Aggies look to stay in MW title hunt
Fresh off a potentially season-saving 37-35 win over Fresno State in California, Utah State will look to maintain its goal of winning their division and advance to the Mountain West championship game by beating Wyoming at home.
Last time the Aggies took to Merlin Olsen Field, they lost to rival BYU 42-14, marking the first time USU had lost at home since 2017, breaking a 10-game home winning streak.
Beating Wyoming will prove no easy task for Utah State. The Cowboys are much improved from its 6-6 record last season. Last week they came tantalizing close to defeating No. 19 Boise State, losing by a field goal in overtime on the road.
“Wyoming is a very good team. They are physical and built exactly how they want to play football,” Utah State head coach Gary Andersen said. “That’s who they want to be on the offensive side of the ball. That’s who they want to be on the defensive side of the ball.”
That physical style of play almost proved to be the Aggies’ doom last season when they traveled to Laramie. They escaped with an eight-point, 24-16 win despite Wyoming entering the game with a 2-5 overall record. Jordan Love put forward his worst game as a collegiate quarterback, throwing for just 53 yards on 12-of-28 passing, zero touchdowns and one interception. In two career games against Wyoming, Love has completed a mere 43.5 percent of his passes, gained just 162 yards through the air with zero passing TDs and four interceptions.
Those potential turnovers are a major focus for Andersen and the Aggies. Against BYU two weeks ago, Utah State had five giveaways but zero in the win over Fresno State.
“Going back to the BYU game, we were more effective moving the football. We had turnovers that absolutely killed us and we weren’t good in the red zone,” Andersen said. “That’s in the past now, but we can’t forget about it.”
Wyoming is seventh in the nation in turnover margin with a 15-5 advantage this season.
For Utah State, staying on the field on offense has come down to more than just turnovers. Three-and-out possessions and failed red zone drives have truncated an offense that set a Mountain West record for points last season. It’s something the Aggies addressed vs the Bulldogs and will have to maintain this week to beat the Cowboys.
“Our focus the whole last week, was really just to score,” Aggies’ sophomore offensive lineman Alfred Edwards said. “That was what we were missing. We were moving the ball really well, getting into the red zone, and then we just couldn’t finish drives. That’s what we did this game. We really focused on it in practice, and it showed.”
Another focus for Utah State will be slowing down the potent Wyoming rushing attack. The Aggies won’t have to worry about the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, Sean Chambers, who gashed them last year for 100 yards and who accumulated 567 yards and 10 TDs on the ground in eight games this season. Chambers will be out the remainder of Wyoming’s season with a knee injury. Still, running back Zazavian Vallady is tied in the Mountain West in rushing attempts (155) and is third in total rushing yards (755). The Cowboys rank 16th in the country in the run at 226 yards per game.
Utah State has given up 276 yards on the ground per game the last three weeks. They will also still be without star linebacker and leading tackler David Woodward who is out the rest of the season. Outside rushes against the Aggies have been particularly successful as the defense has struggled to set the edge against offenses.
“(The Cowboys) incorporate the fly sweep, and obviously we had a hard time with the fly sweep last week,” Andersen said. “Fresno State has executed that very well all year long, so we’ll have to be heads up for that against Wyoming this week. They have runners that can get to the edges as needed.”
Despite all the struggles of recent weeks and the embarrasing blowout losses to Air Force and BYU, the Aggies remain in a position where a Mountain West division and conference championship remain within their grasp — with minimal help. USU is 4-1 in conference play and defeating Wyoming would go a long way in setting up a crucial home matchup with Boise State next week that could set up a three-way tie for first place in the Mountain Division.
“As bad as it got, our goals are still out in front of us,” USU senior defensive end Jacoby Wildman said. “As bad as it looked at times, we’ve won the games that we need to and put ourselves in position to have everything that we want. We’ve just got to keep pushing through. It’s a rough time of year for some players, but this team is handling it very well. We’re banding together, and it’s going to be a great week of practice for us. We’re going to get to it.”