Here it is one year later and nothing much has changed. Utah and Utah State renewed their friendly little rivalry in another season opener Saturday night in Rice Stadium, and it was 1990 revisited. Lots of jawing. Little scoring (the standard 19 points again). More goal-line stands. And this time the outcome really was decided by a fluke.
With no time remaining in the first half and the Utes trailing 7-6, Utah quarterback Frank Dolce threw up a prayer from midfield. One deflection, one catch and one lateral later, tight end Greg Hoffman had fallen into the end zone for a touchdown. Just your average daily miracle.That play proved to be the difference in the game. Neither team could score in the second half, and, for the seventh time in their last eight meetings, the Utes defeated the Aggies, this time 12-7.
All night long the Utes marched up and down the field, eventually totaling 458 yards, but they couldn't reach the end zone. In the first half, they drove to the 1-yard line two times, and later the 14-yard line, and all they had to show for it were two Chris Yergensen field goals.
Was it the first-game jitters? "The first time on the goal line, we called the wrong play," said Utah coach Ron McBride. "The second time we had the wrong back in. Everything is new and many new player were out there for the first time." At one point, McBride was so frustrated that he simply slumped to the turf and sat there for several moments staring at his clipboard.
The Aggies, who were shut out 19-0 by Utah in last year's season opener, weren't faring much better. They managed just one touchdown, and that was a gimme. In the second quarter, Rob Vandepol slammed into Dolce, jarring the ball loose for teammate Greg Davis to recover at Utah's 21-yard line. That set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ron Lopez to Tracey Jenkins, and gave USU a 7-6 lead.
With four seconds left it the half and the ball on their own 45-yard line, Utah had one more shot at the end zone. The Utes sent four wideouts deep, with Hoffman going deep down the left sideline. Rowley was supposed to run a fly in another part of the field, but he improvised. When he saw the ball heading toward Hoffman, he headed in the same direction.
"I knew it was going to be tipped," he said. "It always happens on those kinds of plays."
The ball smacked USU's Damon Smith squarely in the chest and bounced into Rowley's hands at the 11. He started toward the end zone, but Smith wrapped up his legs. "Pitch it to me!" Hoffman yelled as he pulled up at Rowley's side. Hoffman ran nine yards with the lateral and dived into the end zone, carrying Darius Bynum the last couple of yards.
"I didn't know if it was ruled a touchdown until I looked up at the scoreboard," said Hoffman, who wondered, like everyone else, if he had caught a forward lateral. "It wasn't a forward lateral," said Hoffman. "When he pitched it to me, I was behind him, but I bobbled it. When I finally pulled it in I was in front of him."
"It was just our famous tip play, that we had planned," said Dolce.
The Utes were chagrined that it took such a play to put the Ags away. After hearing the Ags declare in televised interviews earlier in the week that last year's victory was a fluke - "That didn't sit well," said Hoffman - they had wanted much more. "Those guys are nothing but talk," said Rowley. "Today was the fluke. It should've been 50 to nothing. We moved the ball all over the field. We've just couldn't get in the end zone."
After 89 games, there's still no love lost between these instate rivals.
Some 27,570 fans turned up in Rice Stadium for Saturday's game, although few were there to see the pre-game fashion show. The Utes warmed up in white pants and red jerseys, then went into the locker room and changed into their red pants - the SEE-RED look - for the game. In the meantime, USU coach Chuck Shelton wore a shirt and tie during warmups - and switched to a golf shirt for the game. So much for the fall line of football attire.
If the Utes entered the game with a number of questions on offense, they were soon answered. Yes, the offense - last year's problem child - is fine, thank you, as attested by 458 yards. The new quarterback and offensive line? Dolce, playing his first game in two years, completed 22 of 35 passes for 270 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception - and was never sacked. The new sophomore tailbacks? Charlie Brown rushed for 104 yards on 21 carries, and Keith Williams had 63 yards on 11 carries.
The Ute offense was so effective, that it proved to be the Utes' best defense. They kept the USU offense off the field. The Aggies had the ball for just 7:37 of the first half and managed just 64 yards. They wound up 222 yards.
Ron Lopez, who was sacked twice by Jimmy Bellamy, completed just 7 of 24 passes, but fortunately he had halfback Roger Grant to count on. Grant backed up his growing reputation by rushing for 112 yards on 17 carries.
"We never could get our offense on the field the first half," said Shelton. "I didn't think anybody could kick our defense around the way they did."
For all their problems, the Aggies had three big chances to win in the fourth quarter. Grant was on the loose at the Ute 7-yard line when Todd Lawson smashed into him, and Pita Tonga recovered the resulting fumble. The Ags blew a fourth-and-two at midfield with a delay of game penalty. And finally, safety Sharrieff Shah tipped a Lopez pass in Ute territory, and teammate Mark Swanson intercepted it.
"Utah State is far better team this year," said McBride. So, it appears, are the Utes.