USU Set to face the "other" Aggies

New Mexico State and Utah State seem to have a lot in common. Both teams have the "Aggie" as the official school mascot, both are flagship State institutions, both are currently in the Sun Belt Conference, and both Schools were invited to join the WAC at the same time. But that seems to be where the similarities end. The battle of the Aggies continues Thursday night, the two teams will meet for the 27th time. USU leads this series with 23 wins, 4 losses (13-1 at NMSU).

LOGAN -- Dave Kotulski is such an unimposing figure that a Utah State player once asked him if he was bigger in the days when he played football. Kotulski really did play center and linebacker in the early 1970s for New Mexico State, the school that plays host to USU in a Thursday night game. And he is building the Aggie defense into a tough, aggressive group. USU ranks 50th in Division I-A in total defense, allowing 355 yards a game. That's down from 111th and 471 yards in 2002, before Kotulski became the defensive coordinator. The Aggies' numbers may take a hit in the last three weeks of the season, with NMSU and Idaho possessing strong offenses, but Kotulski has made an impact that should carry over to future years. USU's level of defensive performance is "new and unexplored," linebacker Robert Watts said. "I love it. We're playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of emotion." Circus atmosphere In their defense, the Aggies are not accustomed to dealing with 35-0 leads -- although they have enjoyed such cushions two weeks in a row. But coach Mick Dennehy was unhappy with the behavior of some USU reserves in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 41-20 win over Middle Tennessee. He called time out after defensive backs Joe Lindsay and Marvin Clark excessively celebrated Lindsay's hit that forced an incompletion, and USU received an unsportsmanlike- conduct penalty. Dennehy made his feelings clear to the entire defense. "I hope the grandmothers that were sitting behind us didn't hear it, because I was pissed," he said. Luckily, the USU bench is in front of the student section, and hardly anybody was still in Romney Stadium by then. Moments later, freshman Travis Davis swan-dived into the end zone to complete his 69-yard run and was also flagged. "I don't know that he knew the difference, but he does now," Dennehy said. After one of his players drew a celebration penalty against Utah, New Mexico coach Rocky Long had the offender repeat the same dance for 10 minutes in practice. Dennehy's method is different; he had Davis rehearse crossing the goal line and properly handing the football to the official. "There's no excuse for it," Dennehy said of the penalties. "I'm all for making plays. I'm all for being as classy as you can be, as well." As for punishment, Dennehy said, "My experience in college football is playing time and purse strings usually hit home." Since fining players is not allowed, that can only mean loss of scholarships for repeat offenders. Punting tricks USU started having left-footed punter Ben Chaet take a 10-yard snap and run to his left before kicking, in response to snapping problems. Injured snapper Matt Wiser returned last week, but Chaet was still doing the rugby punt. The line-drive technique kept working, as Middle Tennessee was reluctant to field a bouncing ball in wet conditions. Dennehy said the threat of Chaet's running keeps the opponent from setting up a return. But he does not want to rely solely on that method. "We need to get back to allowing Ben to be a punter, before it messes him up," he said. Team effort Freshman safety Terrance Washington is among the nation's leaders with five interceptions, and seven other Aggies have picked off passes. Even more remarkably, 13 players have scored touchdowns, the most in school history. That list includes defensive players Washington, John Chick and Michael Gates. Travis Cox has thrown 15 TD passes to eight different receivers.