Saturday, Oct. 17, 1 p.m. MDT kickoff
Site: Romney Stadium, LoganRadio: KVNU AM-610, KWLW AM-700
Keys to victory
MENTALLY AWAKE: After five losses in their first six games and a huge loss last week in Washington, the Aggies' confidence may be waning. They'll need to be mentally ready for a 4-2 Idaho team.
NO SPECIAL TEAMS GAFFES: The Aggie special teams have been inconsistent all year, particularly the punt team. They can't allow any points (safeties, TDs) like they did in four games or long returns like last week.
MORE OFFENSE: All year long, except for the Sam Houston game, the Aggie offense has struggled. The rushing game (108th in the country) especially needs to break out for the Aggies to get a win.
The edge
Quarterbacks
Greg Robertson, who prepped at Sky View High and played at Ricks College, and Riley Jensen, who played at Cottonwood High and Snow College, are fairly comparable. But the Aggies may have to play redshirt freshman Logan Galli unless Jensen is recovered from the concussion he sustained last week.
Edge: Idaho
Running backs
Joel Thomas is second in the Big West with 686 yards. Utah State has 462 yards rushing yards as a team. Edge: Idaho
Receivers
The best receiver in the game will be USU's Robert Scott, who transferred from Idaho last year. He has 26 catches for 506 yards. The Vandals are led by Ryan Prestimonico and Jeff Townsley with 19 catches apiece. Edge: Even
Lines
The Vandals have just one senior and one junior on the defensive line and no upper classmen on an injury-ridden offensive line. The Ags are more experienced, and the defensive line especially, has been solid Edge: Utah State
Linebackers
Both teams have solid corps of linebackers, but USU's Tony D'Amato is the best of the bunch. Edge: Utah State
Defensive backs
The Vandals have allowed fewer yards through the air than the Aggies behind free safety Bryson Gardner, who leads the team in interceptions and is third in tackles. The Ags may not have their top defensive back, Johndale Carty. Edge: Idaho
Special teams
The Aggies have a better kicker in Brad Bohn (12 of 13 FGs), and Idaho's Mike O'Neal has a better average (41.5). The Aggies' punt and kickoff teams have struggled all year. Edge: Idaho
Intangibles
After getting beat 63-17 last year in Moscow, the Vandals want revenge. The home field advantage for Utah State may make more difference, however. Edge: Utah State
IDAHO OFFENSE
Many coaches strive for balance on offense, and that's what the Vandals have with a passing offense that averages 240 yards per game and a rushing offense that averages 207 yards a game.
Senior Joel Thomas, who had to sit out last year with a dislocated knee, is back better than ever, averaging 114 yards per game, even better than his 104-yard average in 1996. Sophomore Anthony Tenner has rushed for 214 yards this year.
The Vandals have used three quarterbacks this season but seemed to have settled on former Sky View and Ricks College QB Greg Robertson, who passed for 345 yards and six touchdowns last week against Arkansas State.
The offensive line is quite young, with four sophomores and a freshman, but experienced as three of them started in last year's game against Utah State.
Ryan Prestimonico and Jeff Townsley both have 19 catches, followed by Chris Lacy with 13.
IDAHO DEFENSE
The strength of the Vandal defense lies in the middle, where all-Big West performer Ryan Skinner is back along with Chris Nofoaiga and Matt Jasik. Skinner and Nofoaiga lead the team with 57 and 36 tackles, respectively.
The secondary is also experienced behind free safety Bryson Gardner, who has two interceptions and is tied for third on the team in tackles with 29. Kevin Hill, who also has 29 tackles is also a returning starter, but the two cornerbacks sophomore Dennis Gibbs and freshman Ighe Evero, are both young.
The defensive line is also young with four new starters, although Nick Alexakos started several games last year. The top D-lineman James Durrough has missed several games with injuries.
IDAHO SPECIAL TEAMS
Mike O'Neal has been a steady punter with a 41.5 average with no blocks. However, Ben Davis, a JC transfer from Ricks, has been inconsistent as the placekicker, making just 4 of 11 field goal tries and missing three of his 24 PAT tries.
Jeff Townsley, who is also the team's top receiver, has a 22.4 average on 10 kickoff returns, while Jerome Thomas averages 26.2 on five returns. Vern Benard has all but two punt returns for a 7.0 average.
Idaho Vandals
Two-deep offense
QB 4 Greg Robertson 6-2 217 Jr.
13 John Welsh 6-2 210 Fr.
RB 1 Joel Thomas 5-6 216 Jr.
2 Anthony Tenner 5-10 188 So.
WR 21Ryan Prestimonico 5-10 179Jr.
25 Bobby Grey 5-8 175 So.
WR 80 Ethan Jones 6-2 190 Fr.
3 Chris Lacy 6-0 180 Fr.
WR 15 Jeffrey Townsley 6-2 195 So.
3 Chris Lacy 6-0 180 Fr.
TE 86 Mike Reberg 6-4260 So.
85 Travis Stombaugh 6-3 231 Jr.
LT 69 Rick DeMulling 6-5 296 So.
72 Keith Cosseboom 6-9 330 Jr.
LG 61 Anthony Fuertes 6-4 280 Fr.
63 Glenn Vaagen 6-4 269 Fr.
C 52 Jeremy Wallace 6-3 272 So.
61 Anthony Fuertes 6-4 280 Fr.
RG 62 Bob Horbaczewski 6-2 251 So
70 Brian Smith 6-3 256 Jr.
RT 60 Patrick Venzke 6-7 305 So.
78 Josh Wright 6-6 305 Fr.
Two-deep defense
LE 50 Ryan Knowles 6-3 248 Fr.
55 Charles Kinney 6-2 246 Fr.
LT 98 Falemao Tosi 6-6 270 Jr.
88 Jake Wimer 6-4 249 So.
NT 91 Wil Beck 6-2 312 Fr.
71 Drew Owen 6-8 313 Fr.
RE 37 Nick Alexakos 6-3 236 Sr.
96 Dennis Tacatafa 6-3 243 Fr.
OLB 55 Chris Nofoaiga 5-10 210 So.
26 Rick Giampietri5-10 194 So.
MLB 44 Ryan Skinner 5-11 229 Sr.
45 Casey Hills 6-3 220 So.
OLB 35 Matt Jasik5-11 215 Jr.
57 Jason Martin 6-2 198 Fr.
LC 22 Dennis Gibbs 5-10 180 So.
28 Tom Rayner 5-10 183 Sr.
SS 42 Kevin Hill 5-9 190 Sr.
29 David Smith 5-10 181 Fr.
FS 36 Bryson Gardner 6-1 192 Jr.
18 Brad Rice 6-1 195 Fr.
RC 30 Ighe Evero 5-11 175 Fr.
5 Andrew Uto-Uko 6-0 172 Jr.
Specialists
PK 33 Ben Davis 6-1 181 So.
P 19 Mike O'Neal 6-0 195 Sr.
PR 25 Bobby Grey 5-8 175 So.
KR 3 Chris Lacy 6-0 180 Fr.
KR 22 Dennis Gibbs 5-10 180 So.
Individual leaders
Passing Cmp.-Att. Yds. TDs Int.
Robertson 50-89 729 9 7
Welsh 34-64 499 4 5
Dean 11-32 120 1 2
Rushing No. Yds. Ave. TDs
Jo. Thomas 119 712 5.8 7
Tenner 41 214 5.2 2
Je. Thomas 21 114 5.4 1
Receiving No. Yds Ave. TDs
Prestimonica 19 324 17.1 2
Townsley 19 288 15.2 5
Lacy 13 140 10.8 0
Jones 12 227 18.9 2
Kick returns No. Yds. Ave. TDs
Townsley 10 224 22.4 0
Punt returns No. Yds Ave. TDs
Benard 19 133 7.0 0
Scoring TDS PAT FGS PTS
Jo. Thomas 7 1 0 44
Davis 0 21 4 33
Team comparisons
USU Idaho
Punts, yards 51-1,993 28-1,163
Punting average 39.1 41.5
Fumbles, lost 20-6 12-6
Penalties, yards 56-455 57-474
Sacks by, yards lost 21-164 16-115
3rd-down conversions 27-96 28-78
Defense, 3rd downs 27-98 28-86
4th-down conversions 0-3 4-7
Defense, 4th downs 1-4 1-7
Time of possession 30:16 27:14
Idaho's 1998 season
W 31-14 E. Washington (1-0)
W 52-10San Jose State (2-0)
L 52-7 at Wash. State (2-1)
L 53-20 at LSU (2-2)
W 52-3Idaho State (3-2)
W 52-14 at Arkansas State (4-2)
Oct. 17 at Utah State 1 p.m. MDT
Oct. 24 Nevada 3 p.m. PDT
Oct. 31 at North Texas 6:30 p.m. CST
Nov. 7 bye
Nov. 14 New Mexico State 3 p.m. PST
Nov. 21 at Boise State 1 p.m. MST
USU OFFENSE
It's been a struggle all season as the Aggies have searched for an offense to be somewhat comparable to last year's 9th-in-the-nation unit.
Quarterback Riley Jensen has been inconsistent all year and won't play today after sustaining a concussion last week. Redshirt freshman Logan Galli, who played briefly last week, will take over.
The running game has never gotten untracked all year (108th in the nation) as Demario Brown has been limping on a bad ankle all season. Redshirt freshman John Roberts actually leads the team in rushing with 265 yards, and true freshman Emmett White is seeing more action each week.
Robert Scott leads the receivers with 26 catches and is 41st in the nation in receiving yards. The Aggies expected to get more passes to the tight ends, but Bucky Orton has only 13 catches so far.
USU DEFENSE
All season long, the Aggie defense has been outstanding. Despite their tough schedule, the Aggies still rank 11th in the country in rushing defense and 25th in total defense.
Tony D'Amato is far and away the top tackler with 79, well ahead of Donald Dicko, Johndale Carty and Brent Passey with 47 apiece. D'Amato also has 14 tackles for losses and five sacks.
The defensive line doesn't get the stats and attention, but the front four of Walter Fiefia, Lindsay Hassell, Caleb Smith and Vaea Fiefia has been solid all season.
The secondary has only come up with two interceptions all season, one by Carty and one by Tony Walker.
USU SPECIAL TEAMS
Brad Bohn has done his job, making 12 of 13 field goals, which ranks him second in the nation in field goals per game. However, the punt team has struggled all year, giving up four safeties, a touchdown and several long returns. It cost the Aggies the New Mexico game and made a big difference in the Colorado loss.
Punting duties have been shared by Jerry Arguello and Riley Jensen, and until last week, both were ranked in the top 50 in the country.
Freshman Tony Walker has excelled as a punt returner, leading the Big West and ranking 38th in the nation.
Utah State Aggies
Two-deep offense
QB 8 Riley Jensen 6-1 208 Sr.
17 Logan Galli 6-2 206 Fr.
RB 21 Demario Brown 6-1 205 Jr.
31 John Roberts 5-10 192 Fr.
WR 5 Ricky Brumfield 5-10 173 Sr.
16 Adam Colbert 6-1 192 Fr.
WR 4 Robert Scott 6-2 205 Sr.
10 London McBride 6-1 211 Sr.
WR 9 Aaron Jones 6-0 186 So.
5 Adrion Pierson 6-1 189 Jr.
TE 22 Bucky Orton 6-4 240 Jr.
87 Waqa Damuni 6-4 264 Sr.
LT 76 Ben Holbrook 6-6 282 Jr.
79 Jim Newton 6-10 281 Fr.
LG 65 Ken Watts 6-4 303 Sr.
67 Jess Schuck 6-2 306 Fr.
C 53 Junior Pututau 6-1 280 So.
50 Brian Shaffer 6-0 277 Jr.
RG 57 Mike Lindsay 6-2 308 Jr.
77 V. Gargalikis 6-3 268 So.
RT 68 Matt Lance 6-4 287 Jr.
79 Jim Newton 6-10 281 Fr.
Two-deep defense
LE 51 Lindsay Hassell 6-2 262 Sr.
99 Sean Hansen 6-6 269 Jr.
LT 73 Walter Fiefia 6-1 300 Sr.
92 Nate Larsen 6-3 260 So.
RT 72 Vaea Fiefia 5-11 247 Jr.
91 Doug Madowski 6-2 267 Jr.
RE 52 Caleb Smith 6-4 268 Jr.
48 Lance Sopoaga 6-1 245 Jr.
WLB 47 Blake Eagal 6-2 230 So.
43 Josh Manning 6-1 211 Jr.
MLB 46 Tony D'Amato 6-0 246 Sr.
37 Brad Ferguson5-10 227 Fr.
SLB 44 Brent Passey 6-1 219 So.
19 Tony Newson 6-1 230 So.
LCB 1 Tony Walker 5-11 175 Fr.
2 Greg White 5-10 181 Jr.
RCB 13 Vashon Garmon 6-1 197 Jr.
28 Desm. Watson 6-1 190 Fr.
SS 13 Craig Miller 5-11 195 Sr.
23 Vashon Garmon 6-1 197 Jr.
FS 45 Donald Dicko 5-11 181 Jr.
20 G. Demosthenes 5-11 194 Sr.
Specialists
PK 26 Brad Bohn 5-7 171 So.
P 39 Jerry Arguello 6-0 225 Sr.
KR 13 Emmett White 5-11 185 Fr.
KR 4 Robert Scott 6-2 205 Sr.
KR 1 Tony Walker 5-11 175 Fr.
Individual leaders
Passing Cmp.-Att. Yds. TDs Int.
Jensen 93-194 1231 8 8
Galli 2-6 20 0 0
Rushing No. Yds. Ave. TDs
Roberts 72 276 3.8 1
Brown 75 213 2.8 2
White 16 55 3.4 1
Receiving No. Yds Ave. TDs
Scott 26 506 19.5 4
McBride 14 144 10.3 0
Orton 13 111 8.5 0
Brumfield 10 106 10.6 1
Kick returns No. Yds. Ave. TDs
Walker 8 177 22.1 0
Kicking PAT FG FGA Pts.
Bohn 11 12 13 47
Interceptions No. Yds. Ave. TDs
Carty 1 5 5.0 0
Walker 1 0 0.0 0
Scoring TDS PAT FGS PTS
Bohn 0 11 12 47
Scott 4 0 0 24
Team comparisons
.. USU Idaho
Total offense avg. yds. 285.5 447.3
Total defense avg. yds 300.2 326.0
Scoring offense avg. pts. 20.2 29.0
Scoring defense avg. pts. 29.0 20.0
Rushing offense avg. yrs. 77.0 207.0
Rushing defense avg. yds. 92.8 111.0
Passing offense avg. yds. 208.5 240.0
Passing defense avg. yds. 207.3 215.0
Turnover margin -5 -6
USU's 1998 season
L 20-12 Utah (0-1)
L 39-36 at New Mexico (0-2)
L 25-6 at Colorado (0-3)
W 47-17 Sam Houston State (1-3)
L 20-16 Oregon State (1-4)
L 53-12 at Washington (1-5)
Oct. 17 Idaho 1 p.m.
Oct. 24 at Boise State 7 p.m.
Oct. 31 at New Mexico State 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 7 Nevada 1 p.m.
Nov. 14 North Texas 1 p.m.