PREVIEW | BOISE STATE (5-5, 4-2) (-3) AT UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY (5-5, 3-3)

Boise State University (-3.5) at Utah State University

Date: Saturday, November 18th, 2023

Time: 5:00 pm MT 

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

TV: CBS Sports Network

TV Commentators: Rich Waltz, Aaron Taylor, Brandon Baylor

Radio: KBOI 670 AM

Commentators: Bob Behler and Pete Cavender

Know Thy Enemy

Ol’ Big Blue hopes to send Buster home feeling blue after Utah State hosts Boise State for Senior night in Logan! This should be a very intriguing matchup as Boise State will have a new man on the sideline leading this team in Interim Head Coach Spencer Danielson! 

Much like Boise State, Utah State has had a tough time getting any sort of consistency going this season. The last eight weeks the Aggies have found themselves in this pattern of lose-two, win-two, lose-two, win-two. Utah State comes into this one after two wins over both San Diego State and Nevada. 

    Offensively these Aggies like to go fast and spread you out. Utah State runs a play on average every 21.3 seconds, which is tied for the fourth-fastest tempo

in the nation.

    Coach Spencer Danielson said this week that the Aggies want to take advantage of the whole 53 and ⅓ of the field and will line receivers up on both sidelines just to spread you out. The Aggies have found a lot of success doing this so far this season and are one of the top offenses in the Mountain West. Utah State ranks #1 in total offense and #2 in scoring offense, averaging almost 450 yards and over 35 points per game.  This offense has a ton of fire power everywhere you look. In the backfield there is Rahsul Faison who just ran for over 180 yards against Nevada and then outside there is both Jalen Royals and Terrell Vaughn who have combined for 1,600 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns. Their quarterback Cooper Legas has thrown for over 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns. 

    Defensively the Aggies struggle from time to time. Right now they rank in the bottom third of the Mountain West in both scoring defense and total defense giving up over 400 yards and 32 points per game. It’s not just the run or the pass that they’ve struggled against either. Some weeks teams will have their way on the ground, but then some weeks they will get torched through the air. The one thing that the Aggies have been good at this season is getting after the quarterback. As a team they have recorded a sack in every game so far this season and four times this year they have recorded 3 or more sacks including last week against Nevada. Their 20 sacks on the season ranks them 6th in the Mountain West.  

    The Aggies are coached by Blake Anderson. Anderson is in his third 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 27 times in program history.  Boise State leads the all-time series record at 22-5. Since 2000 the Aggies have only beaten the Broncos once, back in 2015 in a 52-26 blowout in Logan. 

 

What Happened Last Time

     Taylen Green threw four touchdown passes and dashed 91 yards for another score as Boise State pulled away late for a 42-23 victory over Utah State. The 31,402 in attendance arrived early and stayed late as the game kicked off at 10:00 am and was not decided until the final two minutes of play.

    The Broncos were leading 28-23 when redshirt sophomore linebacker Gabe Hunter intercepted Utah State's Cooper Legas at the 10-yard line to put the ball in Boise State's hands with 1:28 remaining.

    Two plays later, Green raced down the left sideline for the longest run from scrimmage in program history to put the game out of reach. The final points came courtesy of a 48-yard pick six from sophomore safety Seyi Oladipo with 31 seconds left.  

Players to Watch 

UTAH STATE

SR., COOPER LEGAS, QB #5

Cooper Legas is having a career-year for the Aggies in his Senior season. Legas has already thrown for a career-highs in yards, yards per game and touchdowns. He’s also on pace to set a career-high in pass attempts as well. The Aggies are fighting for Bowl eligibility, but it’s not for lack of talent from their quarterback. 

JR., JALEN ROYALS, WR #1

Junior Jalen Royals is tied for third in the nation with 11 touchdowns this season. The transfer from Georgia Military College has really come into his own since landing in Logan. Blake Anderson said he wasn’t sure why Royals was underutilized at his last school, but when he recruited Royals it was all about what kind of person Royals is and how the Aggies could help him progress. 

GS., MJ TAFISI JR., LB #2

Graduate senior inside linebacker  MJ Tafisi Jr. leads the Mountain West and ranks seventh in the nation with 108 tackles. Tafisi has posted six-straight double-digit tackle games and has seven total this season, which is tied for the third-most in the nation.

BOISE STATE 

Rs.SO., TAYLEN GREEN, QB #10

TG10 is QB1 again and this time it’s solely his job. Interim coach Spencer Danielson said this week that Madux Madsen would be out for the “foreseeable future” and that they were “all about Taylen Green.” Green has certainly been through the ringer this season, but if what people say about him is true, he will be ready to go out and ball this Saturday against the Aggies.  

FR., PRINCE STRACHAN, WR #17

With the departure of EMac, their heir to the throne has been crowned. Prince Strachan took full advantage of his opportunity to start and made a major impact on the game last week against New Mexico. The Broncos only completed 11 passes last Saturday, but three of those went to Prince and he turned those into 128 yards and a touchdown. Last week might have been his first multiple catch, 100-yard game, but it certainly won’t be his last and his next one might be this weekend. 

Rs.SR., MICHAEL CALLAHAN, DT #92

Michael Callahan pointed out this week during his media availability that his position is usually the unsung hero of the team. They don't usually accumulate a lot of sacks, but when playing effectively, will open up opportunities for his teammates. This week with how spread out the Aggies will get on offense it will be up to him and his fellow defensive lineman to stop any rushing attack that Utah State will throw at them. 

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

1. Focused On Us

This week Boise State’s social media posted a hype video of practice with the caption: Focused on us. Enjoying the Journey. 1-0 Mentality. This is exactly what they need to do to win this week. This team has a renewed sense of energy and seems excited to go out and compete for Coach “D,” compete for their school and compete for each other. 

2. Run it Down their Throats 

This week is pretty simple, get behind the greatest o-line in the conference and hand the ball to one of our three amazing running backs or let TG10 keep it. Utah State gives up 200 yards per game on the ground and in the last two weeks against the #8 and #9 rush offenses in the conference gave up a combined 304  yards on the ground. Earlier this year against the #4 rushing offense they gave up 251 yards. Boise State is the #2 rushing offense in the MW and should have their way upfront this week. 

3. They Call Them Quarters Because There Are Four 

Boise State hasn’t played a complete game this season. Last week the final score was 42-14 which looks like a dominant win and for about three quarters it was. However, in the first quarter it looked like the defense was not ready for the Lobos. I will give the coaching staff credit they made the necessary adjustments at halftime and totally shut New Mexico down in the second half. This week they can’t afford to start slow on either side of the ball. They need to play a full four quarter game if they want to win. 

Revs Rant and Prediction: 

When Interim Head Coach Spencer Danielson addressed his team on Sunday he told them to write down “Two Weeks” and circle it, underline it, star it, whathaveyou. With the dismissal of Andy Avalos, coach Danielson wants his team to be focused on these next two weeks and then whatever comes after that they will take it in stride. When Coach Danielson met with the media this week he was very open about the situation and said that this team will be locked in on Utah State and he expects them to go out and play great this Saturday. For some reason, I believe him. I think Spencer Danielson has an infectious personality that is totally right for this season and for these players. He has a heart for these players and this program. This may be the kind of week where an away game is just what the doctor ordered and this team can circle the wagons and rally around each other. 

I think an emotionally charged team has some new energy flowing and it comes out on the field. Taylen Green balls out and the defense shows that last week’s second half was not a fluke. Boise State dominates this one. 

Broncos 45, Aggies 21