Aggies look to finish the season on a strong note against BYU
Utah State football looks to ride the momentum of a come-from-behind win over Nevada into Saturday’s regular season finale against Brigham Young University.
“It was huge,” said senior linebacker Kyler Fackrell after the Nevada game. “The last two weeks have been rough and I think both the offense and defense delivered at the end of the game… All three phases really played well together today.”
The Cougars are now 8-3 and are riding some momentum of their own. After losing 20-16 to Mizzou two weeks ago, BYU bounced back with a 52-10 victory over Fresno State on Saturday.
The Aggies’ started to roll in the second half against the Wolf Pack. Utah State trailed Nevada 27-7 in the third quarter before ending the game on a 24-0 run to win 31-27.
“It was an unbelievable team win,” said USU head coach Matt Wells. “The resiliency that they showed is motivating to me, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for these guys and they continue to fight.”
USU has the luxury of finishing the season at home where head coach Matt Wells has a 15-2 record. The team is undefeated at home in the past two seasons and Wells is 1-1 against BYU as head coach.
Chuckie Keeton is expected to start for the Aggies against BYU.
“Chuckie Keeton made a lot of plays on third down,” added Wells. “That is one of the most important attributes you can have as a quarterback — how you play on third down. He extended drives, made plays with his feet and played a heck of a game.”
Keeton replaced the injured Kent Myers in the first quarter of Saturday’s game and completed 14 of 27 passes for 109 yards. He also rushed for 52 yards.
“More than anything, that was a win we needed as a team,” Keeton said. “We had been down since San Diego State, but being able to come back and win just showed that we can knock down these walls.”
BYU and Utah State have met 88 times dating back to 1922. BYU has the upper hand in the series 46-35-3. USU won the most recent contest 35-20 in Provo last year.
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall has led the Cougars to 10-straight bowl game appearances. BYU’s most recent bowl game victory came against San Diego State in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2012. BYU is 98-42 under Mendenhall.
BYU is led on offense by freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum with 2,778 passing yards and 17 touchdowns on the year. Mangum completed 24 of 37 passes in BYU’s 52-10 win over Fresno State last Saturday. Mitch Matthews is Mangum’s leading receiver with 571 yards and nine touchdowns.
Defensively, the Cougars are led by Bronson Kaufusi and Kai Nacua. Kaufusi has 10 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and an interception. Nacua has six interceptions, five pass breakups and has scored two defensive touchdowns.
Saturday’s game at Maverik Stadium begins at 1:30 p.m.
“We have too much investment, sweat and blood in this to give up,” Wells said after the Nevada game. “It hasn’t always gone our way this season… The resiliency that they showed is motivating to me, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for these guys. They continue to fight.”
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