USU looks to corral the Cowboys
Following an unexpected week off from regular action, the Utah State University football team is looking for its first win of the season as the Aggies welcome the University of Wyoming to Romney Stadium Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
“Wyoming, I think, is a very improved football team,” said Aggie coach Mick Dennehy. “I think in a lot of ways, they kind of remind me of ourselves. They’re a team that plays extremely hard. It should be a fine game.
“Both teams feel like this is a game they can win. So, this becomes an important game for now and for the future,” Dennehy said. “I’d almost take it even a step further and say this is a football game both teams feel they need to win. I would expect that this will be a very physical, very, very hard-fought football game. We’re both starved [for victories].”
Having won the last game against Wyoming – with a 20-13 victory on Sept. 30, 1978 in Laramie – the Aggies are looking to do the same in front of their home crowd, further improving the 34-20-4 advantage they hold in the series.
“We are ready to show the fans what the team is made of,” sophomore free safety Derrek Shank said.
The fans have been waiting.
This is the latest home opener since 1991 when the Aggies opened the season against San Jose State.
Offensively, USU scored on its first possession in both games played this season, a field goal against University of Utah and a touchdown against Louisiana State University.
USU walk on Kevin Curtis leads the nation for the second week in a row in receptions. He is in 10th place in receiving yards and 49th in all-purpose yardage.
Defensively, the Aggies will look to curb their second-quarter jitters as they allowed 37 points in the second period and only 17 points in the other three periods this season.
Shank believes the key to an Aggie win will be cutting down on the opposing team’s big plays defensively.
For some, the game is about more than football.
“I’ve been looking forward to this game ever since I got here,” said Evanston, Wyo. native and Cowboy transfer Casey Poppinga.
With an injury absence of free safety Al Rich – known as one of the best defensive players in the Mountain West Conference – Wyoming will look to sophomore Jacque Finn and senior Pete Merrill to lead the secondary.
“Al Rich is probably one of the best athletes in the Mountain West,” Poppinga said.
Having a star player out of the line up won’t be the only difficult thing for the Cowboys to deal with Saturday.
On Sept. 16, eight Wyoming athletes were killed in a car accident where drunk driving is suspected as being the cause.
“I talked with Coach [Vic] Koenning [Monday], and they had just gotten word that they had another real tragedy on their campus,” Dennehy said. “I just offered him whatever support I could. I really feel bad for the University of Wyoming. It’s a very, very sad day, as well as a really sad week for all of us.”