Utah State home opener against Idaho State a great chance for a bounce-back – Cache Valley Daily

LOGAN — Utah State’s season moves into Week 2 with a matchup against FCS foe from the north, Idaho State. The Bengals will travel to Logan on Saturday to take on the Aggies for the 21st time in the two sides’ history. From a 136-0 win by the Aggies over the Bengals in 1919 to a 50-24 win for ISU in 1981, this matchup has seen some ups and downs for Utah State. Overall, the Aggies are 18-2 against Idaho State with the two losses coming in 1981 and 2000 (27-24).

Game Details

Kickoff: 6 p.m. Mountain Time

Location: Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium (Logan, UT)

KVNU Aggie GameDay with Al Lewis: 4:10 – 5:45 p.m.

TV Broadcast: KJZZ/Mountain West Network

Radio Broadcast: KVNU (102.1 FM, 610 AM) in Logan; KVNU (98.3) in Tremonton; KVNU (93.5) in Garden City; KZNS (97.5 FM, 1280 AM) in Salt Lake City; KRPX (102.7 FM) in Green River, Utah; KRPX (100.3 FM) in Moab; KRPX (95.9 FM) in Orangeville; KRPX (95.3 FM) in Price; KVSI (1450 AM/104.5 FM) in Montpelier, Idaho.

Injury Updates

The Aggies added another player to the injured list on Saturday when Max Alford went down. Anderson said it is a serious injury and that he wouldn’t be back anytime soon. It seems possible he could be back by season’s end, though, as Anderson is usually up front about season-ending injuries occurring. Luckily, according to Anderson, it seems other players who went down aren’t likely to be out any significant span of time. Josh Sterzer will be out again this week but there’s a chance both Broc Lane and Hale Motu’apuaka could both be on the field this week against Idaho State.

Aggies have been very successful in Week 2 bounce-back games

With the loss to Iowa on Saturday, Utah State has now lost its season opener nine times since 2010. Looking back on the previous eight occasions, USU is 7-1 with an average point differential of +27.4. The Aggies’ lone loss in game two following a season opener came in 2020 where they lost 38-7 to San Diego State. In the remaining seven such games Utah State has won by an average 35.7 points (fun fact: three of the games in this criteria came against Idaho State).

It’s a coaching maxim that the most improvement for a team is done between weeks one and two. Whenever the Aggies have needed to make significant improvements following a Week 1 loss, they’ve done well in applying those improvements and getting wins. In 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019 the Aggies have done well even beyond the single bounce-back game. Here’s a quick summary of USU’s record in games following a season-opening loss for those seasons:

• 2019 – Three-game win streak
• 2018 – 10-game win streak
• 2017 – Won three of next four games
• 2014 – Won four of next five games
• 2013 – Won three of next four games

Remembering last year’s loss to an FCS opponent

Probably the darkest moment of last season was the Aggies’ 35-7 loss to Weber State. The defeat was USU’s first loss to a non-major opponent in more than two decades and the first loss to Weber State in 44 years. It taught the Aggies a cruel lesson that a handful of FBS teams learn every year: you don’t just show up and defeat an FCS opponent just because they’re an FCS team.

“We got our tails kicked. We didn’t play well at all. We didn’t really respect the opponent the way we should. Talked to them all week about it all week and told them it was possible and told them it was probably,” Anderson said. “Even though there’s a lot of guys in the room that weren’t here [last year], it’s recent history and we don’t want to repeat it.”

USU offensive lineman Wade Meacham is one of the current Aggies that played in the fateful loss and the memory of that game is something he’s made sure new teammates are well aware of.

“I’ve 100 percent talked about it, at least definitely with the guys in my room and definitely going to be making sure that everybody else on the team is aware of the fight we have coming up this weekend,” Meacham said.

Both Anderson and Meacham noted the score of Idaho State’s game last week where the Bengals played USU’s fellow Mountain West school, San Diego State, to a close 36-28 result. Idaho State made a late rally in that game, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to draw within eight points. The final touchdown came with 39 seconds on the clock with a failed onside kick on the other side heralding the end of the upset bid.

Idaho State wants to throw it a lot

Last year Idaho State ran the ball more times than it passed the ball, with a roughly 52-48 ratio in favor of running the ball. But last week the Bengals threw the ball 63 times to just 15 runs. Adjust for sacks and scrambles counted as rush attempts and Idaho State called 68 pass plays to just 11 rushes. 

Throwing the ball more is part of the philosophy Hawkins has brought in his first year with the Bengals. The Idaho native and former quarterback at Colorado sees passing more as the way to go given their roster and in the options it gives to the offense.

“We do want to throw it. That’s what we want to do,” Hawkins said. “We’re built to do that. I think if you look at our players, whether it’s Chedan (James), or Alfred (Jordan), or Aaron (Blancas) or Kaysen (Isom), the guys inside and then having some long bodies on the outside. Just where we matchup, even in the conference as it’s gone, we have as good of slots as anybody in the conference so taking them off the field is not necessary, in my opinion that’s not good coaching. So, we’ve got to do stuff that plays to their strengths. And so we’ve got to understand that flat routes and bubbles will be a lot of our run game.”

Another game with 68 pass plays is unlikely this week. Hawkins said the San Diego State style of defense made running the ball a less viable option for the Bengals on most occasions. Utah State isn’t likely to give Idaho State those same looks, so a more balanced ration of runs and passes ought to be expected.

Bengals use multiple quarterbacks

Hawkins seemingly doesn’t subscribe to the old saying of “if you have two quarterbacks you have none.” He’s willing to play up to three of his quarterbacks. The Bengals’ top returning passer from 2022, Hunter Hays, and true freshman Jordan Cooke both played significant time in ISU’s game at San Diego State. Cooke played the most, going 18-of-41 for 164 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Hays completed 12 of 22 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception while also rushing eight times for 18 yards and one rushing TD.

During his Wednesday press conference, Hawkins said a third QB on the depth chart, Matthew Cavallaro, could even see time for the Bengals. He also explained why he’s currently doing the unconventional in playing multiple QBs.

“It’s not because we’re necessarily trying to decide guys, or critique guys,” Hawkins said. “Guys aren’t necessarily coming out for good or bad reasons, you just kind of look at ‘Hey, what have they done well this game, where’s the flow, what does the offense need right now?’ And that kind of judged more of the rotation rather than the performance.”

Improvements needed for Utah State

Whatever positives were present in the Aggies’ performance against Iowa, the fact is the team lost which means room for improvement. Both sides of the ball will have areas of focus in Saturday’s game. For the offense it’s finding ways to make big plays. The Hawkeye’s great defense often dictated Utah State’s decision to play it safe and pass it short, but Anderson said there were plenty of chances missed, something to fix going forward.

“We missed several big opportunities in the throw game with errant throws of missed reads,” Anderson said. “We pushed the ball into a couple areas that we just can’t, one of those being picked and several others that could have been. We took sacks in a couple situations where we can’t out of indecisive decision making.”

Naturally, much of the credit and/or blame for the offense falls upon the quarterback. Cooper Legas set career-highs last week against Iowa in both total completions (32) and attempts (48), along with the third-best completion percentage in a game for his career, but the 213 yards made Saturday one of Legas’ worst games in yards per attempt. His interception at the end of the first half also not only set up an Iowa score, but also took away a potential big play and perhaps even a touchdown.

Anderson called on Legas to make improvements going forward.

“We’ve got to grow up this week,” Anderson said. “Coop’s got to grow up this week. It’s my job to get him there. He’s got to grow up this week to help us to win games. And he can be better than he was this week.”

On the defensive side of things, Utah State is still looking for ways to create turnovers. There were chances on Saturday but every opportunity became a missed opportunity for a game-changing play. USU safety Anthony Switzer took the blame for the defense’s shortcomings in that area.

“I take the bullet,” Switzer said. “We have a goal to get so many punch-outs during practice or punch attempts on the ball. We’ve been trying to apply it but we haven’t been making that a mental effort to make that something that’s second-nature to us. I take that [blame] because I’m the leader on this defense and I should make sure that the team is getting punches on the ball. That’s on me. We’ll get better at that. We’ll start implementing it more in practice and let it carry over to the game.”

The Bengals gave up three turnovers (all interceptions) to the Aztecs last week, and were 112th last year among FCS teams in turnovers lost so opportunities should be there. The Aggies will just have to actually take advantage when those chances arise.

The Aggies added another player to the injured list on Saturday when Max Alford went down. Anderson said it is a serious injury and that he wouldn’t be back anytime soon. It seems possible he could be back by season’s end, though, as Anderson is usually up front about season-ending injuries occurring. Luckily, according to Anderson, it seems other players who went down aren’t likely to be out any significant span of time. Josh Sterzer will be out again this week but there’s a chance both Broc Lane and Hale Motu’apuaka could both be on the field this week against Idaho State.

Aggies have been very successful in Week 2 bounce-back games

With the loss to Iowa on Saturday, Utah State has now lost its season opener nine times since 2010. Looking back on the previous eight occasions, USU is 7-1 with an average point differential of +27.4. The Aggies’ lone loss in game two following a season opener came in 2020 where they lost 38-7 to San Diego State. In the remaining seven such games Utah State has won by an average 35.7 points (fun fact: three of the games in this criteria came against Idaho State).

It’s a coaching maxim that the most improvement for a team is done between weeks one and two. Whenever the Aggies have needed to make significant improvements following a Week 1 loss, they’ve done well in applying those improvements and getting wins. In 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019 the Aggies have done well even beyond the single bounce-back game. Here’s a quick summary of USU’s record in games following a season-opening loss for those seasons:

• 2019 – Three-game win streak
• 2018 – 10-game win streak
• 2017 – Won three of next four games
• 2014 – Won four of next five games
• 2013 – Won three of next four games

Remembering last year’s loss to an FCS opponent

Probably the darkest moment of last season was the Aggies’ 35-7 loss to Weber State. The defeat was USU’s first loss to a non-major opponent in more than two decades and the first loss to Weber State in 44 years. It taught the Aggies a cruel lesson that a handful of FBS teams learn every year: you don’t just show up and defeat an FCS opponent just because they’re an FCS team.

“We got our tails kicked. We didn’t play well at all. We didn’t really respect the opponent the way we should. Talked to them all week about it all week and told them it was possible and told them it was probably,” Anderson said. “Even though there’s a lot of guys in the room that weren’t here [last year], it’s recent history and we don’t want to repeat it.”

USU offensive lineman Wade Meacham is one of the current Aggies that played in the fateful loss and the memory of that game is something he’s made sure new teammates are well aware of.

“I’ve 100 percent talked about it, at least definitely with the guys in my room and definitely going to be making sure that everybody else on the team is aware of the fight we have coming up this weekend,” Meacham said.

Both Anderson and Meacham noted the score of Idaho State’s game last week where the Bengals played USU’s fellow Mountain West school, San Diego State, to a close 36-28 result. Idaho State made a late rally in that game, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to draw within eight points. The final touchdown came with 39 seconds on the clock with a failed onside kick on the other side heralding the end of the upset bid.

Idaho State wants to throw it a lot

Last year Idaho State ran the ball more times than it passed the ball, with a roughly 52-48 ratio in favor of running the ball. But last week the Bengals threw the ball 63 times to just 15 runs. Adjust for sacks and scrambles counted as rush attempts and Idaho State called 68 pass plays to just 11 rushes. 

Throwing the ball more is part of the philosophy Hawkins has brought in his first year with the Bengals. The Idaho native and former quarterback at Colorado sees passing more as the way to go given their roster and in the options it gives to the offense.

“We do want to throw it. That’s what we want to do,” Hawkins said. “We’re built to do that. I think if you look at our players, whether it’s Chedan (James), or Alfred (Jordan), or Aaron (Blancas) or Kaysen (Isom), the guys inside and then having some long bodies on the outside. Just where we matchup, even in the conference as it’s gone, we have as good of slots as anybody in the conference so taking them off the field is not necessary, in my opinion that’s not good coaching. So, we’ve got to do stuff that plays to their strengths. And so we’ve got to understand that flat routes and bubbles will be a lot of our run game.”

Another game with 68 pass plays is unlikely this week. Hawkins said the San Diego State style of defense made running the ball a less viable option for the Bengals on most occasions. Utah State isn’t likely to give Idaho State those same looks, so a more balanced ration of runs and passes ought to be expected.

Bengals use multiple quarterbacks

Hawkins seemingly doesn’t subscribe to the old saying of “if you have two quarterbacks you have none.” He’s willing to play up to three of his quarterbacks. The Bengals’ top returning passer from 2022, Hunter Hays, and true freshman Jordan Cooke both played significant time in ISU’s game at San Diego State. Cooke played the most, going 18-of-41 for 164 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Hays completed 12 of 22 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception while also rushing eight times for 18 yards and one rushing TD.

During his Wednesday press conference, Hawkins said a third QB on the depth chart, Matthew Cavallaro, could even see time for the Bengals. He also explained why he’s currently doing the unconventional in playing multiple QBs.

“It’s not because we’re necessarily trying to decide guys, or critique guys,” Hawkins said. “Guys aren’t necessarily coming out for good or bad reasons, you just kind of look at ‘Hey, what have they done well this game, where’s the flow, what does the offense need right now?’ And that kind of judged more of the rotation rather than the performance.”

Improvements needed for Utah State

Whatever positives were present in the Aggies’ performance against Iowa, the fact is the team lost which means room for improvement. Both sides of the ball will have areas of focus in Saturday’s game. For the offense it’s finding ways to make big plays. The Hawkeye’s great defense often dictated Utah State’s decision to play it safe and pass it short, but Anderson said there were plenty of chances missed, something to fix going forward.

“We missed several big opportunities in the throw game with errant throws of missed reads,” Anderson said. “We pushed the ball into a couple areas that we just can’t, one of those being picked and several others that could have been. We took sacks in a couple situations where we can’t out of indecisive decision making.”

Naturally, much of the credit and/or blame for the offense falls upon the quarterback. Cooper Legas set career-highs last week against Iowa in both total completions (32) and attempts (48), along with the third-best completion percentage in a game for his career, but the 213 yards made Saturday one of Legas’ worst games in yards per attempt. His interception at the end of the first half also not only set up an Iowa score, but also took away a potential big play and perhaps even a touchdown.

Anderson called on Legas to make improvements going forward.

“We’ve got to grow up this week,” Anderson said. “Coop’s got to grow up this week. It’s my job to get him there. He’s got to grow up this week to help us to win games. And he can be better than he was this week.”

On the defensive side of things, Utah State is still looking for ways to create turnovers. There were chances on Saturday but every opportunity became a missed opportunity for a game-changing play. USU safety Anthony Switzer took the blame for the defense’s shortcomings in that area.

“I take the bullet,” Switzer said. “We have a goal to get so many punch-outs during practice or punch attempts on the ball. We’ve been trying to apply it but we haven’t been making that a mental effort to make that something that’s second-nature to us. I take that [blame] because I’m the leader on this defense and I should make sure that the team is getting punches on the ball. That’s on me. We’ll get better at that. We’ll start implementing it more in practice and let it carry over to the game.”

The Bengals gave up three turnovers (all interceptions) to the Aztecs last week, and were 112th last year among FCS teams in turnovers lost so opportunities should be there. The Aggies will just have to actually take advantage when those chances arise.