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Show ' . j Preview of college grid games Utes, Aggies, WSC at home; BYU plays away By GARY R. BLODGETT Sports Editor BYU Coach La Veil Edwards told a gathering of sports media earlier this week that "it's time for the Cougars to prove what kind of a team they now have, not what kind of a team they hope to have." He said that the injuries, mistakes and scores of past games have got to be forgotten and the Cougars must show their true colors. It's Western Athletic Conference time when the games really count. BYU will open its book on the WAC schedule this Saturday against New Mexico University in Albuquerque. Kickoff is 6 p.m. (MDT) and the game will be televised live over KSL-TV (Channel 5). Utah's Running Utes will return home for a non-conference encounter with Idaho State with kickoff at 7 p.m.; Utah State University will play its first home game of the season against Fullerton State (Calif.) with a 1 p.m. kickoff; and Weber State will entertain Boise State in a 7 p.m. game at Wildcat Stadium. It will be the second WAC contest for the Lobos of New Mexico. They clashed with the University of Utah in the season opener for both teams and the Utes won a 24-20 thriller. But after only three or four games into the 1987 season, there is some room for comparison and speculation. BYU is no longer the WAC powerhouse that it once was in fact, it's impossible to determine who the early-season favorite really is. You could hang your hat on almost any team in the conference as being a preseason favorite. Utah beat New Mexico but lost to San Diego State, thus no rival has a 2-0 edge in the WAC. Air Force beat a good Texas Christian team, the same Horned Frogs that dominated BYU; Wyoming has looked very good against out-of-state opponents; and even Texas-El Paso has come on strong. This year, more than most seasons in the past, several teams will be strong contenders for the WAC title, including defending champion San Diego State. Coach Edwards said he is disappointed, but is not giving up . on the Cougs. "We'll even surprise a few people with our running game," he said with a shy smile. "We definitely are not playing up to our potential even though we have been plagued with injuries, especially in the defensive secondary. So there will be some changes made because of injuries, but not because any of the players are not performing well." He said freshman Matt Bellini, who started in the Pitt game, probably will give support to Fred Whittingham and Mike O'Brien in the offensive backfield. The Cougars have struggled and sputtered in their running game averaging only about three net yards per game. "But that won't last," Coach Edwards promised. "We have some very fine running backs and we're not going to be contained con-tained forever. You're going to see some breakaway runs and some points on the board with our running game." Regarding injuries, Coach Edwards broke the news that Kirk Davis, junior cornerback, has been tested and the medical results re-sults disclose that Kirk has a mild case of Hodgkins Disease. "We don't know the extent of his illness, but numerous tests are being taken and preliminary examinations show the disease to be mild at this time. Doctors even encourage that he be allowed to play and we expect to see action from him Saturday," Satur-day," said a serious Coach Edwards. He added that Rod Thomas and Rod Rice will not see action in the contest but should be ready for all other WAC games. "I'm not pushing any panic buttons at this time, but there's no more time to spare. We've got to be ready for the Lobos and the opening of the WAC schedule on Saturday," the coach concluded. con-cluded. t Utah vs. Idaho State Utah Coach Jim Fassel is all smiles after the Utes stunning 31-28 upset win over Wisconsin last week. "It was obviously a big win, but most important is the confidence confi-dence that the players have," said Coach Fassel. "The players are not over confident but they realize that they can play a good brand of football and compete with the best teams in the conference." confer-ence." He praised the offensive backs especially the performance of freshman Rod Wells, nicknamed the (Wells) Fargo Express filling in for the injured Eddie Johnson, an all-WAC performer perfor-mer who is recuperating from a serious knee injury and will be out for the remainder of the season. Rod broke loose for 1 1 9 yards , including a 47-yard scamper to set up a Ute score. The little (5-foot 8) scatback from Bear River High uses his deceptive speed to complement the running of fullback Martel Black, who had 65 yards and two TDs; Cliff Smith and Molonai Hola. Idaho State Bengals have put a lot of points on the board in their two winning outings this season including 52 points in their opener against the No. 2 ranked Division II team in the nation. The Bengals are led by tailback Butch Caston who is averaging averag-ing 205.5 yards per game in all-purpose running. He does it all rushing, pass receiving, and kickoff and punt returns. Utah is still leading the nation in passing offense, averaging 352.7 yards per game, and is fourth in the nation in total offense, 485.7 yards per game. Carl Harry and Curt Jones are tied for 12th place nationally with 18 catches each. Utah State vs. Fullerton State Utah State will be looking for its first win of the season after - losing to nationally ranked Nebraska 56-12 and to highly touted "1 Kentucky, 41-0. Fullerton State was whipped in its first two J games being shut out by Hawaii 44-0 and dominated by LSU, ? 56-12. But the Titans bounced back to defeat Long Beach State "- 'i in a PCAA conference game, 31-12. f It will also be the Aggies chance to break the Titans' domina- -j tion of the two teams as Fullerton State has won the last four games, including a 33-0 whitewash of the Aggies last year, ij However, the last two games played in Logan ( 1983 and 1985) ' resulted in one and two point victories for the Titans with f both wins coming on last-second field goals. :. : Aggie Coach Chuck Shelton said he has not been pleased with ; the overall performance of the Aggies and there will be some ' personnel changes for Saturday's game. -1 JC transfer Nathan Kaczor will take over at center and Dan J Hill and John Lesher will be new replacements at the offensive . tackles. Mark Eggington, 260-pound junior from Roy High School, will be the second-unit nose guard, making a rare switch ' from offensive guard. Coach Shelton said he "is pleased with the performance of quarterback Brent Snyder, but Snyder is not getting the pass -protection he needs. That's why the changes in the center of the offensive line." ' "We'll be ready for the Titans after a week off and after getting two real tough games under our belt," said Coach Shelton. Shel-ton. "We were playing teams way over our heads, but now we will be on a level that we can compete with if we play up to our potential," said Coach Shelton. Weber State vs. Boise State It will be the first Big Sky Conference game of the season for Weber and Boise State, and the first road game for the Broncos. BSU has dominated the 18-game series between the two schools , 1 4-4 and have won 1 4 of the last 1 5 games and the last seven straight in Ogden. But this could be the year for the Wildcats who are playing extremely well. Look for the Wildcats to continue their passing game with split end Jon Fuller being the primary target of Jeff Carlson's aerials. Fuller, a graduate of Weber High School, caught three passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns against SUSC last week. The Broncos' Vince Alcalde, one of the top passers in Division Divi-sion 1-AA has completed 28 of 43 attempts for 398 yards and no interceptions. Running back Chris Johnson is averaging 115 yards per game, and eight yards every time he packs the pigskin. |