The No. 6-ranked team in the country will be in Utah this week and, no, it won't be playing at LaVell Edwards Stadium or Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The unbeaten Oregon Ducks, who could be playing for a national championship three months from now, will visit Utah State's Romney Stadium for a Saturday night contest.
You can count on one hand the number of nationally ranked football teams that have ever played in Utah. So how the heck did little ol' Utah State, one of a handful of independents in the country, wrangle a home game with a highly ranked team from the Pac-10?
Give the credit to USU athletic director Rance Pugmire, who in turn credits Oregon AD Bill Moos.
"He's just a standup guy who isn't the type that will look down his nose at another institution," said Pugmire. "Frankly, there are a lot of schools out there that will do that."
Pugmire helped put the deal together two years ago, even before he knew the Aggies would be independent this year. And it doesn't come without a price — the Aggies will make return trips to Eugene in 2006 and 2008 as part of the two-for-one deal.
Oregon is one of four possible Top 25 teams the Aggies will play this year. Earlier the Ags played No. 13 LSU and have upcoming games against BYU, currently ranked No. 20, and Fresno State, ranked No. 10.
It may be the most ambitious schedule in USU history, although Pugmire never dreamed the Aggies might have to play four teams ranked in the Top 20 in one season.
Putting together a good schedule has been a major challenge for Pugmire since the Aggies (or rather a certain former USU president) decided playing as an independent was better than joining the Sun Belt Conference.
Four former Big West teams landed in the Sun Belt when the Big West disbanded football last year.
If the Aggies had accepted the invitation to play in the Sun Belt Conference starting this year, they would likely have been one of the favorites for the league title and been in the running for a bowl bid. Last year they finished ahead of both New Mexico State and Idaho, who were picked for second and third this year (and who lost by scores of 64-0 and 53-3 last week).
Instead, the Aggies have had to find games in late October and November when they'd normally be playing league contests. This year Pugmire came up with the likes of South Florida, Central Florida, Connecticut, Idaho State and Weber State. The Ags just hope they're not 0-5 by the time they get to those games.
You'd think the seven-team Sun Belt would welcome the Aggies, who have a different attitude with a new president. But after being snubbed last year, the league will only take USU with certain requirements attached. The Aggies will be independent again next year for sure, according to Pugmire, but have a ray of hope to join a conference in 2003.
In the spring of 2002, the NCAA is scheduled to look at requirements of schools and conferences to stay I-A. Some leagues may need to add schools to meet minimum requirements established by the NCAA, which is where Utah State hopes to profit. The Western Athletic Conference is at the top of their list (actually the Mountain West is, but chances are almost nil) with the Sun Belt as a possibility.
"What we've been told is to expect some movement (next spring)," said Pugmire. "We just need to be healthy and moving forward as a program."
In the meantime, the Aggies will play another ambitious schedule next year with Nebraska and Iowa on the road, along with Hawaii, which gives them an extra game. Also, 2002 is one of those years college teams can play 12 games, which means the Aggies could play 13 games. However Pugmire says the Aggies want to be smart and not just schedule extra games that might not help, so they may still play just 11 or 12 games.
Beyond that, the Aggies will tone down their schedule with teams more on their level such as San Jose State, Boise State, New Mexico and New Mexico State. However, Pugmire said he's had discussions with programs such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and USC for games in 2006 and beyond.
Aggie's aggregate schedule
HOME GAMES
Utah
Idaho State
BYU
South Florida
New Mexico State
AWAY GAMES
Nebraska
Iowa
Boise State
Hawaii
Central Florida
Troy State
FUTURE HOME GAMES
Oklahoma State
Wyoming
New Mexico
San Jose State
Boise State
UNLV
FUTURE ROAD GAMES
Iowa State
Oregon
Wyoming
UNLV
New Mexico
POSSIBLE FUTURE ROAD OPPONENTS
Oklahoma
USC
Arizona State
Arkansas
Tennessee
Fresno State
E-mail: sor@desnews.com