Philadelphia, PA — Louisiana Tech has gotten all the love, ranked 24th
in the nation, while its conference foe Utah State did not even get a single
vote in this week's AP Top 25 Poll.
Utah State's two losses certainly has a lot to do with it, but when one
takes a deeper look, he'll see that the two defeats came by a total of five
points - at Wisconsin and BYU.
The final Western Athletic Conference championship most likely will be
decided in the Utah State-Louisiana Tech showdown in Ruston, La., on Nov. 17.
Until then, the Aggies play the two newest league members: Texas-San Antonio
(on the road Saturday) and Texas State (Nov. 3 at home).
Utah State's defense has been unbelievable in 2012 as the unit has held
its opponents to just 14 points per game. The run defense is sixth nationally,
allowing opposing rushers only 2.7 yards per carry. Furthermore, the unit has
allowed just one rushing touchdown all season.
Louisiana Tech:
RUSTON, La. (AP) — Three years into his North Louisiana venture, Louisiana
Tech head coach Sonny Dykes is making the production of Bulldogs legends Terry
Bradshaw and Tim Rattay look rather pedestrian.
No. 24 Louisiana Tech (6-1, 1-0 WAC) is smashing offensive records and
opponents. The Bulldogs lead the NCAA in scoring (56.1 points per game) and
rank second behind Oklahoma State in total offense (581.6 yards per game).
"It is kind of fun to come in and try and put your mark on a
school that has had a lot of great offenses and had a lot of good
players," Dykes said. "It is a challenge for us because the bar has
been set really high here."
Dykes and Co. managed to raise the bar even higher last weekend,
rolling up a school-record 839 yards in a 70-28 victory against Idaho. Tech
became the first FBS team since 2000 to record more than 400 yards rushing
(408) and passing (431) in one game.
Texas State:
San Marcos — Trust is everything to a wide receiver.
If a quarterback puts his stock in a wide receiver and they develop a
strong connection, the sky is the limit. Such was the case a few years ago when
former Texas State quarterback Bradley George and former All-America wide
receiver Cameron Luke shredded opposing defenses for more than 2,500 yards in a
three-year span.
Above all, a wide receiver needs the faith of the coaching staff to put
him in a situation to succed. Such is the case of DeChé Milburn, a sophomore
wide receiver for the Bobcats.
Despite coming out of Clear Springs High School (League City) as a
Rivals.com three-star recruit, Milburn hasn’t seen much playing time before
this year. Milburn redshirted as a true freshman, then fell out of favor with
the new coaching staff once Dennis Franchione took over for Brad Wright.
San Jose State:
SAN JOSE -- David Fales lights up when he describes San Jose State wide
receiver Noel Grigsby.
"You can talk for days about how good he is," the Spartans
quarterback said.
Fales then starts rattling off examples.
There was the back shoulder pass against UC Davis in which Grigsby
adjusted to make a reception on the sideline to set up the first touchdown. Or
his back-to-back diving catches against Utah State, both of which went to a
video review to figure out how he caught the ball before it hit the ground. Or
a post-route touchdown against UTSA when Grigsby went up to haul it in over a
defender.
"I've never thrown to anybody like him," Fales said.
The slightly built junior from Los Angeles, who is listed at 5-foot-11,
175 pounds, has already begun rewriting the SJSU record book.
Grigsby's 89 catches last year set the school's single-season record.
In recent weeks, he's broke school records for career receptions and yards. His
totals sit at 188 catches, 2,398 yards and 11 touchdowns, with still nearly a
season and a half left in his career.
The success has caught the former three-star prospect somewhat by
surprise.
"I wasn't planning on breaking any records. I was just hoping to
come in and contribute and help my team win games," Grigsby said.
UTSA:
UTSA quarterback Eric Soza has a fractured right hip but has not been
ruled out for Saturday's home game against Utah State, Roadrunners coach Larry
Coker said.
Soza sat out a 52-24 loss to San Jose State last weekend. In postgame
comments, Coker said it's possible that the injury could knock Soza out for the
season.
Utah State coach Gary Andersen said his team is preparing for a game
against Ryan Polite, Soza's backup.
But Coker said Soza could play against Utah State, calling him, “day to
day.”
“It's a fracture in the hip,” Coker said. “I've never been around an
injury like that with one of my team members. So, I'm not sure ... The running
and the concern about contact, that's the major issue.”
Idaho:
As he prepares to hire a fourth football coach since becoming Idaho’s
athletic director in 2003, Rob Spear is confident that he can find the right
man to turn around the program.
He’d better.
There aren’t many athletic directors who get five chances to get the
most important hire in the department right— and there is a growing chorus of
Idaho fans who don’t think Spear should get the chance to replace Robb Akey,
who was fired Sunday.
Junior tight end Taylor Elmo put his frustration into a tweet Sunday
night, suggesting that Spear’s decision to fire Akey was in part to keep the
heat off of him.
“Fire a man to keep your own job???” Elmo tweeted.
Spear bristled at the idea that this decision would have a larger
reflection on him than others.
New Mexico State:
The Aggies’ football team (1-6, 0-3) hosts No. 24 Louisiana Tech (6-1,
1-0) Saturday, Oct. 27 at Aggie Memorial Stadium beginning at 6:00 p.m. It will
also be the sixth meeting between the two schools in Las Cruces, where the
Aggies are 4-2. The home team has lost just two games in the series, which
stands at 7-4 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Aggies are 10-11 against Division I-A teams from Louisiana and
12-11 overall against all teams from Louisiana. NM State is 5-5 in its last ten
contests against teams from Louisiana.
You can listen to all the action with the ‘Voice of the Aggies’ Jack
Nixon and color analyst Jason Scott beginning at 5 p.m. on KGRT 104 FM. Also
catch the action in Spanish with Martin Cortez and Bob Sherman on Vista 98.7
FM.
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