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Show Utes, Aggies clash in noon emcoumter Saturday By GARY R. BLODGETT Sports Editor "You can't look at past records when you have two teams like Utah and Utah State playing each other. If we're not fully prepared for the Aggies Saturday, we could be in a lot of trouble." Ute Coach Jim Fassel was speaking to the sports media of the Big-Four luncheon in Salt Lake City earlier this week, and trying to give a fair evaluation of what could happen when the two teams meet Saturday noon at Rice Stadium. He noted that the Aggies are fresh off of their first football victory of the 1987 season, but that they have been improving as the season has progressed. Utah, meanwhile, just returned from Hawaii where the Utes suffered a 25-14 loss to the Islanders. "Now we've got to take one game at a time and prepare for Utah State," said Coach Fassel A crowd of nearly 30,000 is expected for the noon kickoff of one of the oldest rivalries in college football dating back to 1892. The Utes lead in the long series 54-26-4 and have won the last three years. USU last won 21-17 in Logan and haven't won in Salt Lake City since 1979. It was the Utes on the long end of a 27-10 score last year in Logan. In other games being played Saturday involving local colleges, col-leges, BYU will test its talents against Hawaii in Honolulu; and Weber State will return to the Big Sky country, this time to Missoula, to play the University of Montana. Despite only one victory this year a 17-13 squeaker against University of Pacific last Saturday in Logan the Aggies are conservatively optimistic that they can beat the Utes. "We lost a heartbreaker to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas before beating Pacific, and I feel that we have improved with each game we've played this season. I'm not saying that we are good enough to beat Utah but we'll give it our best shot and with the right breaks, we have a chance for an upset. It should be one heck of a good game," said Aggie Coach Chuck Shelton in his low drawl. Asked if the Ags were riding high with their win over Pacific, Shelton replied: "We didn't play as well as we could have, in fact not as good as against UNLV, but even an ugly victory is better than a pretty loss." "We need to be more consistent with our defense and not give up the big plays," he said. "Our offense is improving and our linebackers are playing good defense. If we can put it all together, we have a chance against Utah." Coach Fassel said he probably will stay with the system of rotating quarterbacks even if it wasn't successful against Hawaii. "First, let me make it clear that after studying the (game) films, it was obvious that the third quarter letdown we had offensively against Hawaii was not all Scott Mitchell's fault. It was a team letdown a breakdown of pass patterns, poor offensive blocking, and other miscues," he said. "I plan to rotate Chris (Mendonca) and Scott (Mitchell) against the Aggies just as long as they are playing up to their expectations," the Ute coach emphasized. Utah is still leading the nation in passing with this combination combina-tion of quarterbacks, even though both have felt a lot more mental as well as defensive (blitz) pressure with each game. The Utes currently average 358.6 yards per game passing and are fourth in the nation in total offense with 478.4 yards per game. But if you look at present or past records, prospects for this game could be deceiving. For example, Utah came into the Utah State game at Logan last year with only one win and seven losses while the Aggies held a 3-6 season mark. And the Utes went on to win. This year, Utah definitely has the dominating power both offensively and defensively and should win by at least two touchdowns. Cougars in Hawaii It should be an excellent matchup for BYU and the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii, with the home field edge going to the Islanders. The Cougars will also be recuperating from a stunning 29-27 loss to Wyoming which puts the Cougs in a do-or-die situation. A second loss would likely drop BYU out of the race for the Western Athletic Conference championship. Wyoming is the only undefeated team in the WAC, but several teams still have a shot at a share of the title. Coach La Veil Edwards looks at the Rainbow Warriors as having a real good "run-and-shoot wishbone offense and a good, solid defense." Hawaii, like Utah, will alternate quarterbacks quarter-backs but for different reasons. Walter Briggs is the runner, having racked up more than 200 yards rushing against New Mexico earlier this year, and Warren Jones is a top-notch passer. Defensively, they rank high nationally against the rush, led by ail-American defensive tackle Al Noga, being primed this year for the Outland Award which was won last year by BYU's Jason Buck. Coach Edwards said the Cougars are physically fit after a week off and will be near full strength except for Kirk Davis and Troy Fuller. Davis was released from the hospital this week where he has been undergoing treatment for Hodgkins disease. "Obviously, we would have liked to be in a better standing in the league," said Coach Edwards. "We definitely have our backs against the wall, but we have been there before and came out with at least a share of the WAC title. And I think we can do it again." BYU has won the last eight consecutive games between these two teams and the overall series between them stands at 9-4 in favor of the Cougars. And the Cougars shouuld make it nine straight Saturdays in what should be a very close contest. WSC plays Montana Weber State's Wildcats undefeated against league opponents oppo-nents and ranked No. 10 in the nation among NCAA Division 1-AA teams will be heavy favorites to whip Montana University, Univer-sity, even though the game will be played up in the Big Sky Country. "Sure we're pleased with the rankings," commented Coach Mike Price. It's the first time since 1980 that a WSC team has been ranked in the Top 10 and the players deserve the honors." Speedy Fine Unga leads the Big Sky Conference and is second in the nation among all-purpose runners, averaging 188 yards per game rushing and pass receiving and 97.5 yards per game rushing only. Also, Sean Sanders is No. 1 in the conference and the nation in scoring with 1 1 touchdowns and an average of 13.2 points per game. Coach Price couldn't find enough praise for quarterback Jeff Carlson and split end Wade Orton. Carlson had his best game as a Wildcat as he passed for 370 yards, completing 19 of 32 aerial attempts, and three touchdowns. touch-downs. His prime receiver was Orton who grabbed 10 passes for 230 yards and scored two TDs. On the ground, Unga will be looking for his third straight 200-plus yard all-purpose game, and Sanders who returned to the lineup last week for the first time in three weeks could be boosted into the No. 1 spot for career touchdowns at WSC, as he needs only four more rushing TDs to tie the all-time mark of Lee White (15 in 1966). The Grizzlies have a 3-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the conference. But this roller-coaster team could very well be the best 3-3 team in Division 1AA. In back-to-back games, they have beaten No. 1 ranked Nevada-Reno, 41-29, at home; and -"-Nor ranked Northern Iowa, 33-re. " " In fact, all three of Montana's wins have been over teams ranked in the Top 20 of the Division 1-AA. |