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Show c4 ‘The Salt Lake Tribune FOOTBALL Sunda Shrugging Off Loss to Oilers, NFL EXHIBITIONS (HERICAN CONFERENCE baw WoL oT Pr ra 4 om 7S 3 1 0 78 20 MBS 20 mae 3 $00 74 10 reir aWoL T Perr on Pam3 mn =e Broncs Ready to Defend Title =~ LEADERS ‘SUING NDIVIDUAL — Pruceipban e RS 14 se West WoL T Ore PA $00 1 7 108 ee) OAKLAND. Calif, — Mi Pittman ran for his d touchdown. a 4-yard with 44 seconds remain give Arizonaa victory Putting It on the Line: Utes Expect More From Veteran Offensive Line thanks to a workout regimenthat includes lifting logs. pushing trucks up hills and hauling cementbags. But whether enduring pain or pursuing pleasure. the members of Utah's offensive line do it together. On the field and off. this is a close-knit little fraterni Tightest group I've ever been around,” says Ute offen- STEELERS 38 PANTHERS 24 sive line coach Don Eck, an unofficial memberof the club. And during a game. that makesall the difference in the PITTSBURGH — Pete Gonzalez, the best burgh’s £ during the preseaso two fourth-quarter scoring world. Whichis the point. Though they would probably hang out together anyway — 300-pound men, somesporting goa. tees and tatoos, generally tendto stand out in a crowd — the Ute linemenarebig believers in camaraderie fostering success We're kind of a family within a family,” says guard Todd Jackson. “We haveour spats like any other family but the positives far outweighthe negatives. To succeed. we need to be together. But can they block anybody? Ron McBride thinks so. Since the start of preseason ach has not been the least bit shy about on, gu: Luis Park. tackles Josh C ran and Doug Kaufusi and center Darren Walker as — ¢ best line his nine-year-old program has ayed well in the spring andthey've played well says McBride. “There's a lot of experience canstay healthy, they have a chance to be a lot of hype coming from the normall circum: ide. But there may beulterior moti It's his way of putting pressure on us. of letting us ki heexpects a lot,” says Walker. “But that’s OK. There no reason we shouldn't be good. If familiarity counts. the Utes are in fine shape. Walker and Jacksonhaveplayed together since seventh grade — PATRIOTS 24 EAGLES 7 FOXBORO. Mass. — Die ch Jels. a longshot to ke the Patriots, caught ouchdown passes and eCOV ed a fumbleas New d beat offensively inladelphia , gars. for which he can thank his father. the head coachof the San Diego Chargers in the NFL. In the coming years, however. the youngerGilbride hopes to earn a celebrity statusall his own. At quarterback. Dave Weaver'The Associated P Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay gets yanked backwards by Nebraska defender Mike Rucker in college football action on Saturday afternoon. Nebraska romped to an easy 56-27 victory. St—Rausk |p Huskers by completing 46 of-68 passes for 590 yards — all record numbers against Nebraska, Edwards had TD catches of 94, 80 and yards inthe secondhalf thing at us that we didn't see in film, Bill making his rterback for s 11-0f3 yards with touchdown and oneint Fresh Fi nan Ryan @ Continued from C-1 ception. Dyke was at r stannic: Van back for the Sparta final otal of Coach State Rams’ backfield, ¢ the comeback with Michigan Nick Saban t year with ; a plus-2 two Spartan fumbles n Eslinger, making h : t at quarterback davelr for 44 yards in drive hale alftime timn a eenior who and you could see it mioted just O7 pas guys’ eyes.” said McDougal. Seinwas 13 who yards on ¢ this Season, ss rushedfor eres 26 for 205 yards and one 2 Carries. “A lot of teams te ‘1 have given up at 16-9. touchdown with one9 inter- would They didnt want to lose. ceptionfor the game t was They didn’t want to quit The second half just a matter of makin; aries do Nisle cad erything go.” £ aid. Wieigas State First quary It worked out good They yg Secvod Quart ransomethings (defensive THE SALT LAKE OGDEN — The rumors are true Weber Statewill runthe football this year The Wildcats held their second60minute scrimmage Thursday night one week before their first game against Montana Tech, andthefirst 12 offensiveplays werecalled for senior running back Derek Poole and his Our offensive lineis them some solid holes ough,” Coach Jerry All of our backs ran hard starting to to run aid and made yod decisions. Poole saw daylight several times with nine carries for 64 yards, topped by a 34-yard TD run Still, the Wildcats’ quarterbacks got ‘ 4 orary status — the Ute linemendo tendto go their own t the summer, they broke out the personal watercraft at th nearby reservoirs, and Thursday night marks the kickoff of the O-line’s weekly barbeques . Then there's practice. where the Ute offensive line also tends to stand out. Earlier this summer. new strength coach Chris Doyle had them pushing trucksand tossing aroun: cement bags — after their weightroom workout. Thelogs trotted out after preseason practices, were graduate assis tant Alex Gerke’s idea V t's all about paying theprice.” says Gerke.“After a long. hard practice. they've got to haul those logs around It's like the fourth quarterof a game. Questionsremain aboutthe Uteline: it took its share of famefor Utah's offensive misfires last season. Butth pe is that better health — Jackson, Park and Sybrowsk all missed long stretches with injuries — and increased depth will remedy the situation It better. Alotis riding on these guys 1 feel more comfortable going into a season than I e havebefore. and I think the other guys feel the same way said Walker. “We know what we've got to do. Now we've got to go out anddoit. Together coe ie charoe 1, Rae kee #4 NEBRASKA56 — LA. TECH 27 LINCOLN, Neb. — The Frank Solich era opened with No. 4 Nebraska beating LouisianaTech in the Eddie c Robinson Classic, although RUSHINGINDIVIDUALan LEADERS the Bulldogs madea recordsetting impression in de! Widereceiver Troy Edwards broke the NCAAalldivisions record for receiving yards by catching 21 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns. Quarter back Tum Rattay rocked the WEBER STATE ass theball a few times, in the Weber Statetraditionof the last 17 years under coaches Mike Price and Dave Arslanian Starting quarterback Steve Buck completed 6-0f-10passes for 55 yards and sophomore Ryan Webber was 3of-8 for 79 yards, including a 36-yard TD to receiver Wes Davis. All-American Scott Shields, WSU's all-purpose strong safety/kicker5 off his powerful foot S-yard field goal and a 61 yardpunt Overall, things look good, according coach the way everyone cameto aybeal said. “it’s tough go- ing against your teammates for two weeks, but | saw alot of improvement fromlast Saturday's scrimmage, especially on thedefensive side. We got a good look at our spe teams. The teamwill taper down to one practice a day starting Monday. torest up for Thursday's game A rest is needed as the Wildcat's haven't escapedpreseasoninjuries. farting center Kris Jackson and starting free safety Keenan Gordon missed the scrimmage. Jackson is out with a broken right hand that required surgery Tuesday. Hehas been practicing snappingwithhis left hand and will be back for thefirst game. Gordonis resting a pulled hamstring Starting defensive tackle William Hawes suffered aslight concussion but is expected to return to practice this wee! I'msupposed to look big and ugly. he said. BACK ON THE END After some uncertainty, the Cov fresh. ‘ht end Brett Keisel is academ: cally eligible after finishing an independent-study course in biology POLL NEWS The 6-foot-4, In its annual ranking of all 112 ay in Division I-A. Sports at No. quite a bit ahead of rival Utah, No. 52. But because they play in the WAC {and in spite of early-season games against Alabama. Arizona State and Washington), the Cougars were judgedto have just the 86th-strongest sehedule in the nation. That's still ahead of the Utes. though, who S/said have a weaker schedule thanall but 11 teams in the country MEETING EXPECTATIONS Leave it to an offensive linemanto discover a new injury that he has to play through Sophomore center Jimmy Richaré found that in the first few days of camp, his helmet and shoulder pads were pinchingthesidesof his neck so badly that they drew blood. Now. he has to get theinjury treated in the middle of practices, because he sweats so profuselythat his bandages slip off. It’s not a prettypicture. but Richards simply shrugs 250-poundersits behind Tevita Ofahengaue and Carlos Nuno on the depth chart, participated in Thursday's scrimmage TALE OF THE TURF Seems the folks down in Alabama are having a hard timegetting their field ready for the Crimson Tide’s season opener against BYUnext week en For somereason,all the grass down the middle ofthe Bryant-DeanyStadiumfield died (some groundskeepers suspect a pesticide), leaving a swath of gritty sand about 15 yards wide Coach Mike DuBose calledit “embar rassing.” while players took to de scribing their home field as “the acl So after efforts to regenerate the field failed. crews on Monday removedthe dead turf and worked late into the night on Tuesdayreplacingit with newsod(a nice Tifton 419. fo the horticulturists in the house) that they hopewill be ready by Saturday night The cost of the new turf? A cool $15,000. Aggies Feel Confident About Running Backs UTAH STATE BY LAURENCE MIEDEMA THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE a-day practices. Wildcats Poole Rushing Resources in Scrimmage BY MEGAN CROTTY and there is plenty of see Johnson. Matt Nickel and Andy Kassotis claim atleast bi That.” he said. “wasa lot of fun. Arslaniansaid the injury wasnotserious, but he wasnot said McDougal rushed for 1,111 yards last : When they have ‘i od games. we have good |senior the Chargers’ training camp. LOGAN — Even with Melvin Blue gone, Utah State Coach DaveArslanian says the Aggies have plentyof depth at running back cominginto this season. But thefirst-year USUcoach is not ready totest that theoryyet Junior Demario Brown missed a good portion of last week's workoutswith a hip pointer as a precautionary measure. Browngot banged upthe previous week during two- said “Part of that is be off tackle with 11:29 the fourth quarter ve got { offensive ne dom country to an LDS Church-owned university? The offense, the tradition,” he said. “It's BYUfor the quarterbacks. that’s the obviousreason. Other than that, I likethecoaches. andit seemed like theplaceI fit in thebest A 6-foot-2, 180-pound left-hander Gilbridewas theonly quarterbackthe Cougars signed in their most recent recruiting class. He was the 13th. ranked quarterback in the nation, according to Blue Chip Illustrated magazine, after a career at Bishop Kenny High Schoolin Jacksonville, Fla. He will redshirt this season T'm just hoping to learna lot, and hopefully get stronger and bigger. said Gilbride. “Learningthe offense he key. The more comfortable you feel, you can make your ownplays and stuff like that. So that’s moreor less what it comes downto — learningthe offense In the meantime, he doesn’t mind Louisiana Tech Nebraska series Wehadonly 230 yardsof 1eae ane in the... Fisi Moleni (junior) and the rehab- and redshirt soning in reserve. Sophomore Sam White freshman Kevin Wilson round outthe second unit. While hardly an exclusive bunch — Utetight ends C.J fielding questions about his dad, with whomhe was able to hangout during : Why else would a Catholic kid from Florida comeall the way across the Shrugs Off SlowStart Devin Grant(senior), bing Nathan Sybrowski BYU vs a Kevin Gilbride Jr. already enjoyRe certain celebrity among the BYUCot CSU High to the U. The tw from Little League, to Springville fifth-year ae might as well be married, as much time as they have spent together: Cochran is ae a fith-year senior, while Park, a junior reshman, ha college transfer. and Kaufusi. a both been in the program two years. Throw in backups Football Is in the Blood for Gilbride, BYU's Newest Quarterback Prospect MISSED FIELD WOALS — San Prascscy & ly) that we had in our game plan, They didn't throw any UTAH BY JOE BAIRD THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Theylike to party as much as any other group of 20some! ys, whether throwing barbeques. going ing orriding wave-runners. They also goingto take any chances with Brown,whorushed for 971 yardsand 10 touchdownslast season despite missing three games recovering frommid-season knee surgery We'reanticipating himbeing ready for Utah. 4 lanian, whose team opens the season at home Saturday against the Utes. “We're not worried. The same goes for Brown's backups. Blue keptthe USU running gamerollingafter Brown got hurt in theopener against Utah. He rushed for 741 yards in 10 games, rushingfor at least 60 yardsfour times. But Blue transferred to I-AA Cal State Northridge for his senior season in search of more playing time. That opened the door for redshirt freshman John Roberts and junior college transfer Damon Moore Roberts, 5-foot-10, 192 pounds,has beena standout in fall camp and rushed for 2.195 yards his senior season at University High in San Diego, Calif. Wefeel pretty good aboutthat spot. The backupis not a concern,” said Arslanian. Brown and Roberts, “will be a good 1-2 punch FRESH START Besides a new coachingstaff, the Aggie roster will have a bit of an unfamiliar look to it to open the season. Fourteen of the 44 players on USU’s two-deep roster have never played a downfor the Aggies. Only 10 starters return fromlast year's Big West Conference championship team. ‘So much can happen,” said Arslanian. Theface of this team can change so much fromthe beginningof the season to the end. USU will have newstarters at quarterback, at least two ofthe threereceiver positions,tight end and three of the five offensive line spots. On defense. the Aggies will have newstarters at both cornerbacksspots, both outside line backerpositions andat both tackles. It's very challengingto see everybody Arsianian said Now we've gotto develop somedepth AGGIE NOTES This season Utah State football's new radio homein Salt Lakeis on 700-AM (KWLW). Listeners in Loganstill can tune in to the Aggies on 610-AM (KVNU) and 94.5-FM (KVFM).. Thisis the third straight year and fourth time in five seasons USU has opened the season against Utah ‘Thestarting time for the Aggies’ Sept. 19 game at the Universityof Colorado has been set for 1 p.m. T-Birds’ Defense Gains Confidence By Stuffing the Run suU CEDARCITY — Southern Utah's defense dominated what will likely be the team’s only major scrimmage in advanceof the Sept. 12 season opener at Montana Senior nose guard Mana Kulaled a defensive line that recorded four sacks Saturday and shut down SUU's rushing game It's kind of goodfor the offense to get handled iikethat sometimes,” said sophomorequarterback Matt Cannon That keeps you from getting overconfident, keeps you motivated. But onething is for sure, the defenseis improved: there was some hardhitting going onout there tod: The bulk of Cannon's 102 thentheydid today Coach C. Ray Gregory personally works with the T-Bird offense, but he likes having a capable defense. He was bothered, however, by the offense's turnovers. Randy Hunter returned an interception yards for a touchdown and Chad Huntsmanalso had an interceptions. Taking care of the football will be a focus for Gregoryover the next two weeks. Gregory expects at least five true rushing yards cameonan 80-yard touchdown. The defense is betterthis year, but the offensejust had an off day,” Kula said. “We know our offenseis hard to stop, so stopping them like we did gives the defense confidence, but we also know this offense canplaybetter freshmen to make contributions this season, including quarterbacks Brad Austin of Hunter High and Joel Clark of Orem. Linebacker Rich Slack of Granger and defensive back Kolby Wakefield of Orem also figure into SUU’splans And while slotback seemingly was a @ Opening Days WeberState gets a jump on openingthe Big 5 college foot- ball season, starting play on Thursday night in Ogden against Montana Tech. Utah opens its season on Saturday night against archrival Utah State in Logan. Thatsamenight, BYUis traveling to playtraditional power Alabama. Southern Utah will have to waituntil Sept. 12 to open at Montana. weakness for the offense, no fewer than five players appear capable, including Terry Rose, Anthony Jefferies, Koby Leon, Rod Madsen and Sam | POOR |