Famous Idaho Potato Bowl game preview
Utah State football will take the field for the final time in 2023 against the Georgia State Panthers (6-6, 3-5) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The game will mark the program’s 11th bowl appearance in the last 13 seasons and their fifth Famous Idaho Potato Bowl appearance all-time. The meeting will be the first time in school history the teams have played.
The Aggies started with a 1-3 record in their first four games but were able to win three of their last four matchups to become bowl-eligible.
Georgia State started the season hot, accumulating a 6-1 record before losing their last five matchups to end the season. The Panthers’ offense is led by senior quarterback Darren Grainger. Grainger has thrown for 2,364 yards this season while completing 67% of his pass attempts and adding 17 touchdowns through the air. Grainger’s ability to run also poses a threat to the Aggie defense. Grainger has rushed for over 100 yards twice on the season, accumulating 142 rushing yards against UConn and 103 yards against James Madison, respectively.
The Aggies will once again start graduate quarterback Levi Williams behind center as senior quarterback Cooper Legas recovers from a shoulder injury. Williams led USU in their last game of the regular season against the University of New Mexico to an exhilarating 44-41 victory in double overtime. Williams completed 16-27 passes for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns but was even more impactful through his ability to run the ball. Williams added 153 yards on 25 carries and 3 more touchdowns, including his game-winning 13-yard scramble in the second overtime.
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and the blue turf at Albertson’s Stadium isn’t an unfamiliar setting for Williams. In 2021, as a member of the Wyoming Cowboys, Williams won the bowl game’s MVP award and rushed for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 52-38 victory against Kent State. This will be Williams’ final collegiate game before beginning Navy SEAL training.
With that new chapter of Williams’ life fast approaching, it would have been easy to opt out of the game, but a sense of duty to his teammates and coaches led to the decision to play against Georgia State.
“I just owed it to the team to come back and play,” Williams said. “They’ve been busting their butts all season. They’ve been working so hard and I feel like it was gonna be a little bit selfish for me to just kind of ride out on that last thing.”
For USU’s senior class, this will be the last time they put on an Aggie uniform and compete at the collegiate level. Williams views this game as an opportunity to take the field with his teammates one final time.
“It’s one last ride. You get to empty the tank for this team and they deserve it. They’ve worked so hard, faced constant adversity this year,” Williams said. “It’s gonna be hard to get a win against a really good Georgia State team coming in, but I think that we can do it.”
Although Williams brings a different skill set to the field than Legas and Hillstead, head coach Blake Anderson wants to stress the importance of maintaining a balanced offensive attack.
“I don’t really want to have to just lean on Williams to run the ball all day. Now clearly, he’s a great runner and he does add a component to the game that other guys don’t,” Anderson said. “I would like to think that we can be very balanced still play fast and make them defend the whole field and not be one dimensional at any phase of what we’re trying to do offensively.”
Georgia State senior cornerback Gavin Pringle will be charged with trying to contain the prolific USU receivers, but Pringle has made a massive impact for the Panthers up to this point. In his first season with Georgia State after transferring from Bucknell, Pringle leads the Sun Belt Conference with four interceptions.
Pringle has also displayed the ability to make plays in the clutch, including returning an interception for a touchdown against Rhode Island to give the Panthers a 35-28 lead they would not relinquish and adding another interception against Louisiana in the endzone to preserve Georgia State’s 20-17 victory.
Georgia State will miss its leading rusher, receiver, and tackler on Saturday. Running back Marcus Carroll and wide receiver Robert Lewis both entered the transfer portal. Linebacker Jontrey Hunter has opted out of the game in preparation for the upcoming East-West Shrine Bowl and the 2024 NFL Draft.
Despite the absences on offense for Georgia State, senior defensive tackle Hale Motu’apuaka knows the Aggie defense can’t underestimate the Panthers.
“We always have got to respect our opponents. I’ve been in that situation of being a backup and I remember once I got my opportunity how hungry I was to make the most of it,” Motu’apuaka said. “A lot of these guys probably are going to have a chip on their shoulder and try to prove that just because they haven’t got that many reps, they’ve been preparing for that moment.”
Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliot echoed a similar sentiment when asked about the absences the Panthers have.
“We’ve got some energetic guys that come in and they’ve prepared all season for this thing,” Elliot said. “These guys are facing to step in. For some of them, it will be their first start, a lot of them their first start, and they are so fired up about it. They got butterflies lying in that hotel right now.”
While the Aggies have not had as many contributors enter the transfer portal so far, a few key players have suffered injuries and will not be competing in the bowl game. Starting linebacker Anthony Switzer has a broken bone in his hand that will prevent him from suiting up for USU. Junior tight end Broc Lane will also miss the game with a knee injury suffered against New Mexico in the regular season finale.
Junior wide receiver, and Atlanta native, Micah Davis remains out after missing the Aggies last game and will not get the chance to compete against his hometown school. On the defensive side of the ball, the Aggies will be without cornerback Avante Dickerson, who underwent shoulder surgery after playing through a shoulder injury most of the season, according to Blake Anderson.
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will begin at 1:30 MT on Saturday, Dec. 23, broadcast live on ESPN.