Once again, the Utah State football team finds itself wondering what it takes to move up a notch in the Big West Conference.
The Aggies, who were coming off a pair of convincing wins against the league's patsies, couldn't stay with San Jose State, one of the league's powers, Saturday afternoon in Logan. The 33-7 loss was similar to the 34-7 loss to league champion Fresno State last month (It's interesting to note that Fresno was one point better against the Aggies than San Jose and also beat the Spartans by one, 31-30).The defeat means the Aggies (3-6) are headed for their ninth straight non-winning season, regardless of what happens in remaining games at UNLV and Long Beach State.
USU Coach Chuck Shelton was distressed after the loss and partly blamed himself.
"We were about as ill-prepared mentally as I've ever had a team - that was about as bad a job as I've ever done," said Shelton. "I don't feel you make the kind of mistakes we were making if you're mentally alert. We haven't been making those mistakes (lately)."
For running back Brett Payne, who tore a ligament in his knee, it was a disappointing end to his Aggie career. He had come on strong in the latter part of the season, with just under 100 yards against New Mexico State and 166 against Pacific. He seemed well on his way to another 100-yard day Saturday with 46 after the first quarter. But it all ended with a blind hit on a passing play.
"Certainly, to lose a Brett Payne is impactive - he's our top running back," said Shelton. "But at the same time, we didn't win any battles in the line of scrimmage after that."
Shelton felt his team was still in the game after three quarters when they trailed just 13-7, but they lost all intensity following the interception return that made it 19-7.
The Aggies' new goal is to match their 1987 record of 5-6, and they should have a good chance of winning their last two games. UNLV Coach Wayne Nunnley has been on the hotseat all season and could be in real trouble after getting clobbered 45-7 by in-state rival Nevada-Reno. Long Beach has had a disappointing season and Coach Larry Reisbig has already turned in his resignation.