In the Pacific Tigers, Utah State will be facing a team that is "somewhere between Fullerton State and New Mexico State," according to Aggie Coach Chuck Shelton.
And since the Aggies' only two wins this year have come against Fullerton and NMSU, that would mean a likely victory for the 2-5 Aggies Saturday night (8 p.m. MST) when they meet the Tigers at Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium, right?Not necessarily, says Shelton.
He's worried because he knows the 1-8 Tigers are a young team that plays hard all game long, as they did in a 38-14 loss to 15th-ranked Arizona last Saturday. In that game, played in Tucson, the Tigers gained 350 yards and had 25 first downs against one of the country's better defenses.
"They're doing about as much as they possibly can do with their talent level," said Shelton. "They play four quarters. They're not a team that's going to let up at all. We're going to have to play them very well."
The Tigers, who were always a wishbone team under former coach Bob Cope, are a passing team under new coach Walt Harris. Freshman Troy Kopp, who threw for 286 yards against Arizona, is the 42nd-ranked passer in the country, completing 56 percent of his passes for 1,410 yards. Jason Edwards is the second-best receiver in the conference and 38th in the country with 40 catches. Brian Baldwin has 33 receptions on the year.
The Tigers' rushing game isn't much better than that of the Aggies, who have been ranked near the bottom of the national rushing stats all year. The top rusher for Pacific, Andrew Thomas, has gained 238 yards, an average of 26 per game. Pacific averages 96 yards per game on the ground.
Defensively, the Tigers are led by safety Greg Koperek, an all-Big West selection last year, who leads the league in interceptions this year with five and is ranked 10th in the nation.
The Aggies have won 11 of the past 12 meetings with the Tigers and lead the series 15-6. The last Pacific win was a 33-7 victory in Stockton in 1985.