USU and ISU to renew rivalry
Idaho State University may not be a national football powerhouse, but Utah State Head Coach Mick Dennehy said the Aggies aren’t going to approach them differently from any other teams.
“If we walk into this game thinking that we have a cake walk on our hands, we are going to have to fight for our lives like we have the last couple of years,” he said. “I think we have got to approach this game just like we do every big game we play in, whether it be Utah or whether it be BYU, whether it be Nebraska, whether it be Oregon. For us not to do that would be a real big mistake.”
Although ISU is an NCAA Division I-AA team, while USU is Division I-A, when the two teams take the Romney Stadium field Saturday at 7:05 p.m., the game may be close if history is any indication.
“We keep coming out and playing down a level and shooting ourselves in the foot, and hopefully we’re coming out and going to change that this year and kind of pick it up,” said USU offensive tackle Jim Newton.
Last year the Bengals led 27-0 at halftime before the Aggies made a comeback to win the game 28-27. The season before, ISU won 27-24.
“[Division] I-AA [means] nothing, it is just they didn’t get the chance to go to [Division I-A] for whatever reason,” said Aggie cornerback Ade Jimoh. They’re athletes – they’re just as good, and some cases they might even be better.”
After playing two teams receiving votes in the Associated Press poll, the Aggies hope to be able to build some consistency on offense, Dennehy said.
“I don’t think we are going to play the kind of defenses week in and week out that we played in week one and week two,” he said. “Obviously, we have got to clean some things up. Hopefully those things will clean up and we will get into a more consistent offensive mode.”
After falling behind by 27 points to ISU last year, it will be important for the Aggies to get a good start to achieve any consistency, Newton said.
“No matter what, we need to get a good start,” he said. “Whether it’s because they came out and got 27 points on us last year or what, we just need a good start to get our offense going and get in a rhythm.”
Trying to stop the Aggies will be a Bengal defense that allowed the University of Montana-Western only seven points and had three interceptions in ISU’s opening game.
“I really like their safeties,” Dennehy said. “Their safeties tackle extremely well. Their corners appear to be very, very good cover guys.”
For the Aggie defense, they’ll have the challenge of stopping a potent Bengal offense. Against Montana-Western, ISU racked up 511 yards and scored 48 points.
“I like what they do on offense,” Dennehy said. “They spread you out. They do a great job with the screen game. They get rid of the ball very quickly.”
Against Montana-Western, the Bengals offense distributed the ball effectively, gaining 257 yards on the ground and 254 through the air.
With quarterback Doug Baughman leading the Bengals, Jimoh said the Aggie defensive backs will have to play well.
“They pass the ball very well,” he said. “They come out there [with] four or five wide receivers. They have a good, accurate quarterback who throws the ball down the field. They hae some quick receivers; [they’re] very fast.
“We’re going to have to play our coverages, do our assignments [and] not get caught trying to do something else or not paying attention to what our man is doing,” he said. “We’re not going to have to just play, we’re going to have to play very well.”
One hardship facing the Aggies this week is a personal tragedy in the Dennehy family.
Saturday in Montana, Dennehy’s younger brother, Bob Dennehy, died in an automobile accident. Coach Dennehy missed practice on Tuesday and Wednesday to attend the funeral.
With the history between the teams and recent challenges for USU, Jimoh said Saturday’s game will be a tough one.
“They’re a good team, point blank, period,” Jimoh said. “In the last couple of years it has been a good game, so we’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to play because they’re going to come ready to play.”
-slbk5@cc.usu.edu