With a season that appears to be almost fully off the rails, Utah State will seek once again to end a losing streak that is now up to six consecutive defeats. The Aggies are taking on a Wyoming Cowboys team that is facing a similar level of struggle as both squads are 1-6 on the season. Wyoming’s win is a little more recent (back on Sept. 28 against Air Force, just three games ago) but it’s cold comfort in a season with six other defeats, several by large margins — again, similar to Utah State.
Both teams are going to view this as the easiest games remaining on the schedule and thus will be highly motivated to get out of the one-win club. It may not be the sexiest matchup, but much like USU’s game last week against New Mexico, it could still be a thriller.
Game Info:
- Kickoff: 5 p.m. (Mountain Time)
- Location: War Memorial Stadium (Laramie, WY)
- TV Broadcast/Stream: CBS Sports Network
- Radio: KVNU (102.1 FM, 610 AM)
KVNU Aggie Gameday pregame show with Stockton Jewkes and J.D. Walker: Begins 3 p.m. on 102.1 FM, 610 AM (additional content available on KVNU Podcast Feed starting Friday)
KVNU Aggie Call Postgame: Starts immediately after Coach Nate Dreiling’s post-game comments.
- Text (435) 554-1175 or call (435) 753-5868 during the pregame or postgame show to give your thoughts and reactions for the game.
Utah State Depth Chart
USU Football Week 8 Depth Chart (OFFENSE)
| Position | Starter | Reserve |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Spencer Petras | Bryson Barnes |
| RB | Rahsul Faison | Herschel Turner Jr. |
| WR | Jalen Royals | Grant Page |
| WR | Otto Tia | Colby Bowman |
| SLOT WR | Kyrese White | Jack Hestera |
| TE | Broc Lane | Josh Sterzer |
| LT | Cole Motes | Trey Andersen |
| LG | Wyatt Bowles | George Maile |
| C | Falepule Alo | Bryce Radford |
| RG | Aloali’i Maui | Tavo Motu’apuaka |
| RT | Teague Andersen | Jared Pele |
USU Football Week 8 Depth Chart (DEFENSE)
| Position | Starter | Reserve |
|---|---|---|
| DE | Cian Slone | Marlin Dean |
| DT | Gabriel Iniguez | Ricky Lolohea |
| DT | Isaiah Bruce | Bo Maile |
| DE | Lawrence Falatea | William Holmes |
| WILL | Jon Ross Maye | Jadon Pearson |
| MIKE | John Miller | Bronson Olevao Jr. |
| NICKEL | Jaiden Francois | Torren Union |
| B-CB | Avante Dickerson | JD Drew |
| BS | Jordan Vincent | Malik McConico |
| FS | Ike Larsen | Chase Davis |
| F-CB | DJ Graham | Noah Flores |
USU Football Week 8 Depth Chart (SPECIAL TEAMS)
| Position | Starter | Reserve |
|---|---|---|
| P | Stephen Kotsanlee | Ryan Marks |
| K | Tanner Cragun | Elliott Nimrod |
| KOS | Elliott Nimrod | Ryan Marks |
| LS | Jacob Garcia | Alexander McDougall |
| HOLD | Ryan Marks | Stephen Kotsanlee |
| PR | Robert Freeman IV | Kahanu Davis |
| KR | Jalen Royals | Herschel Turner |
Utah State Injuries
- Robert Briggs (RB) – Out for Season
- Taz Williams (DT) – Out for Season
- Miguel Jackson (DT) – Out for Season
- Enoka Migao (DE) – Out for Season
- Clyde Washington (LB) – Out for Season
- Jalen Royals (WR) – Limited at end of New Mexico game
- Rahsul Faison (RB) – Limited at end of New Mexico game
- Cole Motes (LT) – Missed game vs New Mexico
- Gabe Peterson (DE) – Missed all but one game since September
- Jon Ross Maye (LB) – Arm injury but will play
- Avante Dickerson – Left game vs New Mexico
Injuries continue to stack up for Utah State. A couple more names were added to the “out for season” list and there are a few major question marks for this game. Jalen Royals was limited toward the end of the New Mexico game, trotting out for kickoff returns but not appearing on offense for several series during the second half, including the crucial last-ditch attempt in which Spencer Petras threw an interception. Avante Dickerson, who’s been playing loads of snaps as the top corner, played only 10 snaps against New Mexico and his status is questionable. Rahsul Faison also saw his time limited at the end of the game with Herschel Turner playing crucial end-of-game snaps.
The status of these star players is going to be a big factor in how well Utah State can navigate this road game against Wyoming.
Top Storylines & Matchups
Utah State’s historically bad defense vs Wyoming’s lackluster offense
The Aggies and Cowboys are both bad in areas which will clash on Saturday. Utah State ranks second-to-last in points allowed per game with a staggering 43.6 average. That mark, were it to stand, would be by far the worst in USU program history.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, though, is they Wyoming offense, which is the eighth-worst offense in the country at just 17.1 points scored per game.
So which will succeed?
Well, the Aggies should be able to make things work if they can keep up early successes on both sides of the ball. Against Utah, Temple and New Mexico State, the Aggies stuffed the opposing offense on multiple possessions, only to get rolled the rest of the game. That breakdown usually starts around the second quarter, so there’s a pivot point to keep an eye on.
“I’ll gladly take the blame on that. I got to make sure that we finish. Right now, we come out in such great spurts, but then the flash is gone,” Dreiling said. “We do need to have that killer mentality. We have to be able to finish drives, finish games. And that starts with finishing plays.”
Contrasting the weak Aggie defense and poor Cowboys offense, though, is the USU offense vs the Wyoming defense. The latter two are the relative strengths of the pair of squads. Utah State ranks 74th in points per game with an average of 34.5 over the last four games. Wyoming is 108th in defense but has a solid average of 23.3 points allowed in their last three games as the quality of opponents has dipped slightly.
This will be the unit matchup most will pay attention to since this is where both teams will project their strengths. Whether it overtakes the battle going on between the two team’s weaknesses will be determined on Saturday.
Wyoming’s two-QB system for Saturday
The Cowboys began the season trusting in the arm and legs of junior QB Evan Svoboda. He was billed as a QB with a similar profile to former Wyoming star Josh Allen, as Svoboda is also a big-bodied signal-caller (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) with an ability to gain yards on the ground.
Except Svoboda hasn’t done particularly well at all. Across his seven starts he’s completed just 47.7 percent of his passes for an average of 144.7 per game and has more interceptions (six) than touchdowns (four). He has run the ball a fair amount, but hasn’t been super effective with 192 net yards, though he does have a team-leading five rushing TDs.
With the struggles of the Week 1 starter, Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvell is making the bold decision to go with a two-QB system. Svoboda will likely start the game, but backup Kaden Anderson — who’s made a few appearances this year and completed 13 of 23 passes for 195 yards and two TDs (with two INTs) — is also guaranteed to get some snaps following the first series.
“Both of them will be playing in the first quarter of this game this week. Both of them will play throughout the game this week,” Sawvell said. “Evan will start, but Kaden will come in very early in that game and then we’re gonna we’re gonna play both throughout the course of the game unless there is one that is substantially providing a high level of execution to the offense then we’ll keep riding that player.”
Preparing for multiple QB’s can be a bit of a struggle, though Dreiling said there’s not a massive difference in how Wyoming plays with either on the field, saying “it’s the same defensive plan for us” no matter who is in.
“The offense is similar, no matter who’s in. They do do a little bit more QB run game with (Svoboda), the big guy back there,” Dreiling said. “It’s a vertical shot passing game. They wanna try to get some type of cross-country routes coming from across the field to slide in between zones. And then the run game is your typical outside zone. They do a good job designing QB run game for when (Svoboda) is in there.”
Two-quarterback systems have rarely gone well, typically just being a placeholder situation until one starter elevates above the other. USU will need to aim to take advantage of the chaotic situation at quarterback and make sure not to be the reason either has a breakout game.
Harrison Waylee’s availability
Wyoming’s top running back from last year, Harrison Waylee, has been out for all of this season so far. His time out has been extensive enough that he plans to redshirt, though that will allow him four games to play this season. And both Waylee and the Cowboys plan to have him maximize his playing time in 2024.
Last year, Waylee ran for 947 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games. Prior to playing at Wyoming, he spent three seasons at Northern Illinois and has accumulated nearly 3,000 career rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns.
The target for a return from Waylee’s knee injury has been this week, but his return is still up in the air. Sawvell said a decision on the return would be made mid-week, meaning they’ve probably already determined whether he’ll play but it hasn’t been made public. One thing Sawvell did make clear is that when he does play it won’t be in a limited capacity.
Spencer Petras’ on record-setting pace, will he continue roll without Royals (if it comes to that)?
Petras is unlikely to set any season records in terms of passing yards, completions or touchdowns, but that’ll likely only be due to missing a pair of games earlier this season. Over the last four games, the graduate senior is averaging 371.5 passing yards with 10 touchdowns. A full season of that would shatter Utah State’s passing yards records (a 12-game pace of that would be north of 4,400 yards) among other sections of the passing section of the record books that would need to be rewritten (touchdowns, pass attempts, completions, etc.)
A lot of that has come from volume, Petras having thrown nearly 200 passes in just his last four starts alone. The Aggies have heavily relied on his arm, especially when the run game has been a little less effective the last two games (USU averaged 4.0 yards per carry between the UNLV and New Mexico games). But Petras has relied a ton on his star receiver in Royals. In every game of that same stretch where Petras has averaged 370+ yards, Royals has caught at least nine passes, reeled in at least one touchdown and crossed the century mark in receiving yards with an average of 166.5 yards.
With Royals a question mark for the game, Petras could be without a very reliable and very dangerous weapon for the Aggie offense. Other players have stepped up at times — Kyrese White had 131 yards in the season opener along with eight catches for 96 yards against Temple, and Jack Hestera had 10 catches for 152 yards a couple weeks ago vs UNLV — but those are pretty big shoes to (potentially) fill.
Game Prediction
Eric Frandsen and Jason Walker both gave their predictions for the game on the Full Court Press (4-6 p.m. weekdays on 106.9 FM, 1390 AM The FAN).
Eric Frandsen’s Prediction — Utah State 35, Wyoming 30
- Correct winner predictions this year — 5/6
- *Score prediction accuracy rating — .443
“The Aggies (are) going up against an opponent that has had a lot of problems. (Wyoming’s) defense is pretty stout and pretty decent, but I think Utah State’s offense is also very stout and very decent. And I think the Utah State offense will be able to do more than the Wyoming offense. I just don’t see Wyoming with that much there.”
Jason Walker’s Prediction — Wyoming 33, Utah State 27
- Correct winner predictions this year — 5/7
- Score prediction accuracy rating — .471
“Following the trend that (Utah State’s) had where they start a bit strong and they just kind of fade toward the end. I think there’s going to be a little less scoring…I still have (the Aggies) still giving up a decent amount of points, but it’ll be better than they’ve done the last six/seven weeks. Utah State’s offense, I think they can have a great game but I think they’re going to get slowed down by Wyoming a little bit.”
*Score prediction accuracy rating is on scale of 0-1 and measures predicted score and winner for all games so far and the deviation of predictions from the actual scores of the games (NOTE: Some previous weeks ratings were miscalculated and are lower than they should be). Eric didn’t have an official score prediction for New Mexico so his numbers don’t include that game.
