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Football Opens 2004 Season At Alabama On September 4 Weekly Football Release #1 - 08/29/04 Aug. 29, 2004 LOGAN, Utah - Game #1 at Alabama Sat., Sept. 4, 5:05 p.m. (Mountain) Bryant-Denny Stadium (83,818) Tuscaloosa, Ala. Radio: 610 AM (Logan) 94.5 FM (Logan) 860 AM (Salt Lake City) 98.3 FM (Salt Lake City) 106.3 FM (Ogden/SLC) 104.7 FM (Utah County/SLC) 105.5 FM (Randolph) www.UtahStateAggies.com TV: Pay Per View (ESPN Game Plan) Tickets: 1-888-U-STATE-1 (435) 797-0305 www.UtahStateAggies.com QUICKLY -- Utah State (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) will open its 107th season of football at one of the elite programs in college football history when the Aggies travel to Alabama (0-0, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 5:05 p.m. mountain time... This is the fifth season of the Mick Dennehy era at USU as well as the Aggies' second and final season in the Sun Belt Conference before becoming a member of the Western Athletic Conference beginning in 2005... USU is opening its season on the road for the second straight year and fifth time in the last six years (hosted Utah to start the 2002 campaign)... USU has lost six straight season openers since winning 21-14 at Utah to start the 1997 season... This will be just the third time in the last nine years that the Aggies have not started their season against Utah (USU opened the 1999 season at Georgia and the 2000 season at Texas Tech)... USU is 1-2 in known games on Sept. 4... The Sept. 4 game is the latest calendar start for the Aggies since opening the 1999 season at Georgia on Sept. 4 (lost 38-7)... USU is 1-0 in games played in Alabama all time having won at Troy 19-16 in overtime in 2002. ON THE AIR -- All Utah State football games are carried on the Aggie Radio Network with Al "abama" Lewis calling the play-by-play and "Crimson" Craig Hislop providing analysis. Saturday's game will be televised on a pay-per-view basis and viewers should consult ESPN Game Plan to pick up the game. USU TRAVEL PLANS -- Utah State will fly a chartered plane to Birmingham and will stay at the Hilton Birmingham Perimeter Park Friday night. Mike Strauss (C: 435-770-3131) and Doug Hoffman (C: 435-881-8011) will be on hand to assist you in your coverage of the Aggies. The team will have a walk through at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Friday at 3:05 p.m. Coach Mick Dennehy will be available for the media at the beginning of practice which will be open for the first 15 minutes. 80,000-PLUS -- Utah State's trip to 83,818-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium could produce the third largest crowd to ever witness a Utah State football game in person. Here is a look at the five largest crowds USU has played in front of in its history, with three of the games coming in the Mick Dennehy era: Attn. Opponent Year Result 87,756 at LSU 2001 L 14-31 86,117 at Georgia 1999 L 7-38 78,176 at Nebraska 2002 L 13-44 77,284 at Nebraska 2003 L 7-31 76,115 at Nebraska 1991 L 28-59 UP NEXT -- Utah State will return to Logan to host its season and conference opener against Idaho on Sept. 11 at 6:05 p.m. It will mark USU's earliest conference game since opening the 1995 season with a Big West game at Arkansas State. Idaho is at Boise State on Sept. 4. SEASON CAPTAINS -- For the second straight season, Utah State has selected season captains. QB Travis Cox (#4) will represent the offense, LB Robert Watts (#30) will represent the defense and CB/KOR Jerome Dennis (#20) will represent the special teams units. Each week the USU coaches will select a game captain to join the regular season captains. COACH MICK DENNEHY -- Utah State will enter its fifth year under head coach Mick Dennehy (Montana, 1973), who was hired on Dec. 3, 1999. He compiled a 39-12 record (76.5 percent) in four years at Montana. His five wins in his first year at Utah State tied for the best mark by a first-year Aggie coach since Phil Krueger won seven games in 1973 (Dennehy is the seventh coach since then). In 2001 he guided the Aggies in their first Independent schedule since 1977. The Aggies played four top-25 teams and five bowl teams in 2001. Realizing the improvement USU was making on and off the field, Dennehy was rewarded with a two-year contract extension on Nov. 30, 2001 which will keep him in Logan through 2005. In 2002, Dennehy's team faced four bowl teams en route to a 4-7 mark. Last year the Aggies met two ranked teams in the preseason and started conference play 3-1 before losing its last three league games by a total of just 21 points. Prior to assuming the head coaching role at Montana, he served as the school's offensive coordinator for five seasons, producing one of the nation's top offenses. In Dennehy's nine years overall at Montana, the Grizzlies ranked in the top four in the country in passing offense every year and in the top five in scoring and total offense in five of his last seven seasons. Before going to Montana, Dennehy revived the program at Western Montana, which had dropped football in 1987. In three years he improved the team from a 1-6 record to a 5-3 mark. Year School Overall Pct. Conf. Pct. Notes 1988 West. Montana 1-6 .143 1-5/5th .167 Revived Program 1989 West. Montana 4-4 .500 2-4/4th .333 1990 West. Montana 5-3 .625 3-3/3rd .500 1996 Montana 14-1 .933 8-0/1st 1.000 Nat'l Runners-up 1997 Montana 8-4 .667 6-2/2nd .750 0-1 in playoffs 1998 Montana 8-4 .667 6-2/1st .750 Big Sky Champ. 1999 Montana 9-3 .750 7-1/1st .875 Big Sky Champ. 2000 Utah State 5-6 .455 4-1/2nd .800 1 win from bowl 2001 Utah State 4-7 .364 N/A N/A Played 4 top 25 2002 Utah State 4-7 .364 N/A N/A 4 '01 bowl opp. 2003 Utah State 3-9 .250 3-4/t4th .429 1st yr. in Sun Belt Western Montana (3 yrs.) 10-13 .435 6-12 .333 Revived Program Montana (4 years) 39-12 .765 27-5 .844 Four playoffs Utah State (4 years) 16-29 .356 7-5 .583 50th career win Totals (11 years) 65-54 .546 40-22 .645 3-4 in playoffs USU-ALABAMA SERIES -- Saturday's meeting will be the first between the Aggies and Crimson Tide on the football field. USU is making its first of two trips to the state of Alabama as the Aggies will play at Troy, a fellow member of the Sun Belt Conference, on Oct. 2. The Aggies are 1-7 all-time against current members of the Southeastern Conference. USU is 1-2 against Kentucky, 0-1 vs. Georgia and 0-2 vs. both Arkansas and Louisiana State. USU's last meeting with a member of the conference was a 31-14 loss at then 13th-ranked LSU in 2001. USU's lone win against an SEC team was a 35-6 win at Kentucky in 1970. THE FIRST OF MANY ON THE ROAD -- This season Utah State will travel an incredible 23,338 round trip miles to play its seven road games. The Aggies will make six trips to the southeast part of the country with two visits to the state of Alabama and one each to South Carolina (Clemson), Tennessee (Middle Tennessee), Louisiana (UL-Monroe) and Arkansas (Arkansas State). USU will also play at Las Vegas, Nev. Here is a look at the miles USU has traveled in the Mick Dennehy era: Year Games Miles Avg./G Notes 2000 6 9,204 1,534 Last year in Big West Conference 2001 6 15,408 2,568 Played road games in four different time zones 2002 6 15,706 2,618 Five trips to central time zone 2003 7 12,606 1,800 Five of seven trips in the Mountain region 2004 7 23,338 3,334 Six of seven trips into SE part of the country (NOTE: USU was in Big West in 2000, Independent in 2001-02 and Sun Belt in 2003-04) LONG WAY FROM HOME - Utah State's trip to Alabama marks the second-longest trip for the Aggies to open a season in school history. The only time USU traveled farther to begin a year was its 1999 trip to Georgia. ROAD WOES -- Utah State enters the Alabama game having lost eight straight games away from Logan, including all seven a year ago. USU's last win on the road was a 19-16 overtime win at Troy (in the state of Alabama) on Nov. 16, 2002. In fact, the Aggies have lost 14 of their last 15 road games. 12 STARTERS BACK -- USU returns 12 starters, including four 2003 second-team all-Sun Belt Conference picks in QB Travis Cox (led SBC in passing (232.6) and total offense (237.0)), DL Ronald Tupea (led SBC in sacks with six), LB Robert Watts (118 tackles were second in SBC) and FS Terrance Washington (second in SBC in interceptions with five and second-team Freshman All-American by College Football News). STARTING EXPERIENCE, A NEW EXPERIENCE -- Only 23 players on the USU roster have started at least one game in their Aggie careers and in fact, only six current Aggies have started at least 10 games in their USU careers. DL Ronald Tupea leads the way with 30 starts, followed by LB Robert Watts (25), OT Donald Penn (21), LB John Chick (20), QB Travis Cox (12) and OL Elliott Tupea (10). NEW STARTERS -- Based on this week's depth chart, seven Aggies could be making their first career starts, including six on the offensive side of the ball. First starts could come for LG Victor Eti, RG Malik Cin, RT Justin Schlimgen, WR Kevin Robinson, WR Rod McNeal and TB Chris Forbes. Eti and Cin both lettered last year and the other four players are new to the team this season. The only new defensive starter would be SS Joe Lindsay, who saw extensive action as the team's nickel back last year. FRESHMEN RB STARTS --True freshman Chris Forbes is expected to start at tailback for the Aggies in the season opener. The last time an Aggie freshman started at tailback was 1996 when Demario Brown became the team's starter in the eighth game of the year against Boise State. Forbes should also become just the second USU freshman to start a season-opener at any position in the last 16 years as John Chick started on the defensive line in the 2002 opener at Utah (Pratt Lyons started at defensive tackle in the 1993 season opener). RUNNING BACK DEBUTS -- No current Aggie has ever started at running back and in fact only one running back on the roster, the injured Tyrone McKinney, has recorded a carry in a Division I game (he played in six games in 2003 and rushed 10 times for 33 yards). Saturday's projected first-time starter is true freshman Chris Forbes. Here is a look at how some recent Aggie tailbacks have fared in their first career starts: Player Opponent, Year (Game #) Att.-Yds. Result Richard Watson Boise State, 2002 (#5) 24-74 L 38-63 James Samuel Nebraska, 2002 (#2) 9-37 L 13-44 David Fiefia Utah, 2002 (#1) 2-(-4) L 3-23 Emmett White Texas Tech, 2000 (#1) 20-143 L 16-38 John Roberts Colorado, 1998 (#3) 18-34 L 6-25 Melvin Blue Idaho State, 1997 (#2) 26-142 W 41-7 Demario Brown Boise State, 1996 (#8) 21-166 W 39-14 DID YOU KNOW? -- Eight of the nine teams in the Sun Belt Conference open on the road this week, including four teams playing at Southeastern Conference opponents. UL-Lafayette is the only league school to host a game as the Rajun Cajuns host Northwestern State on Saturday. PERCENT RETURNING -- Here is a look at USU's returners statistically: Passing Yards 2866 of 2904 98.7 percent Receiving Yards 354 of 2904 12.2 percent Interceptions 9 of 14 64.3 percent Tackles 578 of 981 58.9 percent Punt Return Yds. 92 of 365 25.2 percent Kickoff Return Yds. 304 of 887 34.3 percent Scoring 94 of 264 35.6 percent DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT -- Last year under then first-year defensive coordinator Dave Kotulski, USU switched from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 alignment. Here is a look at USU's monumental defensive improvement from 2002 to 2003: Category 2003 NCAA 2002 NCAA Improvement (NCAA Ranking) Rushing 167.3 (73rd) 234.8 (112th) 67.5 yards (39 places) Passing 192.8 (25th) 236.3 (87th) 43.5 yards (62 places) Total 360.1 (45th) 471.1 (111th) 111.0 yards (66 places) Scoring 26.3 (65th) 39.3 (111th) 13.0 points (46 places) DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT II -- Utah State's improvement of 66 places in total defense last year was tied for the second best improvement in Division I last year. San Diego State, which ranked 95th (410.85 yards per game) in 2002, vaulted to eighth (289.75) in the country last year, an improvement of 87 places. USU went from 111th (471.09) to 45th (360.08), an improvement of 66 places. Syracuse also improved 66 places going from 113th (475.67) to 47th (360.33). OFFENSIVE NOTES -- In last year's season opener USU scored 20 points in a 40-20 loss at Utah, for its most points in a season opener in the last six years (scored 21 in a 21-14 win at Utah in 1997)... USU has scored in 50 straight games since being shutout at Kansas State in 1999... In 2003 USU averaged just 350.3 yards per game, its fewest since 1998... However, USU produced 400 yards of total offense in three of its last four games... In 2003 USU rushed for 108.3 yards per game, an improvement of nearly 24 yards per contest (84.5 in 2002)... USU rushed for 100 yards in each of the final four games of last season, its longest such streak since the middle of 2001. DEFENSIVE NOTES -- USU improved dramatically last year and ranked 25th in the NCAA in passing defense (192.75 per game), 45th in total defense (360.08), 65th in scoring defense (26.25) and 73rd in rushing defense (167.33)... The 167.33 rushing yards allowed were the fewest in the last four years... The 192.75 passing yards allowed were the fewest in the last 17 years... The 360.08 total yards allowed were the fewest in the last five seasons... The 26.25 points allowed were the fewest in the last six years... USU did not allow a passing touchdown in the last three games or in four of the last five games... USU recorded its first shutout (49-0 against Arkansas State) since 1995... USU's 14 interceptions were its most in the last six years... Eight different players had interceptions... USU had three players with at least 90 tackles for the first time since 2000. SPECIAL TEAM NOTES -- USU attempted just eight field goals last season and made four... After missing nine games last year due to a blood clot in his shoulder, Jerome Dennis is back to help the return game. He was seventh in the NCAA in 2002 with a 27.7 kickoff return average. DID YOU KNOW? -- Former Utah State players on NFL preseason rosters include two of last year's players in TE Chris Cooley (Washington) and OG Trevor Hutton (Indianapolis). Others are WR Kevin Curtis (St. Louis), CB Ade Jimoh (Washington), P/K Micah Knorr (Denver), LB Tony Newson (St. Louis), OT Jim Newton (Indianapolis), TE Casey Poppinga (Seattle), and OL Rich Tylski (Carolina). STARTER NOTE-ABLE (2003 starts/career starts) Offense LT - Donald Penn (12/21)... Started nine games at right tackle as a freshman and all 12 at left tackle as a sophomore. LG - Victor Eti (0/0)... Played enough as a backup to earn a letter... Was an offensive tackle as a freshman and then played guard as a sophomore in JC. OC - Elliott Tupea (10/10)... Started the first four games at tackle last season before giving way to Brenen Burningham for two games... Returned to start the final six contests... Was slated to start at guard before moving to center this week. RG - Malik Cin (0/0)... Was expected to start at center before suffering a leg injury which has kept him out of a lot of fall practice... Played as a reserve last year. RT - Justin Schlimgen (0/0)... Joined the team in the spring from junior college and will make his first career start. TE - Jason Stephens (2/2)... Started the first two games of last year and caught a 10-yard pass in last year's opener against Utah... His eight receptions a year ago are third among all Aggie returnees. TE - Patrick McNutt (3/4)... Missed the last six games a year ago due to an injury after starting in three of the first six contests... Has just one career catch (two yards vs. Wyoming). FB - Trent Nate (2/3)... A three-year lettermen, who has seen a lot of action as a reserve and on special teams... Does not have any offensive statistics. WR - Kevin Robinson (0/0)... The younger brother of Aggie secondary coach John Rushing... Participated in spring drills and has looked very good in fall practice. WR - Raymond Hicks (7/7)... Had 13 receptions for 183 yards and one touchdown in nine games last year... USU's leading returning receiver. WR - Rod McNeal (0/0)... New to the program this year... Has good speed and should be a factor this year at wide receiver as well as in the return game. WR Tony Pennyman (1/1)... Contributed last year and caught at least one pass in each of the last three games... Had 10 receptions a year ago, with three coming against Arkansas State. QB - Travis Cox (12/12)... Second-team all-Sun Belt Conference last year... USU's co-offensive player of the year with TE Chris Cooley, who is now with the Washington Redskins... Started all 12 games last season and led the Sun Belt Conference in passing (232.6) and total offense (237.0)... Threw for 2,791 yards and 18 touchdowns to just seven interceptions in first season as a starter. TB Chris Forbes (0/0)... True freshman who is expected to start in his first collegiate game... Was highly recruited out of Miami, but an injury scared many schools away. Defense LT - Ronald Tupea (12/30)... Played nose guard a year ago and will slide outside a bit this year... Second-team all-Sun Belt Conference... USU's outstanding defensive lineman... Started all 12 games on the defensive line... Had 35 tackles with eight for loss, including six sacks... A three-year starter. NG - Ryan DeQuillettes (5/6)... Started five straight games a year ago until Senior Day... Made 15 tackles last year from his inside position. RT - Michael Gates (3/3)... Started the first three games a year ago due to John Chick's injury... Has gained a lot of confidence and has played well this fall. STUD - John Chick (9/20)... Moved to the stud position after playing defensive tackle last year... Was named USU's outstanding sophomore... Missed the first three games of last year with a broken thumb... Had four sacks in first four games back (one in each contest)... Finished the year with 33 tackles. SAM - Jared Johnstun (1/1)... Had a solid spring to move into starting role... Had eight tackles against Arizona State last year. MAC - Robert Watts (12/25)... Second-team all-Sun Belt Conference... USU's outstanding linebacker... Earned team's Golden Helmet award as hardest hitter... Served as a team captain... Led USU with 118 tackles... Had five games with at least 10 tackles, including a season-high 17 against Troy State. WILL - Nate Fredrick (9/9)... A consistent player all last season, finishing with 46 tackles, eighth on the team... Had a season-high eight tackles against New Mexico State. LC - Jerome Dennis (3/5)... Started the first three games of last season before a blood clot was found in his shoulder stopping his season... Returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown against BYU in 2002. SS Joe Lindsay (0/0)... Will be making his first start after playing as the nickel back in 2003... Had an interception and forced a fumble against Arkansas State last year. FS - Terrance Washington (8/8)... Second-team Freshman All-American by College Football News last year... Second-team all-Sun Belt Conference... USU's outstanding freshman... His 93 tackles were third on the team and he led the Aggies with five interceptions... He ranked among the top 10 freshmen in the country in tackles per game and was second among the nation's first-year players in interceptions (29th overall). RC - Cornelius Lamb (7/7)... Started the last seven games of the year... Finished the season with 26 tackles... Had two interceptions and two passes broken up... Fifteen of his 26 tackles on the year came in the last three games. Special Teams P/PK - Ben Chaet... USU's special teams MVP a year ago... Averaged 40.3 yards per punt while dropping 18 punts inside the 20-yard line and recording 11 50-plus yard punts... Also made three of four field goals on the season as USU attempted just eight field goals on the year... Connected on eight of nine PATs as well. PK - Justin Hamblin... Served as the placekicker at the beginning of the year and made one of four attempts... Was 20 of 21 on PATs. 2003 SEASON NOTE-ABLE . USU played its first season in the Sun Belt Conference and will play one more year in the league before playing in the Western Athletic Conference in 2005. . USU was picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference and tied for fourth place. . USU won three of its first four conference games with the lone loss in that stretch coming against three-time league champion North Texas. . USU played two teams that were ranked at game time in #23 Nebraska and #16 Arizona State. . USU played its first 12-game regular season. . USU played seven road games on the year, its most away from home since 1991. . USU's non-conference opponents were a combined 33-23 in 2003 with three of the five posting at least eight wins on the year. . The season opener has been a good barometer for the Aggies' success that year as in the last 18 years a win has meant a winning season, while a loss had led to a sub-.500 year with two exceptions (lost in 1990 and went 5-5-1, and went 6-6 after a win in 1997). USU NOTE-ABLE IN DENNEHY ERA . USU is 4-19 in night games. . USU is 15-20 in games played on natural grass. . USU is 4-21 on the road with those four wins coming against North Texas (2000), New Mexico State (2000), Connecticut (2001) and Troy (2002). DID YOU KNOW? -- Four of Utah State's first five games will be televised, including the season opener at Alabama, which is available on pay-per-view through ESPN Game Plan. SEASON NOTE-ABLE . After playing its home games on natural grass for 106 seasons, USU installed a new artificial turf playing surface this summer. The turf was put in by Sprinturf. In addition as soon as the 2004 season is completed, a new three level pressbox with luxury suites will be built and ready for the 2005 season and a new north endzone facility is planned for the very near future. . USU returns 12 starters, including four 2003 second-team all-Sun Belt Conference picks in QB Travis Cox (led SBC in passing and total offense), DL Ronald Tupea (led SBC in sacks), LB Robert Watts (118 tackles were second in SBC) and FS Terrance Washington (second in SBC in interceptions and second-team Freshman All-American by College Football News). . CB Jerome Dennis returns to the team after missing most of the 2003 season (played first three games) before a blood clot was discovered in his shoulder. Dennis was voted a team captain before last season and was a starter at cornerback. In 2002 he was seventh in the nation in kickoff return average (27.7 yards). . QB Travis Cox needs just 594 passing yards to reach the top 10 list at USU and 2,186 yards to become the seventh Aggie quarterback to throw for 5,000 in a career (he threw for 2,791 last year). His 56.4 career completion percentage is second in USU history behind only the 60.7 mark put up by Keith Myers in 1976-77. . LB Robert Watts needs 83 tackles to break into the USU career top 10 tackles list. Watts enters the year with 231 career tackles, including 118 last season. . Due to scheduling conflicts, USU will not meet Louisiana-Lafayette for the second time in its two year participation in the Sun Belt Conference. USU will meet three teams that played in bowl games last year as Utah played in the Liberty Bowl, North Texas the New Orleans Bowl and Clemson the Peach Bowl. . USU is 47-26-2 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference and does not have a losing record against any of the league opponents. . Last year USU tied for fourth in the conference with a 3-4 record. It marked just the third time in the last 15 years of conference play that USU had a losing league mark. In its last 15 years of league play USU has finished first or second eight times. . This will be USU's second and final season in the Sun Belt Conference as the Aggies will begin competition in the Western Athletic Conference in 2005. Here is a look at USU's conference history (1916-37 - Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, 1938-61 - Mountain States Conference, 1962-77 - Independent, 1978-2000 - Big West Conference, 2001-02 - Independent, 2003-04 - Sun Belt Conference, 2005- Western Athletic Conference. . USU has nine players on preseason NFL rosters as of the middle of July, including TE Chris Cooley (Washington), WR Kevin Curtis (St. Louis), OL Trevor Hutton (Indianapolis), CB Ade Jimoh (Washington), P Micah Knorr (Denver), LB Tony Newson (Kansas City), OL Jim Newton (Indianapolis), TE Casey Poppinga (Seattle), and OL Rich Tylski (Carolina). .Three former Utah State football players in the NFL have brothers that are on the Aggie football team this season. Kevin Curtis, who finished his USU career as the school's all-time leading receiver in 2002 is with the St. Louis Rams and his brother Chris is a walkon to this year's USU team and will most likely redshirt. Chris Cooley, who set several school tight end receiving records last year, is with the Washington Redskins and his brother Tanner signed with the Aggies last spring. He will most likely redshirt as well. Casey Poppinga, who was a starter at tight end for USU for three seasons from 2000-02, is with the Seattle Seahawks. His brother Kelly is fighting for a starting spot at linebacker for the Aggies this fall. . For each of the last nine years Utah State has had at least one member of the Fiefia family earn a letter. Walter Fiefia earned letters as a defensive tackle from 1995-98, while his brother Vaea lettered in 1995, 97-99. Their cousin David lettered from 2000-03. This year, look for Walter and Vaea's younger brother Emosi, a redshirt freshman, to make it 10 consecutive seasons. Walter, Vaea and Emosi all played at Mountain Crest High School, while David was from Hunter High School in West Valley City. . More sibling combinations: Brothers Ronald and Elliott Tupea are starters on the defensive and offensive lines respectively... Wide receiver Kevin Robinson is the brother of USU secondary coach John Rushing... Wide receiver Tarrell Richards had his sister Taylor sign to play women's basketball at USU this season... They are from Hunter High School in West Valley City... Tight end Jason Stephens' wife Carolyn, is a member of the USU women's tennis team... Linebacker John Chick's younger sister Jessica is a freshman on this year's Aggie volleyball team. . Following their fathers: Aggie quarterback Travis Cox's father Dan, led USU in rushing back in 1976... Steven Jacson II, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman, is following in his father's footsteps. His dad Steven lettered at USU in the early 1980s. . Three current Aggies earned their degrees this off season in cornerback Jerome Dennis, offensive lineman Victor Eti and linebacker Jared Johnstun. All three are listed as starters for this season. . USU played four games on artificial turf last season with games at Utah, at Nebraska, at North Texas and at Idaho. This season the Aggies will play on the fake stuff seven times, including four times at home as well as at UNLV, at Troy, and at Middle Tennessee. The only times the Aggies will play on natural grass this season are at Alabama, at Clemson, at Louisiana-Monroe and at Arkansas State. . Utah State will face two teams in ESPN/USA Today's preseason top 25 in number 16 Clemson and number 21 Utah. The Aggies will also face Alabama, which is the equivalent of number 46. In his first four years, Mick Dennehy's Aggies have played seven ranked teams. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP.