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Utah State Plays At Nevada Saturday
Oct. 13, 2008 LOGAN, Utah - Complete USU Notes At Nevada in PDF Format
UTAH STATE at NEVADA Saturday, Oct. 18, 2:05 p.m. (MT) Mackay Stadium (29,993) - Reno, Nev.
QUICKLY -- Utah State (1-5, 1-1 WAC) continues its two-game road swing by heading to Reno, Nev. to tangle with Nevada (3-3, 1-1 WAC) in a Western Athletic Conference clash on Saturday, Oct. 18... Kickoff from UNR's Mackay Stadium (29,993) is slated for 2:05 p.m. (MT)... The visiting team in this series has won eight of the last nine meetings, with Nevada's win in 2006 the only home victory in that stretch, part of the Wolf Pack's three-game win streak in the series. 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 this Saturday, 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 4,262COUSINS' CLASH -- Utah State junior DL Magnum Mauga and Nevada senior LB Josh Mauga are cousins... USU's Mauga is from La Mesa, Calif., while UNR's Mauga is from Fallon, Nev. 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-UNR 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. COACHES SHOW ON THE ROAD -- For the fourth-straight year the Brent Guy radio show will be held at different locations on campus on Thursday nights (6:05-6:45 p.m. on 610 AM KVNU). 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. Upcoming Coaches Show Schedule: Oct. 16 (Fieldhouse), Oct. 23 (Alumni House) UP NEXT -- Utah State returns home to the friendly confines of Romney Stadium to host Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 25 for USU's Homecoming... Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (MT). THREE OUT OF FOUR VS. RANKED OPPONENTS -- USU's game on Oct. 3 vs. No. 8 BYU was Utah State's third ranked opponent in four games after playing 18th-ranked Oregon (L, 24-66) on Sept. 6, then 22nd-ranked Utah on Sept. 13 (L, 10-58) and then unranked Idaho on Sept. 20 (W, 42-17)... This season is the first time since 2001 that USU faced three ranked opponents in a span of four games, playing at No. 13 LSU (L, 14-31), then playing unranked Wyoming on Sept. 22 (L, 42-43) before taking on 6th-ranked Oregon on Sept. 29 (L 21-38) and at No. 18 BYU on Oct. 5 (L, 34-54)... USU played three ranked opponent this season for the second year in a row, after not playing three in one season since 2001. USU IN OCTOBER / ON OCT. 18 -- Utah State has a seven-game losing streak in October and has lost 18 of its last 21 games in the Canadian Thanksgiving month (which was on Monday, Oct. 13)... USU won its first game of the month in 2006, edging Fresno State, 13-12, on Oct. 7, but has lost seven in row in October since... Saturday is the Aggies' first game on Oct. 18 since 2003 when USU lost at North Texas, 37-27, where current Aggie offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was head coach... Overall, USU is 6-7 on Oct. 18, since 1914, winning four of its last seven games on the date... The Aggies are 3-5 on the road on Oct. 18... Here's a look at how USU has fared on Oct. 18: 1919 - W, 47-0 vs. Montana 1969 - W, 23-7 at Army 1924 - W, 47-0 vs. Montana Tech 1975 - W, 30-7 at Weber State 1930 - L, 0-65 at USC 1980 - L, 46-70 vs. BYU 1941 - L, 0-16 vs. Idaho 1986 - L, 0-33 at Cal State Fullerton 1947 - L, 19-33 at Wyoming 1997 - W, 38-7 vs. New Mexico State 1952 - L, 21-27 at Fresno State 2003 - L, 27-37 at North Texas 1958 - W, 27-14 at Montana StateOH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN -- Each week Utah State will select game captains. Those selected for the Nevada game will be announced later in the week. ROAD WOE-IORS -- Life on the road has been tough for the Aggies, who have lost their last three road games and are 3-21 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 two home wins in its last 15 home games, as the win over Idaho on Sept. 20 snapped a seven-game home losing skein, after USU had last won on its home turf on Oct. 7, 2006 with a 13-12 win over Fresno State... The Aggies are 4-14 at home under head coach Brent Guy. ABOUT UTAH STATE -- USU won its first game of the season on Sept. 20 with a 42-17 win over Idaho to improve to 1-0 in WAC action before losing to San Jose State Saturday, 30-7, to even Utah State's WAC mark at 1-1... The Aggies are 1-5 overall... USU is sixth in the WAC statistics in rushing offense (130.3 ypg) and 77th in the WAC, as well as eighth in the conference and 95th in the country in passing offense (174.3 ypg) to rank ninth in the league and 101st in the nation in total offense (304.7 ypg)... Defensively, the Aggies are sixth in the conference and 95th in the country in rushing defense, sixth in the league and 97th in the nation in pass defense (253.0 ypg) to rank ninth in the WAC and 105th in the NCAA in total defense (430.0 ypg)... USU is eighth in the conference and 98th in the country in scoring offense (19.0 ppg)... The Aggies are also eighth in the league and 113th in the nation in scoring defense (38.7 ppg)... Individually, sophomore QB Diondre Borel is ninth in the WAC and 83rd in the NCAA in passing efficiency (112.7) and is ninth in the conference and 88th in the country in total offense (161.7 ypg)... Defensively, senior LB Jake Hutton is fifth in the WAC and tied for 41st in the nation in tackles (8.7 pg)... Sophomore K/P Peter Caldwell is eighth in the league and tied for 96th in the nation (0.5 pg) as well as tied for third in the conference in field goal percentage (3-of-5, .600)... Caldwell also is sixth in the WAC and 72nd in the NCAA in punting (38.8 ypp), with four over 50 yards and seven inside the 20... Junior K Chris Ulinski has five touchbacks and has kept opponents inside the 25 a total of 12 times. PERFECT PETE -- Sophomore PK/P Peter Caldwell now has 44 career PAT's, (44-of-44), remaining in a tie for first with Willie Beecher (64-of-64, 1981-84) and Russ Moody (44-of-44, 1988-89) as the only three USU kickers with a perfect career PAT percentage (1.000). AGGIE TIDBITS -- USU's two interceptions in the BYU game was the second game in a row with multiple interceptions and fourth time in last seven games dating back to last season... With one interception in the San Jose State game, the Aggie defense now has one pickoff in five straight games and 10 of the last 12 games dating back to last season... Redshirt freshman RB Robert Turbin's 40-yard rush in the BYU game was USU's fourth rushing TD of over 20 yards after having no rushing TD's of over 20 yards last season... Overall, that was the Aggies' fifth offensive TD of 20 yards or more this season compared to six all of last year... Turbin now leads USU with three rushing TD's this season, matching last season's for most by a running back (Derrvin Speight)... USU now has seven different receivers with TD catches, compared to only five different receivers with scoring catches last year... The Aggies have scored 114 points this season through six games, compared to only 112 points at this point last season... USU did not reach 114 points until week seven against Nevada... In the SJSU game, USU's defense held an opponent scoreless in the opening quarter for the first time since the last time the Aggies played at San Jose State, on Oct. 14, 2006, a span of 23 games... Sophomore P Peter Caldwell punted five times in the first quarter of the SJSU game, matching his combined punts from the previous two games (four vs. BYU, one vs. Idaho)... The Aggies' 10 punts Saturday were the most since 11 at Clemson on Oct. 16, 2004. ABOUT NEVADA -- The Wolf Pack are 3-3 overall and 1-1 in WAC action after losing at home to New Mexico State, 48-45, on Saturday... UNR leads the WAC in rushing offense and is third in the NCAA, averaging 308.8 ypg on the ground... Nevada is fourth in the league and 61st in the nation in passing offense (210 ypg) to rank first in the WAC and seventh in the NCAA in total offense (518.8 ypg)... Defensively, the Wolf Pack lead the league and are seventh in the nation (73.8 ypg) but are last in both the conference and country (9th and 119th respectively) in passing defense (344.8 ypg)... UNR is sixth in the league and 100th in the nation in total defense (418.7 ypg)... Nevada leads the conference and is 16th in the country in scoring offense (38.0 ppg) but is seventh in the league and 109th in the nation in scoring defense (34.3 ppg)... Individually, sophomore QB Colin Kaepernick is second in the league and 18th in the nation in total offense (286.0 ypg), ranking second in the conference and 26th in the country in passing efficiency (145.5) as well as second in the WAC and tied for 32nd in the NCAA in rushing (94.2 ypg)... He trails teammate, sophomore RB Vai Taua's league-leading 102.3 ypg rushing, which ranks tied for 22nd in the country... Taua also leads the conference and is tied for 12th in the country in scoring (10.0 ppg) and is third in the league and 67th in the nation in all-purpose yards (117.0 ypg)... Defensively, senior S Uche Anyanwu is 16th in the league in tackles (6.5 pg), while redshirt-freshman LB Brandon Marshall is tied for second in the WAC and tied for 36th in the NCAA in tackles for loss (1.3 pg) and sophomore DE Dontay Moch is fifth in the league and tied for 55th in the nation in sacks (0.6 pg)... Sophomore P Brad Langley is second in the conference and tied for 15th in the country in punting (43.7 ypp)... Senior PK Brett Jaekle is tied for fourth in the league and tied for 54th in the country in field goals (1.0 pg). USU-UNR SERIES -- In Utah State's oldest series with a WAC opponent, dating back to 1904, Nevada leads the all-time series by a 14-4 count, including a 4-2 advantage at Reno... Nevada's win on its home field in 2006 snapped USU's two game win streak there... Nevada has won the last three meetings overall after the teams split their previous four match-ups... The Wolf Pack have won nine of the last 11 meetings... 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. USU-UNR LAST TIME - Oct. 20, 2007 - LOGAN -- Utah State suffered its third loss by seven points or less of the 2007 season with a 31-28 loss to Nevada in a Western Athletic Conference clash 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, 14-4. USU had a fourth quarter lead for the fourth time of the 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 during the 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 of the 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. 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. AGGIES-WOLF PACK LAST TIME AT RENO - Nov. 11, 2006 -- Utah State suffered its fourth shutout of the season, as the Aggies were blanked by Nevada 42-0 at a rainy and snowy Mackay Stadium. In making his first start as an Aggie, junior tailback Antraun McDaniel rushed for a career-high 78 yards on 14 carries, as Utah State tallied only 207 yards of offense. Nevada had 342 yards of offense, as Luke Lippincott rushed for 144 yards on 25 carries and found the end zone twice, while Jeff Rowe was 12-of-19 passing for 140 yards and a TD, rushing for two TD's as part of his 37 yards rushing. The Wolf Pack's Dwayne Sanders took the opening kickoff 83 yards to the Utah State 7, and three plays later, Rowe hit Robert Hubbard with a 4-yard pass and Brett Jaekle tacked on the PAT for a 7-0 Nevada lead at the 13:40 mark. The Aggies countered with a 73-yard drive, highlighted by a 25-yard run by McDaniel. After the drive reached second and goal at the Nevada goal line, Utah State was stopped on three-straight plays to turn the ball over on downs. Lippincott scored on a 5-yard scamper with 3:20 left in the first half as Nevada took a 14-0 lead into halftime. The Wolf Pack erupted for 21 third-quarter points to open a 35-0 lead after three stanzas. Junior backup quarterback Leon Jackson III engineered a drive mid-way through the fourth quarter, leading the Aggies down to the Nevada 11, before again turning the ball over on downs. Starting freshman quarterback Riley Nelson was 6-of-15 for 45 yards, with two interceptions, as well as being sacked twice and being held to negative two yards rushing. Jackson was 3-of-6 for 37 yards with an interception, while junior tailback Marcus Cross had 12 carries for 34 yards. Junior wideout Kevin Robinson had three receptions for 40 yards. Defensively, junior strong safety Antonio Taylor had a game-high eight tackles and one pass break up. USU-UNR NOTE-ABLE -- One Aggie, junior 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 junior DE Magnum Mauga's cousin is Nevada senior LB Joshua Mauga... Aggie defensive coordinator Mark Johnson coached linebackers at Nevada in 2000 and 2001... Nevada director of football operations Craig Hopkins was the equipment manager at Utah State in 1996. 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. 2008 RANKED OPPONENTS -- There are currently three USU opponents in the Top 25: 9. Brigham Young (L 14-34, Oct. 3)
If any upcoming opponent is ranked when USU faces them, it will mark the first time since 2001 that the Aggies will face four ranked opponents in the same season and if both are still ranked, it will mark the first time ever that USU has taken on five ranked opponents. 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 WAC 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 entered 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 ON 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. 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 1-5 1-1
Total 7-34 6-20
GUY VS. UNR -- Aggie head coach Brent Guy is 1-7 all-time vs. Nevada, currently 0-3 as head coach and was 1-4 when an assistant coach, going 0-3 as a USU assistant and 1-1 when at Boise State... Here is a closer look:
1992 (USU Assistant) - L 47-48 at Reno 1993 (USU Assistant) - L 44-48 at Logan 1994 (USU Assistant) - L 28-56 at Reno 1998 (BSU Assistant) - L 24-52 at Reno 1999 (BSU Assistant) - W 52-17 at Boise 2005 (USU Head Coach) - L 24-30 at Logan 2006 (USU Head Coach) - L 0-42 at Reno 2007 (USU Head Coach) - L 28-31 at LoganDID YOU KNOW? -- Utah State offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was 1-1 vs. Nevada while head coach at North Texas, beating the Wolf Pack, 27-21, in 1998 and losing at Nevada in 1999, 41-28, on UNR's homecoming, which is what this Saturday is. AGGIE ASSISTANT COACHES -- Utah State had one change on its coaching staff from last year, as Thomas Dunson joined the staff.
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. USU NOTE-ABLE -- OFFENSIVE NOTES -- The Aggie offense did not have a turnover in the Oregon game, marking the first time since Oct. 7, 2006 vs. Fresno State that USU did not have a turnover... The USU offense has had nine different players rush the ball (five different ball-carriers at UNLV, six at Oregon, five vs. Utah, eight vs. Idaho, six vs. BYU and six at SJSU), as well as 14 different players with a reception (seven at UNLV, 10 at Oregon, seven vs. Utah, including OL Tariq Polley making the rare offensive lineman reception on a deflected pass, eight vs. Idaho, seven vs. BYU and eight at SJSU)... The Aggies had a season-high 580 yards of total offense against Idaho, including season-bests 356 rushing yards and 224 passing yards... Individually, USU had four of its top five rushing outputs in the Idaho game at the time, led by redshirt-freshman RB Robert Turbin's 123 yards to became USU's first 100-yard rusher since Marcus Cross had 127 at BYU on Sept. 23, 2006... USU's 580 yards of total offense was the most since 684 vs. Weber State on Nov. 17, 2001... It was the most against a Division I team since 595 at Boise State, Nov. 11, 2000... The 356 rushing yards was USU's first 300-yard rushing game since 322 vs. New Mexico State on Nov. 4, 2000... The 356 rushing yards were the most since 388 at Nevada on Nov. 20, 1999... Turbin now has two of the top three rushing outings after 74 vs. BYU... Senior WR Otis Nelson tied his career-high for the second time this season and third overall with 72 receiving yards in the BYU game... Nelson has at least one reception in 24 straight games, the third longest active streak in the WAC. DEFENSIVE NOTES -- After forcing three turnovers in the Utah game, two against Idaho and two against BYU, the Aggie defense has caused at least two turnovers six times in last seven games and 12th time in last 16 games dating back to last season... Also dating back to last year, the Aggie defense has at least one interception in 13 of their last 17 games... Junior LB Paul Igboeli snared his first career INT in the Utah game... USU's two interceptions in the BYU game marked the second game in a row with multiple interceptions and fourth time in last seven games dating back to last season... Five different players have one interception each, compared to a total of nine players all of last season... A total of 33 different players have recorded a tackle, including 14 with double-digit stops... The Aggie defense limited Idaho to 271 yards of total offense, the lowest total since 234, which was also vs. Idaho on Sept. 11, 2004... USU's two interceptions in the BYU game was the second game in a row with multiple interceptions and fourth time in last seven games dating back to last season... USU's defense held an opponent scoreless in the opening quarter for the first time since the last time the Aggies played at San Jose State, on Oct. 14, 2006, a span of 23 games... Senior LB Jake Hutton has at least eight tackles in five of the six games this season. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES -- Utah State's game at Oregon marked the first time since Nov. 11, 2006 at Nevada that USU did not have a kickoff return of at least 20 yards... The Aggies remain perfect on the season in both PAT's (12-of-12))... The Utah game was the first time that USU did not have a punt return since at Idaho last season (Nov. 24, 2007)... In the Idaho game, USU only punted once, marking the first time since 2002 that the Aggies only had to punt once... USU fumbled a kickoff for the second time in three games after fumbling in the Utah and BYU games... The blocked field goal in the BYU game was the first time since Oct. 7, 2005 vs. San Jose State that the Aggies had blocked a field goal... Sophomore P Peter Caldwell punted five times in the first quarter of the SJSU game, matching his combined punts from the previous two games (four vs. BYU, one vs. Idaho)... The Aggies' 10 punts Saturday were the most since 11 at Clemson on Oct. 16, 2004. USU TIDBITS -- 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 10 tackles in the BYU game, Hutton currently has 261 career tackles, leaving him 52 shy of cracking the top 10. Junior CB James 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. 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, 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.
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 preseason 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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