BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

There was little talk of Utah State when the University of Cincinnati won its bowl bid Wednesday, possibly because little is known of Utah State.

Utah State glance Nickname: Aggies Location: Logan, Utah Record: 6-5 (4-1 Big West). Sagarin rating: 69th Last bowl game: 1993 Las Vegas Coach: John L. Smith (3rd year, 16-17). Key Players: QB Matt Sauk (2,896 passing, 16 TDs); RB Demario Brown (971 rushing, 10 TD); WR Nakia Jenkins (73 rec., 6 TD); DE Ben Crosland (9.0 sacks).

UC has never played Utah State, its opponent in the inaugural Sports Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 29. Utah State, based in Logan, Utah, is best known for producing Merlin Olsen, the former Los Angeles Rams star and NBC broadcaster.

As for the 1997 team, here is a quick look:

• The Aggies (6-5) won the Big West championship this year with a 4-1 league record. They stand No. 69 in the Sagarin ratings, compared to No. 64 for UC.

• Utah State led the Big West in both scoring offense (33.6 per game) and scoring defense (23.7).

• The passing game, led by QB Matt Sauk, ranked 14th nationally at 280 yards per game. The rushing game ranked 42nd (169 yards per game).

''We are a passing team,'' said Mike Strauss, sports information director. ''But we've also had some great running backs here.'' The Utah State coach, John L. Smith, is a lame duck. Smith took the Louisville job last week, but will coach Utah State in this bowl game.

In a strange scenario, Smith is coaching Utah State each week from Thursday through Saturday and recruiting for Louisville the rest of the week.

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