On Tap for the Tigers: Week II, Utah State
September 8, 2001
7 p.m. CDT
Tiger Stadium — Baton Rouge, LA
UTAH STATE Aggies
Location: Logan, Utah
Founded: 1888
Enrollment: 21,490
Conference: Independent
Colors: Blue and White
Home Stadium: Romney Stadium (30,257)
Turf: Bent Bluegrass
Head Coach: Mick Dennehy (Montana ’73)
2001 Record: 0-1 (no conference record)
Last Year:
2000 Record: 5-6 4-1 (2nd in Big West Conference)
2000 Final Ranking: Not Ranked
2000 Bowl Appearance: None
Starters Returning: 16
(8 Offense, 7 Defense, 1 Specialists)
Lettermen Lost: 21
(8 Offense, 12 Defense, 1 Specialists)
Returning Offensive Starters:
Jose Fuentes (QB, 6-3, 200, Jr.)
Jim Newton (OT, 6-10, 278, Jr.)
Casey Poppinga (TE, 6-5, 251, Jr.)
Jess Shuck (OG, 6-2, 300, Sr.)
J.R. Suguturaga (FB, 6-3, 226, Sr.)
Chris Stallworth (WR, 6-2, 196, So.)
Jim Walker (OG, 6-3, 290, Sr.)
Emmett White (RB, 5-11, 196, Sr.)
Returning Defensive Starters:
Ryan Duncan (DE, 6-2, 249, Sr.)
Jamar Glasper (SS, 6-1, 199, Jr.)
Ade Jimoh (CB, 6-1, 190, Jr.)
Nate Putnam (DE, 6-6, 222, So.)
Derrek Shank (FS, 5-10, 187, So.)
Jorge Tapia (DT, 6-2, 286, So.)
Tony Walker (RC, 5-11, 183, Sr.)
Players to watch:
*stats from last week’s game vs. Utah
|
Rushing |
No. |
Name |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Class |
Attempts |
Yards |
 |
32 |
Emmett White |
TB |
5-11 |
196 |
Sr. |
17 |
81 |
|
Passing |
No. |
Name |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Class |
Comp-Att-Int |
Yards |
 |
13 |
Jose Fuentes |
QB |
6-3 |
200 |
Jr. |
23-43-2 |
231 |
|
Receiving |
No. |
Name |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Class |
Catches |
Yards |
 |
80 |
Kevin Curtis |
WR |
5-11 |
183 |
Jr. |
11 |
171 |
Aggies in the 2001 NFL Preseason: (as of June 18)
|
Name |
Pos. |
Team |
Experience |
|
Brad Bohn |
PK |
Detroit Lions |
Rookie |
|
Johndale Carty |
DB |
Atlanta Falcons |
3 |
|
Aaron Jones |
WR |
Indianapolis Colts |
Rookie |
|
Micah Knorr |
P |
Dallas Cowboys |
2 |
|
Jeff Long |
OT |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
Rookie |
|
Craig Miller |
DB |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
1 |
|
Rich Tylski |
OG |
New Orleans Saints |
6 |
The Series
Overall: LSU leads 1-0-0
In Baton Rouge: LSU leads 1-0-0
Last Meeting: LSU 38, Utah St. 17
Oct. 2, 1993 in Baton Rouge
About the Game:
LSU Head Coach Nick Saban:
“Utah State is coming off a tough loss to their in-state rival Utah. They have some guys with big
play potential on offense and their defense is much improved. Emmett White, RB, is an outstanding back, he is on the Doak Walker candidate list. Their quarterback, Jose Fuentes is a big strong good looking passer.”
“Utah State is capable of giving us a lot of problems. They do a lot of different things that are going to be different for us. We will have to have a good week of preparation in order to be successful. Our focus is primarily on us and what we need to do. We need to take another step toward being a dominant team and try to improve relative to that.”
Utah State Head Coach Mick Dennehy:
“They are an awful fun team to watch… Everything that we have read about them in the preseason, I think their fans have a real reason to be fired up and excited. Against Tulane they set a new attendance record (91,782) and they have a reason to be fired up. They are an outstanding football team. Coach (Nick) Saban has done a great, great job with them.
“When you look at them defensively, all of the players that they have that are getting preseason accolades are definitely worth the attention they are getting. Their free safety Ryan Clark is amongst the best I have ever seen. (LB) Trev Faulk is truly a Butkus candidate. There is no question about that. In general their defensive line is big and mobile. Their linebacking corp, as The Sporting News indicated, is perhaps the best in the country. They are all very good athletes. Their safeties look like twins. It is hard to tell the difference between them. Their corners are outstanding as well… Schematically they are very sound at what they do. They are not a huge blitz team, but they do have really good athletes up front and they have a tendency to play games with their front people and then get in coverage and rely on athletic ability to make plays.
“Offensively, they have very, very good athletes all over the field. Their front is big and active. They do a nice job of run blocking and protecting (QB Rohan) Davey. Josh Reed is an outstanding talent at wide out. They have a herd of running backs and it is pretty hard to tell the difference from one to the other.”
“Obviously we have our work cut out for us. I think our objectives this week are twofold. We have got to work very, very hard to become as good as a football team as we can be… The setting in which we are going to go into is big-time college football. I want to make sure that our kids enjoy that. That they go down there and see firsthand what it is like to play in one of the great college stadiums in the country and yet, not be intimidated. They need to play as hard as they can play and as well as they can play and understand that the environment is going to be way, way different than anything a Utah State team has ever seen. On the other hand they have got to be plugged in and focused that they are playing football basically as well as they can play. What it all boils down to is the essence of the game. It is only those 11 guys on each side of the field. That is what we will strive for this week.”
Game Notes:
Now an Independent: The Big West Conference will no longer sponsor football and Utah State has become a Division 1 Independent for the 2001 season. The Aggies were members of the Big West from 1978-2000, but prior to that USU was an Independent from 1962-77 after being a member of the Mountain State/Skyline Conferences from 1938-61.
Frequent Fliers: Utah State will travel 15,408 miles during the 2001 football season. USU will venture to four different time zones as well during the year, playing at LSU, Fresno State, Connecticut, and South Florida as well as to in-state opponents Utah and BYU.
White a National Leader: Emmett White led the nation in all-purpose yardage in 2000 and returns for his senior year in 2001. White’s 238.9 yards per game average was the sixth best in NCAA history and he became USU’s first NCAA statistical leader since 1974. White also set a NCAA record for single-game all-purpose yardage last year with 578 yards against New Mexico State.
He enters the year ranked 10th on the USU career rushing list with 1,430 yards. With 958 yards, White would move into fifth place. The senior rushed for 55 yards as a true freshman, 53 as a sophomore and 1,322 as a junior.
On Emmett White:
“I am running out of adjectives to describe this kid. He does the type of things that amaze you and leave you with your mouth open. He has a great attitude and it carries onto the team. It was really neat to be a part of him breaking the all-purpose yardage record.”
–Utah State head Coach Mick Dennehy
- Other 2000 accolades include:
- Third Team All-America
- First Team all-Big West running back
- Second-team all Big West return Specialist
- Two-time Big West Conference Player of the Week
- Three-time USAToday.com Big West Player of the Week
- NCAA leader in all-purpose yards average (238.9)
- NCAA single-game all-purpose yards record (578)
- USU offensive MVP
At a Glance: Utah State University
Located in Logan, Utah, Utah State University features one of the most beautiful campus settings in the country. The well-kept campus includes more than 100 buildings located on 400 acres with an additional 7,000 acres use for agricultural and other research throughout the state.
With a student body of more than 21,000, USU has advantages of both the large and small schools with such features as two libraries, excellent laboratories and top-rated cultural attractions.
The student body represents every county in Utah, all 50 states and 80 foreign countries. A majority of students live on or near campus. The University includes eight resident colleges with 45 departments.
Logan, Utah
Logan is the county seat of Cache County and is a growing city with a population of 42,000, while Cache Valley has an approximate population of 83,000. Logan is rich with theatre and culture, education, community parks, year round recreation and family entertainment. With all the stores, shops and services available, the valley is self contained.
Utah State University is the largest employer in Cache County, providing more than 6,500 full and part-time jobs.
Information courtesy of : UtahStateAggies.com, 2001 Utah St. media Guide, 2001 LSU media guide, lsusports.net, nicksaban.net