USU Football To Meet Five 2005 Bowl Opponents In 2006 Schedule

USU Press Release
Feb. 23, 2006

Logan, UT - Five teams that played in bowl games last season highlight the 2006 Utah State football schedule that was announced on Thursday.

In their second year of Western Athletic Conference play, the Aggies will meet three league teams that played in 2005 bowl games in Nevada (Shearaton Hawai'i), Boise State (MPC Computers) and Fresno State (Auto Zone Liberty), while also meeting Utah (Emerald) and Oregon (Pacific Life Holiday).

The non-conference schedule includes trips to Wyoming, Arkansas and Oregon, which finished 2005 ranked 12th in the nation with a 10-2 record. USU's lone non-league home game will come against Utah on Sept. 16.

The 12-game schedule features six opponents that won at least seven games a year ago. The Aggies will play just five home games while traveling seven times.

"The way we finished last year, winning at New Mexico State, is something that we talked about throughout the year and will be important this season," said USU head coach Brent Guy. "We have to learn to win on the road to become a winning program and to be able to compete for league championships. We will have a lot of opportunities to do that this season."

Utah State will make its first trip to Wyoming since 1978 when the Aggies open the year in Laramie. USU hosted the Cowboys in both 2001 and 2003, losing both games.

USU will then head to Arkansas to meet the Razorbacks for just the third time in history and the first since 1976. After its 105th meeting against Utah, the Aggies will travel to Oregon for the first time since 1976. The two teams met at Logan in 2001 with USU falling 38-21 to the then sixth-ranked Ducks.

"The beginning of our schedule is very challenging," Guy said. "We are going to be playing a lot of football in the month of September where as last year with the hurricane and the open dates, we played just two games in that first month."

USU's first two league games will take place in Romney Stadium as the Aggies will host Idaho on Sept. 30 and Fresno State on Oct. 7

After playing four league games and eight straight, USU will have a bye week before finishing with four more consecutive WAC contests.

Last year USU finished the season 3-8 with home wins against UNLV and San Jose State and a 24-21 win at New Mexico State to close the season. The Aggies will begin Spring practice on March 22 and close the workouts on April 14.

2006 Utah State Football Schedule

Date 		Opponent		 2005 Record 

Sept. 2 at 	Wyoming 			4-7 

Sept. 9 at 	Arkansas			4-7 

Sept. 16	UTAH 				7-5 (Emerald Bowl) 

Sept. 23 at Oregon 				10-2 (Pacific Life Holiday Bowl) 

Sept. 30	IDAHO*				2-9 

Oct. 7		FRESNO STATE*		8-5 (Auto Zone Liberty Bowl) 

Oct. 14 at	San Jose State*		3-8 

Oct. 21 at	Louisiana Tech*		7-4 

Oct. 28		Bye Week 

Nov. 4		HAWAI'I*			5-7 

Nov. 11 at	Nevada*				9-3 (Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl) 

Nov. 18 at	Boise State*		9-4 (MPC Computers Bowl) 

Nov. 25		NEW MEXICO STATE*	0-12 

* - Western Athletic Conference game