Revs Rundown Week Four- Boise State at Utah State University

Boise State University (-9) at Utah State University

Date: Saturday, September 25th, 2021

Time: 10:00am MT 

Stadium: Merlin Olsen Field at Maverick Stadium (25,100)

TV:CBS

Radio: KBOI 670 AM

Commentators: Rich Waltz, Aaron Taylor

Know Thy Enemy

Ol’ Big Blue is feeling red hot as he and the rest of the Utah State Aggies get set to host Buster and the Broncos of Boise State University on Saturday in an early season Mountain West tilt. The Aggies are feeling confident coming into this week after outlasting Air Force 49-45 to remain undefeated. Aggies fans have plenty to be excited about as new head coach Blake Anderson is the only first year head coach out of 18 in the country that is still undefeated. Anderson has Utah State sitting at 3-0 for the first time since 1978 with two road upsets to start the year. 

Utah State was Grand Central Station with the transfer portal this offseason as the Aggies welcomed 14 new players to their team via transfer coming into 2021. Many of those players have made an immediate impact, with 7 of those players in the starting line up. 

On offense the Aggies have two quarterbacks that have seen significant time, but transfer Logan Bonner has emerged as the leader in the clubhouse. Bonner did have to leave the game with an injury last week so it will be interesting who will get the start under center on Saturday. The Aggies have shown their ability to be a prolific offense, averaging 41 points per game and over 550 total yards. Utah State relies on bellcow running back Tyler Calvin Jr. who also is a transfer as well as go-to receiver Deven Thompkins. 

On Defense the Aggies has one bull in the ring and that is linebacker Justin Rice. Rice leads a Utah State defense who is looking to turn things around from a year ago. So far this season the Aggies defense is giving up an average of 30 points per game and  472 yards per game. Last week the Aggies gave up 437 yards on the ground and 182 yard through the air to AFA. The Aggie defense seems to be the weak link again this year, but as long as the offense keeps rolling the Aggies will keep winning. 

The Aggies are coached by Blake Anderson. Anderson is in his first year as head coach at Utah State. Anderson was previously the head coach at Arkansas State from 2014-2020. During his time at Arkansas State he led the team to two Sun Belt Championships.

Boise State and Utah State are no strangers when it comes to playing football. The Broncos and Aggies have gone toe-to-toe 25 times in program history.  Boise State leads the all-time series record at 20-5. Since 2000 the Aggies have only beaten the Broncos once, back in 2015 in a 52-26 blowout in Logan. 

 

What Happened Last Time

Last season in a truncated 2020 season the Broncos opened up their season at home against Utah State in an empty Albertsons stadium. However, it didn’t take long for the Broncos to get to business as usual, scoring the game's first 28 points. George Holani led the offense in the first half scoring once on the ground and once in the pass game. The Broncos defense was suffocating, only allowing 45 yards and one first down in the entire first half.  

The second half was more of the same as the Broncos never allowed the Aggies to get within 21 points, scoring two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Broncos were led by Hank Bachmeier who threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns as well as George Holani who rushed for 100 yards and two scores of his own in another dominating 42-13 win over the Aggies. 

Players to Watch 

UTAH STATE

SR., DEVEN THOMPKINS, WR #13

Thompkins the senior from Fort Myers, FL has been on an absolute tear to start this 2021 season. Thompkins is leading the entire nation in receiving, racking up 454 yards on 25 catches and three touchdowns through three games. Thompkins isn’t the biggest receiver, standing at only 5’8”, but has the speed and ability to get open and beat the defender across from him. Boise State will have their hands full with #13

JR., CALVIN TYLER JR., RB #4

Once again Boise State will be facing another great running back. Tyler ran for 132 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns last week against Air Force. Tyler is averaging 96 yards and 15 carries per game through three games. According to teammates Calvin Tyler is a hard nose runner sort of like former Aggie Jalen Warren, who ran for over 200 yards against the Broncos last week. 

SR., JUSTIN RICE, LB #3

Even though he’s the new guy on the defense, Justin Rice hasn’t taken long to become a leader for the Aggie. Rice, a Senior from Modesto, CA is leading the team in total tackles and tackles for loss. He also leads the team in interceptions with 3. He’s going to be all over the field and around the football almost every play. Many think he is the leading vote getter for Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year so far this season.

BOISE STATE 

JR., MARKEL REED, CB #8 

Many great Boise State defenders have donned the #8 over the years. Orlando Scandrick, George Iloka, Jabril Frazier and Demarcus Lawrence to name a few. With the departure of both starting corners from a year ago Reed now has the opportunity to be the everyday starter. Reed is a part of a Broncos secondary that is tied for first in the conference with five interceptions on the year. This week Reed will have the tall task of guarding the #1 receiver statistically in all of college football. If the Broncos want to get back in the win column Reed will have to take away the Aggies top target. 

JR., JL SKINNER, S #0

This is Skinner’s second time being named a Player to Watch in just four weeks. If you watched the game last week you saw just how good Skinner can be. He has quickly become a fan favorite for Bronco Nation after he upended a Cowboy receiver. If you don’t already have one eye on #0 when the Broncos defense is one the field you better start now and just appreciate Skinner's greatness. As far as stats go, Skinner is leading the team in tackles and is averaging over 10 tackles per game. He also leads the team in forced fumbles with two. 

Rs.SR., DAVIS KOETTER, WR #17 

David Koetter, son of former Broncos head coach Dirk Koetter played a significant role in the Broncos offense last week in the absence of injured Stef Cobbs. Koetter had four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Oklahoma State. Koetter also attempted a pass that was dropped by Billy Bowens. If Cobbs is out for any length of time Koetter seems to be the one taking those snap so you might as well get to know who #17 is. 

Focus Position Group: Offensive Line

No offensive lineman really wants to be mentioned. As a group they just want to do their job and go unnoticed. Because usually if they are getting noticed it’s because they aren’t playing very well. This season the offensive line has struggled. No they haven’t given up a terrible amount of sacks, but they are allowing the quarterback to be hit over 6 times per game. Last week against Oklahoma State they gave up a season high 4 sacks. Not only that, the run blocking is almost non-existent. The O-line has to pick up their performance this week and the rest of the season if the Broncos want to have any success on offense. 

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

1. No Fly Zone 

Looking at the last two week for both teams you can see why this is a key to a win this week. In the last two games the Aggies offense has put up 48 and 49 points respectively. In those two games they have thrown for a combined 852 yards. The last two games for the Broncos they have only allowed 34 points and 414 yards through the air. In the one game that the Aggie struggled to score they were limited to under 200 yards passing. If the Broncos want to win this week they will need to find a way to lock down the USU receiving corps.

2. Breakfast Turnovers

Boise State's defense has done an incredible job forcing turnovers so far this season. Twice this season the Broncos have intercepted a pass in the red zone which kept the opponent from scoring. Utah State has only committed four turnovers all season. If the Broncos want to win they will have to get close to getting the three turnovers that the Defensive Coordinator hopes for each week. 

3. Finish Line

Someone needs to tell Tim Plough that you are allowed to score in the second half. Through three games Boise State has scored a total of 20 points in the second half. Outside of the UTEP game Boise State has scored one second half touchdown. To go along with that, in both the UCF and OSU games the offense failed to get a first down in the third quarter. Reversely the Broncos defense hasn’t allowed a point in the second half the last two week. The defense is getting stronger as the game goes along. It’s about time that the offense holds up their end of the bargain. Things have got to go better for the Broncos in the second half this week if they want any chance at beating the Aggies. 

Editorial Note: 

There’s nothing like a loss in college football to make you question everything. Last week against Oklahoma State, Boise State came into the game as a favorite and looked like they might just dismantle the Cowboys early on in the first half. Yet, as the game went on the offense seemed to lose their way and struggled mightily after the second quarter. The Broncos defense on the other hand seemed to get stronger as the game went on. After allowing three touchdowns in the first half, the Pokes were scoreless in the second half.  I for one think all the fingers should be pointed at the Broncos offense for the one and two start to the season because in both losses the offense had the ball late in the fourth quarter with a chance to win the game and in both instances came away empty. 

With that said a 1-2 record sure doesn't look good and it is the worst start for the Broncos since 2005, but if you really step back from 30,000 feet you realize that the Broncos are 3 to 5 plays going their way from being 3-0. There seems to be a sliver of  optimism that the Broncos will be able to turn things around headed into conference play.

As explosive and electric as the Aggies offense seems, the defenses they have faced haven’t been all that great either. In most major statistical categories the Broncos rank higher than every opponent the Aggies have faced this year. If the Broncos defense can keep the Aggies from scoring more than 24 points I think the Broncos offense can put up just enough to win the game.

Boise State 28, Utah State