Just a week ago, all seemed right with the Utah State football program. The Aggies had just beaten Nevada to clinch the Big West championship and were thrilled about playing in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise next month.
A week later, while the Aggies are trying to recover from a stunning last-second loss to an unheraled North Texas team Saturday, they may be about to suffer another loss - that of head coach John L. Smith.Smith has already flown to Louisville, where the University of Louisville is courting him to be its coach, replacing Ron Cooper, who was fired last week following a 1-10 season. Smith is on a three-day visit, being wooed by athletic director Tom Jurich and university president John Shumaker.
On Sunday night, Smith told WHAS-AM, Louisville's flagship radio station, that although no timetable had been discussed, "the quicker would be better for them." Smith also said he would hope to be able to coach the bowl game on Dec. 29 even if he accepts Louisville's head coaching offer.
One of the complicating factors is the fact that December is the prime recruiting time for college football teams. Louisville would need some of Smith's assistants to do recruiting while he handled coaching duties in Logan. Also, the Aggies would need to find a coach quickly to replace Smith and begin their own recruiting.
Among Aggie assistants, assistant head coach Art Valero and offensive coordinator Bob Petrino would be the most likely candidates to succeed Smith, should the Aggies go in that direction.
Meanwhile, the Aggie football team will try to put the pieces back together following the 51-48 loss to North Texas on Saturday.
The beleaguered Aggie secondary gave up 377 yards to North Texas in a stunning 51-48 loss, which included 32 points and three touchdown passes in the final quarter alone. Coming into the game, North Texas had averaged a mere 155 yards through the air.
"We lost containment at the end," said a shell-shocked Smith. "It just comes down to making plays. I don't know what to say - we just did not play today."
The Aggies came out flat against the Mean Green Saturday. They finally got going in the second half but couldn't sustain it against a more motivated North Texas squad. The Aggies lost the lead five times.
USU came alive to grab a 34-19 lead going into the final quarter but allowed NTU to regain the lead at 37-34. After the Aggies twice re-took the lead, they allowed North Texas to drive 71 yards in 35 seconds and make the winning touchdown with just two seconds left.
"That's just athletics - you see it every week," said Smith. "We've got to kick ourselves in the tail and try to analyze ourselves in the mirror."
With the Humanitarian Bowl coming up Dec. 29 in Boise, at least one player, defensive end Ben Crosland, tried to put a positive spin after Saturday's loss, saying, "Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise."
However, Smith wasn't buying that.
"I don't know if you can find any positives in this game," he said. "Maybe the best thing is to totally forget about it and act like it never happened."
The Aggies will get Thanksgiving week off and then will practice every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in December.
While Cincinnati and Tulane were listed as possible opponents for the Aggies in Sunday's L.A. Times, most speculation is focusing on Oregon as the likely Humanitarian Bowl opponent. Bowl officials would like to have a team selected this week but may have to wait for the trickle-down effect from other more prominent bowls before getting a second team.