Utah State fighting bleak history vs. Utah
old.
Recently though, words like boring, lopsided and uncompetitive could all be used with regards to the Utah-Utah State rivalry. After the debacle that was a 48-6 loss last year, the seven straight losses and losing 15 of the last 17 games, things might change.
With the recent history and the changes to the Utah State staff, talk has centered on reviving or bringing back the rivalry for the 105th meeting this Saturday and Utah State Head Coach Brent Guy is concerned with just making the games more interesting.
“You have to make it more of a question mark,” Guy said. “We’ll be an underdog this week with certainty. You have to make it where it is not that way. You have to make it an anything-can-happen game.”
There are many things that can make games interesting, some involve monkeys and bicycles. Others include high scores or close games.
In the last seven years, two games have been within eight points. The Aggies won two straight games under now Michigan State coach John L. Smith in 1996 and 1997.
When Guy was linebacker coach in 1993, the Aggies got close but couldn’t pull out a win in a 31-29 loss.
In order to win the game on Saturday, Guy said the team will have to make it a fourth-quarter game, which means the Aggies will have to make it through the first quarter with all the new parts not making any terrible mistakes.
Leon Jackson III will make his debut at quarterback and several other players will be playing a lot more minutes than they are used to. No Aggie quarterback in the last eight years has won his debut – so recent history isn’t on Jackson’s side.
But one Aggie made a memorable debut at Rice-Eccles just four short years ago.
Kevin Curtis out-jumped two Utah defensive backs for a big gain that set up a field goal on the Aggies’ opening drive. Curtis caught 11 balls for 171 yards that night and went on to lead the nation in receiving, averaging 9.1 receptions per game in 2001. The Aggies lost 23-19 after scoring, since time expired to make the score closer than the game really was.
This year’s big debut could be any number of players. It could be Jackson or starting tailback Ryan Bohm or either of the freshman linebackers, Devon Hall or Jake Hutton. Other highlights might include the unveiling of the new 4-3 defense or the kick returns of Kevin Robinson.
Rivalries are all about the matchups. Peyton Manning could never beat Florida, Michigan and Ohio State are usually evenly matched and Oklahoma has had Texas’ number for five years now.
Losing happens to anyone, but there are still the players that make us watch the games.
If the Ags don’t get the Utes this year, the corp of young players will have at least three more years to revive the rivalry.
The senior or junior starters will have to have a little more urgency if they want to leave Utah State having beaten the U. Donald Penn, Matt Wiser, Jarom Fano and Cornelius Lamb are a few of the seniors trying for their last time to leave Salt Lake with a win.
Starting senior safety Andre Bala knows it won’t be easy. He made his first start of his career in last year’s loss to the Utes.
Bala had 10 tackles in last year’s game – a number I’m pretty sure Guy doesn’t want to see next to Bala’s name this weekend. If the Utah spread option gets to the secondary every play, it could be a long game.
A slow start could also mean doom for the Aggies. It’s not the efficiency of the offense or defense that worries Guy, it’s the errors that could be made.
“Unforced errors are what we’re concerned about,” Guy said. “If you haven’t played football very much, especially if it is your first game, you’re going to make mistakes. We can’t make mistakes or give up big plays.”
The key for the Aggies making it through the first quarter and hopefully all four of them is, as Guy said, staying inside the game plan. The Aggies can take a step towards that ever-elusive question mark with a consistent game.
But to make things interesting, Guy did make one guarantee:
“I guarantee a freshman on defense will forget to get a call and he’ll be talking to someone because he forgot to look in for the call.”
Kevin is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be emailed to
krn@cc.usu.edu