Aggies set to face struggling Cowboys in Laramie
Last season, Wyoming came to Logan on a cold and nasty October day which many Utah State fans will remember. Jordan Love threw three interceptions, LaJuan hunt fumbled on a crucial late fourth quarter drive, and Kent Meyers was sacked for a safety to seal the Aggies’ fate: a 28-23 loss.
This weekend, the Aggies head to Laramie, Wyo. looking for revenge.
While Utah State has seemingly made strides on both sides of the ball this season, this game should prove to be one of the Aggies’ greatest tests to this point in the season.
“They’re blue-collar, physical and I know what we’re getting in to,” said Utah State head coach Matt Wells. “We need to be able to go in there and understand the matchup that we have and the team that we’re going to play against. I have a lot of respect for that program.”
Offensively, the Cowboys haven’t exactly flourished. In fact, they’re down from last season in almost every statistical category, as one might expect of a Mountain West team trying to replace a quarterback who was taken seventh overall in last year’s NFL draft.
Wyoming currently ranks second-to-last in the nation in scoring at just 15.4 points per game, and through seven games, their lone time breaking the 20-point barrier was against the 125th-ranked scoring defense, New Mexico State.
The Cowboys also rank dead last in third-down conversion percentage (29.3), and in the bottom 30 in completion percentage (50.5), passing yards per game (143.7), rushing offense (138.6) and first downs (109). Wyoming has not scored an offensive touchdown since playing Boise State on Sept. 29.
One bright spot offensively for the Cowboys, however, has been junior running back Nico Evans. Averaging a conference-best 134.0 yards per game, the California native has also scored four of Wyoming’s 11 touchdowns this season despite missing two games to injury.
“They have two guys at tackle that look like the Wasatch Mountains. Good grief. They are 6-7 and 300-and-whatever pounds,” said Utah State defensive coordinator Keith Patterson. “They have running backs that run hard…Most of the time, they’re in at the end of games and give themselves a chance to win.”
Defensively, it’s a different story. Wyoming has long had a reputation of boasting great defenses, and this one is no different. With four returning players from the 2017 all-MWC teams, the Cowboys have allowed just 25.7 points per game, despite playing five of the top-40 scoring offenses in the nation thus far.
“It’ll be a tremendous challenge,” said Utah State offensive coordinator David Yost on his team’s matchup this weekend. “They do a great job defensively with what they do. They’re very set with what they are. What you see on video is what you’re going to get from them. Their guys are well-coached and well-schooled within their system in what they do.”
The Cowboy defensive line, highlighted by a couple of NFL hopefuls in junior defensive tackle Youhanna Ghaifan and senior defensive end Carl Granderson, has proven itself to be one of the nation’s elite. On the season, they have allowed just 130.1 rushing yards per game.
Wells said the Wyoming defensive line very well may be the top in the Mountain West.
“Their defensive line is very strong,” he said. “They’re active and they have an active four-down defensive line. They’re long and tall. This will be the best defensive line we’ve seen since Michigan State and they may be equal to Michigan State.”
Playing in Laramie also is known to cause quite a challenge for opposing teams. War Memorial Stadium, which sits at 6,220 feet above sea level, has seen the Cowboys go 11-3 at home in the past two seasons. All time, Utah State has a 13-15-3 record in Laramie.
“They have tremendous support there,” Wells said. “Those fans show up and it doesn’t matter what the weather is or what their record is. They’re very faithful, loyal and loud. You always have weather issues. There’s wind, weather and you add all of that together and the product on the field is very tough and well coached.”
The Aggies currently sit atop the Mountain Division with a 2-0 conference record. With a win, Utah State would be 6-1, its best start to a season since 1974.
Saturday’s game is set to kick off at 12:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet, and the radio broadcast can be heard on 92.3 FM KBLU locally and on aggieradio.com
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