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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Utah State football will start the season in SEC country for the second time in four years Sunday with its first-ever appearance at Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium.
The Aggies nearly pulled off an upset over Auburn in 2011 before two late touchdowns and an onside kick recovery gave the defending national champions a win.
Then-true freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton announced himself to the nation that day. Now a senior, Keeton and his team have a chance to finish the job and secure a win over an SEC school for the first time since 1970.
To do that, they’ll have to do some things first:
Before suffering a season-ending knee injury against BYU on the first weekend of October, Keeton ranked second in the nation with 17 touchdown passes, and he added two more scores on the ground. The starting offensive line has been rebuilt around senior left tackle Kevin Whimpey, but if the big men up front can give Chuckie time to make plays, he’ll use it.
Running back Joe Hill is also back from a knee injury in 2013, suffered coincidentally the week before Keeton’s season-ender. He’ll need to see his fair share of the football for the Aggies to pound an inexperienced Tennessee defensive line that returns no starters. But the depth of this team may be in the receiving game, where newcomers Hunter Sharp and LaJuan Hunt have looked strong in fall camp alongside returning starters JoJo Natson and Ronald Butler. If the Aggies have four go-to wide-outs for Keeton to find, expect a lot of yards and plenty of scores from the 2014 offense.
As low as Utah State is on starting experiencce across the offensive line, Tennessee’s is lower. The Vols don’t return a single starter in a group that will regularly face B.J. Larsen and Nick Vigil, as well as the ever-steady Zach Vigil and All-America candidate Kyler Fackrell. Look for the Aggies’ front seven to try to get after Vols quarterback Justin Worley early, forcing the senior signal caller to get rid of the football quicker.
This one is easier said than done, playing in a stadium of 102,000 fans with the trademark orange-and-white checkerboard end zones. Utah State coach Matt Wells said he’ll allow his team to stand in awe at General Neyland’s palace during Saturday’s walk-through, then add a few pics to Instagram and Twitter and be ready to go Sunday. The Aggies will need to focus on the field, not the bleachers.
The Vols have a young team, but one of their key playmakers is wide receiver Alton "Pig" Howard, who led the team with 44 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns last year. The Aggies’ secondary, led by senior safety Brian Suite, knows it will have its hands full containing Howard, but shutting him down will force the ball into less-experienced hands for Tennessee.
