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LOGAN - For the first time since 2003, Utah State (1-3, 0-0 WAC) will host border-foe Wyoming (3-1, 0-0 MWC), when the Aggies and Cowboys tangle at 6 p.m. at Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium (25,513)... While it is the first meeting in Logan since 2003, it is the first overall meeting between USU and UW since 2007 in Laramie... Saturday's game will be televised throughout the region on KCSG (Comcast Ch. 116/DirectTv Ch. 44/Dish Network Ch. 37) with Mychal Clanton handling play-by-play duties while Kevin White will handle analysis... The game will also be available through the ESPN GamePlan... It will also be streamed through www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on the "Watch Live" link.
- Utah State (1-3, 0-0 WAC) vs. Wyoming (3-1, 0-0 MWC)
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 8
- Time: 6:00 p.m. MT
- Site: Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium (25,513)
- TV: KCSG (Comcast Ch. 116/DirectTv Ch. 44/Dish Network Ch. 37)
- Radio: KVNU 610 AM, KVNU 102.1 FM (Cache Valley) and KLZX 95.9 FM in Logan; KZNS (97.5 FM only) in Salt Lake City; on KLZX 105.3 FM in Montpelier, Idaho
- Series Record: USU leads 34-24-4
- Last Meeting: 32-18 Wyoming (2007)
- Kickoff Weather: Mostly cloudy and cool, temps in the low 50s
SATURDAY'S STORYLINES -- Things to watch for in Saturday's match-up between the Aggies and Cowboys:
* Saturday marks the 63rd meeting on the gridiron between Utah State and Wyoming, USU's fourth-longest rivalry, trailing Utah (109 meetings), BYU (81 meetings) and Colorado State (67 meetings)... USU is UW's fourth-longest rivalry, ranking behind the exact same teams in Colorado State (102 meetings), Utah (83 meetings) and BYU (77 meetings) while tying with New Mexico (63 meetings).
* Both USU and Wyoming have a coach on its staff that played and graduated from the other as Aggie wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight played at UW from 2003-06 and is a 2006 alum of Wyoming, while Cowboy defensive line coach Danilo Robinson played for the Aggies from 1993-96 and is a 1997 USU graduate.
* It is the first meeting between the Aggies and Cowboys since 2007 overall and the first in Logan since 2003... USU has lost four in a row in the series and is seeking first win over Wyoming since 1978.
* Both teams have freshmen starting QB's in USU's Chuckie Keeton and UW's Brett Smith.
* Aggie junior RB Robert Turbin needs:
-- 101 rushing yards to tie Roger Grant (1990-91) with 2,387 yards at the No. 6 spot on USU's Career Rushing list, as Turbin brings 2,286 career rushing yards into Saturday.
-- Four points to tie Demario Brown (1996-99) for No. 4 spot with 234 career points on Aggies' Career Points list, as Turbin has 230 career points entering Saturday. -- One rushing TD to crack the WAC Career Top 20 Rushing TD list.
* USU senior LB Bobby Wagner needs:
-- Four tackles for the No. 8 spot, seven for the No. 7 spot and 10 for the No. 6 spot on the WAC's Career Tackles list, taking 348 career stops into Saturday.
FOLLOWING THE GAME AND THE AGGIES
ON TV -- Saturday's battle between the Aggies and Cowboys will be televised throughout the region on KCSG (Comcast Ch. 116/DirectTv Ch. 44/Dish Network Ch. 37) with Mychal Clanton handling play-by-play duties while Kevin White will handle analysis... It will also be on the ESPN GamePlan package.
ON THE AIR -- All Utah State football games are carried live on the Aggie Sports Network: KVNU 610 AM, KVNU 102.1 FM (Cache Valley) and KLZX 95.9 FM in Logan; KZNS (97.5 FM only) in Salt Lake City; on KLZX 105.3 FM in Montpelier, Idaho... All Aggie football games are also on the Internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on "Listen Live"... Legendary radio voice Al "Elevator Music Is Awesome" Lewis will handle the play-by-play duties, while former Aggie SID Craig "I Love Chili Even When It's Not Chilly" Hislop provides analysis (for the listeners, not Al).
ON THE INTERNET -- USU home football games are also streamed on the Internet through "Aggies All Access," by clicking on the "Live Aggies Video" link on the home page of www.UtahStateAggies.com... Fans can register and purchase month or season packages to watch.
GAMETRACKER -- Fans can follow all USU Aggie home games through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.
COACHES SHOW ON THE ROAD -- The Gary Andersen radio show will rotate between The Copper Mill and Elements Restaurant on Thursday nights (6:05-7 p.m. on 610 AM KVNU) when the Aggies play on Saturday, with some exceptions, including the BYU and Hawai'i weeks... The show gives USU fans an opportunity to ask questions and interact with Coach Andersen and players.
Upcoming Coaches Shows: Oct. 6 at Copper Mill / Oct. 13 at Elements
UP NEXT -- USU opens its seventh season in the WAC by heading to Fresno, Calif., to take on the Bulldogs of Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. (MT).
UTAH STATE NOTE-ABLES
• Only three of USU's 12 games will be played on natural grass this year: at Auburn, at BYU and at New Mexico State.
• Seven of USU's 12 games are at night.
• Senior LB Bobby Wagner is a candidate for the: Butkus Award - nation's top linebacker Rotary Lombardi Award - nation's top college lineman Bronko Nagurski Award - nation's best defensive player Lowe's Senior CLASS Award - athletes who excel both on and off the field
• Junior RB Robert Turbin is a candidate for the: Doak Walker Award - honoring the nation's top college running back
• Junior RB/KR Kerwynn Williams is a candidate for the: Paul Hornung Award - most versatile player
• Sophomore OC Tyler Larsen is a candidate for the: Dave Rimington Trophy - nation's most outstanding center in college football
• Senior WR Eric Moats is a candidate for the: Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team® - recognizing the selfless contributions to volunteerism and community service made by college football student-athletes across the nation.
ABOUT USU -- Utah State is 1-3 overall, coming off its third loss of the season by one score, after a 27-24 loss at BYU Friday night... Senior RB Robert Turbin rushed for 123 yards including an 80-yard touchdown burst on the first offensive play of the game, but BYU scored the final 14 points, including the winning TD with 11 seconds remaining as the Cougars rallied for the 27-24 win... Utah State finished the game with 294 yards rushing as part of its 406 yards of total offense... Freshman QB Chuckie Keeton finished the game 13-of-25 passing for 122 yards including two touchdowns, while senior TE Tarren Lloyd caught a team-best three passes for 24 yards... Turbin also had two catches including a 24-yard TD... Senior LB Bobby Wagner had a game-high 11 tackles and senior S Walter McClenton added 10 stops... Overall for the year, the Aggie offense is averaging 463.5 ypg total offense, including 307.5 ypg rushing and 156.0 ypg passing... The USU defense is averaging 315.0 ypg total defense, yielding 112.0 ypg rushing and 203.0 ypg passing... USU is averaging 37.5 points per game while allowing 30.2 ppg... Turbin leads USU's offense with 122.0 ypg rushing with nine TD's on the season while senior RB Michael Smith adds 66.2 ypg, including a team-best 9.1 ypc... Keeton has completed 62.4 percent of his passes (53-of-85) for 587 total yards (146.8 ypg), with four TD's... Senior WR Matt Austin leads the receiver corps with 11 catches for 155 yards (14.1 ypc/38.8 ypg) with one TD... Defensively, Wagner leads the Aggies with 49 total tackles (12.3 pg) while fellow senior LB Kyle Gallagher has 35 tackles (8.9 pg) and McClenton adds 25 total stops (6.3 pg)... Junior RB/KR Kerwynn Williams averages 138.5 ypg all-purpose, including 22.5 yards per kick return and 15.8 yards per punt return... Junior P Tyler Bennett is averaging 48.1 yards per punt with a long of 67 yards, one of seven of at least 50 yards and has eight inside the 20... Sophomore PK Josh Thompson is 4-of-4 on FG's and 18-of-19 on PAT's.
ABOUT WYOMING -- The Cowboys bring a 3-1 record into Saturday's game and Wyoming is coming off its first bye week of the season... In its last action, UW suffered its first loss of the season with a 38-14 loss at home to No. 9 Nebraska on Sept. 24... Wyoming went into halftime down 14-7, but the Huskers out-executed the Cowboys in the second half to come away with the 38-14 victory... Freshman QB Brett Smith paced UW's efforts with a 17-for-33 effort for 166 passing yards and two TD's... Sophomore WR Robert Herron had four catches for 35 yards and a TD, while senior WR Mazi Ogbonna added 54 yards and a TD... Junior RB Alvester Alexander contributed 55 rushing yards on 14 carries... Defensively, senior DE Josh Biezuns notched eight tackles, while sophomore LB Devyn Harris and senior LB Brian Hendricks each contributed seven stops... On the season, Smith is completing 59.4 percent of his passes (85-of-143) for 963 yards (240.8 ypg) with seven TD's and four INT's... Junior RB Ghaali Muhammad is leading the Cowboys' ground attack with 219 yards on 29 carries (7.6 ypc/54.8 ypg) with two TD's... Herron leads UW's receivers with 21 catches for 211 yards (10.0 ypc/52.8 ypg) with three TD's... Harris and Hendricks lead the Wyoming defense with 30 tackles each (7.5 pg), while Korey Jones had a team-leading 5.5 tackles for loss with four sacks... Senior P Austin McCoy averages 40.3 ypp with five of 50+ yards and six inside the 20... Freshman PK Daniel Sullivan is 1-of-3 on FG's and 12-of-12 on PAT's.
USU CONTINUES TO BE RANKED HIGH IN FBS AND WAC STATISTICAL LEADERS -- Utah State football continues to be ranked among the nation and conference's leaders in this week's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) statistics... The Aggies are fifth in the country for the second-straight week and first in the conference in rushing offense, with 307.5 yards per game, while ranking 23rd in the nation and first in the league in total offense with 463.5 ypg... USU is 24th in the FBS and first in the WAC in scoring offense, notching 37.5 points per game... Utah State's offense is also one of only five teams in the country who have a perfect scoring percentage in the red zone, scoring on all 14 trips to the red zone, scoring on 11 rushing TD's, one passing TD and two field goals... Defensively, USU is 29th in the FBS and first in the WAC in total defense at 315.0 ypg, as well as ranking 35th in the nation and second in the league in rushing defense, yielding 112.0 ypg... The Aggie defense is also 31st in the country and second in the conference in sacks with 2.5 pg... On special teams, USU remains tops in the WAC, but slid to fifth in FBS in net punting with 43.0 ypg... Junior P Tyler Bennett is second in the country and first in the conference individual punting at 48.1 ypp... Other Aggie individuals among the nation's leaders include junior RB Robert Turbin, who remains ranked 11th in the FBS and leads the WAC in rushing at 122.0 ypg... Turbin is second in the country and tops in the conference in scoring with 15.0 ppg... Freshman QB Chuckie Keeton is 59th in the FBS and third in the WAC in passing efficiency (135.89), while ranking 91st in the country and sixth in the conference in total offense (184.3 ypg)... Junior RB/KR Kerwynn Williams is 11th in the nation and second in the league in punt returns (15.8 ypr) while ranking 39th in the country and third in the conference in all-purpose yards (138.5 ypg)... Senior LB Bobby Wagner is fourth in the FBS and first in the WAC in tackles with 12.3 pg... Fellow senior LB Kyle Gallagher is tied for 52nd in the country and is fifth in the conference in tackles with 8.8 pg... Senior DE Levi Koskan is tied for 61st in the nation and fifth in the league in sacks with .62 pg... Koskan is tied for 35th in the nation and fourth in the league in tackles for loss (1.4 pg).
USU-WYO SERIES -- Utah State leads the all-time series with Wyoming, 34-24-4, in a series that began in 1903... USU won 20 of the first 23 meetings... Wyoming has won the last four in a row after USU won six of the previous seven... The Aggies are 21-10-1 against the Cowboys in games played at Logan, but Wyoming has won the last two meetings... USU's last win in the series was in 1978 with a 20-13 victory in Laramie... The Aggies' last home win was the previous season in 1977 with a 32-31 thrilling win... The teams first met in 1903 and played 58 times through the 1978 season, and were in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference together (1916-37), as well as the Mountain States Athletic Conference/Skyline Conference (1938-61)... The teams then renewed their rivalry in 2001 and 2003 with Wyoming coming to Logan and defeating the Aggies, 43-42, in 2001 and 48-21 in 2003, before winning in Laramie, 38-7 in 2006 and 32-18 in 2007