice ended Wednesday evening the countdown reached just a few hours shy of three complete days, or just over 72 hours, until the Aggies' season-opener at UNLV on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. (MT) at Las Vegas, Nev. Not only does three represent the number of days until the kickoff for the 2008 season, but it also represents the number of consecutive wins the Aggies are striving for.

USU enters this season with momentum from winning the last two games of last year and will be going for its third win in a row on Saturday night.

The Aggies' had their last practice on the grass of the practice fields Wednesday, fine-tuning their game preparations, which will be polished in Thursday's practice in Romney Stadium. USU will have a walk-through on Friday morning before boarding a plane bound for Las Vegas.

Utah State opens the 2008 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 at UNLV at 8 p.m. (MT). After playing at No. 21 Oregon on Sept. 6 at 1:30 p.m. (MT), the Aggies host in-state rival Utah in their home-opener on Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. (MT). USU continues its three-game homestand by opening WAC action against Idaho on Saturday, Sept. 20 for USU Ag Day. The Aggies then host another in-state rival in BYU on Friday, Oct. 3. After road games at San Jose State and Nevada on Oct. 11 and 18, respectively, USU hosts Fresno State in its annual Homecoming game on Oct. 25. The Aggies remain at home to take on Hawai'i on Nov. 1 on USU Military Appreciation Day. USU plays at Boise State on Nov. 8 and Louisiana Tech on Nov. 15 before concluding regular-season action on Nov. 29 against New Mexico State on Aggie Appreciation Day.

The Aggies were picked ninth in the Western Athletic Conference preseason poll despite finishing seventh in last season's standings with a 2-10 overall record and 2-6 in WAC action. USU has 17 starters returning among 39 lettermen. Of those lettermen, 12 are seniors, which matches last season for the most in Guy's four-year tenure.

Aggie football tickets are available in person through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.

-USU-