Cox injury a huge blow to Utah State
Utah State quarterback Travis Cox is not the guy anyone wants to see on the sidelines when the game is close and a shot at second place in the Sun Belt Conference is on the line. But that is exactly what the Aggies had to deal with as the junior went down just 10 seconds into the second half of Saturday’s contest against Troy State.
The Trojans held on to the lead throughout the game en route to a 23-14 victory.
While covering a bad snap, Cox took a hard hit that sent him to the sideline holding his neck. The Hyrum native spent 10 minutes on the ground before he was taken to the hospital for precautionary X-rays.
USU Head Coach Mick Dennehy said he thinks Cox is going to be fine.
“The only things I’ve heard are some preliminary things,” Dennehy said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed, obviously. I didn’t see what happened, but he was probably caught in an awkward position with a couple of guys going after a fumble. It’s a neck injury. I don’t think it’s serious, but we’ve always got to be careful with those.”
Dennehy said it is too early to tell, but he wouldn’t have a problem playing Cox in the season finale next week at Idaho if he is physically and mentally OK.
Utah State safety Mike Rosencrans said it was a “blow to the stomach” when Cox went down. He said the team spent the time when his teammate was on the ground, about 10 minutes, thinking about Cox and hoping that he will be OK.
Backup quarterback Bryan Black said he was a little nervous being thrown into the game, and although the plays didn’t necessarily go his way in the second half, he felt like he played well.
“I got as much [practice time] as I usually do,” he said. “I felt like I did pretty good. It’s not the ideal situation when your starter goes down [to be put in the game]. It’s a lot different than playing when you have a 40-point lead.”
Cox finished with 14 completions off 20 attempts for 140 yards, while Black was successful on seven of his 17 attempts for 56 yards. He also had three interceptions.
A senior sendoff
Prior to kickoff Saturday afternoon, 14 Utah State football players were individually introduced. The reason – it was their last game at Romney Stadium. Even though some of the Aggies have seen more time on the field than others, each received the same warm applause from the sparse crowd.
This year’s seniors are: OT Grant Calverley, WR Kenny Coleman, TE Chris Cooley, CB Mark Estelle, TB David Fiefia, OC Aric Galliano, WR Joel Higginson, OG Trevor Hutton, S Bryan Jackson, DT Justin Jackson, S Derrek Shank, WR Chris Stallworth, OG Greg Vandermade, LB Rodney Wilson and Rosencrans.
“We came out here and we played hard. Things just didn’t go our way,” Rosencrans said.
Sun Belt Conference prize
One lucky fan was given tickets to the New Orleans Bowl simply by watching a league game this weekend. The 4,216th person through the gates of the Louisiana-Lafayette at Middle Tennessee contest won a package that included two tickets to the New Orleans Bowl, two nights hotel stay in a downtown New Orleans hotel and two round-trip airline tickets to the game. The winner was also awarded entrance to select VIP banquets and parties in Louisiana. According to www.sunbeltsports.org, the prize package was sponsored by the contest as a reward for those who have seen the league’s teams in action this season. Why the random number? It marked the 2,286,857th person to officially see a Sun Belt game, which broke the previous record from three years ago. SBC Commissioner Wright Waters said the prize is a positive for the league.
“This is a great sign of the growth of our football league over these three seasons, especially with two weeks left in the regular season,” he said in a press release on the Web site. “We are excited about the continued support of our fans as we work to become stronger and more competitive in I-A football. This is just a small token of our appreciation to those who come out to support our teams on a regular basis.”
The third annual New Orleans Bowl will be Dec. 16 against the champion from Conference USA at the Louisiana Superdome. The contest will be shown on ESPN2.
North Texas has the SBC lead in control with a 6-0 record in league play.
By the numbers
9,291 – attendance at Saturday’s game.
1,124 – rushing yards this year by Troy State’s DeWhitt Betterson, marking the best regular-season record since Trojan Arrid Gregory had 1,077 yards in 1996. Betterson finished with 230 yards against Utah State, a school record and it makes him the first 200-yard rusher in the program’s history since 1986.
13 – players who have rushed the ball this season for Utah State. Wide receiver Brain Majors became the most recent to do so as he scored on a nine-yard reverse. The game also marked the second-straight contest in which Majors has scored. He scored on a 19-yard reception last week against New Mexico State.
2 – times defensive lineman Ronald Tupea has recovered a fumble for USU this season.
1 – Trojans with a connection to Utah State. Defensive end Cedric Sullivan played football with cornerback Andre Bala at Willowridge High School in Texas.
-juag@cc.usu.edu