ViAggie
09-30-2004, 03:39 PM
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
LOGAN - If not for Hurricane Ivan, Utah State might be playing one of college football's most surprisingly successful teams Saturday.
Troy opened the season with upset wins over Marshall and nationally-ranked Missouri. After the 24-14 victory over the Tigers, which was televised by ESPN, the Trojans became the first Sun Belt Conference team in three years to receive votes in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll.
The following week, however, Troy lost 22-18 at New Mexico State. Part of the problem, coach Larry Blakeney said, was the Trojans' lack of preparation time.
Troy does not have an indoor practice facility and, when Hurricane Ivan rolled through Alabama during the week, it severely limited the amount of work the heavily favored Trojans could do prior to their game at New Mexico State.
Combined with the emotional letdown after defeating Missouri, expected to be one of the top teams in the Big 12 this season, Troy was ambushed in Las Cruces.
Last week, Troy played better but still suffered a 17-7 loss at South Carolina of the SEC.
Despite the Trojans' two-game losing streak, Utah State (2-2, 1-0) knows it will face one of the Sun Belt's best teams this weekend.
"They have represented our league pretty well," said Aggie quarterback Travis Cox. "[But] I'm excited to go down there and play them. It will be a good challenge for us. If we can win this game, it will set up our season."
Dennehy's 50th
The Troy game is Mick Dennehy's 50th as coach of the Aggies. His record is 18-31 overall and 8-5 in conference play. The Aggies went 4-1 in the Big West in 2000. They are 4-4 over the last two seasons in the Sun Belt.
Only four of Utah State's 24 coaches have coached more games at Utah State: **** Romney (235), Bruce Snyder (77), Chuck Shelton (66) and Chuck Mills (66).
The Salt Lake Tribune
LOGAN - If not for Hurricane Ivan, Utah State might be playing one of college football's most surprisingly successful teams Saturday.
Troy opened the season with upset wins over Marshall and nationally-ranked Missouri. After the 24-14 victory over the Tigers, which was televised by ESPN, the Trojans became the first Sun Belt Conference team in three years to receive votes in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll.
The following week, however, Troy lost 22-18 at New Mexico State. Part of the problem, coach Larry Blakeney said, was the Trojans' lack of preparation time.
Troy does not have an indoor practice facility and, when Hurricane Ivan rolled through Alabama during the week, it severely limited the amount of work the heavily favored Trojans could do prior to their game at New Mexico State.
Combined with the emotional letdown after defeating Missouri, expected to be one of the top teams in the Big 12 this season, Troy was ambushed in Las Cruces.
Last week, Troy played better but still suffered a 17-7 loss at South Carolina of the SEC.
Despite the Trojans' two-game losing streak, Utah State (2-2, 1-0) knows it will face one of the Sun Belt's best teams this weekend.
"They have represented our league pretty well," said Aggie quarterback Travis Cox. "[But] I'm excited to go down there and play them. It will be a good challenge for us. If we can win this game, it will set up our season."
Dennehy's 50th
The Troy game is Mick Dennehy's 50th as coach of the Aggies. His record is 18-31 overall and 8-5 in conference play. The Aggies went 4-1 in the Big West in 2000. They are 4-4 over the last two seasons in the Sun Belt.
Only four of Utah State's 24 coaches have coached more games at Utah State: **** Romney (235), Bruce Snyder (77), Chuck Shelton (66) and Chuck Mills (66).