The last time Utah played Utah State, it was an expected easy win as the Utes cruised to a 35-17 victory and the Aggies had their typical losing season, finishing (4-8). That was just two years ago but things have changed in Logan. Gary Anderson, the defensive coordinator for Utah's undefeated 2008 team, has built the Aggies into a winning team that can not only compete with, but win against successful programs. Last year the Aggies made it to their first bowl game in over 10 years and finished with a (7-6) record. They would have fished even higher if they could have held onto 4th quarter leads against Auburn, BYU, Colorado State and Ohio.
The Aggies are a much, much better football team than Ute fans are used to. They opened the season with a dominant 34-3 victory over Southern Utah. One week into the season they rank No. 13 in the country in total offense with 581 yards gained in their opener.
"Without question, we view this as a big challenge," Kyle Whittingham said in his press conference. "Gary Anderson has done a great job with their program. He has recruited well and their speed and athleticism now compared to three or four years ago is night and day."
The strength of the Aggies is their offense with athleticism and speed. They are led by sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who is a threat through the air and on the ground. In the season opener he threw for 304 yards and was extremely efficient, completing nearly 85 percent of his passes. They have talented wide receivers in Matt Austin and Chuck Jacobs.
The Utes biggest advantage heading into this game will be its defense. Utah State simply hasn't faced a front seven like they'll see from Utah. Future NFL Top 10 pick Star Lotulelei and the rest of the defensive line should be able to control the Aggies offensive line and Utah's secondary should be able to contain the Aggies passing attack.
"Everyone talks about Star (Lotulelei) and you can talk about Star as long as you want," Utah State Coach Gary Anderson said in his press conference. "He is a tremendous football player, he is tough, he is physical, and he is a first round draft pick without question. I think a lot of people forget about the rest of those kids that are on that defense. That is always a tremendous challenge when you play Utah, to deal with that defense."
Utah's strength has always been stopping the run and they held Northern Colorado to just 35 yards rushing. Last season they did well against dual-threat quarterbacks, allowing just 29 yards per game and 2.6 yards per carry. The only quarterback that ran for more than 40 yards against them was Georgia Tech's Tevin Washington but it took him 20 carries. Expect Utah to contain Utah State's rushing attack and force Chuckie Keeton to try to beat Utah through the air.
On offense, look for Utah to try to air it out and connect on more big plays. Whittingham is looking for more "chunk yardage" in games with the Utes, rather than a lot of short gains. John White should have a big game against a young Aggie defensive line that is considered one of the teams' weaker positions. Gary Anderson described Utah's offensive line as "gigantic." Expect them to create space for White to have a big game.
The Utes are a seven point favorite to win and will certainly have their hands full with their first tough test of the season. The Friday night game will be on ESPN2 starting at 6 p.m. Be sure to catch our post game recap and come discuss the game here on The MUSS Blog afterwards.
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