Oct. 10, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

Complete USU Supplemental Notes at SJSU in PDF Format

GAME CAPTAINS -- Utah State football selects different captains each week. Those selected for the San Jose State game are #1 junior CB Kejon Murphy for defense, #48 junior TE Zac Zimmerman for the offense and #3 junior S James Brindley for special teams.

ON THE U -- Saturday's USU-SJSU game time was changed to 5:30 p.m. (MT) to accommodate the ESPNU Broadcast, available on Ch. 614 on DirectTV and Ch. 148 on DISH Network... ESPNU was launched in March 2005. The network features extensive studio programming and live coverage of games, including college football, college basketball and other Olympic sports from over 20 Division I conferences.

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 on the Internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on "Listen Live"... Al Lewis handles the play-by-play duties and Craig Hislop provides analysis.

ON THE INTERNET -- Saturday's USU-SJSU game is streamed on the Internet by clicking on the "Watch Live" link at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

LIVE STATS - Fans can follow Saturday's game through live stats by clicking on "Live Stats" on the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

USU EMBARKING ON NEW FRONTIER -- For the first time ever, Utah State is able to fly out of out of Logan-Cache Airport... Previously, the team has had to bus from Logan to Salt Lake City to get on a charter flight... The difference in departure and arrival airport is expected to cut down at least two hours on either side of the trip... The team will have only a 10 minute bus ride from campus to the Logan airport compared to the previous trips of an hour and a half to two hours from campus to the SLC airport... For its first flight of the season on Aug. 29, the flight from Logan to Las Vegas, Nev. took 1:02, faster than the previous time from Logan to the SLC airport.

TRAVEL PLANS -- Utah State will fly from Logan to San Jose, Calif., on Friday afternoon, and return on Saturday night after the game. Zach Fisher (C: 435-213-0318) of the athletic media relations staff will travel to the game.

A USU WIN WOULD...
• Be the Aggies' first 2-0 start to WAC play in USU's four years in the conference and be Utah State's first 2-0 league start since 2000, the Aggies' last year in the Big West Conference.
• Be the second win in three games for the Aggies.
• Be USU's first win over San Jose State on the Spartans' home turf since 1980, snapping a seven-game losing streak there.
• Snap SJSU's two-game winning streak in the series.
• Be the Aggies' first win in the state of California since 1992, snapping a seven-game losing streak there.
• Be USU's third road win in five away games, as the Aggies have split their last four road games, winning the final two away games last season and losing the first two of this year.
• Turn the "A" Blue.

A USU LOSS WOULD...
• Be USU's eighth-straight loss at SJSU.
• Be the Aggies' eighth-consecutive loss in the state of California.
• Be USU's third road loss in a row after consecutive away game victories last year.
• Be the Aggies' 21st loss in their last 24 games, 26th loss in the last 30 games and 32rd loss in the last 38 games.
• As always, be not as good as a win.

USU IN CALIFORNIA -- Utah State has a 50-58-2 (.464) record against teams from the state of California, including 18-33-1 in California... The Aggies' last win in the Golden State was in 1992, when USU won both of its games in California, a 26-7 win on Oct. 31, 1992 against Cal State Fullerton, who was so depressed by the loss that the Titans discontinued football following that season, and then a 38-35 win on Nov. 21, 1992 against Pacific, in which USU won on a field goal with 18 seconds left... Since then, the Aggies have lost their last seven games on California soil.

110 / 116 -- USU is taking the field for the 110th season of football in 116 years. The Aggies beat Utah, 12-0, in 1892, but then did not field a team until 1896, when they again only played one game but then played every year since with the exceptions of 1918 when to World War I and influenza cancelled the season and 1943 due to World War II.

OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOUGH -- Utah State's senior twin brother tandem of cornerback Joshua (#23) and safety Caleb Taylor (#39) are a brotherly duo that are one of just eight pairs brother teammates in Division I. The Taylors are one of three tandems who are twins... Below is the most recent listing of current brothers starting for the same college team, including San Jose State's brother tandem of Carl and Duke Ihenacho... Saturday's Utah State-San Jose State match-up is this season's only such occasion involving two teams from this list:

School Brothers (Positions)
California Eddie (Jr., LB) and Sean Young (Sr., WR)
Ole Miss John (Jr., OL) and Peria Jerry (Sr., DT)
Rutgers Twin brothers Devin (Jr., CB) and Jason McCourty (Sr., CB)*
San Jose St. Carl (Jr., DE) and Duke Ihenacho (So., LB)
Temple Twin brothers Elijah (So., OLB) and Elisha Joseph (So., DT)
UTAH STATE Twin brothers Caleb (Sr., FS) and Joshua Taylor (Sr., CB)
Virginia Tech Cam (Jr., OLB) and Orion Martin (Sr., DE)
Wyoming Marcell (So., CB) and Tashaun Gipson (Fr., CB)

*Devin McCourty redshirted his freshman season at Rutgers while his twin brother Jason did not redshirt, thus their different years in school.

The Taylors have 42 combined starts and played 72 combined games, believed to be the most combined starts and games played among the brother tandems.

LARGEST GAP BETWEEN NON-HOME GAMES -- Saturday is Utah State's first road game since the Aggies' game at Oregon on Sept. 6, a span of 35 days, tied for the fifth-longest game between non-homes games:

44*    Nebraska (Aug. 28 - Oct. 11)
44    West Virginia (Sept. 18 - Nov. 1)
42    Oklahoma State  (Aug. 30 - Oct. 11)
42    Syracuse (Aug. 30 - Oct. 11)
40^    Clemson (Aug. 30 - Oct. 9)
37    UTEP (Aug. 28 - Oct. 4)
37    Duke (Aug. 28 - Oct. 4)
37    Boston College (Aug. 28 - Oct. 4)
35    Utah State (Sept. 6 - Oct. 11)
35    Washington (Aug. 30 - Oct. 4)
35    Idaho (Oct. 18 - Nov. 22)
35    Indiana (Aug. 30 - Oct. 4)
35    Tulsa (Sept. 6 - Oct. 11)
* =    Nebraska's first road game of season is Oct. 11 - last Bowl Subdivision team to play a road game -
44 days is figured from opening of season Aug. 28 to Oct. 11
^ =    Clemson played a neutral site game on Aug. 30, then played at Wake Forest on Oct. 9

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE -- According to the NCAA, Utah State has the toughest schedule in the WAC for both games against Football Bowl Subdivision teams (ranked 51st overall) and for all games including games against FBS and Football Championship Series teams (tied for No. 43 overall):

FBS Only: Rank Team Cumulative Opposition Record Win Pct. 51 Utah State 23-20 / .532 96 San Jose State 17-26 / .395* * = third lowest in WAC behind No. 107 Louisiana Tech (.357) and No. 110 Fresno State (.333)

FBS and FCS:
Rank Team Cumulative Opposition Record Win Pct.
T-43 Utah State 34-22 / .607
T-139* San Jose State 25-30 / .455
* = tied with Boise State; third lowest in WAC behind No. 155 La. Tech (.444) and No. 160 Fresno State (.434).

GOIN' BACK TO CALI -- Utah State has 43 players on its roster from the state of California, the most from any state on the roster... Among the 43 are Bay area players #2 senior CB Roy Hurst (Oakland, Calif.), #6 redshirt-freshman RB Robert Turbin (Fremont, Calif.), #12 sophomore QB Diondre Borel (Oakley, Calif.) and #83 junior TE Jeremy Mitchell... Here's the complete list of the 43 California Aggies:

NO    NAME    POS    HT    WT    CL    EXP    HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL/LAST SCHOOL)
29    Sidney Allen    CB    6-1    180    So.    SQ    Merced, Calif. (Merced HS)
 8    Sheldon Armstrong *     DB    6-0    180    Fr.    HS    Long Beach, Calif. (Poly HS)
87    Doug Barbour    TE    6-4    235    So.    1L    La Mirada, Calif. (La Mirada HS)
12    Diondre Borel    QB    6-0    185    So.    SQ    Oakley, Calif. (Freedom HS)
 3    James Brindley    S    5-10    195    Jr.    2L    Grass Valley, Calif. (Nevada Union HS)
13    Marquis Butler    RB    6-0    185    Fr.    HS    Los Angeles, Calif. (Locke HS)
26    Marquise Charles    CB    5-8    175    Sr.    3L    Los Angeles, Calif. (Dorsey HS)
93    Gregg Clark    DL    6-4    277    Sr.    1L    Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Pac.PalisadesHS/Coll.ofSequoias)
98    Steven Clark    DE    6-4    256    Fr.    RS    La Palma, Calif. (Los Alamitos HS)
47    Daryl Fields    LB    5-7    210    Sr.    3L    Reseda, Calif. (Crespi Carmelite HS)
14    Robert Fuller *    QB    6-2    195    Fr.    HS    San Bernardino, Calif. (Arroyo Valley HS)
43    Kyle Gallagher ^    LB    6-0    198    So.    1L    Woodland, Calif. (Woodland HS)
68    Phillip Gapelu    OL    6-1    309    Fr.    RS    Lynwood, Calif. (Lynwood HS)
37    Quinn Garner    LB    6-3    230    Fr.    HS    Santa Cruz, Calif. (Santa Cruz HS)
41    Jordan Glass ^    LB    6-2    240    So.    1L     Elk Grove, Calif. (Elk Grove HS)
46    Darby Golden    DE    6-1    250    Jr.    2L    Lakewood, Calif. (Lakewood HS)
81    Nnamdi Gwacham    WR    6-3    203    Jr.    2L    Chino Hills, Calif. (Ayala HS)
45    De'von Hall    S    6-3    215    Sr.    3L    Reseda, Calif. (Cleveland HS)
34    Chris Harris    WR    5-10    185    Fr.    HS    Pasadena, Calif. (Duarte HS)
 2    Roy Hurst    CB    5-9    193    Sr.    1L    Oakland, Calif. (Castlemont HS/Santa Rosa JC)
 3    Exavier Johnson    QB    6-2    200    Fr.    HS    Van Nuys, Calif. (Birmingham HS)
52    Spencer Johnson    OL    6-5    292    So.    1L    Lancaster, Calif. (Antelope Valley HS)
28    Alfred Kikau *    DB    6-0    180    Fr.    HS    Sacramento, Calif. (Rio Americano HS)
27    Curtis Marsh    TB    6-0    194    So.    1L    Simi Valley, Calif. (Royal HS/Naval Academy Prep)
49    Brian Mason *    FB    5-10    255    So.    SQ    West Covina, Calif. (West Covina HS)
57    Magnum Mauga *    DL    6-0    296    Jr.    JC    La Mesa, Calif. (Helix HS/Grossmont JC)
61    Brennan McFadden    OT    6-2    305    Jr.    2L    Grass Valley, Calif. (Nevada Union HS)
83    Jeremy Mitchell    TE    6-5    251    Jr.    JC    Benicia, Calif. (Benicia HS/Laney JC)
67    Oscar Molina *    DL    6-4    245    Fr.    HS    Baldwin Park, Calif. (Baldwin Park HS)
82    Joe Moreno *    TE    6-3    230    Fr.    HS    Mission Hills, Calif. (Mission Hills HS)
 1    Kejon Murphy    CB    5-8    160    Jr.    2L    Fresno, Calif. (Edison HS)
19    Emmanual Ojeriakhi *    WR    6-3    185    Fr.    HS    Bakersfield, Calif. (Bakersfield HS)
 7    Chris Randle    CB    5-10    180    So.    1L    Merced, Calif. (Golden Valley HS)
99    Cedric Reeves    DT    6-1    291    Fr.    RS    Granada Hills, Calif. (Kennedy HS)
54    Nathan Royster    DE    6-0    256    So.    1L    San Leandro, Calif. (San Leandro HS)
33    Ronald Scott    RB    6-0    205    Fr.    HS    Palmdale, Calif. (Palmdale HS)
39    Caleb Taylor    S    6-3    193    Sr.    3L    Corona, Calif. (Santiago HS)
23    Joshua Taylor    CB    6-0    176    Sr.    3L    Corona, Calif. (Santiago HS)
 6    Robert Turbin    TB    5-10    210    Fr.    RS    Fremont, Calif. (Irvington HS)
16    Chris Ulinski    P/PK    6-2    206    Jr.    1L    Grass Valley, Calif. (Nevada Union HS)
40    Bobby Wagner    LB    6-3    210    Fr.    HS    Ontario, Calif. (Colony HS)
 9    Chris Williams    DB    6-2    185    Jr.    JC    Lawndale, Calif. (Leuzinger HS/El Camino JC)
48    Zac Zimmerman    TE    6-5    275    Jr.    SQ    Newhall, Calif. (Hart HS)
* = Not on travel roster  /  ^ = Injured

NUMBER OF FRESHMEN WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN 2008

Team    Freshmen    RS-Freshmen    Total
Florida State    22    9    31
Georgia    12    12    24
Eastern Michigan    11    13    24
SMU    15    8    23
Virginia Tech    9    14    23
Miami    21    **    21
Alabama    15    6    21
Toledo    15    6    21
Minnesota    14    7    21
Colorado    7    13    20
Colorado State    5    15    20
UCLA    11    8    19
Arizona State    10    9    19
Mississippi State    7    12    19
UTAH STATE    5    14    19
Auburn    12    6    18
USC    9    9    18
Baylor    5    13    18
UAB    11    6    17
Texas A&M    7    10    17
Idaho    11    5    16
Iowa State    11    5    16
North Texas    11    5    16
San Jose St.    10    5    15
Central Michigan    10    5    15
Arizona    9    6    15
N.C. State    5    10    15
Virginia    4    11    15
** = Miami has had 21 true freshman play, unknown how many RS-FR

RECORD BOOK WATCH TACKLE CHART -- 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 10 tackles in the BYU game, Hutton currently has 261 career tackles, leaving him 52 shy of cracking the top 10.

OSKIE RETURNS -- USU junior safety James Brindley tied for the team lead with three interceptions last season but led the Aggies with 96 return yards, a mark that ranked fourth in the WAC and was good for ninth on USU's single-season list... Brindley's 32-yard interception return in the Idaho game gives him 130 interception return yards for his career, moving him to No. 8 on USU's career INT return yardage list... He needs five more to reach No. 7, currently held by Grant Matrinsen (1964-66), while Chuck Detwiler is No. 6 with 140 yards from 1966-68.

JUST KICKIN' IT -- Placekicker Peter Caldwell is 43-of-43 (1.000) on PAT's, one of three Aggie kickers with a perfect career PAT percentage... Caldwell is now 16-of-26 (.615) on field goals for his career, needing three more makes and attempts to reach USU's career top 10 field goals list.

-USU-