Utah State football Photo by Lorene Hale.
LOGAN — Utah State has established its first winning streak of the season, logging a second straight victory last week by downing Colorado State in relatively dominant fashion. This week Fresno State, fresh off being booted from the AP Top 25 due to a loss at Wyoming last week, will come to town to challenge that streak.
Game Details
Kickoff: 6 p.m. Mountain Time (Friday, Oct. 13)
Location: Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium (Logan, UT)
KVNU Aggie GameDay with Al Lewis: 4:10 – 5:45 p.m.
KVNU Aggie Call with Al Lewis: Immediately after Coach Anderson’s post-game comments
TV Broadcast: CBS Sports 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 Report
- (QB) McCae Hillstead – Questionable
- (TE) Josh Sterzer – OUT
- (OL) Cole Motes – OUT
- (DT) Poukesi Vakauta – Questionable
- (LB) Bronson Olevao – Questionable
- Players Out For Season – (S) Omari Okeke, (LB) Max Alford, (WR) Kyle Van Leeuwen, (P) Stephen Kotsanlee
USU head coach Blake Anderson all but confirmed McCae Hillstead will not play against Fresno State, saying as of Monday that he “wasn’t ready to go” and that he was still showing symptoms and would have to show significant progress to play, something Anderson said he didn’t anticipate. As of Tuesday, Hillstead still wasn’t a full participant in practice. It should be considered quite the surprise if Hillstead plays on Friday.
Kotsanlee had been confirmed to be out for the season on Saturday in the post-game press conference. The senior punter needed surgery for what Anderson said was a “clean break” of bones in his leg. Metal plates and rods had to be put into Kotsanlee’s leg as part of the process. The good news from Anderson was that the recovery is expected to be a full one and Kotsanlee should be able to resume his Aggie career next fall.
Statistical Rank Comparison
| Utah State | Stat | Fresno State |
|---|---|---|
| 38.2 (15th) | Scoring Offense | 33.5 (38th) |
| 462.8 (24th) | Total Offense | 408.2 (59th) |
| 296.0 (20th) | Passing Offense | 301.7 (18th) |
| 166.8 (55th) | Rushing Offense | 106.5 (115th) |
| 32.2 (108th) | Scoring Defense | 18.2 (24th) |
| 406.8 (104th) | Total Defense | 289.8 (17th) |
| 241.2 (86th) | Passing Defense | 190.5 (27th) |
| 165.7 (101st) | Rushing Defense | 99.3 (18th) |
| 12 (116th) | Turnovers Lost | 5 (16th) |
| 14 (3rd) | Turnovers Gained | 12 (10th) |
Bulldogs coming in with bounce-back on their mind
Just a few days ago, Fresno State was ranked 24th in the country and own the second-longest active winning streak of 14 games dating back to the 2022 season. The Bulldogs were even a favorite to win the conference and even make a New Year’s Six bowl game. Most of that ended with a 24-19 loss at Wyoming on Saturday. The Aggies are now firmly in the sights of a team full of all the frustration that losing its top-flight status brings.
Fresno State with an elite defense
Utah State has already faced two top-tier Division I defenses this season in Air Force (ranked second in yards allowed per game) and Iowa (29th in total defense). Fresno State rolls into town ranked between those two top-30 defenses, checking in at 17th at just 289.8 yards per game.
“They’re really, really athletic,” Anderson said. “They create pressure. They play really good man coverage. They’ve got length and speed on the back end that we don’t see all the time.”
A blessing for the Aggies is that the Bulldogs will be without one of their key players, though. Cam Lockridge, one of the better defensive backs in the conference will miss the remainder of the season due to a pectoral muscle injury. Fresno State has been without Lockridge for two games already, but now his absence this season will be permanent.
Potential hitch in Fresno State’s top-flight pass offense
The Bulldogs are hardly any worse in their passing attack than Colorado State is, ranking 18th with just over 300 yards per game through the air on average. Mikey Keene, the transfer from UCF, has been a major part of that as the team’s quarterback. He leads the conference in completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns and is second in passer rating.
Only thing is, his status is up in the air for Friday.
In Fresno State’s loss at Wyoming, Keene suffered an ankle injury and didn’t return to the game. According to Tedford, that wasn’t because Keene wasn’t trying to get back in. He had to be held out by staff while backup quarterback Logan Fife led the offense late in the game. The Aggies will need to be prepared for both quarterbacks as it’s possible for either or both to see time this Friday.
“Both have the ability to push the ball downfield. Keene’s got so many different launch points, and (can) get the ball out quickly. Whereas (Fife) is a little bit more of an athletic guy, used his feet a little bit more. But you don’t really see the offense change a whole lot. They know exactly who they are and they’ve got really good skill out at wideout and in space.”
Another possible setback comes in the form of an ankle injury to Erik Brooks, the Bulldogs’ top wide receiver. Brooks hasn’t missed a game and likely won’t miss this week, but the injury seems to have limited him. Brooks caught 32 passes for 448 yards and four touchdowns in his first four games of the season. In his last two, Brooks has just four catches for 46 yards and no touchdowns. Last week at Wyoming he had only nine yards all game.
USU’ offensive line shuffle
The Aggies’ starters Week 1 on the offensive line — Ralph Frias at left tackle, Wade Meacham at left guard, Falepula Alo at center, Tavo Motu’apuaka at right guard, and Cole Motes at right tackle — has not been the most-used five-man unit this season. Players like Teague Anderson, Wyatt Bowles, Aloali’i Maui have all seen significant time as reserves and even starters at times. According to Anderson, a combination of health and on-field performances has led to this wide variety of starters and snap distribution on the Aggie O-line.
“We really haven’t had a completely healthy group since early in the process so it’s been mix and match. But we’re getting closer. You saw both (Alo) and (Motu’apuaka) be available, (Frias) was able to go back out (against Colorado State) and play without pain. He was not able to do that the week before. I think we’re getting closer and closer to seeing a starting five that you’ll see for most if not all of the snaps.”
Legas likely back at the reigns and riding high
With Hillstead very likely out this week, Cooper Legas becomes the expected starter and he’ll have all the momentum of two great showings at his back. The senior QB has completed 30 of 42 passes for 591 yards and seven touchdowns to two interceptions in his previous two outings against UConn and Colorado State.
It’ll wind up being another audition for the senior to take back the job he lost. Anderson has not given Legas a pass for mistakes made, including the two interceptions against Colorado State, but praised Legas’ ability to push through his adversity.
“I think the one thing that he’s doing really well right now is just continuing the process,” Anderson said. “When things don’t go well he doesn’t go in the tank on me. He takes a good butt-chewing and responds and then goes out and does what I’m asking him to do. I think we’ve got the people, if he can do that consistently. We’ve got the people to help him. He doesn’t have to carry the load.”
