Utah State Takes On No. 3 Oklahoma Saturday
Sept. 10, 2007
LOGAN, Utah -
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Complete Utah State at No. 3 Oklahoma Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game #3 at No. 3 Oklahoma
Saturday, Sept. 15, 1:30 p.m. (MT)
Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)
Norman, Okla.
Radio: 610 AM / 95.9 FM (Logan)
1230 AM or 1320 AM (SLC)
105.3 FM (Montpelier, ID)
www.UtahStateAggies.com
TV: KJZZ / Fox Sports Southwest
Internet: none
Live GameTracker
Stats: www.UtahStateAggies.com
Tickets: 1-888-U-STATE-1 or
(435) 797-0305 or
www.UtahStateAggies.com
QUICKLY -- Utah State (0-2, 0-0 WAC) heads to Norman, Okla. on Saturday, Sept. 15 to take on No. 3 Oklahoma (2-0, 0-0 Big XII) at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)... Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. (MT)... Oklahoma is ranked No. 3 in this week's Associated Press Poll, moving up two spots after trouncing Miami, 51-13, Saturday at Norman... The Aggies will celebrate former USU All-American Merlin Olsen's and current freshman kicker Peter Caldwell's birthdays Saturday by making their first trip to Norman since 1991... USU is 0-3 all-time vs. OU... This is USU's first match-up with a Big XII opponent since 2003 when the Aggies lost at Nebraska... Overall, USU is 9-39-1 against the Big XII... Saturday is the second of two straight road games for USU and the second of a streak of four roads games in five contests... OU is hosting its third straight home game to open the season... The Sooners have been ranked in the AP Top 25 all three times that the Aggies have previously faced them, losing 49-0 on Sept. 16, 1972 when OU was No. 4, dropping a 72-3 contest on Sept. 28, 1974 when OU was No. 3, and losing 55-21 on Sept. 21, 1991 when the Sooners were ranked seventh... USU is 1-41 vs. AP ranked teams with the only win coming with a 20-19 win against Fresno State on Nov. 2, 1991... The Aggies are 0-9 vs. teams ranked in the top five... USU offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was the OU ball boy from 1969-72 when his father was the Sooners' defensive backs coach.
ON THE AIR -- All Utah State football games are carried on KVNU 610 AM and KLZX 95.9 FM in Logan; either 1230 AM or 1320 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. Home USU games can be accessed via GameTracker for updated play-by-play and statistics as they happen. This Saturday's game is also available through GameTracker.
ON TV -- Saturday's game will be televised regionally on KJZZ (Comcast Ch. 14), as well as on Fox Sports Southwest.
TRAVEL PLANS -- After working out at home, Utah State will fly on a charter flight to Norman, Okla., where they will stay Friday night. Zach Fisher (C: 435-213-0318) of the athletic media relations staff will travel to the game.
COACHES SHOW ON THE ROAD -- For the third 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. Here is a look at the schedule for the next four weeks:
Sept. 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4 - USU Taggart Student Center Marketplace
UP NEXT -- After two road games, USU returns to Logan for Homecoming, opening Western Athletic Conference action against San Jose State on Sept. 22 at 6:05 p.m. at Romney Stadium... That game will be broadcast on ESPN Regional TV and Altitude.
ROAD WOE-IORS -- Life on the road has been tough for the Aggies, who are currently on an eight -game road losing skid, last winning on the road in the 2005 season finale at New Mexico State, 24-21.
USU IN THE NINTH MONTH -- Utah State will be trying to snap a six-game September losing streak... The Aggies lost all five of their games in September last season and Sept. 24, 2005 was USU's last win in September... This is USU's first game on Sept. 15 since 1990... Overall the Aggies are 2-3 on Sept. 15 since 1957.
CAPTAINS -- Each week Utah State will select game captains. Those selected for the Oklahoma game are #1 senior TB Aaron Lesue for the offense, #53 junior LB Jake Hutton for the defense and #25 sophomore DB Adrian Bybee for special teams.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA -- The Sooners are 2-0 and ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 Poll, moving up two spots after blasting Miami, 51-13, Saturday... OU opened the season with a 79-10 dismantling of North Texas... Redshirt freshman QB Sam Bradford tied a school record with five TD passes Saturday, part of his 19-of-25 effort for 205 yards on the day... Bradford is 40-of-48 (83.3 pct) passing on the season for 568 yards and eight TD's... Bradford leads the NCAA in passing efficiency (237.7)... On Saturday, the Sooners rang up 411 yards of total offense, while the OU defense yielded only 139 total yards to Miami, holding the Hurricanes to seven first downs... Senior DB D.J. Wolfe led the Sooners with eight tackles Saturday, including two TFL's... Junior WR Juaquin Iglesias and sophomore TE Jermaine Gresham are Bradford's popular targets, each with 11 receptions, while Iglesias has 179 yards (16.3 ypc) and Gresham has 119 yards (10.8 ypc) with two TDs... Junior WR Malcolm Kelly has eight catches for 220 yards (27.5 ypc) with five TDs, including three on Saturday... The OU defense leads the nation in tackles for loss, averaging 13.0 per game, including 14 on Saturday.
HOME SWEET SOONER HOME -- OU is 49-2 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium under head coach Bob Stoops and have won 13 in a row and 33 of the last 34 home games.
USU-OU SERIES -- Oklahoma leads the series 3-0, as the teams haven't faced each other since 1991, with all three games being played in Norman... OU beat USU, 55-21, in the last meeting, as well as winning 72-3 on Sept. 28, 1974 and 49-0 on Sept. 16, 1972 in the first meeting.
USU-OKLAHOMA NOTE-ABLE -- USU's trip to Oklahoma marks the Aggies' first trip to Norman since 1991, USU is 0-3 all-time vs. OU... This is USU's first match-up with a Big XII opponent since 2003 when the Aggies lost at Nebraska... Overall, USU is 9-39-1 against the Big XII... While USU does not have any players from the state of Oklahoma, the Aggies do have 13 players from neighboring Texas, with freshman WR Stanley Morrison's hometown of Denison, Texas (Denison HS) as the closest to Norman (160 miles), while freshman OT Robert Hill (Southlake, Texas/Carroll HS) and redshirt freshman Jacob Actkinson (Grapevine, Texas/Grapevine HS) close behind at 174 and 178 miles respectively.
USU COACHING TIES WITH OKLAHOMA -- Despite not having any players from the Sooner State, Utah State has three coaches with ties to Oklahoma... Head coach Brent Guy played for Oklahoma State as a linebacker from 1979-82, coaching at OSU from 1986-91 and again from 1995-97... Offensive line coach Vance Vice also played at Oklahoma State from 1985-89, where he participated in three bowl games on teams that featured Thurman Thomas and Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders... USU offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey, is the son of former Oklahoma and Oklahoma State assistant coach Jim Dickey, Sr... USU's Dickey was the OU ball boy from 1969-72 when his father was the Sooners' defensive backs coach and will also be making his fifth trip to Norman, Okla., as either a player or a coach... Dickey was 0-3 vs. Oklahoma as North Texas head coach... OU Director of Sports Enhancement Jerry Schmidt was the Oklahoma State strength & conditioning coach when USU's Guy was an assistant coach and Vice was a player for the Cowboys.
USU VS. THE BIG XII -- Utah State is playing a Big XII opponent for the first time since 2003 when the Aggies lost at Nebraska... Overall, USU is 9-39-1 against the Big XII... The Aggies' most common league opponent has been Colorado and USU is 6-11-1 against the Buffaloes all-time... USU owns a winning record against one conference team with a 3-2 mark against Kansas State... USU's last win against a Big XII team was a 28-16 win against Kansas State in 1992... Here is a look at the most recent meetings against the league:
1996 - L 17-31 at Oklahoma State
1996 - L 20-58 at Texas Tech
1998 - L 6-25 at #15 Colorado
1999 - L 0-40 at #19 Kansas State
2000 - L 16-38 at Texas Tech
2002 - L 13-44 at #9 Nebraska
2003 - L 7-31 at #23 Nebraska
OU VS. THE WAC -- The Sooners were a perfect 7-0 against current members of the WAC including wins against Utah State (3), Hawaii (2), Fresno State (1) and New Mexico State (1), until the seventh-ranked Sooners lost a 43-42 OT thriller to No. 9 Boise State in last season's epic Fiesta Bowl.
USU VS. THE TOP 25 -- Utah State will be playing its 43rd game all-time against a ranked team (Oklahoma is No. 3 in this week's AP poll) and is just 1-41 against teams in the AP poll... 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 16 straight games against ranked teams, including its most recent, a 49-10 loss at 18th-ranked Boise State last season... The Aggies are 0-9 vs. teams ranked in the top five... This is the highest ranked USU opponent since the Aggies played second-ranked Nebraska in 1998... USU has played two No. 1's, two No. 2's and this is the second meeting against a No. 3 ranked team... Saturday marks the third 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
Oct. 29, 2005 - L 3-35 at #5 Alabama
Nov. 18, 2006 - L 10-49 at #18 Boise State
LARGEST CROWDS TO WATCH USU -- Here is a look at the five largest crowds to watch Utah State football:
1. 87,756 at LSU, 2001
2. 86,117 at Georgia, 1999
3. 82,033 at Alabama, 2004
4. 81, 018 at Alabama, 2005
5. 77,284 at Nebraska, 2003
USU-OKLAHOMA LAST TIME OUT - OU 55, USU 21, Sept. 21, 1991 -- NORMAN, Okla. - In their second straight game against a Big Eight Conference foe, USU stayed even with the powerful Sooners for one quarter of play. However, Oklahoma outscored the Aggies, 28-0, in the second quarter to put the game out of reach. Despite the lack of the point production during the second quarter, the Aggies showed strong ability to move the ball against a highly-touted defense. On the day, Utah State finished with 337 yards of total offense. After Oklahoma scored on their first possession of the game, the Ags bounced back to tie the score at 7-7 with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter. Ron Lopez connected with Tracey Jenkins on a 49-yard TD pass. The Sooners rushing attack began to take control in the second quarter, putting 28 points on the board and compiling 342 yards of total offense in the first half. Lopez threw one TD pass in each of the final two quarters. He first connected with Rod Moore from seven yards out. He then found Jenkins for the second time on the afternoon on a 15-yard pass with 6:01 remaining in the game. Jenkins finished as the Ags' leading receiver, catching eight passes for 132 yards. Teammate Moore finished close behind with seven catches for 118 yards. Lopez ended the game with 21-of-44 passing for 314 yards.
USU-OKLAHOMA LAST TIME NOTE-ABLE -- Cale Gundy played quarterback for Oklahoma in 1991, going 8-of-12 passing for 139 yards... Gundy is now the running backs coach for the Sooners... His brother Mike is the head football coach at Oklahoma State.
USU SINGLE-GAME BESTS VS. OU -- While USU has not had any of its individual nor team single-game bests happen against OU, the Aggies have a 300-yard passing game with Ron Lopez's 314 yards vs. OU in 1991 and two 100-yard receiving games with Tracey Jenkins and Rod Moore's 132 and 118 yards, respectively.
USU ASSOCIATION IN 1991'S LAST TRIP TO NORMAN -- USU's last trip to Oklahoma was in 1991. Those associated with USU back then that are still here include head trainer Dale Mildenberger, then SID and now radio analyst Craig Hislop and Aggie play-by-play announcer Al Lewis.. Lewis broadcast that game in 1991 and will do so again this year.
JACKSON/ROBINSON RANKED -- Senior QB/P Leon Jackson III ranks second in the WAC and sixth in the NCAA in punting with a 47.1 average... Senior WR/KR Kevin Robinson ranks second in the WAC and 13th in the NCAA in all purpose yards with 197.0... Saturday at Wyoming, Robinson had 119 total yards on 60 receiving yards, 38 kickoff yards, 18 punt return yards and three rushing yards.
RECORD SETTING AGGIES -- Senior WR/KR Kevin Robinson and fellow senior, QB Leon Jackson III enter their final seasons as Aggies in hot pursuit of several school career lists... Robinson is climbing up the career receptions, receiving yards, touchdown receptions, points scored and total touchdown lists... Jackson is pursuing the career passing percentage, passing completions, passing attempts, passing yards and total offense lists... See Pg 8 for record watch.
VS WYOMING NOTEABLE
STARTING HOSSES -- USU's three starting offensive linemen of Pace Jorgensen, Shawn Murphy and Ryan Tonnemacher have now started a combined 66 games at Utah State, while playing in 70... Jorgensen made his 29th career start... Tonnemacher made his 23rd career start.
OTHER NOTEABLE STARTS -- Senior OG Shawn Murphy, junior S Caleb Taylor and junior OC Ryan Tonnemacher all made their 15th consecutive starts, while sophomore LB Paul Igboeli made his 11th straight start... Senior OG Pace Jorgensen made his team-leading 30th career start.
SPLITTING THE UPRIGHTS -- Freshman K Peter Caldwell's 29-yard field goal in the second quarter was USU's second FG of the season, matching last season's total and his 31-yarder in the third stanza topped last year's.
SAY HEY LESUE -- Aggie senior RB Aaron Lesue's 32-yard kick return on the opening kick was his career long.
BETTER THAN BEFORE -- USU's 123 yards in the first half exceeded the 110 recorded for the whole game allowed by Wyoming to Virginia last week and was just shy of the 129 yards by USU in last year's game at Wyoming.
LONG DRIVE CONTEST WINNERS -- USU's 7-play, 66-yard drive was the Aggies' longest drive of the season by yards, while the 13-play, 51-yard scoring drive spanning 5:29 in the second quarter was the most plays and longest time in a scoring drive this season.
HIGH SCORING QUARTER -- USU's 15 points in the third quarter are the Aggies' most points in a quarter since scoring 20 in the 2004 season finale against New Mexico State (Nov. 20).
ROBINSON MOVING UP -- Senior WR Kevin Robinson's TD catch in the third quarter was his 17th career TD reception and his 22nd career TD overall, moving him into a tie for sixth on USU's career TD receptions list (tied with James Murphy, 1978-80 and Pat Newman, 1986-89) and tied for seventh on the career TD list (Tracy Jenkins 1988-91).
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MAKING HIS MARK -- Senior WR Kevin Robinson is one of only two USU players to lead the team in scoring for three-straight seasons, matching Tom Larscheid from 1959-61. If Robinson leads the Aggies in scoring again, he will become the first player in school history to lead four seasons in a row. Robinson will also be looking to match Kendal Smith (1986-88) as the only Aggies to lead the team in receiving three times, as Robinson led USU his freshman and junior seasons of 2004 and `06, respectively.
HEAD COACH Brent Guy -- Brent Guy (Oklahoma State, 1983) is in his third 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 0-2 0-0
Total 4-21 3-13
Assistant Totals Record Notes
Oklahoma State (1986-91, 95-97) 51-51-1 3 Bowls
Utah State (1992-94) 15-19-0 1 Bowl
Boise State (1998-99) 26-10-0 2 Bowls, 2 10-win seasons
Arizona State (2001-04) 13-19-0 2 Bowls
Totals (19 years) 118-103-1 8 Bowls, 10 winning seasons
DID YOU KNOW? -- Utah State head coach Brent Guy is 2-7 vs. Oklahoma as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, beating the Sooners in 1995, 12-0, and again in 1997, 30-7, with both victories coming at Norman.
AGGIE ASSISTANT COACHES -- Utah State had two changes on its coaching staff from last year, as Darrell Dickey and Eric Sanders joined the staff.
Offensive Coordinator - Darrell Dickey (Kansas State, 1984, 1st 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, 3rd Year)... Former offensive coordinator at S.F. Austin... USU interim off. coord. for eight games.
Running Backs - Shaun Johnson (Utah State, 1995, 2nd Year)... Former Aggie wide receiver, coached Division I-AA rushing leader at Brown in 2005.
Tight Ends - Tracy Smith (LSU, 2003, 2nd Year)... Worked with LSU quarterbacks last year. Is son of former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Carl Smith.
Offensive Line - Vance Vice (Oklahoma State, 1990, 3rd Year)... As an Oklahoma State tight end was the key to Barry Sanders winning the Heisman in 1988.
Def. Coord./LB - Mark Johnson (UC Davis, 1990, 3rd Year)... Has coached at four different WAC schools (San Jose State, Boise State, Nevada and USU).
Def. Line - Danilo Robinson (Utah State, 1997, 3rd Year)... Holds USU single-game sacks record with five vs. San Jose State in 1995.
Safeties - Jeff Copp (Boise State, 2001, 3rd Year)... Was an all-conference defensive end while playing at Boise State.
Cornerbacks - John Rushing (Washington State, 1995, 5th Year)... Was a freshman All-America corner at Washington State. Older brother of USU WR Kevin Robinson.
GA-Defense - Eric Sanders (UC Davis, 2005, 1st Year)... Helped coach UC Davis to share of 2005 Great West Football Conference Championship.
GA-Offense/Special Teams - Tony Flores (Utah State, 2nd Year)... Moved up from serving as a work study in the football office in 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.
DID YOU KNOW? - TAKE 2 -- Four of the seven offensive coordinators in the WAC, including USU's Darrell Dickey are in their first years in the conference... Dickey is joined by Fresno State's Jim McElwain, Idaho's Steve Axman and Louisiana Tech's Frank Scelfo - Hawai'i head coach June Jones and New Mexico State head coach Hal Mumme are their own offensive coordinators.
OFFENSIVE NOTES -- Leon Jackson's 147 yards passing were the most for him since 372 yards vs. La Tech on Nov. 5, 2005, a span of 10 games played... USU's 7-play, 66-yard scoring drive Saturday at Wyoming was the Aggies' longest drive of the season by yards, while the 13-play, 51-yard scoring drive spanning 5:29 in the second quarter was the most plays and longest time in a scoring drive this season... The Aggies' 137 yards rushing was the most in a span of five games, going back to vs. Hawai'i on Nov. 3 last year... Leon Jackson's 68.4 percent completion percentage (13-of-19) against UNLV was his highest since completing 76.0 of his passes (19-of-25) against UNLV in 2005... Jackson's rushing TD against UNLV was his first since his sophomore season on Oct. 15, 2005 against Fresno State... USU did not throw an interception in Saturday's game, for the second game in a row after snapping a five-game streak in which the Aggies threw at least one INT... The 137 rushing yards against Wyoming marked the 10th time in last 13 games that USU hit the 100-yard plateau... USU snapped a five-game streak in which the Aggies had thrown for a TD against UNLV before resuming the streak against Wyoming... The 137 passing yards in the UNLV game is just shy of last season's average of 139.7 passing yards per game, which were its fewest since 1986 (122.5)... By scoring an offensive TD in the first game, USU got on the board early in the season compared to not scoring an offensive TD until the fifth game of the year last season... The 16 points were the fewest scored by USU against UNLV in the series since 1986's 7-6 USU win.
DEFENSIVE NOTES -- The 32 points allowed by Wyoming were the fewest allowed in the series since holding the Cowboys to 13 points in a 20-13 win in 1978 - Wyoming had averaged 43 points per game against USU in the previous three meetings... LB De'von Hall's 38-yard INT return for a touchdown was USU's second in as many seasons at Wyoming (Antonio Taylor's 45-yard INT return) and was Hall's second career TD, as he had a 65-yard fumble return for score last season at Boise State (Nov. 18)... CB Marquise Charles had an INT later in the third quarter Saturday, giving USU its first two-INT game since at San Jose State last season... It was Charles' second career INT and the first since his freshman season against Idaho on Oct. 1, 2005... The 314 yards allowed against UNLV was the fewest yards allowed by the Aggie defense since holding Louisiana Tech to 276 yards in 2005... Last season's lowest yards allowed was 316 against Idaho... Antonio Taylor's career-high 15 tackles at Wyoming marked the fifth time in the last seven games that an Aggie defender posted double-digit tackles... It was Taylor's second double-figure tackling game in a row and his third in the last seven games... Last season LB Paul Igboeli led the defense with three double-figure tackle games, while LB Derrick Cumbee had two double-digit outings - A. Taylor was one of three other USU defenders to have one... LB Jake Hutton tied a career-high by logging 12 tackles, his first double-digit tackle outing since making 10 stops against Utah last year, his last complete game before being injured in the next game at BYU... LB De'von Hall's career-high 11 tackles is his first double-digit stop game... By logging a sack at Wyoming, the defense recorded a sack for the 14th time in last 19 games... With a fumble recovery against UNLV, the defense recovered a fumble in four straight games and 12 of the last 15 games before not doing so at Wyoming.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES -- With a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, freshman K Peter Caldwell gave USU its first field goal of the season in game one... Last season, the Aggies were the last team in the NCAA to make a field goal, finally splitting the uprights in week nine against Hawai'i... Caldwell's 29-yard field goal in the second quarter at Wyoming was USU's second FG of the season, matching last season's total and his 31-yarder in the third stanza topped last year's... Kevin Robinson's 49-yard punt return in the UNLV game was the longest for USU since Robinson had an 87-yarder against San Jose State on Oct. 8, 2005... Robinson's 45-yard kickoff return was USU's longest since Tony Pennyman had a 99-yarder against Nevada on Nov. 19, 2005.
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 two of those other locations giving USU seven games this season at 4,000 feet above sea level after playing eight last year. USU will play at Laramie, Wyo. (#1 at 7,220 feet) and Salt Lake City, Utah (#9 at 4,262).
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 4,262
NUMBER CHANGES -- Utah State had a couple of jersey number changes prior to this season:
Xavier Bowman from 82 to 17
Derrick Cumbee from 40 to 12
Kejon Murphy from 10 to 9
Carl Singleton from 49 to 13
VETERAN EXPERIENCE -- USU has 18 seniors on its roster which makes up 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 18 seniors on the roster, 11 of them are three-year letterwinners.
TIME TRAVELERS -- Utah State will play in four different time zones this season: Central (at Oklahoma on Sept. 15), Mountain (all home games, at Wyoming on Sept. 8, at Utah on Sept. 29, at New Mexico State on Nov. 17) Pacific (at Fresno State on Nov. 3, at Idaho on Nov. 24) and Hawaii Aleutian (at Hawai'i on Oct. 6).
BEEHIVE BUNCH -- Utah State has 22 players from the state of Utah on its roster plus six walk-ons.
BIG POPPA PACE -- At 335 pounds, senior offensive guard Pace Jorgensen is the heaviest player and one of five players on USU's roster who are at least 300 pounds.
TALL HOKE -- Junior 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.
JUNIOR, JR. -- While senior QB Leon Jackson III is the only "third" on the team, USU has five Jr.'s: redshirt freshman TE Doug Barbour, redshirt freshman WR Tony Harkey, junior S Roy Hurst, freshman RB Curtis Marsh and sophomore CB Kejon Murphy. The Aggies also have one "Junior" in freshman DE Junior Keiaho and 16 juniors on their roster.
BIRTHDAY BOYS -- In all 22 Aggie players have birthdays during the season, with junior LB De'von Hall and freshman kicker Peter Caldwell as the only players to have a birthday on a football game day. Caldwell's 19th birthday is this Saturday, Sept. 15, when USU is at Oklahoma.
TRAVELING MEN -- USU's shortest road trip of the season is the Aggies' game against Utah at Salt Lake City, when they'll travel roughly 87 miles from stadium to stadium. Utah State's longest road trip of the season is the game against Hawai'i at Honolulu, when the Aggies will travel approximately 3,008 miles from Logan to Honolulu.
USU NOTE-ABLE -- Utah State played four schools that finished the 2006 season ranked in the top 25 and will meet three in 2007 in Boise State (5th), Oklahoma (11th) and Hawai'i (24th)... This season Utah State will meet six teams (including five straight) that played in bowl games in 2006: Oklahoma-Fiesta Bowl; San Jose State-New Mexico Bowl; Utah-Armed Forces Bowl; Hawai'i-Hawai'i Bowl ; Nevada-Humanitarian Bowl; Boise State-Fiesta Bowl; after playing seven that reached bowl games in 2005.
-USU-
