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Aggies Host Nevada Saturday In WAC Home Opener
Oct. 12, 2009
LOGAN, Utah - Complete Nevada at Utah State Football Notes in PDF Format
QUICKLY -- To open a two-game homestand Utah State (1-4, 0-1 WAC) will host Nevada (2-3, 0-1 WAC) on Saturday, Oct. 17... Kickoff is at 1 p.m. (MT) from USU's Romney Stadium (25,513)... Saturday's game between the Aggies and Wolf Pack will be broadcast by XXL Sports/Cis-Com on CW 30 (Comcast Ch. 15 in Cache Valley). THEY ARE RUN-NING -- Saturday's match-up pits two of the top rushing teams in the WAC and NCAA... Nevada is first in both with 288.8 ypg, while Utah State is third in the WAC and 18th in the NCAA with 206.8 ypg. CONFERENCE HOME OPENERS -- Saturday is Utah State's first Western Athletic Conference home game this season... USU has won six of its last eight and nine of its last 12 conference home openers... This is the first time that Nevada has been Utah State's league home opener during USU's five seasons in the WAC, as San Jose State and Idaho have each filled that role twice... The Aggies broke a two-game conference home opener losing streak by beating Idaho last season... Here's a closer look at USU's last 12 overall conference home openers: 1995 - W 42-7 vs. Northern Illinois Big West 1996 - W 35-25 vs. Idaho Big West 1997 - W 38-7 vs. New Mexico State Big West 1998 - L 14-26 vs. Idaho Big West 1999 - W 20-14 vs. Arkansas State Big West 2000 - W 31-14 vs. Idaho Big West 2003 - W 28-10 vs. UL-Monroe Sun Belt 2004 - W 14-7 vs. Idaho Sun Belt 2005 - W 24-17 vs. San Jose State WAC 2006 - L 21-41 vs. Idaho WAC 2007 - L 20-23 vs. San Jose State WAC 2008 - W 42-17 vs. Idaho WAC ** USU was an independent in 2001 and 2002 FOLLOWING THE GAME ON TV -- Saturday's WAC match-up between the Aggies and the Wolf Pack will be broadcast by XXL Sports/Cis-Com on CW 30 (Comcast Ch. 15 in Cache Valley). ON THE AIR -- All Utah State football games are carried live 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 -- USU home football games are also streamed on the Internet through "Aggies All Access," by clicking on the "Live Aggies Video" link in the right hand column on the home page of www.UtahStateAggies.com. GAMETRACKER -- Fans can follow all USU 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. COACHES SHOW ON THE ROAD -- The Gary Andersen radio show will rotate between the A&W Restaurant and Firehouse Pizza on Thursday nights (6:05-6:45 p.m. on 610 AM KVNU) when the Aggies play on Saturday... The show gives USU fans an opportunity to ask questions and interact with Coach Andersen and players. Oct. 15, Oct. 29 - A&W Restaurant (710 N Main, Logan, UT) /
UP NEXT -- Utah State continues its two-game homestand by hosting Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Oct. 24... Kickoff from USU's Romney Stadium is slated for 1 p.m. UTAH STATE NOTE-ABLES GOOD TO BE HOME -- Saturday is USU's second home game of the season, last playing in the friendly confines of Romney Stadium on Sept. 26... This is the latest in the season that USU's second home game has happened since 1991, when the Aggies played their second home game of the season on Oct. 19... USU opened the season with four of its first five on the road, the first such stretch since 2003 and the 22nd time overall with a matching or bigger stretch of road games to open the season: 2003, 1993, 1991, 1987, 1986,1985, 1978^, 1976, 1974, 1972, 1967", 1962, 1960, 1958, 1956, 1954#, 1928, 1926, 1924, 1922, 1913, 1904> ^ = opened at Japan / " = played five-straight away from home (three road + one neutral) / # = five-straight road games / > = eight-straight road games USU IN OCTOBER / ON OCT. 17 -- Utah State has an 11-game losing streak in October and has lost 22 of its last 25 games in the Canadian Thanksgiving month (which was on Monday, Oct. 12)... USU won its first game of the month in 2006, edging Fresno State, 13-12, on Oct. 7, but has lost 11 in row in October since... Saturday is the Aggies' first game on Oct. 17 since a 1998 loss to Idaho... USU has won two of its last three and four of its last six on Oct. 17 and the Aggies are 7-3-1 on the date all-time, including 5-3 at home... Here's a look at how USU has fared on Oct. 17: 1903 W 17-0 vs. Utah 1914 L 3-52 vs. Montana State 1931 W 12-6 vs. Denver 1936 W 13-0 at Brigham Young 1942 L 7-34 vs. Utah 1959 W 28-0 vs. Montana 1964 W 14-3 at New Mexico 1981 T 13-13 at TCU 1987 W 17-13 vs. Pacific 1992 W 28-16 vs. Kansas State 1998 L 14-26 vs. IdahoUSU VS. NEVADA IN OCTOBER -- Saturday is the third straight time that USU and Nevada have meet in October and the sixth time overall... The Aggies won the first October meeting between the two teams in 1915 (26-0), but have lost the last four October match-ups in 1916 (9-7), 1944 (13-7), 2007 (31-28) and 2008 (44-17). USU-NEV SERIES -- In Utah State's oldest series with a WAC opponent, dating back to 1904, Nevada leads the all-time series with a 15-4 advantage... The Wolf Pack has won the last four in a row and 10 of the last 12 meetings... Nevada won six of the eight match-ups in Logan and is 9-2 at Reno... The Wolf Pack has won the last six meetings at Logan, with the last three all by six points or less (31-28 in 2007, 30-24 in 2005, 26-21 in 1998)... The visiting team has won eight of the last 10 meetings, with Nevada's 2006 and 2008 wins the only home victories in that stretch... The series dates back to 1904 and the schools met six times before playing in the Big West from 1992-99... In that time frame the schools had eight meetings and one of the two schools claimed or shared the league title in each of the first six years (1992-97)... In fact, the two programs shared the Big West regular season title in 1996 and 1997 with identical 4-1 records both years... In 1996 the teams played for the conference title in the final week of the year and Nevada posted a 54-27 win at Logan... In 1997, USU clinched the league title against a then-undefeated Wolf Pack team in the second to last game of the year with a 38-19 win at Nevada. Nevada Overall: 4-15-0 / Home: 2-9-0 / Away: 2-6-0AGGIE-WOLF PACK NOTE-ABLE -- One Aggie, senior K Chris Ulinski attended Nevada in 2006, but did not play football, instead opting for another game involving an oblong shaped ball, playing on the UNR club rugby team... USU has two players from the Silver State, freshman running back Kerwyn Williams, who is from Las Vegas (Valley HS) - Nevada has four players from Las Vegas, but none are Valley HS alum - and freshman offensive lineman Parker Robertson from Gardnerville (Douglas HS)... Nevada does not have any players from Utah... Aggie sophomore offensive lineman Philip Gapelu and Wolf Pack seniors defensive linemen twin brothers Daniel and Nate Agaiava are all from Lynwood, Calif., and all went to Lynwood HS... USU junior back-up QB Jeff Fischer and NEV freshman offensive lineman Joel Bitonio are both from Long Beach, Calif., but Fischer went to Lakewood HS while Bitonio went to Long Beach Wilson HS... Aggie sophomore defensive back Chris Harris (Duarte HS) and Wolf Pack redshirt-freshman defensive back Thaddeus Brown (Notre Dame HS) and sophomore quarterback Luke Collis (St. Francis HS) are all from Pasadena, Calif., and all three went to different high schools... USU junior defensive back Rajric Coleman (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) and NEV senior tight end Kevin Bohr (Glendale, Ariz.) were junior college teammates at Glendale CC... USU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin was head coach at San Jose State from 1997-2000, where Nevada defensive end coach Barry Sacks was the defensive line coach at SJSU from 1998-2000... Nevada director of football operations Craig Hopkins was the equipment manager at Utah State in 1996. GRASS VALLEY QUARTET? -- Utah State has a trio of senior players from Grass Valley, Calif., (a mere 87.6 miles from Reno according to Google maps) in safety James Brindley, center Brennan McFadden and placekicker Chris Ulinski... All three of them went to Nevada Union HS... Ulinski attended Nevada for one year, but did not play football, instead playing another sport involving an oblong shaped ball, playing on UNR's rugby team... Nevada has one player from Grass Valley in junior linebacker Kevin Grimes, but Grimes went to Bear River HS. BATTLE OF BAND OF BROTHERS -- Utah State has two pairs of brothers in the Igboeli brothers - senior LB Paul and junior CB Washington, and the Erickson brothers - junior OL Preston and freshman OL Parker... Meanwhile, Nevada counters with the Agaiava twin brothers, senior defensive linemen Daniel and Nate. USU SINGLE-GAME BESTS VS. NEVADA -- Here is a look at some of the top USU statistical individual performances against the Wolf Pack over the years: Anthony Calvillo threw five TD passes vs. Nevada in 1992, which is tied for the single-game school record... Calvillo threw for 428 yards in the 1992 match-up with Nevada, which is the No. 6 spot on the single-game passing list... Demario Brown holds the No. 4 single-game rushing mark with 253 yards vs. the Wolf Pack in 1999... Kevin Alexander had 236 receiving yards in 1995, the fourth-best single-game outing... In 1992, the Aggies rang up 684 yards of total offense, tied for the single-game record for total offense (2001 vs. Weber State)... The No. 17 spot on the single-game total offense list of 547 yard came against Nevada in 1993... The 428 passing yards in the 1992 meeting is seventh on the single-game passing list, while 372 passing yards in 2005 is No. 21... In 1999, USU tallied 388 rushing yards vs. Nevada, the No. 11 spot on the rushing list. USU VS. SILVER STATE TEAMS -- Utah State is 16-22 (.421) all-time against teams from the Silver State, with a 4-15 record against Nevada and 12-7 vs. UNLV... The Aggies' last win over a team from Nevada was Sept. 24, 2005 over UNLV, 31-24... USU has lost six in a row to a Silver State opponent since, losing to Nevada in 2005, '06, '07 and '08 and losing to UNLV in 2007 and '08. UTAH STATE-NEVADA BY THE NUMB3R5 -- A closer look at note-ables about Saturday's match-up between the Aggies and the Wolf Pack:
0 - Times that USU has beaten Nevada when Chris Ault has been head coach,
as the Wolf Pack veteran head coach is 7-0 vs. USU, including 3-0 at Logan.
0 - Players from the state of Utah on Nevada's roster.
1 - Person on the Nevada staff with ties to Utah State in NEV director of football
operations Craig Hopkins, who was the equipment manager at Utah State in 1996.
2 - Players from the state of Nevada on Utah State's roster: freshman RB
Kerwynn Williams and freshman OL Parker Robertson.
2 - Coaches involved in Saturday's game who were on the San Jose State
coaching staff together in 1998-2000 in USU offensive coordinator Dave
Baldwin (head coach at SJSU) and NEV defensive end coach Barry Sacks
(SJSU defensive line coach).
4 - Players from Grass Valley, Calif. involved in the game in the USU senior trio
of S James Brindley, C Brennan McFadden and K Chris Ulinski, and Nevada
junior LB Kevin Grimes.
4 - Straight wins in the series overall by Nevada.
4 - Wins by Utah State in the series overall.
6 - Consecutive wins at Logan by Nevada in the USU-NEV series.
15 - Wins by Nevada in the series overall.
16 - Utah State's win over a team from Nevada (4-15 vs. Nevada, 12-7 vs. UNLV).
597 - Miles from USU's Romney Stadium to NEV's Mackay Stadium.
1904 - First year that USU and NEV played football, Utah State's oldest series with
a WAC opponent
EACH OTHER'S LAST TIME LIST -- On Utah State's "Last Time" list, Nevada is referenced four times: USU's last punt return for a TD was a 70-yard return against Nevada in 2007... Nevada was the last USU opponent to rush for 300 yards against the Aggies, when the Wolf Pack amassed 302 on the ground in 2007... Current Wolf Pack senior RB Luke Lippincott is also the last individual to rush for 200 yards against the Aggie defense with 244 in 2007... The last individual to have 200 yards receiving was Nevada's Trevor Insley with 242 yards on 14 catches in 1999... USU is not on Nevada's "Last Time" list at all.
USU-NEV LAST TIME
RENO, Nev. - Despite forcing four turnovers on defense and amassing 333 yards of total offense, Utah State lost to Nevada, 44-17, on Oct. 18, as USU suffered its fourth loss in a row to Nevada. The Aggies dropped their third in a row overall in falling to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in Western Athletic Conference action while the Wolf Pack won for the third time in their last four games in improving to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in WAC play. USU had 333 yards of offense, as sophomore QB Diondre Borel threw for a season-high 262 yards on 19-of-39, tossing two TD's for the third time this season. Borel also had 50 rushing yards on 21 carries, as USU had 71 total rushing yards. Senior WR Otis Nelson had a career-best 86 receiving yards on four catches with two TD's. Redshirt-freshman TE Tarren Lloyd added four receptions for 69 yards. Defensively, USU was led by junior LB Paul Igboeli with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery while junior S James Brindley added eight stops. Senior S/LB De'von Hall and junior CB Kejon Murphy each snagged an interception. Nevada had 523 yards of total offense, including 284 rushing, led by RB Vai Taua's 122 and a TD. QB Colin Kaepernick was 10-of-20 passing for 197 and had 48 yards rushing on six carries with two TD's. Borel hit Nelson with a 16-yard TD in the second quarter to pull USU to 13-7, but then Nevada reeled off 27 unanswered points to open a 30-7 lead. Junior K Chris Ulinski filled in for sophomore Peter Caldwell for field goals, booting a 42-yarder in the third quarter. After the Wolf Pack scored again on a Kaepernick rush, Borel hit Nelson again with a 52-yard strike to pull the Aggies within 37-17, but Nevada tacked on a 47-yard INT return for a TD to cap the scoring. Score By Quarters Utah State 0 7 3 7 - 17 Nevada 6 14 10 14 - 44
AGGIES-WOLF PACK LAST TIME AT LOGAN --
Utah State suffered its third loss by seven points or less with a 31-28 loss to Nevada on Oct. 20, 2007 at Romney Stadium. Nevada beat USU for the sixth-straight time in Logan and the third in a row overall and the Wolf Pack now lead the all-time series, 13-4. USU had a fourth quarter lead for the fourth time this season, taking a 28-24 lead just 45 seconds into the final stanza on a 10-yard run by senior QB/P Leon Jackson III and the PAT by freshman K Peter Caldwell. Nevada countered with a 32-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick to Mike McCoy with 7:18 left in the game and the Aggies couldn't recover, going three-and-out in their final two possessions. The Wolf Pack hogged the ball in the second half, running 48 plays after halftime while limiting the Aggies to just 16 as USU only had two first downs in the second half. Nevada had possession of the pigskin for 22:21 of the 30 minutes after the half. Nevada ended the game with 472 yards of total offense (302 rushing, 170 passing), including 298 (221 rushing, 77 passing) in the second half. Wolf Pack running back Luke Lippincott had 188 of those second half rushing yards, finishing the game with 241 yards and two TD's. Lippincott becomes the first opposing player to reach 200-yards rushing on the USU defense since Jamario Brown of North Texas had 256 yards in 2004, when current USU offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was head coach of the Mean Green. Lippincott has now rushed for 385 yards and four TD's in the last two meetings with USU. Utah State had a balanced 212 yards of total offense, with 106 rushing and 106 passing. Jackson was 11-of-19 passing for the 106 yards and led USU with 51 rushing yards, becoming the first non-running back to lead the Aggies in rushing this season. Jackson also had two rushing TD's, a 1-yard plunge in the first quarter for USU's first TD of the game and the 10-yard run in the fourth quarter. Jackson now has four rushing TD's on the season, which are the most for a USU QB since Travis Cox had four in 2003. Senior WR/KR Kevin Robinson had a 70-yard punt return for a score late in the second quarter to send the Aggies into halftime ahead on the scoreboard for just the second time this season and the first since game one against UNLV. It was Robinson's third special teams TD of the season (two kick returns, one punt return) and his fourth punt return of his career. Robinson now takes sole possession of the USU career record for punt returns, surpassing John Strycula (1969-71) and Bob Wicks (1969-71) with three each. Defensively, Utah State was led by junior LB Jake Hutton with 11 tackles and one forced fumble, while junior S Caleb Taylor matched Hutton with 11 stops to go with two pass break-ups, including one near interception. Fellow junior, DE Ben Calderwood had 10 tackles, including one sack, while sophomore S James Brindley had 10 stops and two fumble recoveries. The USU defense also had its streak of consecutive games with an interception stopped at five. Score By Quarters Nevada 14 0 10 7 - 31 Utah State 7 14 0 7 - 28ABOUT USU -- Utah State is 1-4 overall and 0-1 in WAC action after a 20-17 loss at New Mexico State last Saturday, as NMSU's Kyle Hughes booted a 28-yard field goal as time expired for the win... USU out-gained NMSU 429 to 230, but Utah State had 12 penalties... USU's previous three losses coming to top 25-ranked offensive teams... Utah State is led by the offensive tandem of junior QB Diondre Borel and sophomore RB Robert Turbin... Borel is 84-of-147 (57.1 pct) for 1,140 yards with six TD's and only one INT... Turbin has 604 yards on 84 carries (7.2 ypc/120.8 ypg)... Junior RB Michael Smith is second on the team in rushing with 29 carries for 176 yards (6.1 ypc/35.2 ypg) while Borel is third with 175 yards on 72 carries (2.4 ypc/35.0 ypg)... USU's leading receiver is sophomore WR Stanley Morrison with 15 catches for 311 yards (20.7 ypc/62.2 ypg)... Morrison has also thrown for two TD's on end around passes... Senior WR Omar Sawyer has 12 receptions for 155 yards (12.9 ypc/31.0 ypg) while Turbin and junior Eric Moats have 11 catches each, as Turbin has 190 yards (17.3 ypc/38.0 ypg) and Moats has 138 yards (12.5 ypc/27.6 ypg)... Defensively, sophomore LB Bobby Wagner has a team-best 55 tackles (11.0 pg), tying for the team lead with three tackles for loss... Senior S James Brindley has 46 stops (9.2 pg) and is tops on the team two interceptions and six pass break-ups... Junior S Rajric Coleman is third with 35 tackles... Junior P Peter Caldwell has 33 punts for a 43.9 ypp average with nine punts of 50+ yards and 13 inside the 20-yard line... Senior K Chris Ulinski is 5-of-7 (71.4 pct) on field goals with a long of 42-yards... Ulinski has 11 touchbacks on kickoffs. IN THE STAT RANKINGS -- USU has several players amongst the WAC and NCAA statistical leaders, as well as in the team stats: -- USU is third in the WAC and 18th in the NCAA in rushing offense (206.80), while ranking fourth in the league and 43rd in the nation in passing offense (236.8 ypg) to rank third in the conference and 18th in the country in total offense (443.6 ypg). -- Defensively, USU is sixth in the league and 106th in the nation in rushing defense (190.2 ypg) as well as sixth in the conference and 82nd in the country in pass defense (233.80 ypg), to rank eighth in the WAC and 107th in the NCAA in total defense (424.0 ypg). -- Junior QB Diondre Borel is second in the WAC and tied for 25th in the NCAA in total offense (263.0 ypg), as well as ranking sixth in the league and 51st in the nation in passing efficiency (134.4)... He also is tied for 16th in the WAC in scoring (4.8 ppg) and 17th in rushing (35.0 ypg). -- Sophomore RB Robert Turbin is second in the WAC and seventh in the NCAA in rushing (120.8 ypg)... Turbin leads the WAC and is 17th in the country in all-purpose yards (158.8 ypg), as well as 10th in the league in total offense (120.8 ypg) and tied for 11th in the conference in scoring (6.0 ppg). -- Sophomore LB Bobby Wagner leads the WAC and ranks tied for fifth in the NCAA in tackles (11.0 pg). -- Senior S James Brindley is fourth in the conference and tied for 33rd in the country in tackles (9.2 pg) as well as tied for third in the league and tied for 42nd in the nation in interceptions with two (0.4 pg)... Brindley also leads the WAC and ranks sixth in the NCAA in passes defended with eight off two interceptions and six pass break-ups. -- Junior P Peter Caldwell is second in the WAC and is 16th in the NCAA in punting (43.9 ypp). -- Senior K Chris Ulinski is tied for fourth in the league and tied for 64th in the nation in field goals (1.0 pg) as well as fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (.714, 5-of-7)... Ulinski also leads the WAC with 11 touchbacks. ABOUT NEVADA -- After losing its first three games, to #23 Notre Dame, Colorado State and Missouri, Nevada has won two in a row to move to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in WAC play... Junior QB Colin Kaepernick leads the Wolf Pack, as he is 84-of-128 (65.6 pct) passing for 920 yards with six TD's and four INT's... Kaepernick is also second on the team with 384 yards rushing on 59 carries (6.5 ypc/76.8 ypg) with three TD's... Senior RB Luke Lippincott has 393 yards on 63 carries (6.2 ypc), ranking tied for sixth in the WAC and tied for 49th in the NCAA in rushing with 78.6 ypg... Sophomore Vai Tua is fifth in the league and 48th in the nation in rushing with 79.0 ypg... Redshirt-freshman WR Brandon Wimberly leads the team with 25 catches for 360 yards (14.4 ypc/72.0 ypg)...Defensively, senior FS Jonathon Amaya leads the Wolf Pack with 36 tackles and is tied for the team lead with three pass break-ups... Sophomore LB Brandon Marshall and senior LB Mike Bethea have 31 stops each. BOREL SETS SCHOOL RECORD -- Junior quarterback Diondre Borel now has 817 yards (246 att.) while at QB for his career, setting a new USU career record for rushing yards by a quarterback, topping the old mark of 814 yards held by Leon Jackson III (355 att., 2004-07).
Rushing Yards by a Quarterback
Game: 121, Tony Adams (12 attempts) vs. Colorado State, 1972
93, Diondre Borel (12 attempts) vs. Idaho, 2008
Season: 632, Diondre Borel (179 att.), 2008
Career: 817, Diondre Borel (246 att.), 2008-pres.
LAST GAME NOTES -- Utah State at New Mexico State - Oct. 10, 2009 - Las Cruces, N.M..
-- Senior LB Paul Igboeli made his 37th-consecutive and 37th career start overall, leading USU in both categories... Senior S James Brindley started his 26th career game, while junior OT Spencer Johnson started his 24th career game, which ranks second and third, respectively... Junior QB Diondre Borel made his 14th-consecutive start, ranking second on the team. -- Senior TE Jeremy Mitchell made his first start of the season and fifth of his career. -- USU's defense held the opposition without a first down in its opening possession for the fourth time this season with a three-and-out after fumbles in the Utah and BYU games and a three-and-out against Southern Utah. -- Saturday was the first time that USU did not score on its opening drive this season and snapped its streak of five in a row dating back to last season. -- Junior P Peter Caldwell's 58-yard punt in the first quarter tied a season-long and was two yards shy of his career long of 60 yards... It was Caldwell's fifth game in a row with at least one 50+ yard punt and was his 14th career game with a 50+ yarder in 19 career games with a punt... It was Caldwell's third game in a row with at least two of over 50 yards and was the fifth sixth in his career with two or more 50+ yard punts. -- Saturday was the first time this season that USU did not score in the first quarter and in the last six games dating back to last season. -- Senior PK Chris Ulinski's 34-yard field goal in the second quarter gives him one made FG in all five games this season... USU has made a field goal in the last seven games in a row dating back to last season. -- After not having a non-QB TD toss since 2000, USU now has two this season, both by sophomore WR Stanley Morrison, with Saturday's 15-yard TD toss from Morrison to senior WR Omar Sawyer... Morrison also had a 29-yard TD pass to Turbin in the Southern Utah game. -- Saturday was the first time that USU was tied at the half and just the second time in the last four seasons (last year vs. Idaho, 7-7 at half, W 42-17)... USU is now 1-1 in those two occasions. -- Sophomore RB Robert Turbin not only had a career-high but also topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season. -- Junior QB Diondre Borel now has a TD pass in four straight games. -- Senior WR Xavier Bowman has a TD catch in back-to-back games, the first USU receiver to do so this season and just the third in the past two seasons (Otis Nelson and Robert Turbin). -- Junior CB Curtis Marsh snared his first career interception with the third quarter oskie, becoming the second USU defensive back to do so in as many games (junior S Rajric Coleman vs. BYU). -- Turbin topped the 1,000-yard milestone for his career with Saturday's career-high 184 yards, becoming the first USU back to reach the 1K career yards mark since David Fiefia (2000-03), who ended his career with 1,193 yards. -- Saturday was USU's 10th road loss in a row. -- Saturday was the second time in the last 10 games that USU has lost on a last-second field goal after a 58-yarder by Fresno State to beat USU, 30-28, on Oct. 25. -- Utah State is now:
1K TURBIN -- Sophomore RB Robert Turbin's career-high 184 yards give him 1,106 yards for his career, becoming the first USU back to reach the 1K career yards mark since David Fiefia (2000-03), who ended his career with 1,193 yards. TURBO TURBIN JOINING ELITE COMPANY -- With his career-high 148 yards vs. Utah, sophomore running back Robert Turbin logged his second-career 100-yard outing, joining the 123 total vs. Idaho last season as a freshman... Turbin became the seventh Aggie running back to post 100 yards as a freshman... However, he joined rare company with his 100-yard outing as a sophomore, becoming just the fourth Aggie to do so... The other three: Demario Brown (4,053 yards), Abu Wilson (3,933) and Rick Parros (3,537), are numbers 1-2-3 on USU's career rushing list, respectively. USU's FRESHMAN 100-YARD RUSHERS SINCE 1976: Rick Parros (1976), Travis Clark (1986), Abu Wilson (1992), Demario Brown (1996), John Roberts (1998), Jerod Walker (2005), Robert Turbin (2008). USU's FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE 100-YARD RUSHERS SINCE 1976: Rick Parros (1976-77), Abu Wilson (1992-94*), Demario Brown (1996-97), Robert Turbin (2008-09). * - Wilson redshirted in 1993 with injury HEAD COACH COACHING POSITION -- In addition to his head coaching duties, USU head coach Gary Andersen is also the position coach for the defensive tackles... Andersen is one of six Division I (FBS) coaches doing so: Ball State Stan Parrish Quarterbacks Colorado Dan Hawkins Receivers Kent State Doug Martin Quarterbacks Nevada Chris Ault Quarterbacks San Diego State Brady Hoke Defensive Line UTAH STATE Gary Andersen Defensive TacklesOFFENSIVE EXPLOSION -- Upon extensive research by USU media relations' Duke of the Archives Tyler Hutchison, it was found that Utah State's last back-to-back 300-yard passing games was in 2002 and the last consecutive games with 500+ yards of total offense was in 2000 until the Aggies did so in both categories against Texas A&M and Southern Utah... USU had four 300-yard passing outings in a row in 2002... The Aggies haven't had three-straight games with 500 yards of total offense since at least 1957. OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN -- Utah State football head coach Gary Andersen announced the Aggies' 2009 captains, after a vote by the team... All three of the defensive captains are seniors, while the offensive captains consist of a senior, a junior and a sophomore... Representing the defense will be the senior trio of safety James Brindley, linebacker Paul Igboeli and cornerback Kejon Murphy... The offensive captains are senior center Brennan McFadden, junior quarterback Diondre Borel and sophomore running back Robert Turbin. TURBIN AMONG NATION'S LEADERS FOR 50+ YARD SCORING PLAYS -- Sophomore RB Robert Turbin has three scoring plays of 50 yards or more with a school-record 96-yard rush at Utah (Sept. 3), a 50-yard TD rush at Texas A&M (Sept. 19) and a 77-yard TD reception vs. Southern Utah (Sept. 26)... Turbin is one of six Division I players with three or more: 50 + yard scoring plays
Chris Owusu, Stanford - 4 (three kickoff returns for TDs (85, 94 and 91) and 64-yard TD reception) Darius Marshall, Marshall - 3 (80, 61, 69 - all rushing) C.J. Spiller, Clemson - 3 (96-yard kickoff return, 63-yard pass reception, 77-yard punt return) Robert Turbin, Utah State - 3 (96-yard rush, 50-yard rush, 77-yard reception) Duke Calhoun, Memphis - 3 ( 85, 80 and 61 - all receiving) BOOMSKI ULINSKI -- Chris Ulinksi's WAC-leading 21 touchbacks in 2008 were three more than USU's three previous years combined total of 18 consisting of nine in `07 (by Ulinski), one in `06 and eight in `05, especially impressive since kickoffs were moved back from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line prior to the 2007 season... Ulinski has 41 career touchbacks, currently with 11 in 2009. BAND OF BROTHERS -- Utah State has two sets of brothers on its roster: The Igboeli brothers - senior LB Paul and junior CB Washington (Grand Prairie, Texas / Grand Prairie HS), and the Erickson brothers - junior OL Preston and freshman OL Parker (Sandy, Utah / Alta HS). SEVEN OF UTAH STATE'S 2009 OPPONENTS WENT TO BOWL GAME -- A total of seven of Utah State's 2009 opponents went to a bowl game... The list includes five Western Athletic Conference teams in addition to two non-conference foes, including Utah who was selected to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game and won the Sugar Bowl... The WAC tied a conference record by having five teams selected to a bowl game, last happening in 1992... There were six bowl eligible teams and only San Jose State did not get selected, while Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Louisiana Tech and Nevada were all selected for postseason play. NEW MEXICO BOWL - Albuquerque, N.M. - Colorado St. 40, Fresno St. 35 POINSETTIA BOWL - San Diego, Calif. - #11 TCU 17, #9 Boise St. 16 HAWAI'I BOWL - Honolulu, Hawaii - Notre Dame 49, Hawai'i 21 INDEPENDENCE BOWL - Shreveport, La. - Louisiana Tech 17, No. Illinois 10 HUMANITARIAN BOWL - Boise, Idaho - Maryland 42, Nevada 35 LAS VEGAS BOWL - Las Vegas, Nev. - Arizona 31, #16 BYU 21 SUGAR BOWL - New Orleans, La. - #6 Utah 31, #4 Alabama 17 2009 USU Opponent UnderlinedJUST KICKIN' IT -- A new streak started with USU's first successful PAT at Utah on Sept. 3 by senior PK Chris Ulinski, who made both of his attempts... After making his first 57 in a row, Peter Caldwell missed his final attempt of last season in the Aggies' 47-2 win over New Mexico State... Caldwell is tied for sixth on USU's career PAT made list with 57 and fourth on the career PAT percentage list (57-of-58, .970)... Caldwell is also 23-of-33, .700, for career field goals, ranking seventh on the career field goals made list, eighth on the attempts list and fifth on the FG percentage list. AGGIE-BITS • Sophomore RB Robert Turbin had three rushing TD's vs. Louisiana Tech last season, becoming the first USU RB to have three rushing TD's in one game since Emmett White had three on Nov. 17, 2001 against Weber State... The last three-rushing TD outing against a Division I team was also by White, against Arkansas State on Oct. 28, 2000. • Turbin's eight rushing TD's last season put him five shy of USU's career top 10 list, trailing three players with 13 each in Jerry Cox (1973-74), Jerry Hughes (1971-72) and Altie Taylor (1966-68). • Junior QB Diondre Borel smashed USU's single-season rushing yards by a QB record with 632 yards... The previous record was 338 by Leon Jackson III in 2007... His 632 yards rushing puts him over two-thirds of the way to Jackson's career record of 814 yards from 2004-07. • Borel's 1,705 passing yards is the most by a USU QB since Travis Cox's 1,908 yards in 2004... Borel's total offense sum of 2,337 yards is No. 13 on USU's single season total offense list, becoming the 17th Aggie overall in school history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau and the first since Cox with 2,844 in 2003. • Borel was one of seven quarterbacks in the country to lead their respective teams in both rushing and passing, and Borel was the only sophomore on the list: Name School YR Julian Edelman Kent State SR Juice Williams Illinois JR Colt McCoy Texas JR Dan LeFevour Central Michigan JR Joe Webb UAB JR Matt Grothe South Florida JR Diondre Borel UTAH STATE SO • Lombardi Award Watch List member, senior LB Paul Igboeli is closing in on the USU and WAC career tackles top 10 lists, currently with 253 stops... He is closing in on Al Smith (1984-86) for No. 10 on the Aggies' career list, as well as Bryce McGill (1999-2003) from Fresno State on the WAC list. • Senior S James Brindley is currently No. 2 on USU's career interception return yards with 226 yards on eight career INT's, needing two to crack the top-10 list. 111 / 117 -- USU is taking the field for the 111th season of football in 117 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.
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