Ags looking for winning home record
The bad taste which has been in the Utah State’s mouth for the past five weeks of losses has a chance at being replaced if the Aggies can win against Nevada this weekend.
The game has a three-fold purpose Aggie center Nick George said, not only is Senior Day an important game but there are a lot of other things a win would do to help out the program.
“It’s a cure-all if we win,” George said. “It’s important for the seniors and for the freshmen. A win will let them know its going in the right direction.”
The 14 Utah State seniors will be sent off with their final home game at Romney Stadium this Saturday. The Aggies will have to take on the bowl-eligible Nevada Wolfpack, who currently sit tied for second in the Western Athletic Conference.
This year’s senior class has played under both Mick Dennehy and first-year head coach Brent Guy.
During their four to five years on the team the Aggies have never won more than five games in a season including two three-win seasons in 2003 and 2004.
The lack of victories could contribute to an attitude problem coming down the home stretch of their last season but that hasn’t been the case, Guy said.
“I really appreciate this senior class,” he said. “They’ve moved to different spots for the better of the team and they’ve been very good for the young guys. They’ve tried to help. We have a lot of seniors playing and a lot of freshmen playing and not a lot in between.”
The last time a team Guy coached had a losing streak like this year’s Aggies it was his first year at Arizona State.
The difference between the two senior classes has helped as the Sun Devils seniors weren’t behind the coaches as much as the Aggie seniors have been.
Last year the Ags defeated New Mexico State in the final game at home last year but this year’s Senior Day holds a little more of a challenge.
The Wolfpack has the conference’s leading rusher and the second leading passer running their offense.
Tailback B.J. Mitchell averages 112 yards per game on the ground and quarterback Jeff Rowe throws for nearly 260 yards in each contest.
Those two cogs help the Wolfpack to score 32 points per game which is nearly double the Ag’s average of 17.
After last week’s loss to Hawai’i there were some things the Ags haven’t been able to accomplish in any of their losses this season, namely stopping an opponent’s run.
The Warriors scored 28 straight points in the second quarter and put the game out of reach.
Even though the same thing has happened in the Fresno State and other games the Ags haven’t been able to recognize or do something about their opponent’s streaks.
That doesn’t mean the Ags have given up on getting a win these final two weeks.
“We haven’t quit playing,” Guy said. “We just don’t play as smart and we don’t recognize those runs still. We can’t help ourselves out of it as team.”
“[In the Hawai’i game] the offense couldn’t help the defense and the defense couldn’t stop the frenzy when it started.”
Quarterback Leon Jackson is questionable for Saturday’s start.
He is sore, but as long as his range of motion returns, Guy said Jackson will be in the lineup come Saturday.
If he can’t go, backup Jerod Walker, who played well in the second half against Hawai’i, will be ready to fill in.
If Walker does play the offense will be limited in what it can do, Guy said.
Walker is a capable fill-in but he just doesn’t have as much time as Jackson in the system since Walker didn’t practice until August, he said.
-krn@cc.usu.edu