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Football team picked to finish near bottom in the Big West By
Wade Denniston
Do preseason polls and predictions really mean anything? Not if you're Utah State University head football coach Mick Dennehy. "Polls are speculative and don't mean much to me," Dennehy said. That's good, considering the Aggies were picked to finish dead last (coaches poll) in the Big West Conference (BWC). The media poll has the Aggies fourth in the league, just ahead of Arkansas State University and the University of North Texas. The voting took place Thursday, at the annual Big West football media day in Boise, Idaho. Despite being predicted to finish near the bottom, Dennehy is using it as a positive for his young squad. "(Polls) get people talking," Dennehy said, "and we can use this as an incentive." If that's not incentive enough, then the fact USU hasn't had a winning season since 1996 (6-5, tied for first in the BWC) should be enough to light a fire under the 2000 Aggies. Utah State did, however, finish at .500 (6-6) in 1997, when it also tied for first in league play, earning it a trip to the inaugural Humanitarian Bowl, in Boise. The Aggies lost that game, 35-19, to Cincinnati. But does being predicted to finish near the bottom come as a shock to the first-year coach? "I am not surprised," Dennehy said, "but I hope they are wrong. We will do everything we can to prove them wrong." Doing that, though, will be tough for Utah State as it has a difficult schedule ahead of it. The Aggies have challenging road games at Texas Tech University (Sept. 2), Arizona State University (Sept. 23) and Brigham Young University (Oct. 6). USU's home schedule includes an in-state war with the University of Utah (Sept. 30*homecoming). Not only that, the Aggies have to play at Boise State University (Nov.11)*the team picked to finish first in the conference. Out of 29, the Broncos amassed 26 first-place votes in the media poll, with New Mexico State University (two) and the University of Idaho (one) picking up the other three votes. The coaches poll had BSU claiming five-of-six top votes, with in-state rival Idaho receiving the only other one. The BWC will kick off its season on Aug. 31, when North Texas hosts Baylor University. The Aggies kick off the 2000 campaign against the Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas, before returning to Logan for the season opener Sept. 9, against Southern Utah University.
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