Quick hits: Brigham Young at Utah State
Setting the Stage: Utah State (1-3), coming off an embarrassing 41-7 defeat at San Diego State, will be trying to defy of 10 straight losses to their in state rival by defeating the BYU Cougars. The Cougars (1-3) are off to their worst start since 2005, which was Cougar head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s first year at the helm. BYU will be down two defensive starters for this game after losing 27-13 to #25 Nevada last week, and will also be without tight end/wide receiver O’Neill Chambers. The Aggies have injury concerns of their own, and will not have Spencer Johnson – the team’s best offensive lineman – in the lineup.
When BYU has the ball: Expect the Cougars to rely often on multifaceted running back J.J. DiLuigi. Luigi has been the go-to guy for BYU on offense this year, tallying 332 yards rushing, 200 receiving, and three touchdowns. BYU will be starting true freshman Jake Heaps at quarterback. Heaps was alternating behind center with former Aggie and Logan High product Riley Nelson, but an injury to Nelson against Florida State has ended the Nelson’s season. Heaps threw for 229 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in week four’s defeat to the Wolf Pack. Cody Hoffman (13 catches, 152 yards, 1 TD) and Luke Ashworth (11 receptions) have been two of Heaps’ favorite targets through the air.
When USU has the ball: One of the few bright spots in last week’s blowout defeat at San Diego State was the play of receiver Dontel Watkins, who had five receptions for 51 yards against the stout Aztec defense. Watkins has 18 catches for 242 yards and 2 TDs on the season. Running back Derrvin Speight (54 carries, 230 yards, 2 TDS for season) also rushed for 51 yards on just 11 carries against SDSU and will need to take an increased workload along with Kerwynn Williams (105 rushing yards) if starter Michael Smith isn’t ready to go. After receiving seven balls for 98 yards in the first two games of the season ( but just three receptions for 18 yards in the past two) the Aggies will need receiver Xavier Martin to step up.
X-Factor: Quarterback Diondre Borel must continue the running success that Air Force’s Tim Jefferson (43 yards), Florida State’s Christian Ponder (50 yards), and Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick (82 yards) all had in dominating wins over the struggling Cougars. BYU hasn’t proven that they can contain the opponent’s ground game, with all three of their winning opponents having rushed for at least 239 yards against the Cougar defense. Running is a huge part of Borel’s game, and he ought to be able to rely on that strength to add salt to a glaring Cougar wound. It’s not like Borel has been shy of scrambling lately: 35 of his 54 carries for the season have come in the past two games.
Crunching Numbers: Cougar QB Jake Heaps is one of just seven true freshmen in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)…BYU has won its last 12 games in which the final outcome was decided by eight points or less, the longest active streak in one-possession games in the FBS… Borel started his 25th straight game against SDSU, which leads the team. Linebacker Bobby Wagner is second at 19 straight. Offensive lineman Spencer Johnson leads in total games played at 35… Eight true freshmen have played for USU this season. Three debuted against San Diego State… USU’s scoreless first quarter was the second time this season that the Aggie’s were held scoreless in the opening stanza, also doing so at Oklahoma on Sept. 4… Borel has now surpassed the 400 career completion and 700 career pass attempts milestones, becoming the seventh USU QB to do so for both categories… freshman PK Braeden Loveless tallied his first USU career point with his third-quarter PAT
Statesman Prediction: The Aggies surprised many in their blowout loss last week in San Diego. Not many expected that sort of outcome from a team that has been touted to become the first Aggie club to reach a bowl game since 1997. The Aggies have lost six starters to injury since training camp, and three since they opened at Oklahoma. But two – defensive backs Rajric Coleman and Chris Randle – may be back in time for the Cougars, while now the injury bug is hitting BYU, something they can’t handle with an already largely young and inexperienced team on both sides of the ball. Veteran leadership is not something BYU can claim over the Aggies – nor their record either. The Utah Ute defenses – which were led by current Aggie head coach Gary Andersen – have slowed down Cougar offenses in recent years, so it’s not like he’s unfamiliar with BYU’s system. If Borel can prey on the Cougars’ porous rushing defense, the Aggies will deliver a treat to Cache Valley and the likely field-storming can ensue. Aggies, 23-20.
– rhett.wilkonson@aggiemail.usu.edu