LOGAN — Utah State is reeling a tad after falling to 1-3 on the season after a roller-coaster loss to James Madison. The Aggies have faced a rather tough schedule, but will now take on a winless UConn team in a cross-country road trip. This game will close the book on USU’s 2023 non-conference games. Game Details Kickoff (Friday): 10 a.m. Mountain Time Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (East Hartford, CT) KVNU Aggie GameDay with Al Lewis: 8:10 – 9:45 a.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 Updates (DT) Poukesi Vakuata – Questionable (LB) MJ Tafisi – Questionable (LB) Bronson Olevao – Questionable (OL) Ralph Frias – Questionable (RB) Robert Briggs – Probable (TE) Josh Sterzer – OUT Players Out For Season

Utah State has chosen the most difficult route when it comes to figuring out exactly who they are. The Aggies have shown flashes of brilliance but also played some of the ugliest football seen since the forgettable 2020 season. Head coach Blake Anderson said it best as he described his team’s performance in its 45-38 loss to James Madison. “We played some of the worst football I’ve seen played in quite a while followed up by some of the best football I’ve seen played in quite a while,” Anderson said. The Aggies’ work this season evokes terms like “bipolar” and citations of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It all arises out of an inability to play well in the first quarter of games but then somehow go toe-to-toe with opponents of all levels, including AP Top 25 teams from Power Five conferences. In the first quarters of games this year, Utah State has been outscored 60-7 and been shut out by FBS opponents 53-0. In the ensuing three quarters, the Aggies hold a 144-76 advantage, borderline double their opponents. Even factoring out the Idaho State game with its 71 post-first quarter points, the advantage is still

LOGAN — Yet again Utah State struggled in the first quarter and it cost the Aggies dearly in a 45-38 loss to James Madison. The Aggies managed to dig themselves out of a 24-point hole, but fell short in the end to drop to 1-3 on the season while the Dukes remain undefeated at 4-0. The Game Flow James Madison took the ball first and the longest part of its drive was a several minute delay when its top offensive lineman, right tackle Nick Kidwell, was being attended to with a right leg injury. The actual game time taken on the Dukes’ opening drive, which went 75 yards for a touchdown, was 57 seconds. JMU quarterback Jordan McCloud broke open the drive with a 54-yard touchdown pass to Omarion Dollison. That lightning-quick score embodied the overall quick start the Dukes got out to. They scored on each of their first three possessions of the first quarter, going up 17-0. On the first play of the second quarter, James Madison capped off another drive with a touchdown to go up 24-0. During this time Utah State was not only not keeping up, the offense was actively going backwards. The first eight