At ASU, Aggies must eliminate lapses

LOGAN — Utah State football coach Mick Dennehy is beginning to sound like a broken record.

"We're going to have to be at our best, once again, if we're going to have any chance at all," he said. "You always have a chance if you're at your best, and if you're not against good teams, you're in trouble."

The Aggies (0-2) opened the year with road games at Utah and Nebraska, and for the second week in a row, they face a nationally ranked team in No. 16 Arizona State.

"This is not a new phenomenon. We have played this kind of schedule forever," Dennehy said. "I think the kids have been pretty resilient as far as being able to put things into perspective."

In each outing, the Aggies did something that ultimately cost them the game. Against Utah, the Aggies had the ball inside the Utah 35 four times and managed only three points in the 40-20 loss.

Saturday at Nebraska, they were Demorrio-ized by 'Husker linebacker Demorrio Williams, who had two consecutive sacks to force turnovers. Both led to Nebraska points. The 23rd-ranked 'Huskers won 31-7.

"There are times you have to persevere. When you set goals, you're going to have obstacles, and there are going to be some things that don't go right," Dennehy said. "You need to be able to handle the negative and move on in a positive fashion."

The Aggies started strong and led 7-6 for a time, but big letdowns offensively led to Nebraska points. The defense did hold Nebraska to four field goals and cause a fumble at the 1-yard line.

"I think they were very disappointed after that game — the looks on their faces," Dennehy said. "They didn't play as well as they hoped to play. They didn't ultimately give themselves as good of a chance to win as they could have. I think it bothered them because of how they played early in the game."

Running back David Fiefia knows what it takes.

"In order to put a game together, you have to put two halves together," he said. "We didn't do that. That's why we came back with the 'L.' "

The game plan Saturday is to eliminate those lapses and play a full 60 minutes.

"I think they realized that if we can play that way for longer periods of time and if we can go through and not make the kinds of mistake that absolutely kill you, we can be pretty darn good," Dennehy said.

The game kicks off in Tempe at 8 p.m. MDT.

---

E-MAIL: jhinton@desnews.com