With its Big West Conference opener just a week away, Utah State, defending league co-champion, is going to have to start looking like a team that can block and run and play second halves and win - in a hurry.
The Aggies beat 1993 Mid-American Conference champ Ball State 42-33 last December in Las Vegas Bowl II but haven't won since. They're 0-2 after two forays against the WAC, both times collapsing in the second half, outscored 51-16 after intermission, 35-13 in fourth quarters.Today at 11 a.m. MDT in Peden Stadium, the Ags meet another MAC club, 0-1 Ohio U., a team that was 4-7 last year but won four of its last five games. It fell 30-16 at Pitt last week.
USU has done well in Ohio, 2-0, but hasn't been in that state since 1974.
As it has been for the past two weeks, the offensive line is the key to the Aggie game, and as it has for the past several weeks, it got weaker this week. Now it's the loss of 278-pound veteran soph Marcus Daley to bulging spinal discs.
Injury and inadequacy have again scrambled the line; guard Darrin Mitchell is the only man in a familiar position. Novich Hunter, the walk-on junior basketball player who was a tight end a few weeks ago, will start at quick tackle with Brandon Dyson getting the call at center, Shawn Griswold moving to strong guard and John Ogness starting at strong tackle.
Weatherbie says the lack of a running game is his biggest disappointment. "We have two great running backs (Profail Grier, Abu Wilson), and we can't get them loose," he says.
Weatherbie says Ohio's defensive line won't be as physical as Utah and CSU. "We're not playing Luther Elliss," he says, referring to Utah's huge tackle. "They'll be quick," he says of the Bobcats. "We didn't have a problem with quick," he adds. "We had a problem handling physical."
The Aggies will also be without free safety/punt returner Markell McCain, who sprained a knee last week at CSU.
Senior cornerback Donald Toomer, whose two interceptions last week have him tied for first in the league and fifth nationally, says Ohio will be a sneaky sort of passing team. "They run, run, run, run, and then all of a sudden they pass," he says. "They'll try to run the ball on us."
"We've got to learn to stop the run," says Weatherbie, who has watched Utah and Colorado State pile up a total of 516 yards on the ground.