Battle of the Brothers: Emotional Rivalry
Utah State head coach Gary Andersen’s football team will face a tough challenge Friday as the Utes trot onto Merlin Olsen Field in Romney Stadium.
But it’s not enough to stop his confidence in the final score.
“Utah is obviously a talented football team,” Andersen said. “They are consistent, they have a consistent winning tradition over the years.”
Andersen, who played for two years and served as an assistant coach for 11 years at Utah before accepting the head coaching job at USU, should know that better than anyone, but he isn’t the only one on staff who is familiar with Utah football.
Associate head coach Bill Busch coached defensive backs at Utah for three years and assistant head coach Mike Sanford was offensive coordinator during 2004 when the Utes beat Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.
Andersen said he is looking forward to facing his alma mater.
“That is always a tremendous challenge when you play Utah, to deal with that defense, and year in and year out, it has been kind of the mainstay, if you will, of that program,” Andersen said. “Utah hasn’t changed a lot, but we have changed a few things here and there, and they have tweaked their system to what is best for their personnel.”
Utah’s defensive line in particular will give the Aggie offense problems. D-tackle Star Lotulelei wreaked havoc on Northern Colorado quarterback Seth Lobato, who passed for 74 yards and was sacked twice last week.
“Everyone talks about Star,” Andersen said. “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. (Lotulelei) is surrounded by some very talented young men that play within a good scheme and are well coached.”
Sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who will likely be going solo at quarterback after senior Adam Kennedy’s injury last week, said many Utah players are physical but said he hopes he will be able to attack the secondary like he did against Southern Utah.
“We just have to play our football,” Keeton said. “We have to be physical up front and we have to play smart throughout the entire game.”
Despite Utah’s proficient defense, Andersen said the Utah offensive line is his biggest concern going into the game.
“Their offensive line is gigantic,” Andersen said. “A lot of times if you cannot hold up in those situations in the trenches, it forces you to become dramatic in the back end.”
The Utah O-line paved the way for the Utes to rush for nearly 200 yards in the 41-0 trouncing of Northern Colorado at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Andersen said Utah is talented at the running back position.
Feature halfback John White averaged five yards per carry against the Bears last week, racking up 119 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. As a junior in the Pac-12 last season, the Torrance, Calif. native scored 15 touchdowns and helped the Utes to an 8-5 record and a Hyundai Sun Bowl victory over Georgia Tech.
Junior linebacker Zach Vigil said White is “a key player that we have to stop if (Utah State is) going to win the game.”
“He is tough and physical, a slash runner,” Vigil said. “He is a smaller type back, but he is strong… He is going to put his head down and run through you if he has to.”
White isn’t the only challenge for Vigil and the USU defense. Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn completed 17 of 19 passes for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week. The quarterback sat out much of last season after suffering a surgery-requiring shoulder injury in the Oct. 1 game against Washington, but will be fully healthy for the Utah State game.
“Jordan Wynn is a good quarterback,” Vigil said. “The scheme for them is to set him up for success. He is going to make good throws. He’s a smart quarterback.”
The game will be an emotional frenzy for fans and players alike and will likely be the last time in the foreseeable future the two team meet in Logan. Games are scheduled to be played in Salt Lake City in 2013 and 2015, but Utah bought out the 2014 game for $500,000 and no future matchups have been scheduled.
Andersen said he hopes the two schools can reach an agreement to continue the rivalry.
“It is an important game for us and we want to play the in-state games,” he said. “Obviously both teams are going to be excited. It is the second game of the year and it’s an in-state rivalry.”
-tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu