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LOGAN — Utah State was 6-1 under then-freshman quarterback Darell Garretson after the pocket passer took the reigns of the Aggie offense following Chuckie Keeton’s knee injury midway through the 2013 season.
The Aggies (2-1) will hope to duplicate some of that magic Saturday in Jonesboro, Arkansas, when Garretson leads the first team against Arkansas State at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN3.
The Red Wolves (1-2) will be looking to defend their home turf in the first season under head coach Blake Anderson after back-to-back losses at Tennessee and Miami. Saturday’s game will be the first-ever non-conference matchup for the two teams, who shared a conference in 1993-95, 1999-2000 (Big West) and 2003-04 (Sun Belt).
Here are five areas of focus for the Aggies to pull off a win on the road.
Under the mobile Keeton, Utah State can afford to let its quarterback scramble and make plays with his feet — especially when the coverage tightens up and no one is available downfield. With Garretson, the Aggies — who are currently rated No. 100 in the nation with 197 passing yards per game — have been a bit more reliant on the sophomore’s ability to make plays with his arm. Look for wide receivers JoJo Natson and Hunter Sharp, who just came off a career-high game against Wake Forest, to get involved early and often.
Related to the first point, the new offensive line has had three games to communicate and get on the same page as veteran leader Kevin Whimpey and the rest of the offense. Each lineman will have to be on frame in giving Garretson time to make his reads and help his decision-making with each play — whether that leads to a rush or a pass.
Utah State’s run defense is rated No. 4 in the nation, including an impressive minus-24 rushing yards for Wake Forest last week. But the Aggie run game has yet to have a standout performer, with Natson leading the way with 125 yards on 11 carries. Senior running back Joe Hill, who has 87 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries through three games, will need to shoulder more of the load as Utah State tries to replace its No. 4 runner in Keeton.
Even as Wake Forest tried to take him out of the punt return game, Natson still had 78 receiving yards and a touchdown on six catches against the Demon Deacons, as well as 49 yards on eight carries on the ground. Coach Matt Wells simply referred to the junior from Florida as “a weapon,” and intimated that the Aggies will find a variety of ways to get the ball in Natson’s hands.
On defense, the Aggies will need to shut down Arkansas State wide receivers J.D. McKissic and Tres Houston, who account for nearly half of the Red Wolves’ passing game with 30 combined catches. McKissic is a highly regarded weapon, with 180 yards on 16 catches, and should draw plenty of attention from the Utah State secondary.