Ags will try to be the spoiler against Bulldogs
Because the USU football team is 2-8 with two games to play, it might appear the Aggies have little or nothing to play for Saturday at Louisiana Tech.
However, a win will keep the possibility of a four-win season alive. USU fourth-year head coach Brent Guy has never won more than three games in a season.
Furthermore, the Aggies can hinder the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (5-4 overall, 3-2 in Western Athletic Conference play) from becoming bowl-eligible.
Aggie junior wide receiver Nnamdi Gwacham said he is looking forward to the challenge.
“We want to play the role of the spoiler,” Gwacham said. “We could have been the team that brought down Boise State. We have to have the same mentality going to La. Tech.”
Guy said he recognizes the degree of difficulty his team will face.
“They’ll be ready for us,” Guy said of the Bulldogs. “They’re sitting at five wins and they need one more to be bowl eligible. So, we’ve got a lot to play for. It will be a challenge for our guys to go down and execute and play much better than we played (at Boise State).”
Louisiana Tech’s current third-place rank in the WAC is no surprise to Brent Guy.
“At the (preseason) WAC meetings, when asked which team I thought would be the dark horse, I picked La. Tech,” Guy said.
The numbers prove the Bulldogs are making a different statement than their predicted fifth-place finish in the WAC preseason polls.
Louisiana Tech has won three of its past four games. The Bulldogs squeaked by Fresno State 38-35 on Nov. 1 and rolled over Idaho 46-14 on Oct. 18.
But perhaps their most impressive victory came last Saturday at San Jose State. The Bulldogs broke down the Spartan defense en route to a 21-0 victory. The Bulldogs held the Spartans – a team that averages 291 yards of total offense each game – to 148 yards. Only 30 of those came on the ground.
Guy said a key reason for the Bulldogs’ improvement is from their location.
“They’re in one of the best recruiting areas in the country as far as east Texas and Louisiana,” Guy said.
Midway through October the Bulldogs were 2-3. Their next loss came on the road at Army, 14-7.
However, Guy said, the end of the season is the most important time to be playing well.
“They’re playing better at the right time – that’s in November,” Guy said. “Louisiana Tech is rallying. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Longest road trip of the season
For a team in the Western Athletic Conference, the Bulldogs sure are a ways away to the east.
The round-trip distance for the journey to Ruston, La., is 3,390 miles. That is 20 miles longer than the Aggies’ trips to Eugene, Ore., and San Jose, Calif.
The Aggies are 3-23 in road games under Guy’s command. To improve on that number, Gwacham said the Aggies will have to be mentally strong.
“This is going to be the most difficult road trip,” Gwacham said. “We drove to Boise and it was a five-hour drive. We fly to Louisiana and it is 45 minutes shorter. Guys just have to be focused and not let any extraneous things get us down.”
–samuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu