These Utah State Aggies never get to do anything the easy way. It's always a nail-biter. They leave their chances for the Big West football championship in suspense until the final game every year. And now that the final game - of the regular season, at least - is upon them, they found one more detour awaiting them at Salt Lake International Friday as they tried to leave for today's 1:30 MST championship bout with New Mexico State.
The Aggies were to leave from the executive terminal, where most charters hang out. But, with team buses waiting on the tarmac, there was no plane in sight. Equipment problems. New plane. New location. Snake the buses around the runways to Terminal A and leave from there an hour late. It's the route they always take.Each year for the past three or four, USU's been in the title picture until the final game, needing help from someone to get over the hump. Like now.
If 4-1, 5-5 USU wins at 4-1, 5-5 New Mexico State this afternoon, Charlie Weatherbie's club ties for the championship, which would be the Aggies' first since 1979 and 11th overall. The last several years, they fell one or two points short. It would be USU's first winning season (6-5) since 1980.
The catch this time is who gets the Las Vegas bowl berth out of the four teams that still have only one conference loss. If New Mexico State beats Utah State, NMSU goes to the bowl. They are the only one of the four that can go bowling without needing help from another team. Because of tiebreakers and a loss to Nevada, Utah State has to win and hope Nevada loses to last-place Arkansas State today or that Southwestern Louisiana wins its last two games - one next week - and throws things to a three-way tie between the Cajuns, Wolf Pack and USU Aggies. If USL wins its two final games, it's likely to get a bid from the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., and that would free up the Vegas Bowl bid, which would, on tiebreakers, go to USU. (If it's a three-way tie, the head-to-head results don't count but wins against nonleague Division I teams do, and Nevada has none.)
That's a long shot for USU. "The big thing will be winning the game," says senior H-back Mike Lee, who needs one catch to tie for second place on USU's single-season reception leaders list.