Sept. 5, 2011

USU FB Notes vs. Weber State

LOGAN, Utah -

WEBER STATE at UTAH STATESaturday, Sept. 10 - 6 p.m. (MT)No TV / Streamed on ESPN3.com/UtahStateAggies.comMerlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium (25,513)Logan, Utah

QUICKLY -- In its 2011 home opener, Utah State (0-1, 0-0 WAC) will host in-state foe Weber State (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky), on Saturday, Sept. 10... Kickoff for Saturday's Beehive State battle from USU's Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium (25,513) is slated for 6 p.m. (MT)... This weekend is also USU's Hall of Fame Induction weekend, with a dinner and induction ceremony Friday and an introduction to the public during halftime of Saturday's game... While there will be no television for Saturday's battle between the Aggies and Wildcats, it will be streamed on the Internet through www.ESPN3.com, with the "Trey and Jay Show," as Trey Bender will handle play-by-play duties and Jay Taylor providing analysis.... It will also be streamed through www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on the "Watch Live" link.

SATURDAY'S STORYLINES -- Things to watch for in Saturday's match-up between the Aggies and Wildcats:

* Saturday is USU's first meeting with Weber State since 2001.
* The Aggies have won five in a row over the Wildcats.
* USU head coach Gary Andersen is facing his former coach and mentor in Weber State head coach Ron McBride... Andersen played under McBride at Utah in 1985-86 when Andersen was a center and McBride was offensive line coach for the Utes... Andersen also served as an assistant under McBride from 1997-2002.
* Aggie linebackers coach Kevin Clune joined Andersen's staff at USU in 2009 after four seasons (2005-08) as Weber State's defensive coordinator.
* USU seeking third-straight home-opening win, 8-12 in last 20 home-openers.
* Rick Parros, who is one of this weekend's USU Hall of Fame inductees, holds the No. 19 single-game rushing output with 208 vs. Weber State on Nov. 17, 1979... Parros rushed for 164 yards against Weber State in 1976 as a freshman, ranking as the third-best rushing outing for an Aggie freshman.
* USU junior RB Robert Turbin needs:
-- 55 rushing yards to reach the No. 9 spot on USU's Career Rushing list and 91 for the No. 8 spot.
-- 132 rushing yards to become just the eighth Aggie running back to hit the 2,000 yard milestone.
* Aggie senior LB Bobby Wagner needs:
-- Nine tackles to crack WAC's top 10 career tackles list, 18 for USU's top 10 list.

FOLLOWING THE GAME AND THE AGGIES

ON TV -- Saturday's battle between the Aggies and Wildcats will not be televised, but will be streamed on the Internet on ESPN3.com as well as through www.UtahStateAggies.com.

ON THE AIR -- All Utah State football games are carried live on the Aggie Sports Network: KVNU 610 AM, KVNU 102.1 FM (Cache Valley) and KLZX 95.9 FM in Logan; KZNS (97.5 FM and 1280 AM) in Salt Lake City; on KLZX 105.3 FM in Montpelier, Idaho... All Aggie football games are also on the Internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on "Listen Live"... Legendary radio voice Al "Elevator Music Is Awesome" Lewis will handle the play-by-play duties, while former Aggie SID Craig "I Love Chili Even When It's Not Chilly" Hislop provides analysis (for the listeners, not Al).

ON THE INTERNET -- USU home football games are also streamed on the Internet through "Aggies All Access," by clicking on the "Live Aggies Video" link on the home page of www.UtahStateAggies.com... Fans can register and purchase month or season packages to watch... Saturday's game will be streamed on the Internet through www.ESPN3.com, with the "Trey and Jay Show," as Trey Bender will handle play-by-play duties and Jay Taylor providing analysis.... It will also be streamed through www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on the "Watch Live" link.

GAMETRACKER -- Fans can follow all USU Aggie home games through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.

COACHES SHOW ON THE ROAD -- The Gary Andersen radio show will rotate between The Copper Mill and Elements Restaurant on Thursday nights (6:05-7 p.m. on 610 AM KVNU) when the Aggies play on Saturday, with some exceptions, including the BYU and Hawai'i weeks... The show gives USU fans an opportunity to ask questions and interact with Coach Andersen and players.

Upcoming Coaches Shows: Sept. 8 at Elements / Sept. 22 at Copper Mill

UP NEXT -- After the first of two bye weeks on the season on Sept. 17, Utah State continues its two-game homestand by hosting border-foe Colorado State for USU's Homecoming game on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. (MT) at Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium... That marks marking the 13th time that CSU has been the Aggies' Homecoming opponent, the most common-played opponent when celebrating the navy and white tradition in USU's history and nearly twice than the second-most of seven vs. BYU... Utah State has not played Colorado State on Homecoming since 1966, but the Aggies are 7-4-1 against the Rams on Homecoming... It is the Aggies' first of three-straight games against Mountain West Conference opponents... Utah State will be opening a home-and-home series with Colorado State, and the Aggies will be locking horns with the Rams for the first time since 1997... CSU leads the all-time series, 34-30-2, having won the last three meetings and five of the last seven.

UTAH STATE NOTE-ABLES

• Only three of USU's 12 games will be played on natural grass this year: at Auburn, at BYU and at New Mexico State.

• Seven of USU's 12 games are at night.

• Senior LB Bobby Wagner is a candidate for the: Butkus Award - nation's top linebacker Rotary Lombardi Award - nation's top college lineman Bronko Nagurski Award - nation's best defensive player Lowe's Senior CLASS Award - athletes who excel both on and off the field

• Junior RB Robert Turbin is a candidate for the: Doak Walker Award - honoring the nation's top college running back

• Junior RB/KR Kerwynn Williams is a candidate for the: Paul Hornung Award - most versatile player

• Sophomore OC Tyler Larsen is a candidate for the: Dave Rimington Trophy - nation's most outstanding center in college football

• Senior WR Eric Moats is a candidate for the: Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team® - recognizing the selfless contributions to volunteerism and community service made by college football student-athletes across the nation.

COACH A AND MAC BACK AGAIN -- USU head coach Gary Andersen is facing his former coach and mentor in Weber State head coach Ron McBride... Andersen played under McBride at Utah in 1985-86 when Andersen was a center and McBride was offensive line coach for the Utes... Andersen also served as an assistant under Utes head coach McBride from 1997-2002, when Andersen was defensive tackles/SS ends (1997-2000), assistant head coach/def. tackles/SS ends/special teams coord. (2001) and asst. head coach/defensive line coach (2002)... Together at Utah Coach Andersen and Coach McBride amassed a 39-29 (.573) record, winning two Las Vegas Bowls in 2000 and 2002... Saturday is the first time facing each other as fellow head coaches, but were on opposite sidelines on two other occasions, first in 1994, when Andersen was defensive line coach at Idaho State and McBride was Utah's head coach, with the Utes blasting the Bengals, 66-0, on Sept. 10, 1994, and then again in 2008 when McBride led Weber State into Salt Lake City to play at Utah, where Andersen was defensive coordinator, and the 17th-ranked Utes beat the Wildcats, 37-21, on Sept. 27, 2008.

CLUNE-ECTION -- Aggie linebackers coach Kevin Clune joined Andersen's staff at USU in 2009 after four seasons (2005-08) as Weber State's defensive coordinator under McBride... Under Clune, Weber State's defense was ranked second in the Big Sky in both 2006 and 2007... The 2007 Wildcat defense yielded an average of just 348.4 yards per game... WSU also ranked first in the league in pass defense (212.2 ypg) and third in rushing defense (136.2 ypg)... Weber State's 23-0 win at Northern Colorado on Oct. 13, 2007 was the Wildcats' first shutout of a league opponent since 1980 and the first shutout of a league opponent on the road since 1966...

During his tenure at Weber State, Clune coached 15 all-Big Sky Conference winners, including nine in 2008, as tackle Bryce Scanlon, end Kevin Linehan, linebacker J.D. Folsom, cornerback Josh Morris and safety Beau Hadley all earned first-team accolades, while tackle Ryan Eastman, end Pate Moleni, linebacker Biff Swan and safety Scotty Goodloe were on the honorable mention list... In 2005, defensive end Brady Fosmark was a second-team All-America and first-team all-Big Sky selection.

AGGIES IN HOME-OPENERS -- USU is 8-12 in its last 20 home openers, going for its first three-game home opener win streak since 2003-05, after winning the 2009 opener 53-34 over Southern Utah and the 2010 opener 38-17 over Idaho State... The Sept. 3 date is USU's earliest home-opener since 2007 when the Aggies' first home game was on Aug. 30... Here is a look at USU's last 20 home openers:

1991 - L 7-23 vs San Jose State1992 - L 18-42 vs Utah1993 - L 24-48 vs Baylor1994 - L 17-32 vs Utah1995 - L 14-38 vs Boise State1996 - W 20-17 vs Utah1997 - W 41-7 vs Idaho State

FACING THE WILDCATS IN HOME-OPENERS -- Saturday is the second time that Utah State has hosted Weber State in its home-opener, as they also did so in 1982, with the Aggies winning, 31-10... USU and WSU faced off in Ogden in the 1973 season opener and closed out the 1972 season in Logan, playing each other in the middle portion of the schedule all the other times.

FCS OPENER -- Saturday marks just the fifth time in the last 15 years that USU has hosted an FCS foe in the Aggies' home-opener, joining 2000, 1999, 1997, and 2010, although it was supposed to five as USU was scheduled to host Nicholls State in 2005, but that game was cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina.

1997 - W 41-7 vs Idaho State1999 - W 51-17 vs Stephen F. Austin2000 - W 30-14 vs Southern Utah2005 - Nicholls State - Cancelled2010 - W 38-17 vs Idaho State

UTAH STATE-WEBER STATE SERIES -- Utah State is 11-1 all-time against Weber State, last facing each other in 2001... Prior to 2001, USU and WSU had not met since 1982 after the teams played 11 straight seasons from 1972-82... The Aggies are 6-1 against the Wildcats in games played at Logan and 5-0 in Ogden... USU has won five in row in the series overall and three in a row in Logan... WSU's last win in the series was a 44-25 victory on Nov. 11, 1978 in Logan... During USU's current five-game win streak, the Aggies have won by an average of 40.4-18.8, outscoring the Wildcats by a total of 202-94, with nearly half of WSU's scoring total during that time coming in a wild 56-43 shootout in 2001, the last time the two teams met.

Weber StateOverall:  11-1-0 / Home:  6-1-0 / Away:  5-0-011-23-72    W   20-16   H9-15-73 W   10-3    A11-23-74    W   20-7    H10-18-75    W   30-7    A11-6-76 W   36-10   H11-5-77 W   23-14   A11-11-78    L   25-44   H11-17-79    W   34-10   A11-8-80 W   50-13   A9-19-81 W   31-18   H9-18-82 W   31-10   H11-17-01    W   56-43   H

UTAH STATE vs. BIG SKY HISTORY -- Saturday marks the Aggies' second-straight season with a match-up against a Big Sky Conference after hosting Idaho State in the 2010 season-opener... Overall, USU is 72-17 along with six ties against teams from the current Big Sky, winning the last four meetings in a row... Here is a breakdown of how USU has done against Big Sky teams:

USU VS. BIG SKY Series  LastEastern Washington  0-1-0   1994Idaho State 14-2-0  2002Montana 25-7-0  1968Montana State   22-6-6  1962Weber State 11-1-0  2001Totals  72-17-6Not played: Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento State.

AGGIES VS. FCS (I-AA) -- Saturday marks the third-straight season that USU has faced a Football Championship Series (formerly known as I-AA) opponent, beating Southern Utah, 54-34, in 2009 and Idaho State, 38-17, in 2010... Prior to playing SUU in 2009, Utah State had not faced an FCS foe since Idaho State in 2002... Overall, USU is 77-17-6 (.800) vs. FCS opponents, winning the last five in a row, after getting upset by Idaho State, 27-24, on Nov. 18, 2000... With 12 meetings, Weber State is the Aggies' fourth-most faced FCS foe behind the 34 meetings with Montana State (22-6-6), 32 match-ups with Montana (25-7) and 16 meetings with Idaho State (14-2)... The 11-1 (.917) record and winning-percentage is USU's largest against an FCS opponent played more than twice.

USU VS. FELLOW BEEHIVE STATE TEAMS -- The Aggies are a combined 75-121-7 (.384) vs. teams from the state of Utah, with a 28-77-4 mark vs. Utah, a 2-0 ledger against Southern Utah, a palindromic 34-43-3 mark vs. BYU and an 11-1 mark against Weber State... USU will also face another Beehive State team, playing at BYU on Friday, Sept. 30 at Provo in a nationally-televised game on ESPN... Overall, this is the fourth season in the 2000's that USU has faced two in-state foes in the same season: 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011.

USU BESTS VS. WEBER STATE -- Here is a look at some of the top Aggie statistical individual performances against the Wildcats over the years: USU amassed its current total offense school record total of 684 yards in 2001's 56-43 win over Weber State... USU's 441 yards passing in that Nov. 17, 2001 game ranks No. 5 on USU's single-game passing list... The Aggies had 342 yards rushing against WSU in 1976, ranking as the No. 18 mark on USU's top rushing outings... The USU defense yielded only 12 rushing yards to WSU in 1981, ranking as No. 16 on the Aggies' single-game rushing defense performance list... In his final home game as an Aggie Emmett White rushed for 233 yards in that Nov. 17, 2001 game, No. 11 on USU's single-game best list and No. 3 on White's best list... Rick Parros, who is one of this weekend's USU Hall of Fame inductees, holds the No. 19 single-game rushing output with 208 vs. Weber State on Nov. 17, 1979... Parros rushed for 164 yards against Weber State in 1976 as a freshman, ranking as the third-best rushing outing for an Aggie freshman... Jose Fuentes threw for 437 yards passing in the 2001 meeting with WSU, ranking as the No. 4 mark on USU's single-game passing list... Kevin Curtis had 252 receiving yards in 2001 against the Wildcats, a person-best for Curtis and No. 2 on the Aggies' best single-game receiving outings list... If history is on USU's side, they'll have a monumental kickoff return against Weber State, as two marks on the Aggies' top kickoff returns have been against WSU, the only opponent with multiple marks, as Jimmy Bryant has the No. 11 mark with a 91-yard KO return in 1978 against WSU and Eric McPherson is tied for No. 12 with a 90-yard return against the Wildcats in 1980.

AGGIE-WILDCAT NOTE-ABLE -- Dave Arslanian was head coach for both teams, coaching the Wildcats from 1989-97, compiling a 53-47 record in his seven seasons, before coming to Logan and coaching the Aggies from 1998-99, posting a 7-15 mark in two seasons... Weber State has two players who transferred from USU: senior WR Kyle Shaney, who transferred to WSU after attending USU for three years, and sophomore S Trifon Gochis, who redshirted the 2008 season at USU, earning Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year, opposite of current USU senior WR Eric Moats who was named the top offensive scout player... WSU Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator Amy Crosbie is a 2002 USU alum and four-year letterwinner for the Aggie volleyball team from 1997-2000 as an outside hitter and helped lead the Aggies to their first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2000 as USU advanced to the second round... She later served as USU's Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Services at Utah State as well as Academic Advisor and the CHAMPS Life Skills Director for seven years before joining the WSU department in March of 2010... Crosbie's husband Jeff, is a former Utah State quarterback (1998-2002), and was USU Athletics' assistant ticket manager from 2004-05, then ticket manager from 2005-07 and then business manager from 2007- spring of 2011... WSU assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Matt Hammer coached with Clune at Weber State, joining the Wildcat staff in 2006... Hammer played under USU head coach Gary Andersen at Southern Utah when Andersen was head coach in 2003... WSU cornerbacks coach Andre Dyson and USU defensive grad. asst. Spencer Toone both played at Utah and in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, but in different tenures, as Toone played at Utah from 2003-05 and with the Titans from 2006-07, while Dyson played for the Utes from 1997-2000, and was on the same Utes defense that USU head coach Gary Andersen was the defensive tackles/SS ends coach from 1997-2000, and Dyson was with the Titans from 2001-04... WSU offensive line coach Cecil Thomas was a graduate assistant at Utah under Coach McBride from 1996-98, working with Andersen, who was the Utes' defensive tackles/SS ends from 1997-2000... Thomas coached at Cottonwood HS in Salt Lake City, Utah from 2007-09, which is Andersen's alma mater... Former WSU Sports Information Director Brad Larsen, who retired from the SID duties this past summer after 31 years with the Wildcats, was raised in Logan, just east of the USU campus, and grew up with Aggie radio play-by-play announcer Al Lewis.

ANDERSEN AGAINST WEBER STATE -- Saturday is USU head coach Gary Andersen's eighth meeting against Weber State, as he faced the Wildcats once as Utah defensive coordinator, once as Southern Utah head coach, twice as Northern Arizona assistant head coach/defensive line/special teams coach and three times as Idaho State defensive line coach... Andersen is a combined 2-5 against Weber State.

Name    Utah State Position Other Position  Years-ResultsGary Andersen Head Coach  Utah Def. Coord.    2008-W, 37-21(2-5 vs. WSU)       So. Utah Head Coach 2003-L, 3-13        Northern Ariz. Asst. HC/    1996-W, 56-49           D-Line/Special Teams 1995-L, 14-20        Idaho State D Line  1994-L, 6-40            1993-L, 17-21            1992-L, 27-11

CURRENT AGGIE COACHES VS. WEBER STATE -- Utah State has seven other members of its coaching staff and support staff that have faced Weber State as a coach with another team or a player, or as both as is the case for USU running backs coach Ilaisa Tuiaki, who faced WSU during his playing days at Southern Utah and as an assistant coach at Utah... Tuiaki is one of three coaches who have a winning record vs. WSU... In addition to six coaches with previous experience against the Wildcats, USU video coordinator Bill Garren faced WSU during his playing days at Idaho State as an offensive lineman... Overall, these eight members are 6-8 (.429) against Weber State, and joined with Andersen, the eight USU coaches who have faced Weber State before are a combined 8-13 (.381).

Dave Baldwin   Offensive Coord./TE's   Cal State Northridge HC 1996-W, 35-28(1-0 vs. WSU)
Bill Busch    Defensive Coord./S's    Northern Ariz. Co-Def.Coord.    1996-W, 56-49(1-1 vs. WSU)       Northern Ariz. Secondary    1995-L, 14-20
Kevin Clune  Linebackers So. Utah Def. Coord.    2004-W, 34-31(1-1 vs. WSU)           2003-L, 3-13
Kendrick Shaver  Cornerback  No. Colorado Secondary  2010-L, 47-50 (4OT)(0-4 vs. WSU)           2009-L, 20-28            2008-L, 10-17            2007-L, 0-23
Ilaisa Tuiaki  Running Backs   Utah Def. Coord.    2008-W, 37-21(2-1 vs. WSU)       Southern Utah Player-RB 2004-W, 34-31            2003-L, 3-13
Robert Conley  Offensive Grad. Asst.   Utah Player-OL  2008-W, 37-21(1-0 vs. WSU)
Bill Garren  Video Coordinator   Idaho State Player-OL   1999-L, 24-27(0-1 vs. WSU)

UTAH STATE-WEBER STATE BY THE NUMB3R5 -- A closer look at notables about Saturday's clash of the Aggies and Wildcats:

0 Players from Ogden on Utah State's roster.
0 Players from Logan on Weber State's roster.
1 Head coach in Saturday's game who played under the other, as USU head coach Gary Andersen played under WSU head coach Ron McBride when McBride was head coach at Utah during Andersen's two-year stint with the Utes as an offensive lineman from 1985-86.
1 Coach involved in Saturday's game who has coached at both schools, as current USU linebackers coach Kevin Clune is in his third season with the Aggies after serving as WSU's defensive coordinator from 2005-08.
1 Coach who has been head coach at both schools, as Dave Arslanian was head coach of the Wildcats from 1989-97, compiling a 53-47 record in his seven seasons, before coming to Logan and coaching the Aggies from 1998-99, posting a 7-15 mark in two seasons.
1 USU Hall of Fame Inductee on Saturday who had memorable games against Weber State in Rick Parros, who holds the No. 19 single-game rushing output with 208 vs. Weber State on Nov. 17, 1979... Parros also rushed for 164 yards against Weber State in 1976 as a freshman, ranking as the third-best rushing outing for an Aggie freshman.
5 Aggies' win streak in the series with the Wildcats.
8 Utah State coaches and support who have previous experience facing Weber State, either as coaches or players, and have a combined 8-13 (.381) record against WSU.
11 Wins against only one lossby USU in the series with WSU.
12 Rushing yards yielded by the USU defense to WSU in 1981, ranking as No. 16 on the Aggies' single-game rushing defense performance list.
51 Miles between USU's Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium and WSU's Stewart Stadium.
342 Yards rushing by the Aggies against the Wildcats in 1976, ranking as the No.
18 mark on USU's top rushing outings
441 Yards passing by USU against WSU in 2001, ranking at No. 5 on USU's single- game passing list.
684 Current school record of total offense by USU, set against Weber State in 2001.
2001 Last meeting between USU and WSU.

UTAH STATE-WEBER STATE LAST TIME UTAH STATE 56, WEBER STATE 43 November 17, 2001 • Logan, Utah • Romney Stadium

Recap Emmett White, playing in his final home game, ran for 233 yards and three touchdowns as Utah State beat Weber State 56-43 on Nov. 17, 2001 in the first match-up between the schools in 19 years.

The Aggies (4-5) led 42-35 midway through the fourth quarter when White scored on a 13-yard run. He added a 30-yard run to set up a 4-yard TD pass from reserve quarterback Travis Scott to Scott Collins with 2:10 remaining.

Utah State starter Jose Fuentes was 23-of-34 for 437 yards and four scores. He also threw two interceptions before leaving with the game in hand.

Weber State's Johnny Gray ran for 108 yards and threw a 24-yard TD pass to Damon Greenberry, pulling the Wildcats (3-8) to 42-35 with 8:55 remaining, but they couldn't get any closer.

White, who set an NCAA single-game record with 578 all-purpose yards in 2000, also had a pair of 4-yard TD runs. His rushing yardage lifted his season total to 1,235.

It was the Aggies' fourth straight win after a rocky start that included losses to nationally ranked opponents LSU, Oregon and BYU.

Weber State, a member of the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference, fell to 3-32-1 against I-A teams since becoming a four-year school in 1962. It was the end of the season for the Wildcats.

Utah State improved to 11-1 against the Wildcats but the series has been dormant since the Aggies won 31-10 in 1982. The schools are separated by about 50 miles in northern Utah.

Score By QuartersWeber State 0   14  7   22  -43Utah State  14  7   21  14  -56
Scoring SummaryFirst QuarterUSU-Coleman 70 pass from Fuentes (Kidman kick), 5:42.USU-White 4 run (Kidman kick), 0:22.Second QuarterWSU-Dillard 4 pass from Gladwell (Zur kick) 13:16.WSU-Gladwell 1 run (Zur kick), 8:01.USU-Curtis 10 pass from Fuentes (Kidman kick) 2:25.Third QuarterUSU-Curtis 51 pass from Fuentes (Kidman kick) 11:58.USU-Curtis 5 pass from Fuentes (Kidman kick) 9:07.WSU-Nath 36 pass from Gladwell (Zur kick) 6:29.USU-White 4 run (Kidman kick) 0:30.Fourth QuarterWSU-Nath 34 pass from Greenberry (Zur Kick), 14:26.WSU-Greenberry 24 pass from Gray (Zur kick) 8:55.USU-White 13 run (Kidman kick) 7:35.USU-Collins 4 pass from Cox (Kidman kick), 2:10.WSU-DeFour 1 pass from Gladwell (DeFour pass from Gladwell), 0:00.A-16,434
 WSU USUFirst downs 23  27Rushes-yards    28-105  41-243Passing 395 441Comp-Att-Int    29-50-1 24-35-2Return Yards    172 111Punts-Avg.  6-42    7-41Fumbles-Lost    2-1 0-0Penalties-Yards 5-40    12-120Time of Possession  26:52   33:08
Individual StatisticsRUSHING-WSU, Gray 22-108, Greenberry 1-16, Gladwell 5- minus 19. USU, White 38-233,Coleman 1-9, Fuentes 2-1.
PASSING-WSU, Gladwell 27-48-1-337, Greenberry 1-1-34, Gray 1-1-24. USU, Fuentes23-34-2-437, Cox 1-1-4.
RECEIVING-WSU, DeFour 8-139, Greenberry 7-61, Gray 5-39, Larsen 4-40, Nath 2-70,Peterson 2-42, Dillard 1-4. USU, Curtis 10-252, Coleman 5-127, 4-20, Suguturga 2-19,Stallworth 1-10, Deml 1-9, Collins 1-4.

TURBIN IS 20th AGGIE TO 1,000 FOR CAREER, CLOSING IN ON BEING EIGHTH TO 2K -- Junior RB Robert Turbin became the 20th player in Utah State history to reach the 1,000 career rushing yards milestone in 2009 and the first since David Fiefia (2000-03), who finished with 1,193... Turbin is currently No. 10 on USU's all-time rushing list with 1,868 yards, breaking into the top 10 on Saturday and passing Jack Hill (1952, 55-56), for the No. 10 spot with 1,820 yards... Turbin needs 55 yards to pass Jay Van Noy (1946-49) with 1,923 at No. 9 and 91 for the No. 8 spot, currently held by Altie Taylor (1966-68) with 1,959... Turbin is 132 yards shy of becoming just the eighth Aggie running back to hit the 2,000 yard milestone.

Career RushingNo. Name    Years     Yds.1.  Demario Brown   1996-1999   4,0532.  Abu Wilson  1992, 94-96 3,9333.  Rick Parros 1976-79 3,5374.  Louie Giammona  1973-75 3,4995.  Emmett White   1998-01 2,7916.  Roger Grant 1990-91 2,3877.  Tom Larscheid   1959-61 2,2068.  Altie Taylor    1966-68 1,9599.  Jay Van Noy 1946-49 1,92310. Robert Turbin 2008-pres.  1,86811. Jack Hill   1952,55-56  1,820

TOUCHDOWN TIME FOR TURBIN -- Turbin is also climbing USU's career rushing TD list, as his two TD's on Saturday at Auburn gave him sole possession of the No. 6 spot, breaking a tie with Louie Giammona with 21 (1973-75)... A closer look at Turbin's climb:

Career Rushing TD'sNo.Name Years   TD1.  Abu Wilson  1992, 94-96 402.  Demario Brown   1996-99 373.  Tom Larscheid   1959-61 294.  Emmett White   1998-01 275.  Rick Parros 1976-79 266.  Robert Turbin 2008-pres   237.  Louie Giammona  1973-75 218.  Roy Shivers 1964-65 18    Diondre Borel 2007-10 189.  Jack Hill   1956    1410. Jerry Cox   1973-74 13    Jerry Hughes    1971-72 13    Altie Taylor    1966-68 13

TURBIN IN TOP 10 CAREER SCORING LIST -- Now with 182 career points score, Turbin moved up to tie for No. 8 on USU's career scoring list, tying Kevin Robinson (2004-07)... Turbin needs 12 more points to tie Emmett White (1998-01) with 194 points at the No. 7 spot and 15 points to catch Micah Knorr (1993-96) at No. 6, needing 102 points to reach record-holder Brad Bohn (1997-2000) with 284 career points.

Career Points Scored    Years   Pts.1.  Brad Bohn 1997-2000   2842.  Tom Larscheid   1959-61 2483.  Abu Wilson  1992, 94-96 2464.  Demario Brown   1996-99 2345.  Steve Steinke   1977-80 2046.  Micah Knorr 1993-96 1977.  Emmett White   1998-01 1948.  Kevin Robinson   2004-07 182    Robert Turbin 2008-pres   18210. Willie Beecher  1981-84 17211. Rick Parros 1976-79 170

WAGNER WAC PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF YEAR, MULTI-PRESEASON WATCH LIST MEMBER -- The media of the Western Athletic Conference voted on preseason players of the year, selecting USU senior linebacker Bobby Wagner as the Defensive Player of the Year, while Hawai`i senior quarterback Bryant Moniz was voted the Offensive Player of the Year.

Wagner is the first USU player to earn a preseason WAC honor since the Aggies joined the league in 2005. It is Utah State's first conference preseason honor since 2004 when Ronald Tupea and Robert Watts were named to the Sun Belt preseason first-team all-conference team. The WAC does not have a preseason all-conference team.

Wagner is also on several preseason all-WAC teams as well as several award watch lists, including:
Butkus Award - nation's top linebacker
Rotary Lombardi Award - nation's top college lineman
Bronko Nagurski Award - nation's best defensive player

Wagner, a native of Ontario, Calif. (Colony HS) is a two-time first-team all-WAC honoree... Last season, he led the WAC and ranked tied for seventh in FBS with 11.1 tackles per game, ranking second in the WAC with 133 total tackles in 2010 season. Wagner enters his senior season nearing USU's and WAC's career tackles list, as he currently has 299 career stops, needing 28 tackles to break into the Aggies' top 10 list and 18 stops to crack the WAC's top 10... In 2010, Wagner tallied a WAC-best four 15+ tackle outings, including two 17-stop games, a 16-tackle game and a 15-tackle outing... On the season, he logged a total of seven double-digit tackle games, and had at least six stops in all 12 games... Additionally, Wagner added eight tackles for loss with half a sack, as well as four pass breakups and one forced fumble.

WAGNER WRANGLING WAY UP USU AND WAC TACKLE LIST -- Senior LB Bobby Wagner has 299 career tackles, needing one to become the 14th player in USU history with 300 stops and the first since former teammate Jake Hutton (328 career tackles, 2005-08)... Wagner also needs 28 more tackles to crack USU's top 10 Career Tackles List... He also needs 18 stops to break into the WAC's top 10.

USU Career TacklesTackles Years   No.(Since 1979)1.  Del Lyles   1988-91 4462.  David Gill  1993-96 4253.  Jesse Busta 1999-2002   3924.  Brent Passey   1997-2000   3865.  Kevin Bouwmann  1987-1990   3726.  Pat McKenna 1979-82 3597.  Johndale Carty  1995-98 3478.  Jermaine Younger    1990-93 3379.  Jake Hutton 2005-08 32810. Al Smith    1984-86 32711. Toby Tyler  1988-91 32112. Blake Eagal 1997-2000   31313. James Jenkins   1983-85 31114. Bobby Wagner   2008-pres.   (10) 309
WAC Career TacklesTackles Years   No.(Since 1979)1.  Robert Rodriguez, UTEP  2001-04 4432.  Solomon Elimimian, UH   2005-07 4343.  Matt Castelo, SJSU  2004-07 3974.  Korey Hall, BSU 2003-06 3945.  Andy Avalos, BSU    2001-04 3556.  Antonio Baker, LTU  2006-09 3527.  Jake Hutton, USU    2005-08 3288.  David Vobora, UI    2005-07     3249.  Daryl Towns, NEV    2000-03 32010. Derrick Richardson, NMSU    2005-08 318--  Bobby Wagner   2008-pres.   (10) 309(Number in parenthesis = `11 stats)

WILLIAMS NEW USU AND WAC KICK RETURN RECORD HOLDER -- Kick returner/running back Kerwynn Williams became the USU and WAC single-season kick return total yardage record holder, finishing the 2010 season with 1,444 yards, breaking the week-old WAC record of 1,410 by New Mexico State's Taveon Rogers... The previous record was 1,214 yards by Deonce Whitaker of San Jose State in 1998 before both Rogers and Williams broke it.

Williams had 53 kick returns last season, also breaking the WAC and NCAA (FBS) records also set by Rogers last season of 51.

Now with 2,621 career kick return yards, Williams is closing in on the conference record in career kick return yards of Cedric Johnson of UTEP's record of 2,782 yards from 1993-96.

Williams is currently USU's career record holder for kick return average, as well as moving up on USU's single-game kick return average list and the career all-purpose yardage list... Williams joined Kevin Robinson as the only Aggie kick returners to surpass the 1,000-kick return yardage milestone and Williams has now topped the 1k mark twice.

USU Single Season Kick Return Yards        Year    No. Yds.1.  Kerwynn Williams, So.  2010    53  1,4442.  Kevin Robinson, Sr.  2007    43  1,2603.  Kerwynn Williams, Fr.  2009    45  1,131
USU Single Season Kick Return Average    Name    Year    Ret.1.  Overton Curtis, Jr. 1957    30.22.  Kevin Robinson, Sr.  2007    29.3    Tony Pennyman, Jr.    2005    29.34.  Jerome Dennis, So.    2002    27.75.  Kerwynn Williams, So.  2010    27.26.  Floyd Foreman, Sr.  1991    27.07.  Brett Payne, So.    1987    26.08.  Louie Giammona, So. 1973    25.89.  Dexter Pointer, Jr. 1990    25.610. Tony Walker, Fr.    1998    25.311.     Kerwynn Williams, Fr.  2009    25.1    Kevin Robinson, Fr.  2004    25.1

WILLIAMS NINTH-BEST SINGLE-SEASON ALL-PURPOSE MARK IN WAC -- With 2,042 all-purpose yards last season (1,444 kick return, 451 rush, 110 receiving, 37 punt return), Kerwynn Williams holds the No. 9 spot on the WAC's Single-Season All-Purpose list, the most in the WAC since USU's Kevin Robinson amassed 2,317 all-purpose yards in 2007.

WAC Single-Season All-PurposeNo. Yards   Name, School, Years1.  16,916  Timmy Chang, UH, 2000-041.  2,591   Bernard Berrian, FS, 20012.  2,317   Kevin Robinson, USU, 20073.  2,198   LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU, 20004.  2,174   Marshall Faulk, SDSU, 19935.  2,146   Howard Jackson, UTEP, 20036.  2,138   Terance Mathis, UNM, 19897.  2,127   Brock Forsey, BSU, 20028.  2,086   Charles Pauley, SJSU, 20029.  2,042   Kerwynn Williams, USU, 201010.     2,036   Carl Monroe, UU, 1982
USU Career Kick Return Average        Years   Avg.1.  Kerwynn Williams   2009-pres.  26.22.  Dexter Pointer  1990    25.63.  Kevin Robinson   2004-07 25.24.  Jerome Dennis 2001-04 24.95.  Floyd Foreman   1990-91 24.16.  Emmett White   1999-01 23.97.  Louie Giammona  1973-75 22.88.  Brett Payne 1987-88 21.79.  Tony Walker 1998-00 21.610. Roger Fernandez 2001-02 21.0
USU Career All-Purpose YardageAll-Purpose Yards   Years   Yds.1.  Kevin Robinson   2004-07 6,4792.  Emmett White   1998-01 5,8723.  Kendal Smith    1985-88 5,266--- Kerwynn Williams   2009-pres.  3,308
WAC Single Season Kick Return Yards    Name, School    Year    Ret.1.  Kerwynn Williams, USU  2010    1,4442.  Taveon Rogers, NMSU 2010    1,4103.  Deonce Whitaker, SJSU   1998    1,214
WAC Career Kick Return Yards    Name, School    Year    Ret.1.  Cedric Johnson, UTEP    1993-96 2,7822.  Kerwynn Williams, USU  2009-pres.  2,621
NCAA (FBS) Single Season Kick Return Yards    Name, School    Year    Ret.1.  Kerwynn Williams, USU  2010    1,4442.  Taveon Rogers, NMSU 2010    1,4103.  Damaris Johnson, Tulsa  2008    1,382

USU'S KEETON NAMED RIVALS.COM NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK -- Utah State football player Chuckie Keeton has been named the Rivals.com National Freshman of the Week for his performance Saturday.

Keeton, a native of Houston, Texas (Cypress Creek HS), was 21-of-30 passing for 213 yards and added two rushing TD's as part of 33 rushing yards in his Aggie debut in USU's hard-fought 42-38 loss at defending national champion No. 23/19 Auburn Saturday. Keeton is believed to be the first Aggie freshman to start a USU season-opener in at least the modern era. Keeton is also the first Aggie freshman to start a game at QB since Riley Nelson in 2006.

"Chuckie is a special player," USU head coach Gary Andersen said in his post-game interview. "I promise you no one is hurt more, even though he has been with us for a short period of time. We are in very good hands at the quarterback position. ... I love Chuckie Keeton. I have loved Chuckie Keeton since I walked into his living room."

AGGIE NOTES FROM LAST GAME - AT AUBURN -- -- Freshman QB Chuckie Keeton started at QB for the Aggies, making his first USU appearance... Keeton is believed to be the first Aggie freshman to start a USU season-opener at least in the modern era... Keeton is also the first Aggie freshman to start a game at QB since Riley Nelson in 2006.

-- Senior LB Bobby Wagner made his 28th-consecutive start as well as 33rd career start overall, both of which lead the team.

-- Senior OL Philip Gapelu made his 24th-straight start and 29th overall of his career, ranking second in both categories.

-- Junior RB Robert Turbin made his 24th career start, but first since the 2009 season-finale after missing the entire 2010 season with an injury.

-- Turbin was one of six Aggies who missed all or most of 2010 with injuries that saw action Saturday: junior WR Matt Austin, senior OL Robert Hill, senior WR Stanley Morrison, junior CB Jamaine Olson, senior RB Michael Smith and senior LB Reuben Willis.

-- Keeton was one seven players made their first career starts: junior WR Chuck Jacobs, junior DE Bojay Filimoeatu, junior NG Al Lapuaho, junior LB Maurice Alexander, redshirt freshman Tavaris McMillian and junior CB Jumanne Robertson.

-- Those seven are part of the 19 players who made their first Aggie appearance: junior DT Evan Huahulu, junior CB Will Davis, sophomore PK Josh Thompson, junior CB Terrance Altson, sophomore S J.D. Ogilvie, redshirt-freshman LB Parker Hausknect, junior CB Terrell Thompson, junior P Tyler Bennett, freshman PK Jacob Haueter, sophomore OL Chris Friesen, redshirt-freshman LS Nate Needham and redshirt-freshman DL Tavea Vaifoou.

-- Junior RB Kerwynn Williams' 43-yard TD run in the first quarter was a career-long rush for him, bettering his previous career-long of 40 yards in the Boise State game last season... It was Williams' fifth career rushing TD.

-- USU scored first three times last season, going 1-2.

-- Keeton's 3-yard TD rush in the first quarter was the first of his career and the second-straight game that an Aggie QB had a rushing TD (Diondre Borel in season-finale at Boise State last year).

-- Keeton and Williams' rushing TD's gave USU its second-straight game with two rushing TD's, and the fifth multi-rushing TD outing in last six games.

-- USU only scored 14 first quarter points once in 2010 in the San Jose State game on Nov. 13.

-- Junior RB Robert Turbin's 1-yard TD run in the second quarter was his 22nd career rushing TD, taking over sole possession of No. 6 on USU's career rushing TD list, breaking a tie with Louie Giammona (1973-75).

-- USU led at the half for the first time in four games, last doing so in the SJSU game on Nov. 13, which was one of four games that the Aggies led or were tied at intermission last season.

-- Sophomore PK Josh Thompson's third-quarter field goal was the first of his USU career.

-- Senior WR Stanley Morrison now has a catch in all 25 games played of his career, dating back to 2009 after missing the 2010 season with an injury.

-- Keeton's fourth-quarter TD scamper makes him the first Aggie QB with two rushing TD's since Diondre Borel had two at Texas A&M on Sept. 19, 2009.

-- Turbin's fourth-quarter TD gave him two for the game, his fifth multi-TD outing of his career.

-- Turbin's two TD's Saturday gives him 182 career points, moving up to tie No. 8 on USU's career points scored list, tying with Aggie great Kevin Robinson (20004-07).

-- With 70 yards rushing Saturday, Turbin now has 1,868 career rushing yards, moving up to No. 10 on the Aggies' career list, moving past former Aggie great Jack Hill (1952, 55-56) who had 1,820 yards.

-- Wagner had 10 tackles Saturday, giving him 309 for his career, inching closer to No. 13 on USU's career tackles list, currently held by James Jenkins (1983-85) who had 311... Wagner's 309 tackles cut the gap for moving into the WAC's top 10 list, closing in on New Mexico State's Derrick Richardson (2005-08) with 318.

-- With 309 tackles, Wagner becomes the 14th USU player in history to reach the 300-tackle plateau.

-- Kerwynn Williams' 125 all-purpose yards was his 16th-career 100-yard all-purpose outing game of his career.

-- USU's five rushing TD's on Saturday were the most for the Aggie offense since also rushing for five TD's in back-to-back games to close the 2008 season, doing so first on Nov. 15 at Louisiana Tech and again in the season-finale on Nov. 29 vs. New Mexico State.

-- The 38 points were the most scored by USU in its season-opener since 1979 with USU opened the season with a 48-48 tie at San Jose State.

-- With the loss, USU is now:
---- 1-55 vs. Top 25 teams, including 0-2 vs. No. 23 ranked teams.
---- 1-5 vs. teams from Alabama, including 1-4 in Alabama
---- 0-4 vs. SEC teams in season-openers.
---- 1-11 all-time vs. SEC teams
---- 3-4 against Auburn in all sports, as Saturday was the first-ever meeting on the gridiron after posting a 1-0 record in volleyball and a 2-3 ledger in gymnastics.

BIG eVan -- Junior DT Evan Huahulu weighs in at 351 pounds and wears jersey No. 5... He is tied with Georgia nose guard Jon Jenkins, who also weighs 351 pounds and wears jersey No. 6

HEAVIEST SINGLE DIGITWEIGHT  NO  NAME    POS SCHOOL351 5   Evan Huahulu   DT  Utah State351 6   Jon Jenkins NG  Georgia326 9   Louis Nix III   NG  Notre Dame303 6   Jaye Howard     DT  Florida297 8   Timmy Jernigan  DT  Florida State295 7   Stephon Tuitt   DE  Notre Dame290 6   Greg Scruggs    DT  Louisville289 3   Cassius Marsh   DT  UCLA285 9   Zach Masch  DL  Hawai'i281 6   Dana Brown  DT  Kent State280 2   William Gholston    DE  Michigan State276 6   Melvin Ingram   DT  South Carolina273 4   Twyon Martin    DT  UConn272 8   Jeoffrey Pagan  DL  Alabama265 6   Tavaris Barnes  DT  Clemson258 1   Andrew Power    TD  North Texas255 1   Ishaq Williams  LB  Notre Dame255 5   Manti Te'o  LB  Notre Dame255 5   Brenden Daley   LB  Hawai'i254 3   Logan Thomas    QB  Virginia Tech250 8   Nick Perry  DE  USC250 7   Tavita Woodard  DL  Hawai'i250 2   Juda Parker     DE  Colorado249 9   C.J. James  DE  Colorado State245 1   Brandon Beal    LB  Minnesota

WHIPPER-SNAPPER -- Nate Needham is one of 10 long snappers in the country who is a freshman, including one of four who are redshirt-freshmen.

Player  School  True/RedshirtMarius Burgsmueller Idaho   TrueJoe Cardona Navy    TrueAllan D'Appollonio  Arkansas    TrueGrant Donovan   Louisville  RedshirtAndrew East Vanderbilt  RedshirtJosh Elias  Arizona TrueLogan Feimster  Wake Forest RedshirtNate Needham   Utah State  RedshirtSam Rodgers Syracuse    TrueScott Thompson  NC State    True

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH -- There are nine Division I schools that are located in cities with an elevation of at least 4,000 feet about sea level... Utah State's home of Logan ranks seventh on the list with an elevation of 4,710 feet... USU is the highest non-Mountain West Conference school, as the top six are all MWC teams... This season the Aggies will play at only one other location on the list, giving USU seven games this season at 4,000 feet above sea level after playing eight in 2006, seven both 2007 and 2008, eight in 2009 and seven last year... USU will play at #7 on the list, BYU (Sept. 30), but will host both No. 1 on the list, Wyoming (Sept. 8), and #4 Colorado State (Sept. 24).

School      City, State         Elevation1. Wyoming          Laramie, Wyo.       7,2202. Air Force        Colorado Springs, Colo.     6,6203. Colorado         Boulder, Colo.      5,3604. Colorado State       Fort Collins, Colo.         5,1905. New Mexico       Albuquerque, N.M.           5,1006. UTAH STATE       LOGAN, UTAH         4,7107. Brigham Young            Provo, Utah         4,6308. Nevada           Reno, Nev.          4,6109. Utah     Salt Lake City, Utah        4,357

RETURNING FROM INJURY -- Seven players return to action after missing most or all of the 2010 season with injury: junior WR Matt Austin, senior TE Kellen Bartlett, senior OL Robert Hill, senior WR Stanley Morrison, junior CB Jamaine Olson, senior RB Michael Smith, junior RB Robert Turbin and senior LB Reuben Willis.

NEW D SCHEME -- Utah State's defense is changing from a 4-3 alignment to a 3-4 alignment.

WHISTLE SHUFFLE -- USU head coach Gary Andersen shuffled his coaching staff around and had some changes on his staff... Andersen will handle defensive coordinator duties, while Bill Busch will be the associate head coach/special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach... Offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin will shift to tight ends this season after coaching quarterbacks last year... Former Aggie player Matt Wells joined the USU staff in January and will be the quarterbacks coach... T.J. Woods is shifting from tight ends coach to offensive line coach, replacing Alex Gerke, who left the staff... Former Aggie player Frank Maile will be the defensive line coach, moving up from defensive graduate assistant to replace Chad Kauha'aha'a, who joined the Utah staff... Kendrick Shaver joined the USU staff in February and will be the Aggies' cornerbacks coach, replacing Corey Raymond who left for Indiana and later Nebraska... A pair of former University of Utah players Robert Conley and Spencer Toone were added to the staff as graduate assistants... Conley, a four-year starting offensive lineman, will be the offensive graduate assistant while Toone, a two-time all-Mountain West Conference selection and a two-year NFL player, will be the defensive graduate assistant.

-USU-