Utah State ready to lock horns with Colorado State
Heading into Saturday’s matchup against Colorado State, the Utah State football team is playing with a purpose.
“The biggest way teams make strides at this point in the year is if they’re able to motivate themselves. They have something to play for, have individual motivation and group motivation,” said USU head coach Matt Wells. “Our guys have that. We’re playing for something. We’re in the middle of the Mountain West race and who knows how this thing is going to unfold here in the next couple of weeks.”
It’s a game that’s become increasingly competitive between the Rams and the Aggies. In 2011, Colorado State spoiled USU’s homecoming with a 35-34 overtime win after Robert Turbin was stopped short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt.
In 2012, the Aggies snapped a four-game losing streak against the Rams with a 31-19 win in Fort Collins behind 205 rushing yards from Kerwynn Williams.
This season, USU is 5-1 in conference play and tied atop the MWC standings with Boise State.
“We’re in the middle of the Mountain West race and who knows how this thing is going to unfold here in the next couple of weeks,” Wells said. “We’ve got a 12-day stretch here where we’ve got to give everything we’ve got from both a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint. This is a big game against Colorado State.”
The Rams are looking to fight their way into the MWC title game picture, sitting a game back of the Aggies and Broncos in the Mountain Division.
Colorado State – who leads the all-time series against USU 36-31-2 – boasts a balanced offensive attack, ranking 24th nationally in rushing at 214.8 yards per game and 40th in passing with 256.3 yards per game. The Rams average 36.5 points per game, which is 27th best in the country.
Leading the way for the Rams is quarterback Garrett Grayson, who has thrown for 2,785 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.
“He has mobility, he has escapability, and he’s a very accurate throwing,” Wells said of Grayson. “You can tell by a lot of the stuff that they do, the audibles and double counts, that he’s got a really good feel. I’m sure Coach (Dave) Baldwin has him very schooled up in what they’re doing. They’re very comfortable with what his abilities are right now.”
Complimenting Grayson’s passing is running back Kapri Bibbs, who has amassed 1,439 yards on the ground and 25 touchdowns.
“With Kapri Bibbs right now the bottom line is that he’s the hottest back in the nation,” Wells said. “When you look at his production, his stats and his numbers right now, he’s playing better than any back in the country. He’s got 1,000 yards over five weeks, 600 yards over two games and all those touchdowns.”
Defensively, the Rams are 103rd in the country having allowed 450.5 yards per game and 31.5 points per game. But despite CSU’s appearance on paper, Wells said the Aggies aren’t overlooking the defense.
“They’ve played well and have stuck around in games,” Wells said. “They’ve made some opportunistic turnovers and things like that on their defense. Basically, it comes down to us, as we talk about in our offensive room. It’s all about us and what we do and how we do it. We’re going to have to execute and play really well and at a very high level to win the game Saturday.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Romney Stadium.
– curtislundstrom@gmail.com
Twitter: @CurtSport07