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Show WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8,2004 19 S T A T E S MAtf'''SP 0 R T S Harris earns Big West honors IPFW From Page 7 7 Nelson finished thefirsthalf with 10 points, while guard Beau Bauer was the difference for IPFW, shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Poor shooting (34 percent) in the first half, coupled with the a series of blocked shots in the paint were the cause of the Aggies' woes. "We didn't go up very strong and they made some nice plays," Morrill said of the Aggies' offensive problems in the post. In all, the Mastodons recorded seven blocks, three of which came from 6-foot-10 inch center Simon. Harris added eight more points for Utah State in the first half, but no other Aggie scored more than three points. Carroll, who averaged more than 13 points per contest going into the game, was held scoreless on O-for-5 shooting in the first half. With the loss, the Ags drop to 5-2 on the year. The Aggies return home for a game against Weber State Saturday in the Spectrum, before heading out on the road again for games against BYU and conference BY U T A H STATE UNIVERSITY Athletics Media Relations John ZsirayyTfre Utah Statesman UTAH STATE'S CHRIS HUBER handles the ball against BYU's Austin Ainge earlier this year. opponent Idaho. Saturday's contest against the Wild Cats will tip-off at 7:05 p.m. -a.cf@cc.usu.edu Sporting News taps Smith top player BY JIM SUHR The Associated Press ST. LOUIS - Alex Smith, the quarterback who led Utah to an undefeated season and Fiesta Bowl bid, was named Tuesday the college player of the year by The Sporting News. The St. Louis-based magazine tapped Auburn's Tommy Tuberville the seasons top coach and Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson the defensive player of the year. Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson was named the year's top freshman. In leading the fifth-ranked Utes (11-0) into college football's elite as the first team from a mid-major conference to play in the Bowl Championship Series, Smith passed for 2,624 yards and 28 touchdowns, completing 66 percent of his passes and throwing just four interceptions. The 6-foot4, 210-pound quarterback also ran for 563 yards and 10 TDs for the Mountain West Conference team. Sporting News executive editor Bob Hille noted that Utah's emergence was among college football's most compelling stories this year. "In terms of what he's meant to that team, and what that team has meant to college football, you layer those things on top of each other and you end up with a pretty remarkable story individually and as a team," Hille said. Smith also excelled academically, TSN noted, graduating from Douglas C. Pizac/The Associated Press college in two years and already working on his master's degree in UTAH QUARTERBACK ALEX SMITH will learn this week if he economics. will be the first Ute finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Smith finds out Wednesday if he's a finalist for the tightly conTennessee last weekend. tested Heisman Trophy race, to be decided The Tigers finished behind top-ranked Saturday in New York. Southern California and No. 2 Sooners "It's a huge honor," Smith said after prac- both 12-0 - in the final BCS standings tice Tuesday. "It's still pretty surreal - pretty Sunday. dreamy for me. I keep expecting to wake Johnson led the Longhorns with 128 up. tackles, establishing himself as one of the "Like I said, it's a tribute to the people nation s premier defensive players in helparound me." ing Texas earn a spot in the Rose Bowl. At Auburn, Tuberville led the thirdPeterson ran for a team-high 1,843 ranked Tigers to its first 12-win season and yards, gaining at least 100 yards in 11 a date Jan. 3 against No. 9 Virginia Tech in games and surpassing 200 yards in three the Sugar Bowl. Along the way, Auburn games for the Sooners, who play for the broke a 15-year Southeastern Conference national title against USC on Jan. 4 in the title drought with a 38-28 win over Orange Bowl. Utah State basketball player Nate Harris has been named the Big West Conference Player of the Week for his efforts in the Aggies' victories against Brigham Young and Utah it was announced on Monday. Harris, a 6-7, junior forward from Smithfield, Utah, averaged 23 points and 4.5 rebounds, while hitting 19 of 25 shots from thefieldfor a 76.0 shooting percentage in USLTs two games. Against BYU on Dec. 1, he was 10 of 13 for a career-high tying 26 points. He also had three rebounds, three steals and two blocks as the Aggies defeated the Cougars 71-57In the Aggies' 71-45 victory against Utah, Harris was nine of 12 shooting for 20 points, while adding six rebounds and one block. The honor is the fourth of Harris' career as he earned three straight league player of the week accolades last season (Jan. 19, Jan. 26 and Feb. 2). Harris leads the Big West Conference infieldgoal percentage at 64.6 percent, while also ranking ninth in scoring (14.0), 12th in rebounding (5.3), andfifthin free throw percentage (84.6 percent). Utah State, which is 5-1, will play again at home against Weber State Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum. town Cougars. Much of his immediate family still lives in Provo, and Whittingham is a member of the Mormon church. BYU rushed Whittingham into a meeting with a member of the leadership council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday for approval at the church-owned school, the Morning News said. Whittingham, 45, would replace Gary Crowton, who was forced out last week after three consecutive losing seasons for the Cougars. If he stays at Utah, Whittingham would replace outgoing coach Urban Meyer, who was scheduled to be introduced as Florida's coach at a news conference in Gainesville on Tuesday. While BYU officials made the first run at Whittingham a day after Meyer accepted the Florida job last Thursday, Utah put on its show Sunday. Utah wheeled in high-ranking school officials and boosters. About 30 Ute players swarmed in Whittingham's living room Sunday in an emotional plea for him to take the job. Utah chose Meyer over Whittingham two years ago when Ron McBride was fired. Utah already has lost its offensive coordinator. Mike Sanford was introduced Monday as the new coach at UNLV. 20% off almost everything* "tegular exclusions apply see store for details One Day Only Thursday, Dec. 9th Get it at vow UmhState UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE www.bookstore.usu.edu 1220 North Main Street Logan • (435) 752-6120 Next to Cache Valley Mall Hours of Operation: Sunday - Thursday 11:00 am - 10:00 pm Friday & Saturday 11:00 am - 11:00 pm IL, Y. want Whittingham SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham is reportedly deciding between competing offers from Brigham Young and Utah for their open head coaching jobs, newspaper reports said Tuesday. "It's all, 'No comment' at this point," Whittingham told The Salt Lake Tribune late Monday. He hasn't returned phone calls to The Associated Press. Both BYU sportsman information director Jeff Reynolds and Utah SID Liz Abel declined to comment on the reports Tuesday The committee responsible for hiring the next BYU coach is in New York, where former Cougars coach LaVell Edwards is to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. Committee members Monday night indicated "the search process is ongoing," Reynolds told the AP. No comments would be made until they were "deemed newsworthy and of public interest," he said. Utah is offering Whittingham $500,000 a year, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. BYU's offer to Whittingham is close to . that once incentives and bonuses are added, the Deseret Morning News said. Money isn't Whittingham's only concern. He grew up in Provo and was an All-Western Athletic Conference linebacker for the home- Annual Student Appreciation Sale HURRY IN! 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