TEAMS ARRIVE
Utah State and North Texas arrive and begin preparing for Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl
Snow in Logan, Utah, delayed the Utah State football team’s flight to Albuquerque by 2½ hours Wednesday.
But in this season of transition for USU, that flight hold-up hardly fazed the Aggies.
Amid a tough loss to Boise State, coaching changes and preparation for the New Mexico Bowl, the Aggies remain focused on upstart North Texas and are excited to play in the 13th annual bowl game in Albuquerque at Dreamstyle Stadium on Saturday at noon.
That excitement was shown on their faces when they were greeted at Cutter Aviation upon finally arriving. A half hour later, North Texas’ players were also enthusiastic about that welcome party, which included Mariachi Tradicionál and New Mexico Bowl executive director Jeff Siembieda.
Some of Utah State’s players said the music and the welcoming was, “dope,” while some of the Mean Green players were dancing to the song, “El Mariachi Loco,” and recording the lively atmosphere on their phones.
It was a needed break for North Texas, which practiced Wednesday morning before their flight of 230 people departed Fort Worth.
Mean Green coach Seth Littrell believes North Texas (9-3) has more to prove in the New Mexico Bowl than Utah State (10-2), which possesses the No. 3 scoring offense in the nation, averaging 47.2 points per game.
However, the Mean Green, which went 1-11 in 2015, is the only FBS team in the country to not trail by more than one possession this season.
“We always have something to prove,”
said Littrell, who was involved in coaching rumors that had him as a candidate to lead Kansas State before he shot those down last week and is staying put. “We still haven’t accomplished our mission. We got here and now we are wanting to win our bowl game. And, we also have the opportunity, that in 103 years there’s been only one team to win 10 games at North Texas. We have the opportunity to be the second team.”
Meanwhile, Utah State, which enters as an 8-point favorite, is finishing off a type of season that interim head coach and USU alumnus Frank Maile (Class of 2007) hasn’t seen in his time with the Aggies.
Former USU head coach Matt Wells, who had two assistant coaching stints at New Mexico, left Utah State to become the head man for Texas Tech after he had garnered the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year honor. The Aggies recently hired former USU assistant Gary Andersen, but he is not with the team this week.
“We have had some really good years,” said Maile, who has been Utah State’s co-defensive coordinator. “This is another good year, and we are having a transition year. But the work ethic and the consistency of the team is the best I’ve been with. We’re excited, man. We got here in one piece. We appreciate everyone who was here to welcome us. The welcoming party was good. It’s exciting to be here.”
Utah State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach David Yost, who has been reported to be leaving for Texas Tech with Wells, is with the team this week and will be in his role for one more week with the Aggies.
Both teams will be involved in various events throughout the week, including a visit to Isleta Elementary School today and a luncheon featuring keynote speaker Tim Brown at Isleta Resort and Casino on Friday.
Also on Friday, there will be a pep rally, which is open to the public at Old Town Plaza, beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday’s game day will include a Fan Fest that will open at 9 a.m.
“It’s one of my favorite days of the year,” Siembieda said of welcoming the teams at the airport. “It’s great to watch them get off the plane. I think the excitement hits everybody. They smile. It’s genuine. They see the mariachi band. They see the blue skies, the mountains and for Utah State they didn’t see any snow, which is beautiful.”