GAME WEEK: Utah State at Fresno State

FRESNO STATE vs UTAH STATE
Saturday, Oct. 31 - 3 p.m. (MT)
Bulldog Stadium (41,031)
Fresno, Calif.
QUICKLY -- Fresh off its first Western Athletic Conference win of the season, which came over one of the conference's two Bulldogs, Utah State (2-5, 1-2 WAC) hits the road to take on the other Bulldog team in Fresno State (4-3, 3-1 WAC) on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31... Kickoff from Fresno, Calif., is slated for 3 p.m. (MT) from Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium (41,0131)... There is no television for Saturday's game.

CUE WILLIE NELSON -- Utah State is making Willie Nelson proud and going on the road again for the first of two road games, traveling to Hawai'i next week... Saturday is USU's fifth road game of the season while having only three home games.

BACK-TO-BACK BULLDOGS -- Saturday is the Aggies' second of consecutive games against a team of Bulldogs after USU hosted Louisiana Tech last Saturday... This is the second time in the last three seasons that such an occurrence has happened and in the exact same order.

AGGIES ARE Déjà VU ALL OVER AGAIN FOR FRESNO STATE -- Fresno State will be playing its third Aggies foe this season, after taking on UC Davis in the season-opener on Sept. 5 (W, 51-0), and at New Mexico State last Saturday (W, 34-3).

SATURDAY'S STORYLINES -- Things to watch for in Saturday's battle between the Aggies and Bulldogs:

-- The top two running backs in the WAC will be in action featuring conference and NCAA leader Ryan Mathews of Fresno State at 161.6 ypg and Utah State's Robert Turbin, who is second in the WAC with 104.9 ypg, good for tying for 18th in the NCAA.
-- The top two placekickers for FG percentage will be on the field in FS's Kevin Goessling, who leads the league with 90.0 pct (9-of-10) and USU's Chris Ulinski, second in the WAC at 81.8 pct (9-of-11).
-- The Aggies are going for their first back-to-back WAC wins since the last two games of the 2007 season.
-- USU is seeking its first win at Fresno since 1980, going 0-8-1 since.

FOLLOWING THE GAME

ON TV -- Saturday's WAC match-up between the Aggies and the Bulldogs will not be televised.

ON THE AIR -- All Utah State football games are carried live on KVNU 610 AM and KLZX 95.9 FM in Logan; 1230 AM in Salt Lake City; on KLZX 105.3 FM in Montpelier, Idaho, and on the Internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on "Listen Live"... Al Lewis handles the play-by-play duties and Craig Hislop provides analysis.

GAMETRACKER -- Fans can follow Saturday's game + all USU Aggie home games through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.

UP NEXT -- Utah State continues its two-game road stretch by heading to Honolulu to tangle with Hawai'i on Saturday, Nov. 7... Kickoff from Aloha Stadium is scheduled for 9 p.m. (MT).

UTAH STATE NOTE-ABLES

USU IN OCTOBER / ON HALLOWEEN -- Saturday's win over Louisiana Tech snapped Utah State's 12-game losing streak in October... USU has lost 23 of its last 27 games in the Canadian Thanksgiving month (which was on Monday, Oct. 12)... USU won its first game of the month in 2006, edging Fresno State, 13-12, on Oct. 7, but lost 12 in a row before Saturday's win... Saturday is the Aggies' first game on Halloween since a 1998 win at New Mexico State... USU is 5-6-1 on Halloween, but has won two in a row and three of the last four on the spook-tacular holiday... Saturday is the second time that the Aggies have tangled with the Bulldogs on Halloween, with USU blanking FS, 20-0, on Oct. 31, 1981... USU is 3-5-1 on the road on Oct. 31.

USU VS. FRESNO STATE IN OCTOBER -- Saturday is the second-straight October meeting between the Aggies and Bulldogs and the 15th time overall... The teams had six October meetings in a row from 1980-1985... Overall, USU is 5-9-1 vs. Fresno State in October, including 1-0 on Halloween, but 1-6 at Fresno in October.

UTAH STATE-FRESNO STATE SERIES -- Fresno State has won five of the last six meetings with Utah State as USU's 13-12 win in 2006 snapped a three-game losing skid to Fresno State and the Bulldogs lead the all-time series by a 13-10-1 count... Prior to the 2006 win, FS had claimed the previous three meetings since Utah State posted a 20-19 win against then 25th-ranked Fresno State in 1991... That victory is USU's only win against an AP ranked team in school history... After meeting four straight seasons from 1952-55, the teams played every year from 1978-91 and 1993 when both programs were members of the Big West Conference... The teams met in a non-conference game in 2001, before first meeting in 2005 as members of the WAC... The 2001 meeting was scheduled for Sept. 15, but the 9-11 tragedy happened on the Tuesday of that week so the Bulldogs and Aggies agreed to postpone the game until Dec. 1, where FS won 70-21, USU's 15th-largest losing margin (49 points) in school history... The last three meetings have been by a total of 14 points, with USU's 13-12 win in 2006, FS's 38-27 win in 2007 and 30-28 last-second victory in 2008... The Aggies are 2-10-1 vs. the Bulldogs at Fresno, losing the last four meetings since a 24-all tie in 1990... USU's last win at Fresno was in 1980, going 0-8-1 since.

AGGIE-BULLDOG NOTE-ABLE -- USU has 42 players on its roster from the state of California, the most from any state on the roster... One of those players' hometown is Fresno, in senior CB Kejon Murphy (Edison HS)... Murphy was high school teammates with the Bulldogs' junior DT Cornell Banks and junior LB Sonny McCree... The Utah State senior trio of S James Brindley, OC Brennan McFadden and K Chris Ulinski were high school teammates with Fresno State junior OG Andrew Jackson at Nevada Union HS in Grass Valley, Calif... Other California high school teammates and fellow hometown natives are: Aggie junior LB Jordan Glass and FS junior OT Kenny Wiggins of Elk Grove (Elk Grove HS); USU junior DE Nathan Royster and FS junior LB Nico Herron and sophomore WR Jamel Hamler of San Leandro (San Leandro HS); USU junior CB Curtis Marsh (Royal HS) and FS junior SS Lorne Bell (Simi Valley HS) of Simi Valley and Aggie sophomore LB Kyle Gallagher (Douglass HS) and FS senior DL Wilson Ramos (Woodland HS) of Woodland... Fresno State junior QB Ryan Colburn is a native of Visalia, Calif., the same hometown as USU Senior Assoc. Athletic Director Jana Doggett and USU Academic Advisor/ Life Skills Coord. Amy Crosbie, wife of former USU QB and current USU Asst. AD/Business Manager Jeff Crosbie... In the last 14 meetings, Utah State is 3-10-1 vs. Fresno State... The three wins have been by a combined six points (13-12 in 2006, 20-19 in 1991 and 17-13 in 1987) and all three have been at Logan.

USU BESTS VS. FRESNO STATE -- Here is a look at some of the top USU statistical individual performances against the Bulldogs over the years: Rick Parros had the fifth-highest single-game rushing outing in USU history with 252 yards against Fresno State in 1978... In 1980, Marvin Jackson had an 88-yard rush, tied for the fourth-longest rushing play in school history... Richard Gwynn holds the 10th-longest rush mark with an 80-yard run against FS in 1984... Jack Hill had a 90-yard kick return against Fresno State in 1955, tied for the 12th-longest kick return... Utah State's 70-21 loss at Fresno State in 2001 is the 15th-largest losing margin (49 points)... In addition to the 252 outing Parros had another one of his 14 career 100-yard rushing outings with 168 yards against Fresno State in 1979... Gwynn had the first of two career 100-yard games with 144 yards in 1984... Roger Grant logged one of his 11 100-yard games with 197 yards in 1990... In 1993, James Dye recorded his only 100-yard outing with 112 yards against FS... David Fiefia had the first of four 100-yard games with 116 yards in the Fresno State game in 2001... Brett Stevens had his only 300-yard passing game with 326 yards against the Bulldogs in 1984... The next year, Brent Snyder had the first of his school-record 10 300-yard outings with 335 yards against FS... In 1978, Jimmy Bryant had 125 receiving yards against the Bulldogs... Kendal Smith had 142 receiving yards against Fresno State in 1987, the single-game receiving mark for a USU freshman and the first of the 15 century-yard receiving games he would have, adding another one in 1988 with 101 against the Bulldogs... Kevin Curtis tallied one of his school-record 16 100-yard receiving games with 110 against Fresno State in 2001.

USU VS. GOLDEN STATE TEAMS -- Utah State is 50-62-2 (.447) against schools from the state of California, going 10-13-1 vs. Fresno State, 10-20-1 vs. San Jose State, 8-6 against Cal State Fullerton, 1-0 vs. Cal State Northridge, 21-7 against Pacific, 1-9 vs. San Diego State, 0-4 vs. USC, 0-1 vs. St. Vincent's, 0-1 against Stanford and 0-1 vs. UCLA.

USU IN CALIFORNIA -- Utah State is 18-34-1 (.349) in California... The Aggies' last win in the Golden State was in 1992, when USU won both of its games in California, a 26-7 win on Oct. 31, 1992 against Cal State Fullerton, who was so depressed by the loss that the Titans discontinued football following that season, and then a 38-35 win on Nov. 21, 1992 against Pacific, in which USU won on a field goal with 18 seconds left... Since then, the Aggies have lost their last eight games on California soil.

UTAH STATE-FRESNO STATE BY THE NUMB3R5 -- A closer look at note-ables about Saturday's match-up between the Aggies and the Bulldogs:

0 Players from the state of Utah on Fresno State's roster.
00 Number of seconds on clock when FS's Kevin Goessling booted a 58-yard field goal to beat USU 30-28 last season.
1 Tie in the series, a 24-all draw in 1990.
1 Wins by Utah State over Fresno State on Halloween (W, 20-0, 10-31-80).
1 Wins by the Aggies over a top 25 team, a 20-19 win over then No. 25 Fresno State in 1991.
1 Wyoming alums on each of USU and FS Media Relations staffs in Doug Hoffman and Steve Weakland, who are the directors of their respective staffs.
1-2 Rank of FS's Ryan Mathews and USU's Robert Turbin, respectively, in conference rushing statistics.
2 Wins in a row by Fresno State in the series.
2 Different conferences that Utah State and Fresno State have been in together (Big West 2003-04, WAC, 2005-present).
3 Times that USU head coach Gary Andersen faced Fresno State while an assistant at Utah, going 2-1 (1997-L, 27-13; 1998-W, 24-16; 1999-W, 17-16).
4 Grass Valley, Calif. natives playing in Saturday's game, featuring the Utah State senior trio of S James Brindley, OC Brennan McFadden and K Chris Ulinski and Fresno State junior OG Andrew Jackson... The quartet were teammates at Nevada Union HS in Grass Valley, Calif.
5 USU wins on Halloween.
9 Meetings at Fresno that USU has not beaten Fresno State (0-8-1).
10 Overall wins by Utah State in the series.
14 Total points difference of last three meetings.
18 USU wins on California soil.
42 Players from the state of California on Utah State's roster.
50 Number of wins by USU over a school from California.
58 Yards of FS's Kevin Goessling's field goal as time expired to beat USU, 30-28 last year.
110 Receiving yards by Aggie Kevin Curtis vs. Fresno State in 2001.
142 Receiving yards by USU's Kendal Smith vs. FS in 1987, the single-game receiving mark for a USU freshman and the first of Smith's 15 century-yard receiving games, adding another one in 1988 with 101 against the Bulldogs.
900 Miles from USU's Romney Stadium to FS's Bulldog Stadium.
1980 Year of Utah State's last win over Fresno State at Fresno.
1992 Year of the Aggies' last win on California soil.

USU-FS LAST TIME
FRESNO STATE 30, UTAH STATE 28
October 28, 2008 • Logan, Utah • Romney Stadium

LOGAN, Utah - Fresno State's Kevin Goessling booted a 58-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bulldogs a 30-28 victory over Utah State on Oct. 25, spoiling USU's Homecoming. The Aggies rallied from a 24-13 early fourth-quarter deficit with 15 points, taking a 28-27 lead with 38 seconds left after freshman RB Marquis Butler's one-yard plunge. Sophomore PK/P Peter Caldwell split the uprights with the go ahead PAT. Fresno State's Rashad Evans returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards and three pass completions by Tom Brandstater put the Bulldogs into Goessling's range, and he drilled the kick to stun the spirted Aggie Homecoming crowd. It was the Bulldog's first win on the Aggies' home field since 1989, as USU is now 8-3 vs. FS in Logan, but Fresno State leads the all-time series, 13-10-1, winning five of the last six meetings overall. USU nearly re-created the magic from 2006, when the Aggies scored in the waning seconds to beat the Bulldogs, 13-12, also on USU's Homecoming, but Goessling's boot gave Fresno State the victory. The Aggies amassed 399 yards of total offense on the day, with 206 on the ground and 193 through the air. Fresno State had 411 total offense yards with 257 passing and 154 rushing, the Bulldogs' second-lowest rushing output of the season. Borel led USU with 15-of-24 passing for 193 yards and one TD while adding 74 rushing yards and a TD, as well as a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter after tossing a 20-yard scoring pass to junior WR Xavier Bowman to pull the Aggies to 24-21. Butler had a season-high 55 rushing yards, while junior WR Nnamdi Gwacham had 72 yards on two catches, including a career-long 52-yard reception to set up Bowman's TD catch. Defensively, senior LB Jake Hutton had a game-high 13 tackles while junior S James Brindley added 10 stops. Brandstater was 25-of-36 passing for 257 yards with a TD, hitting Seyi Ajirotutu with six of those passes for 58 yards while Devon Wylie also had six receptions for 54 yards. Ben Jacobs led Fresno State with 10 tackles while three others added nine stops. USU took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, scoring on its opening possession for the first time this season and the first time since last year, taking a 7-0 lead on a three-yard scoring scamper by Borel. Fresno State countered with a 19-yard run by Lonyae Miller to tie it at 7-all. Caldwell gave USU a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter on a 35-yard field goal but Fresno State scored on a seven-yard Brandstater to Wylie pass to put the Bulldogs up 14-10. Caldwell pulled the Aggies to 13-10 at the half on a 20-yard upright split as the second-quarter clock expired, at the same end as Goessling's second half ending field goal to win the game. The Bulldogs opened a 24-13 lead on a four-yard TD run by Ryan Matthews followed by a 43-yard Goessling field goal. After Bowman's TD drew USU to 24-21, Goessling booted a 44-yarder to put FS ahead, 27-21, setting up the final drama.

AGGIES-BULLDOGS LAST TIME AT FRESNO --
FRESNO STATE 38, UTAH STATE 27
November 3, 2007 • Fresno, Calif. • Bulldog Stadium

Senior WR/KR Kevin Robinson became Utah State's career all-purpose record holder in the Aggies' 38-27 loss to Fresno State on Nov. 3 at Bulldog Stadium. Robinson passed former Aggie great Emmett White's 5,872 yards from 1998-2001 with a 29-yard kick return in the second quarter following Fresno State's third touchdown of the game. For the game, Robinson had 259 all-purpose yards and now has 6,058 career all-purpose yards. The loss moved Utah State to 0-9 overall for the first time in school history and the Aggies are now 0-5 in WAC play. Fresno State improved to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in WAC action. The Bulldogs avenged last season's USU win at Logan and have now won four of the last five meetings as Fresno State now leads the all-time series 12-10-1. Fresno State bolted out of the gates with 14 first-quarter points before the Aggies got on the board with a 17-yard run by redshirt freshman FB Jacob Actkinson five seconds into the second stanza. It was Actkinson's career-long rush for his first career rushing TD after having his first receiving TD last week against La Tech. That would be the closest USU would get as Fresno State scored the next 17 points to take a 31-7 lead into halftime. The Aggies closed to 31-17 after a 44-yard pass from senior QB/P Leon Jackson III to Robinson, followed by a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff and a 46-yard field goal by freshman K Peter Caldwell capped off the drive. On the following kickoff, Fresno State's A.J. Jefferson returned the kick 88 yards for a TD to put the Bulldogs up, 38-17 part way through the third quarter. Caldwell tacked on a 40-yard field goal to make the score 38-20, and Jackson hit junior TE Rob Myers with a 23-yard TD pass to pull within, 38-27. The Aggies' onside kick attempt was recovered by the Bulldogs who ran out the clock for the win. Utah State had 369 yards of total offense, one yard shy of the season-high 370 at Hawai'i on Oct. 6. Fresno State ended the day with 386 yards of total offense.

ABOUT USU -- The Aggies improved to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in WAC action with Saturday's 23-21 win over Louisiana Tech... Sophomore S Walter McClenton came off the bench to post a career-high with 14 tackles, matching USU's season-best with senior S James Brindley, who he replaced in the first quarter... Offensively, the Aggies are led by the tandem of junior QB Diondre Borel and sophomore RB Robert Turbin, as Borel is 126-of-220 passing (57.3 pct) for 1,681 yards (240.1 ypg)... Turbin leads USU with 734 yards rushing (104.9 ypc/6.5 ypc) on 113 carries with four TD's... Borel is second on the team with 237 yards on 99 rushes (33.9 ypg/2.4 ypc)... Sophomore WR Stanley Morrison leads USU in receptions and receiving yards with 26 catches for 434 yards (62.0 ypg/16.7 ypc) with two TD's... Senior WR Omar Sawyer adds 19 catches for 204 yards with two TD's while Turbin is third with 18 receptions for 270 yards with a team-leading three TD catches... Junior WR Eric Moats tallies 15 catches for 178 yards and senior WR Nnamdi Gwacham has 14 receptions for 230 yards, with one TD catch each... Defensively, sophomore LB Bobby Wagner has a team-leading 70 tackles (10.0 pg), also leading USU in tackles for loss with four... Brindley is second on the team with 59 tackles, posting a team-best three interceptions and six pass break-ups... Junior S Rajric Coleman is third with 45 tackles... USU had six sacks on the season entering Saturday, before posting four in the LA Tech game, led by 1.5 each by sophomore LB Kyle Gallagher and sophomore DE Junior Keiaho... Keiaho leads the teams with 2.5 on the season... Junior P Peter Caldwell has a 42.9 ypp average with 13 punts of 50+ yards and 22 inside the 20-yard line.... Senior K Chris Ulinski booted a career-high three FG's on Saturday and is 9-of-11 (81.8 pct) on field goals with a long of 48-yards in the Nevada game... Ulinski has 16 touchbacks on kickoffs.

IN THE STAT RANKINGS -- USU has several players amongst the WAC and NCAA statistical leaders, as well as in the team stats:

-- USU is fourth in the WAC and 32nd in the NCAA in rushing offense (180.7 ypg), while ranking third in the league and 34th in the nation in passing offense (246.3 ypg) to rank fifth in the conference and 25th in the country in total offense (427.1 ypg).

-- Defensively, USU is seventh in the league and 109th in the nation in rushing defense (197.4 ypg) as well as seventh in the conference and 61st in the country in pass defense (216.1 ypg), to rank seventh in the WAC and 101st in the NCAA in total defense (413.6 ypg).

-- Junior QB Diondre Borel is second in the WAC and 19th in the NCAA in total offense (274.0 ypg), as well as ranking fifth in the league and 44th in the nation in passing efficiency (135.6)... He also is 23rd in the WAC in scoring (3.7 ppg) and 15th in rushing (33.9 ypg).

-- Sophomore RB Robert Turbin is second in the WAC and tied for 18th in the NCAA in rushing (104.9 ypg)... Turbin also is second in the WAC and 25th in the country in all-purpose yards (143.4 ypg), as well as ninth in the league in total offense (104.9 ypg) and tied for 10th in the conference in scoring (6.0 ppg).

-- Sophomore LB Bobby Wagner leads the WAC and ranks tied for 15th in the NCAA in tackles (10.0 pg).

-- Senior S James Brindley is tied for fourth in the conference and tied for 58th in the country in tackles (8.4 pg) as well as tied for the second in the WAC and tied for 25th in the nation in interceptions with three (0.4 pg)... Brindley also is tied for the WAC-lead and tied for 11th in the NCAA in passes defended with nine off three interceptions and six pass break-ups.

-- Junior P Peter Caldwell leads the WAC and is 24th in the NCAA in punting (42.9 ypp).

-- Senior K Chris Ulinski is tied for third in the league and tied for 36th in the nation in field goals (1.3 pg) as well as second in the conference in field goal percentage (.818, 9-of-11)... Ulinski also leads the WAC with 16 touchbacks.

ABOUT FRESNO STATE -- The Bulldogs have won three in a row and are 4-3 overall and have a 3-1 WAC ledger... All three of FS's three wins in that streak have been by over 20 points, most recently a 34-3 rout at New Mexico State on Saturday... Junior RB Ryan Mathews leads FS, the WAC and the NCAA in rushing (161.6 ypg) on 1,153 yards off of 156 carries (7.2 ypc) with nine TD's... Freshman RB Robbie Rouse adds 344 yards on 45 carries (49.1 ypg/7.6 ypc)... Junior QB Ryan Colburn is 83-of-141 passing (58.9 pct) for 1,191 yards (170.1 ypg) with 11 TD's and eight INT's... Defensively, junior LB Ben Jacobs leads the team with 53 tackles, added five TFL's... Senior DB Moses Harris added 33 stops while junior DB Desia Dunn has 30 stops with a team-high six pass break-ups.

BOREL SETS SCHOOL RECORD -- Junior quarterback Diondre Borel now has 879 yards (273 att.) while at QB for his career, setting a new USU career record for rushing yards by a quarterback, topping the old mark of 814 yards held by Leon Jackson III (355 att., 2004-07).

Rushing Yards by a Quarterback: Game: 121, Tony Adams (12 attempts) vs. Colorado State, 1972; 93, Diondre Borel (12 attempts) vs. Idaho, 2008
Season: 632, Diondre Borel (179 att.), 2008
Career: 879, Diondre Borel (273 att.), 2008-pres.

LAST GAME NOTES -- Utah State vs. LA Tech - Sat. Oct. 24

-- Saturday was Utah State's first win over Louisiana Tech since Oct. 15, 1994, snapping a four-game losing streak.

-- Senior LB Paul Igboeli's team-leading streak of consecutive starts came to an end, as Igboeli missed the game with an ankle injury... Junior QB Diondre Borel took over the team lead, making his 16th-straight start Saturday.

-- Senior S James Brindley made his 28th career start, while junior OT Spencer Johnson started for the 26th time in his career.

-- Sophomore LB Kyle Gallagher started in place of Igboeli and made his first start since 2007 after redshirting last season... Gallagher started three games in a row his freshman season.

-- Junior RB Derrvin Speight made his first start since 2007 after not seeing any action last season due to a foot injury... Speight made six starts as a freshman in 2007.

-- Saturday was USU's second day game of the season overall and second in a row in a stretch of three-straight.

-- Louisiana Tech was just the second team to get a first down on its opening possession and the first since Texas A&M on Sept. 19, snapping a streak of four games in a row.

-- USU did not score on its first possession for the third-straight game after a span of five in a row dating back to last season.

-- Saturday was USU's first scoreless tie after one quarter of the season and the first since the San Jose State game last season, a span of 12 games.

-- Sophomore WR Stanley Morrison caught his second TD of over 40 yards with a career-long 69-yard catch for a score in the Southern Utah game (Sept. 26).

-- Junior QB Diondre Borel now has at least one TD pass in six games in a row and Saturday was his third this season and seventh career game with multiple TD passes.

-- Senior K Chris Ulinski has made at least one FG in all seven games this season... USU has made a field goal in the last nine games in a row dating back to last season.

-- LA Tech's Philip Livas' 100-yard kickoff return was the first kickoff return for a TD by a USU opponent since 2007 when Fresno State's A.J. Jefferson had an 88-yard score for a TD.

-- Junior RB Derrvin Speight's 44-yard TD run in the second quarter was his first TD since 2007 after not seeing any action last season due to a foot injury... It was also Speight's career-long rushing play.

-- USU's 20 points in the second quarter was the most scored in a quarter this season by the Aggies and the most scored in a quarter since 21 in the first quarter of the New Mexico State game in last years' season finale (Nov. 29).

-- USU led at the half for the third time this season and the Aggies are now 2-1 when leading at intermission this season and 6-4 since 2006 (2-0 in 2008, 1-2 in 2007, 1-1 in 2006).

-- Ulinski had three FG's in a game for the first time in his career and is USU's first triple FG outing since last year vs. Hawai'i (Nov. 1).

-- The Aggies led after three quarters for the third time this season and USU is now 2-1 this season and 6-2 since 2006 when leading after three stanzas (3-0 in 2008, 2-2 in 2007, 0-0 in 2006).

-- Junior P Peter Caldwell tied a career-high with his 10 punts, tying 10 from last season vs. San Jose State (Oct. 11).

-- Sophomore S Walter McClenton's 14 tackles were not only a career-high but he had only one career tackle prior to Saturday (last season vs. NMSU on Nov. 29).

-- McClenton is the fifth different defender to lead USU in tackles (Brindley: Nevada and Utah; Wagner: New Mexico St.; Coleman: BYU; Wagner: Southern Utah and Texas A&M; McClenton: Saturday).

-- Sophomore WR Stanley Morrison tied a season-high with six catches.

-- Saturday was the second time that USU had a season-high eight different receivers with a catch (at BYU on Oct. 2).

-- Saturday was USU's third-straight game of at least three points or less and fourth game this season by one score difference (L 38-30 at Texas A&M, L 20-17 at New Mexico State, L 35-32 vs. Nevada, W 23-21 Saturday).

-- USU had a season-high four sacks Saturday after having just six all season... The four sacks was the most by the Aggie defense since six vs. NMSU last season on Nov. 29.

-- USU's 273 yards allowed to LTU is the Aggie defense's second-lowest this season (230 at New Mexico State).

-- Utah State did not have a turnover for the first time this season and the first since last season vs. NMSU.

1K TURBIN -- Sophomore RB Robert Turbin's career-high 184 yards at NMSU give him 1,106 yards for his career, becoming the first USU back to reach the 1K career yards mark since David Fiefia (2000-03), who ended his career with 1,193 yards.

TURBO TURBIN JOINING ELITE COMPANY -- With his career-high 148 yards vs. Utah, sophomore running back Robert Turbin logged his second-career 100-yard outing, joining the 123 total vs. Idaho last season as a freshman... Turbin became the seventh Aggie running back to post 100 yards as a freshman... However, he joined rare company with his 100-yard outing as a sophomore, becoming just the fourth Aggie to do so... The other three: Demario Brown (4,053 yards), Abu Wilson (3,933) and Rick Parros (3,537), are numbers 1-2-3 on USU's career rushing list, respectively.

USU's FRESHMAN 100-YARD RUSHERS SINCE 1976: Rick Parros (1976), Travis Clark (1986), Abu Wilson (1992), Demario Brown (1996), John Roberts (1998), Jerod Walker (2005), Robert Turbin (2008).

USU's FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE 100-YARD RUSHERS SINCE 1976: Rick Parros (1976-77), Abu Wilson (1992-94*), Demario Brown (1996-97), Robert Turbin (2008-09). * - Wilson redshirted in 1993 with injury

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION -- Upon extensive research by USU media relations' Duke of the Archives Tyler Hutchison, it was found that Utah State's last back-to-back 300-yard passing games was in 2002 and the last consecutive games with 500+ yards of total offense was in 2000 until the Aggies did so in both categories against Texas A&M and Southern Utah... USU had four 300-yard passing outings in a row in 2002... The Aggies haven't had three-straight games with 500 yards of total offense since at least 1957.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN -- Utah State football head coach Gary Andersen announced the Aggies' 2009 captains, after a vote by the team... All three of the defensive captains are seniors, while the offensive captains consist of a senior, a junior and a sophomore... Representing the defense will be the senior trio of safety James Brindley, linebacker Paul Igboeli and cornerback Kejon Murphy... The offensive captains are senior center Brennan McFadden, junior quarterback Diondre Borel and sophomore running back Robert Turbin.

TURBIN AMONG NATION'S LEADERS FOR 50+ YARD SCORING PLAYS -- Sophomore RB Robert Turbin has three scoring plays of 50 yards or more with a school-record 96-yard rush at Utah (Sept. 3), a 50-yard TD rush at Texas A&M (Sept. 19) and a 77-yard TD reception vs. Southern Utah (Sept. 26).

BOOMSKI ULINSKI -- Chris Ulinksi's WAC-leading 21 touchbacks in 2008 were three more than USU's three previous years combined total of 18 consisting of nine in ‘07 (by Ulinski), one in ‘06 and eight in ‘05, especially impressive since kickoffs were moved back from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line prior to the 2007 season... Ulinski has 46 career touchbacks, currently with a WAC-leading 16 in 2009.

BAND OF BROTHERS -- Utah State has two sets of brothers on its roster: The Igboeli brothers - senior LB Paul and junior CB Washington (Grand Prairie, Texas / Grand Prairie HS), and the Erickson brothers - junior OL Preston and freshman OL Parker (Sandy, Utah / Alta HS).

JUST KICKIN' IT -- A new streak started with USU's first successful PAT at Utah on Sept. 3 by senior PK Chris Ulinski, who made both of his attempts... After making his first 57 in a row, Peter Caldwell missed his final attempt of last season in the Aggies' 47-2 win over New Mexico State... Caldwell is tied for sixth on USU's career PAT made list with 57 and fourth on the career PAT percentage list (57-of-58, .970)... Caldwell is also 23-of-33, .700, for career field goals, ranking seventh on the career field goals made list, eighth on the attempts list and fifth on the FG percentage list.

AGGIE-BITS

• Sophomore RB Robert Turbin had three rushing TD's vs. Louisiana Tech last season, becoming the first USU RB to have three rushing TD's in one game since Emmett White had three on Nov. 17, 2001 against Weber State... The last three-rushing TD outing against a Division I team was also by White, against Arkansas State on Oct. 28, 2000.
• Turbin's eight rushing TD's last season put him five shy of USU's career top 10 list, trailing three players with 13 each in Jerry Cox (1973-74), Jerry Hughes (1971-72) and Altie Taylor (1966-68).
• Junior QB Diondre Borel smashed USU's single-season rushing yards by a QB record with 632 yards... The previous record was 338 by Leon Jackson III in 2007... His 632 yards rushing puts him over two-thirds of the way to Jackson's career record of 814 yards from 2004-07.
• Borel's 1,705 passing yards is the most by a USU QB since Travis Cox's 1,908 yards in 2004... Borel's total offense sum of 2,337 yards is No. 13 on USU's single season total offense list, becoming the 17th Aggie overall in school history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau and the first since Cox with 2,844 in 2003.
• Borel was one of seven quarterbacks in the country to lead their respective teams in both rushing and passing, and Borel was the only sophomore on the list:
  1. Julian Edelman, Kent State
  2. Juice Williams, Illinois
  3. Colt McCoy, Texas
  4. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
  5. Joe Webb, UAB
  6. Matt Grothe, South Florida
  7. DIONDRE BOREL, UTAH STATE
• Senior S James Brindley is currently No. 2 on USU's career interception return yards with 226 yards on eight career INT's, needing two to crack the top-10 list.

111 / 117 -- USU is taking the field for the 111th season of football in 117 years. The Aggies beat Utah, 12-0, in 1892, but then did not field a team until 1896, when they again only played one game but then played every year since with the exceptions of 1918 when to World War I and influenza cancelled the season and 1943 due to World War II.

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