The Aggie Bull Horn - December 11, 2009

BCS System/Bowls

Aggie Basketball

Hockey, Ladies' Ball
and Listener feedback

I'm not going to lie - today we had a great show, despite the lack of Jared and Tyler. I would like to thank everyone involved with the show and the blog this semester, and would like to remind everyone to tune into our show once again next semester on Fridays from 8-10 a.m. Merry Christmas everyone!

Aggies Head into Finals Week with a Loss

Stew Post St. Mary's

Jared Quayle Post St Mary's

Tai Wesley Post St. Mary's

Two years, nine months and two days.  Coming into Saturday, that's how much time had passed since the Aggies had lost a game at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.  The Aggies were riding a 37-game home winning streak, a 65-game regular season non-conference home winning streak, and a 41-game non-conference home winning streak.  But St. Mary's - oooh, St. Mary's - stopped it all when the Gaels edged the Aggies 68-63 in the Spectrum.

Five teams beat USU in the 2008-09 season.  BYU and St. Mary's College were two of those teams.

Both of this week's games were hard-fought scrums, but the SMC game was just too much.  USU found itself down on multiple occasions, but used rallies and stretches in which the Aggie defense held solid and the SMC offense faltered to keep it a one-possession game.  The game was decided in the last minute when SMC took advantage of a double-team on leading scorer Omar Samhan to open up the floor.  Clint Steidl hit the 3, and then Pooh Williams was called for a charging foul on the ensuing possession with less than 20 seconds remaining.  That pretty much did USU in.

Notable from this game was the lack of perimeter shooting.  Pooh Williams went 6-7 from the field with two 3-pointers, but the Aggies two leading scorers, Jared Quayle and Tai Wesley, only managed to go 10-30 from the field.  Wesley had a horrible night from the foul line, shooting 50%.

Also notable was the lack of rebounding at crucial, crucial times.  On numerous occasions, Samhan and the other extremely long Gaels reached up in the air and were able to simply tip the ball away from the hoop and back to their players, regardless of positioning on the floor.  USU won the rebound game and the turnover game, but lost the 2nd-chance points game by nine.

Everything about this game was just weird...  The power went out at halftime, Scott Barnes tripped over his words when he announced that Romney Stadium would be renamed Merlin Olsen Field, I got to the game late, the officials forgot to get their eyes checked, I wasn't sitting in my usual spot among the fans... Everything about this game was just a bit weird.

The impenetrability of the Spectrum is now in question.  This is the 13th loss in the last 12 years that Stew's crew has suffered at home.  Whether or not this team will show the resolve to execute offensively down the stretch will be the key.  Last season's team was always able to knock down the shots.  This season's team hasn't been able to do that in the losses they've suffered so far this year.  Whether this happens because the team can't find an open look or because they just can't sink the shots is up for debate, but I go for the latter.  Quayle can't do it all every night - someone else needs to step up.

Bill Sproat at the BYU game on Wednesday.  Nicely done, Bill.  Nicely done!

USU Lays It All Out but Offers No Serious Challenge to No. 6 Boise St.

Coach A postgame

Diondre Borel postgame

Bobby Wagner Postgame

Michael Smith Postgame

Today in the Football segment of the Bull Horn, we three amigos identified a few keys to the BSU-USU football game.

1. Win the turnover battle
2. Control the lines
3. Limit the BSU big plays
4. Score on every opportunity

For 25 minutes, Utah State did almost all of those and looked every bit as good as the Boise State Broncos they and every other WAC team seeks to emulate. Although USU turned the ball over twice, the Aggies matched the Broncos score for score through 25 minutes of football. Then reality set in and it all came crashing down when Boise State took a three TD lead on three scores in roughly six minutes.

The first score of that three TD lead came after Moore finally connected on one his many longball attempts. Moore launched a 52-yard bomb to Titus Young, who caught the ball on the USU 2-yard line even though Rajric Coleman was guilty of pass interference. Doug Martin walked in the score on the next play. The score, while unfortunate, was not demoralizing to the Aggies, as USU had equalized the score of the game twice to that point. Demoralization came on the next USU series.

Diondre Borel and the Ags started their drive on their own 20. On 1st and 10, Borel was sacked for a 9-yard loss by BSU's Shea McClellin. On 2nd and 18, Borel and Robert Turbin miscommunicated on the handoff, the ball came out, and Boise recovered on the USU 9. One play later, USU found itself down by two TDs.

Desperate to score and bring the margin down to seven, the Aggies started their drive, but got to midfield and stalled. Peter Caldwell kept the Broncos honest, putting the ball on the BSU 17-yard line. Caldwell's efforts were in vain, however. Boise marched 85 yards in 1:28 and took a 35-14 lead.

Boise wasted no time in the third. They marched and scored on their first drive, widening the lead to 28. USU managed to drive and score one later in the quarter, but a 52-yarder from Kyle Brotzman again widened the margin to four scores.

Going into the fourth, USU had one option - produce the same type of quarter BSU produced in the 2nd or roll over like a dead rag doll. The first possession by the Aggies was not encouraging. USU moved the ball about 40 yards and was forced to punt. BSU scored on the next possession. I would write more from here, but I don't want to rub any more salt into the senior-night wound.

The first 25 minutes were encouraging. USU showed a lot of spunk, character, fire, desire, and will to win. After the fumble on the USU nine, USU folded like a house of cards in a poker tournament. The final result was 52-21 for the Broncos.

On a more positive note, Michael Smith converted two 4th down plays on fake punts, and Turbin scored on a TD run. Borel didn't do too bad, but would have done better if he knew how to throw the ball away once in a while.

Well, that's football. USU is on the road next week to wind up the season against a team the Aggies steamrolled last year. The Idaho Vandals definitely appear to be on the right track this year though. They are a bowl team, after all. If USU wins next week, we will have won four games this year, which is one more than the Aggies managed last year.

Best of luck on the road and on the recruiting trail. I guess there's always next year...
-LMH

Aggie Bull Horn #88 - November 20, 2009 - Our Predictions

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #88 - November 20, 2009 - Our Predictions

Aggie Bull Horn #87 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Women's Ball & Cougar Kill Countdown

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #87 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Women's Ball & Cougar Kill Countdown

Aggie Bull Horn #86 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Hockey

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #86 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Hockey

Aggie Bull Horn #85 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Basketball

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #85 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Basketball

Aggie Bull Horn #84 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Football

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #84 - November 20, 2009 - Aggie Football

Aggie Bull Horn #83 - November 20, 2009 - Utah Jazz

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #83 - November 20, 2009 - Utah Jazz

The Utes Prevail Over the Aggies in a Close One, 68-67

Stew Morrill Postgame

Tai Wesley Postgame

Jared Quayle Postgame

The last time Utah State played Utah in Salt Lake City, the Utes punished the Aggies by double digits. The game wasn't even close. Last year in Logan, USU beat the Utes on a last-second Tai Wesley bank shot off the glass. The play had to be reviewed, but the points were confirmed and the Aggies came away with the victory. This year, the Aggies looked to stretch the win streak against the Utes to two, and for 28 minutes, it looked like the Ags would pull it off. The Aggies had a seven point lead about eight minutes into the second half, forcing Boylen to take a time out.

USU then went about 5 minutes without scoring, and Utah put up 11 straight. Utah State took a one or two point lead a couple times during the last twelve minutes, but Utah was able to make the shots when it counted.

Stew was not pleased at all with his team's effort after the game, and I don't blame him. The Ags gave the ball away way too many times. USU finished with 17 turnovers and shot under the 49% hallmark shooting percentage. The Aggies did play very good defense. Indeed, the defense was what kept the Ags in the game for the most part. When the game came right down to it, however, USU couldn't make the shot when it counted, and that's why the Utes came away from the win.

Jared Quayle played like a mad man in the second half. Quayle was the reason the team even was relevant. He went 5-7 from 3-point land in the game, scored 27 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. When Quayle took a rest for because of foul troubles, USU didn't manage to score. Bendall and Wesley played decently, but Quayle was the real shining star from the Aggie Side.

On the other side of the ball, the real standout was Carlon Brown. He was Utah's leading scorer and gave USU plenty of troubling looks defensively.

The 2-guard spot was an absolute black hole for the Ags in SLC. Tyler Newbold went 0-5 from 3-point land, including a wide open three that would have tied the game with nine seconds left. He scored his first bucket of the game in the final minute, and it was a lay-up. Stew mentioned in his interview that he knew Tyler didn't play well. He'll bounce back.

USU now hits the road for Boston and Northwestern. The Aggies will face off in the Eastern Time Zone against a very imposing foe. If USU plays like it did tonight, we'll be looking at a 1-2 Aggie team next week when it returns home.

And since this is also a personal blog, I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE the U. They make my entire existence miserable.

Aggie Bull Horn #81 - USU-Utah 2nd half play-by-play

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #81 - USU-Utah 2nd half play-by-play

Aggie Bull Horn #77 - USU-Utah 1st Half Play-by-Play

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #77 - USU-Utah 1st Half Play-by-Play

USU defeats San Jose State Spartans in Football

Gary Andersen Postgame

Rajric Coleman Postgame

Robert Turbin Postgame

Utah State football broke through this week for a third time. The Aggies checkmated the Spartans from San Jose, 24-9, in front of a very slim home crowd.

The big story in this game was Robert Turbin. The man is a beast. He ran for nearly 200 yards, passing the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Turbin's father was also in attendance at today's game. The signature play of Turbin's game today was a 37-yard TD run that began slow. Turbin drifted toward the left side of the field, and San Jose's entire defense shifted and gained momentum. Turbin saw it and came back the other way. Two cutbacks later, Turbin was in the endzone, celebrating a two TD lead.

On the downside, the defense still needs a lot of work, especially heading into the Boise game. One small bright spot shines in that USU allowed only 56 yards of rushing this week after being lit up by the Warriors last week on the islands. The downside? USU allowed 245 yards passing.

My thoughts on this game are scattered. Firstly, a winning record at home is awesome for this team. The completion of one of the teams major goals coming into this season should bring much excitement to the boosters and to the students. However, the Aggies played San Jose today. The Spartans only have one win this season, and that win came at the expense of Cal Poly. I know, right? A real college football Mecca... Next week, the Aggies can ruin everything for Boise State... and the WAC in general by beating the #5 team in the country. I am not sure this is something they can do, and even if they can, I don't know that winning is something USU should do. If Boise goes undefeated (and if TCU loses) the WAC will have its third BCS representative in five years. That means $$$ for the Aggies.

So you can see my dilemma heading into next week. Obviously, I want the Ags to pull it out. But watching Boise win again in the BCS will also make me happy.

All in all though, this win wraps up a great, great, great 24 hours for USU Athletics. The Ladies' Basketball team has beaten Utah, the men beat Weber on the road, and USU football finally got itself back to winning ways.

Go Aggies.
-lmh

Post Weber St Basketball Interviews

Stew Postgame

Jared Quayle

Tyler Newbold

Well, the Ags did it. Check off win number one on the road. Next week the Ags face Utah and Northeastern.

The big story in tonight's game was Tai Wesley's inability to stay in the game. The officials gave Tai 4 fouls in the first half, and he didn't come back into the game until only around 5 minutes remain.

Highlight of the game - Tyler Newbold calling out to the Spectrum on Wheels shortly before the end of the first half - Pure Spectrum road magic.

This is a team that has a lot of ground to gain and not a lot of time to do it, but they are only two wins away from a perfect road trip to start the season. With Idaho's huge upset in the Huntsman Center, I believe that USU chances to put the beat down on the Utes just went up quite a bit. Also, Idaho's win tells me at least that Don Verlin knows what he's doing up there in Moscow. There's another standout former Stew Morrill assistant coach making life a lot more interesting for the Aggies.

It was a good game. Let's go Aggies!

Aggie Bull Horn #70 - Game 1 - USUvWSU - Ogden - 2nd half

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #70 - Game 1 - USUvWSU - Ogden - 2nd half

Aggie Bull Horn #69 - Game 1 - USUvWSU - Ogden Utah - First Half

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #69 - Game 1 - USUvWSU - Ogden Utah - First Half

In the first half, the Fusion HD3 plays of the game can be found at the following times in this file -
16:40
22:40
33:06
35:00
36:00

Keep it here for the second half.

Aggie Bull Horn #68 - November 13, 2009 - Basketball Segment

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #68 - November 13, 2009 - Basketball Segment

Aggie Bull Horn #67 - November 13, 2009 - Everything Else

Gabcast! Aggie Bull Horn #67 - November 13, 2009 - Everything Else

Aggie Bull Horn #66 - 3rd Period Aggie Hockey at BYU

The Aggies went and put the beat down on Aggie Hockey Friday night in Provo - This is my play-by-play of the third period, which was by far the best of the game.

I have about half of the second period as well, but I chose not to post it because my recording is not very good, first of all, and second of all, the batteries in my recorder died. I arrived at the game with two minutes remaining in the first period.

If it ever seems like I'm somewhat distracted, please bear with me. There was this little kid named Ryan who shadowed me the whole time. He looked like a kid in a candy store watching me do my play-by-play behind the USU goal, and I didn't have it in me to tell him to buzz off. In any case, he watched me the whole time, often marveling and how fast I was speaking. So, I let him stick around and even asked for a contribution every now and again. I really liked it when the boy said it was over halfway through the period. It made me feel good to hear a BYU fan say the game was over halfway through! Eat that, Cougs!

USU Hockey takes on SJSU in the Eccles Ice arena tonight. Enjoy, everybody!

Women's Soccer Cat Fight - HOLY CRAP

This is absolutely nuts

Aggie Bull Horn - Exclusive Interview with Stew Morrill

Aggie Bull Horn - Exclusive Interview with Stew Morrill

Hilarious D-Will commercial

This is one funny commercial TNT put on in preparation for this season of NBA basketball. It's great. It's got Mr. Rainn Wilson, better known as Dwight Schrute, in it. Check it

Aggie Bull Horn October 30, 2009

Aggie Bull Horn October 30, 2009

USU Soccer clinches the 2nd seed in the WAC tournament!!!!

There were two games over the weekend on Chuck and Gloria Bell Field.

Shantel Flanary had two goals, Lauren Hansen had one, Heather Pond also scored and little Jamee Dyches scored her first collegiate goal on a screamer from about 20 yards out on the left side to the far post. It was a brilliant goal. Hats off to Dyches for her first collegiate goal - in fact it was the goal that clinched the WAC tournament berth for the Aggies.

We've got you hooked up with the best stories about our Lady Ags.

LATECH - Utah Statesman

NMSU - UtahStateAggies.com

The Aggies are now sitting solidly in second place after these two critical home wins. Here are the seeds in this weekend's tournament:

1. San Jose State
2. Utah State
3. Boise State
4. Nevada
5. New Mexico State
6. Fresno State

Hawai'i, Louisiana Tech, and Idaho did not qualify for the conference tournament.

The format for this tournament is similar to the NFL playoffs. The #1 and #2 seeds earn a bye. No. 3 will play no. 6 and no. 4 will play no. 5 in the first round. After the first round, No. 2 will play against the winner of the 3/6 matchup (Boise/Fresno) and no. 1 will face the winner of the 4/5 matchup. The winner of those two matches will advance to the final match, and then a winner will be decided.

Bracket to Print

So, gear up ladies and gentlemen!!! It's fall tournament time, and the Aggies are looking to get it done this year after falling in double overtime last year.

The only team that is in this tournament that USU has lost to is the fourth seed, Nevada. USU beat Boise on the road this year and Fresno at home, both by a margin of 1-0. USU is definitely capable of executing and getting it done. The only item that remains in this year's mission to greatness is three straight wins. No more ties, ladies and gents... Wins and Losses only.

Go get 'em Ags!

Post-Game Interviews from the USU-NNU game

These are the post game interviews from USU-NNU

Stew Morrill

Tai Wesley

Nate Bendall

Preston Medlin

If you listen carefully, you'll see that all of the interviewed identified defense and rebounding as a major cause for concern.

USU-Northwest Nazarene Wrap-Up

1st Half Part 1

1st Half Part 2

2nd Half Part 1

2nd Half Part 2

Every USU fan knows it's time to start the grills for the sacrificial lamb when Halloween rolls around. This year was no exception. Returning to the Spectrum was Northwest Nazarene University for exhibition action. Let me quote the great Scotty Smalls (The Sandlot)

"It was a solid victory. In fact, we beat the crap out of those guys."

Tonight's game really was no contest for a USU squad returning three starters - Pooh Williams is injured - and a whole fistful of powerful post players. Returning from last year's squad are Tai Wesley, Brady Jardine and Matt Formisano. Joining them is newcomer Nate Bendall who actually played here in Logan before leaving on an LDS mission.

With all of these returning starters, you would think it would be easy for the Ags to crash the boards. Not so. NNU got 36 rebounds to USU's 38 - NNU led the rebounding war most of the game despite the inflated score.

Speaking of inflated items, how about that score? USU won this game 85-51. Like I said, no contest.

However, defense continues to be a weak point for the Aggies, and everyone on the team acknowledges that fact. The fact that 18 of NNU's 36 rebounds were offensive rebounds should be a tip to that fact.

Highlighting the Ags' play were the post players Bendall and Wesley. Both scored 17 points, Tai went 8 for 9 from the field, and Bendall batted 1.000, hitting all 7 of his shot attempts.

Preston Medlin hit quite a few three pointers as well in critical moments. Listen to the play-by-play, and you'll quickly see.

Blue and White Scrimmage Recap

Stew pre-game to the fans

Tai Wesley Post-Game

Brady Jardine Post-Game

Brian Green Post Game

Jared Quayle Post-Game

Stew Morrill Post-Game

A game like this is always hard to report on. There is so much talent, so much hope, and so much opportunity at the beginning of the season that I have a hard time grasping how this team would compare to the great teams of the last two years. One thing is certain - expectations are at an all time high.

Also one thing is certain - Brian Green can shoot the long ball. USU played itself in a man defense for the entire first half. That led to dominating performances by Tai Wesley, Brady Jardine and Modou Niang. Newcomer Nate Bendall had a decent outing, but the real showstopper was Green. He hit four straight 3-pointers in the beginning of the second half. Stew said he tried Green at the 1-guard role briefly, but with the absence of Pooh Williams to his injured foot, Green has since been rotated to the shooting guard role. Green seems very comfortable. He also is a very vocal player. In fact, he was the most vocal player on the team throughout the entire scrimmage, commanding the troops and giving good support to his new teammates. Green said the biggest factor in his transfer to USU from NJCAA National Basketball Champion SLCC was Gary Wilkinson with whom he played in Salt Lake and from whom he accepted invitations to visit the Spectrum during home stands. Apparently, the Aggie faithful impressed him.

Nearly as impressive was the true freshman from Carrolton, Texas, Preston Medlin. He almost went step for step with Green, hitting two 3's in succession, missing one, and then putting the fourth attempt home. Medlin hit his shots also when the Aggie coaches told their team to play... itself... in zone coverage, leaving the perimeter much more open than it would have otherwise been.

I would suppose by the way that the new 7-footer freshman Anthony DiLoreto played last night that he will be red-shirting this year. He did well, but showed a lot of freshman qualities and inexperience. He certainly has the potential to be a big star in this state in a few years. That much is certain.

Notable in this team is that there is only one Senior - Jared Quayle. We all remember Quayle and his dominating performance last year as a JuCo transfer. He looked really well distributing the ball, involving players, and running the system.

The team is not very weak, but as you listen to the post-game interviews, you'll notice that nearly all of the players and coaches said the team needs to improve defensively. I don't know how much stock I place in this since we can't see how the Ags measure up against the Utes and Cougars and Wildcats, but we'll find out soon enough. Weber and Utah are only two weeks away.

The Blue and White Scrimmage - Wednesday October 28 2009

This is the play by play from Wednesday's Blue and White Scrimmage. Enjoy!

USU-LaTech - USU's First FBS Win!

Coach Anderson and the Utah State Aggies won their first WAC game of the season as they squeaked out a close one 23-21 against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

The defense for the Ags came up huge to stop the Bulldogs, who were driving for the winning score on a 4th and three with just over a minute remaining in the game.

The defense also held on with some defensive studs missing.  Star Safety James Brindley was injured early in the game and did not return. Backup safety Walter McClenton stepped in and did a fantastic job as he led the Aggies with 13 tackles in the game.  In the 4th Kejon Murphy also was injured, and Curtis Marsh did a nice job filling in for him. The Ag D also came up with four big sacks on the day, which was huge, especially after having only six coming into Saturday’s game.

Scoring was hard to come by until the second quarter when the fun began. Diondre Borel connected with Stanley Morrison for a 41-yard pass for the TD.  A few minutes later Aggie running back Dervin Speight found pay dirt when he scampered 44 yards for the endzone.  A 100-yard kickoff return by Livas for LaTech kept the score close going into halftime.

Also before the half, Aggie Sophomore Bobby Wagner had the play of the game.  The Tech quarterback threw down the middle of the field and Wagner jumped up and snagged the ball out of the air with one hand for an interception.

The Ags got back to the run game. Turbin led the charge with 95 yards on 22 carries, and the Ags finished with 157 rushing yards for the game. Borel did an excellent job of managing the game, not making any huge mistakes and keeping the team in a position to win.  No turnovers or big mistakes ended up being a big plus for the Ags. Mistakes have plagued them all season.

LaTech made a valiant comeback in the fourth, climbing to within two points. Aggie fans were nervous; USU had blown leads in two games prior to this one.  The Aggie defense stepped up big and made the plays at the end of the game which proved to be the difference. 

Vandaveer Album Review

I wrote an album review for the Statesman today.

Find it here

Today's Aggie Bull Horn

Aggie Bull Horn - October 23, 2009

USU Football Woes, 7 days to Basketball Season, USU Soccer coming down the Pipeline, and USU Hockey will put the beatdown on the U tonight!

Last Year's WAC tournament

This is a good synopsis of the USU-Fresno Game from last year. As you can see, the final goal of the tournament was a 30-yard rocket.

Lauren Hansen did have an excellent goal against the Bulldogs last year, but double overtime is a killer. As you can tell, USU did not look very happy.

USU already defeated FSU once this year off of Hansen's goal in the 69th minute of play.

Find the article on last weekend's matches here, and scroll down for the postgame interviews.

Coach Andersen Interview

I had the opportunity to speak with Coach A today and got his thoughts on what went down last weekend and what he's looking to do against Lousiana Tech.

Enjoy!

Freeze Frame image of the final USU play of last saturday's game

This is the freeze frame that came through the TV feed. You be the judge - offsides or no?

USU picked to repeat as WAC basketball champions

USU has officially been picked to repeat as WAC basketball champions.

RESPECTRUM.

The following comments are excerpts from the USU media release -

Utah State received eight first-place votes and 64 points in the coaches poll, while Nevada received one first-place vote and 53 points. New Mexico State received 50 points and was picked to finish third, followed by Idaho (42), Louisiana Tech (31), Fresno State (30), Boise State (23), San Jose State (19) and Hawai'i (12).

In the media poll, Utah State garnered 15 first-place votes and 273 points, while Nevada was second with 269 points and 12 first-place votes. New Mexico State, who received 226 points and six first-place votes was picked third, while Idaho (193) and Boise State (145) rounded out the top five. Louisiana Tech (140) was picked sixth, followed by Fresno State (130), San Jose State (88) and Hawai'i (66). The Spartans also received one first-place vote in the media poll.

"In all the years I've been a head coach, I can't ever remember where preseason predictions have helped us win any games," said USU head coach Stew Morrill. "These preseason polls are more a reflection on your past and what happened last year, and we haven't done anything yet this season.

"We all have pressures in Division I Athletics and if you have a good program you are trying to stay at a high level. Pressure is something we have gotten used to at Utah State and have learned to live with."

2009-10 WAC Preseason Coaches Poll
Rk. Team Pts.
1. UTAH STATE (8) 64
2. Nevada (1) 53
3 New Mexico State 50
4. Idaho 42
5. Louisiana Tech 31
6. Fresno State 30
7. Boise State 23
8. San Jose State 19
9. Hawai'i 12
2009-10 WAC Preseason Media Poll
Rk. Team Pts.
1. UTAH STATE (15) 273
2. Nevada (12) 269
3 New Mexico State (6) 226
4. Idaho 193
5. Boise State 145
6. Louisiana Tech 140
7. Fresno State 130
8. San Jose State (1) 88
9. Hawai'i 66

2009-10 Preseason Coaches All-WAC Teams
First-Team
Luke Babbitt, So., F, Nevada
Mac Hopson, Sr., G, Idaho
Armon Johnson, Jr., G, Nevada
Jared Quayle, Sr., G, Utah State
Jahmar Young, Jr., G, New Mexico State

Second-Team
Roderick Flemings, Sr., F, Hawai'i
Paul George, So., G/F, Fresno State
Kyle Gibson, Sr., G, Louisiana Tech
Sylvester, Seay, Sr., F, Fresno State
Tai Wesley, Jr., F, Utah State

Preseason Player of the Year: Luke Babbitt, Nevada

2009-10 Preseason Media All-WAC Team
First-Team
Luke Babbitt, So., F, Nevada
Mac Hopson, Sr., G, Idaho
Armon Johnson, Jr., G, Nevada
Jared Quayle, Sr., G, Utah State
Jahmar Young, Jr., G, New Mexico State

Preseason Player of the Year: Luke Babbitt, Nevada
Newcomer of the Year: Steffan Johnson, Idaho

Aggie Bull Horn October 16, 2009

Here is the Aggie Bull Horn in two parts. This is yesterday's show.

Aggie Bull Horn October 16, 2009 part 1



Aggie Bull Horn October 16, 2009 part 2

USU-Nevada: 2009 Edition 35-32 UNR victory. Oh, crap.

Postgame Interviews

In yesterday's show, I enumerated the keys to the Utah State - Nevada football game for the Aggies.

1. Contain Nevada's run.
2. Score in the red zone.
3. No special teams mistakes.
4. Win the turnover battle.

Check one until the fourth quarter when Nevada ran all over USU, and that's when Nevada won

Check two all game. Nicely done. A perfect 3-3 in the red zone, although one of those three should have been a TD instead of a field goal.

Uncheck three. The special teams game did great until the final two minutes of the game. Read on for details

Check four. USU beat Nevada on the turnover margin, 2-1.

Nevada boasts the No. 1 rush offense in the country. USU boasts the 107th ranked defense in the nation. One would think that Nevada would get USU on the rush immediately. Not so. It was through the pass that Nevada slaughtered USU before opening up the field to the rush in the 4th.

I guess I missed two keys for this game. They are to learn to cover the pass and to execute the offense. This was a game of missed opportunities.

USU struck first after Nnamdi Gwacham caught a 77-yard pass that set up a Robert Turbin TD run. A few punt exchanges after and right at the end of the 1st quarter, Nevada found itself on its own 19 yard line. During that series, USU nearly recovered a botched snap on the UNR 11. As a matter of fact, the Aggie defenseman fell on the ball first, but it snuck out of his grip and fell into the arms of Colin Kaepernick. Missed opportunity number one.

Also in the first half, UNR was trying to work out of it's own red zone. Caepernick threw a pass right into the waiting arms of Curtis Marsh, who made a heads-up, all-around good play on the ball. There was no one in front of him. Marsh was looking only at green pastures and a blue endzone ahead, but he dropped the ball. Missed opportunity number two.

And the grandaddy of them all came with little over 2:30 remaining in the game.

USU, down by 3 with little time left, decided to go for the onside kick. Brindley sped forward and caught the ball in the air. Had it not been for a great open-field tackle by the UNR special-teamer, he would have ran the distance. The play was called back, however. The line judge called an offsides penalty on the Aggies, and that spelled doom. Missed opportunity number three.

The irony of this game was that USU lead the game until the beginning of the fourth quarter. It took the Wolfpack 50 minutes to find a way past USU's defense, but when they did, they did.

UNR's first big play came on the option. Kaepernick pitched it out, and Vai Taua ran to the USU 9 with just over 11 minutes left in the 1st half. Two plays later, UNR got on the board when Kaepernick connected with Luke Lippencott on an 11-yard TD pass.

USU answered right back. Diondre Borel threw two great passes-one to Xavier Bowman and another to Turbin for the Touchdown. USU's offense truly began to fire on all cylinders and it looked like the Ags could run away with it.

The bad news: Nevada's offense came to play too.

Right after the USU TD drive, Nevada marched right down the field and Kaepernick connected with Virgil Green for a 44-yard TD pass. 21-14 USU.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Utah State trailed. Borel had fumbled at the USU 40 and given Nevada the opportunity to score and close the gap to 24-21. Nevada had the momentum. And of course, UNR put itself in the lead on the next drive. Kaepernick connected with Brandon Wemberly for a 49-yard TD pass. 28-24 Nevada.

And the coup-de-grás of Nevada's attack came after USU foolishly punted the ball away on a 4th and 1 with 6 minutes remaining. Nevada started on their own 3 yard line, advanced to their own 31 in three plays, and then scored a monster TD. Luke Lippencott ran 69 yards for the touchdown, put his team up by 11, and put an immense load of pressure on the Aggies to produce.

At that point, 4 minutes remained, and USU had only one option. Execute the 2-minute offense to perfection and recover the onside kick.

USU executed part one to perfection. They marched 80 yards in just under two minutes and scored one of the 2 necessary TDs very quickly on a bullet 14-yard pass from Borel to Gwacham. USU even took pressure off themselves by converting the two-point conversion. USU was in field goal striking distance. It would all come down to the onside kick.

To everyone in attendance at the game except for one person, Utah State did recover the onside kick. Ulinski put it forward 10 yards and James Brindley snuck through and caught it.

Who was the one person who disagreed? The line judge.

USU was called for offsides, sent back five yards, and forced to redo the kick, which Nevada easily recovered. That was it. No timeouts, no way to stop the clock, and Nevada took the victory formation.

I continue to marvel how the Aggie football team does just enough to get the hopes of their fans into the game, only to destroy everything.

However, I must say the offsides call was absolutely rediculous. I thought it was impossible for a football official to become exactly like a soccer referee. Often, a soccer referee will make a call that makes him the star of the show. Rarely does something similar happen in American football. Well, it happened today. The star of today's show was not Turbin; it was not Borel; it was not Kaepernick nor Lippencott nor any individual player. It was the line judge. I fully believe that USU would have pulled it out had they been granted what they earned on that kick. They would have. The Aggies had the momentum and the swagger.

USU-BSU Hockey Postgame

Utah State Hockey slaughtered Boise State Saturday Night 11-1.

The Utah Statesman will post a story at the beginning of next week. We will link you to it when it goes online.

In the meantime, here are some postgame comments from the players.

During the second period, Macej Michalik got into a huge fight with one of the Boise State skaters. Here are his comments about that fight.

Macej Michalik talks about the game and his fight



Brendan MacDonald scored a couple goals in this match. He led his team well. Here's what he had to say about the match.

USU-BSU Hockey postgame Brendan MacDonald



USU-BSU Hockey postgame Jon Eccles, Head Coach

USU-Fresno State Soccer recap

USU faced Fresno State Friday afternoon on Chuck and Gloria Bell Field. The match was the first time USU and Fresno played since the crushing double overtime loss to Fresno in last year's WAC championship match.

A story will be up on the Utah Statesman site soon. I will link it when it is.

Here is the play-by-play from the game. I know this is incomplete, but Gabcast will not allow me to upload a file larger than 50 MB, and my editing software is not functional today. As soon as it becomes available, I will edit down the second half and post it as well.

USU-Fresno St Play-by-Play half No 1




Also, here are the postgame interviews

Chandra Salmon Postgame comments



USU-Fresno St PostGame Lauren Hansen Interview



USU-Fresno St PostGame Heather Cairns Interview