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Conference: MWC vs. Big Sky
Coaches: Utah State Head Coach Matt Wells (1-1); Weber Head Coach Jody Sears (3-10)
TV: ESPN 3
Announcers: Joel Meyers (Play-by-play), Kevin O'Connell (Analyst)
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET at Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah
Local Radio: 610 KNVU or 1280 AM
Last Meeting: September 10, 2011: Utah State won 54-17
Series Record: Utah State leads overall series 12-1 (1978 was only Weber State win)
Vegas Odds: Utah State -36.5 and Over/Under: 62.5 Points
Utah State having won eight straight home games looks to continue their historical dominance over Weber State this Saturday in Logan, Utah. Both teams are coming off of very different outcomes last week as Utah State started their Mountain West Conference tenure with a convincing 52-20 win over Air Force whereas Weber State was thumped 70-7 by Utah.
The Aggies have shown many bright spots in the early going of the season but none brighter than the performance of quarterback Chuckie Keeton. Keeton currently leads all Mountain West quarterbacks in pass efficiency and is 10th in the country for passing yards, averaging 337 yards per game. Less talked about but of great importance has been the play of Jake Doughty in the stout Aggie defense. Doughty is currently fourth nationally in tackles per game with 14. The linebackers along with the defensive front line have held their own and affected the first two games in positive ways, like Head Coach Wells has expected.
Not so great for the Aggies is the performance of the secondary as they are tied for 94th nationally in pass defense efficiency and 82nd nationally in turnover margin. You can bet that Coach Wells and Defense Coordinator Coach Orlando have made that a focal point of the week and look to clean those numbers up on an unproven and inconsistent Wildcat offense. Starters on the corners, Tay Glover-Wright and Nevin Lawson, looked improved last week but will need some more help over the top as that has seemed to be the weakest area of the defense. That responsibility will fall mainly upon Free Safety Maurice Alexander as he is still adjusting from position change from linebacker to safety.
The Weber State offense produced a meager 205 yards last week against Utah and starting quarterback Jordan Adamczyk completed eight of seventeen passes for 88 yards. Bo Bolen and Josh Booker split time on the ground each rushing for 30 and 27 yards respectively. The Wildcat defense gave up 628 yards and 338 of those on the ground, so look for Joe Hill to finally have his breakout game.
Overall, it will be a difficult task for the Aggie football team to not look past this weekend towards next week showdown against the Trojans of Southern California but it is expected that the Wildcats will not give them much trouble. The Aggies will not be short on motivation as this will be their homecoming game and most importantly the first home game in the most anticipated season of Aggie football in quite some time. Look for Keeton to get off to a quick start and leave plenty of time for the second-string to get some reps.
More from Mountain West Connection:
- 2013 Week 3 Mountain West Football Odds: Bye Weeks Are Nice
- Colorado State vs. Cal Poly game still happening despite severe weather
- Colorado vs. Fresno State game postponed due to severe flooding in Boulder
- Week 3 Mountain West power rankings: Utah State over Boise State in Mountain Division
- Boise State vs. Air Force: TV, streaming, odds and more
- PODCAST: Week 3 Mountain West football preview