USU Football takes on North Dakota in a white out game Friday
On Sept. 4 the 17.5 point underdog Aggies marched into Pullman, Wash. and beat the Washington State Cougars 26-23. It’s the first win of the season for Utah State and the first win of the Blake Anderson era. No Power Five win is small, but being the first game coming off a disappointing 1-5 season makes it even more significant.
“Huge win, fun night and a long trip home. But man, even a trip getting home at four in the morning is fun after a big win,” said Head Coach Blake Anderson in this week’s press conference. “Big milestone for us, but we want to build on this.”
Utah State now turns its attention to North Dakota. They take on the Fighting Hawks at Maverik Stadium on Friday.
Coach Anderson is sure not to take light of an FCS opponent, particularly one ranked No. 9 in the lower subdivision.
“You look across college football, four or five times this weekend, FCS opponents beat Division 1 (FBS) teams, and this one (North Dakota) has a history anyway,” he said. “5-2 last year and lost to James Madison and North Dakota State, and beat the brakes off of South Dakota State who beat Colorado State this weekend.”
The players are fully aware of the task at hand.
“Listening to the guys talk about it on the way home on the plane, they’re already starting the process. It’s about the opponent ahead of you not the one behind you,” said Anderson. (We need) to improve in a lot of areas, and build on the energy and effort level we had.”
North Dakota wrapped up their ‘2020’ season in the spring. They went an impressive 4-1 in the regular season and 5-2 overall, winning a round one playoff game against Missouri State. They fell to James Madison in the quarterfinals.
The Fighting Hawks are looking to carry their momentum from the spring into the 2021 fall season. Tommy Schuster, who threw for 1,428 yards, ten touchdowns, and five interceptions last season, is the starting quarterback for North Dakota. He has plenty of weapons. North Dakota retains three of their top four leading wide receivers from the spring.
Running back Otis Weah, who earned FCS All-American honors last season, is the man to watch out for. He rushed for 735 yards and nine touchdowns in the spring.
North Dakota’s defense is also sound. They forced 15 turnovers and 22 sacks in seven games last season. Coach Anderson spoke highly of that side of the ball.
“They are exactly where they are supposed to be,” he said. “They are super well coached. They don’t get out of a gap, they don’t miss an assignment, and they play with tremendous effort.”
In front of a white out crowd on Friday night, the Aggies will look to go 2-0 on the season for the first time since 2012.