GAME WEEK: Utah State vs. San Jose State

LOGAN -- Fresh off a wild comeback win, Utah State (3-5, 1-2 WAC) will host San Jose State (3-6, 2-3 WAC) on Saturday, Nov. 12... Kickoff from USU's Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium (25,513) is slated for 1 p.m. (MT)... The clash between the Aggies and Spartans 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 and Brooks Hansen on the sideline... It will also be streamed through www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on the "Watch Live" link.

Utah State (3-5) vs. San Jose State (3-6)

Game 9 Notes
SAN JOSE STATE at UTAH STATE
Saturday, Nov. 12 - 1 p.m. (MT)
KCSG /Streamed on UtahStateAggies.com
Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium (25,513)
Logan, UtahSeries Snapshot ...
irst meeting back in 1940, San Jose State leads the all-time series by a 20-12-1 count, but USU has won the last two match-ups... The series is even 8-all in games at Logan, with USU winning two of the last three meetings, but SJSU has won five of the last seven meetings on the Aggies' home turf... Overall, USU has lost 11 of the last 14 vs. SJSU... The two teams concluded the 1946 season with a match-up in the Raisin Bowl in Fresno, Calif., with the Spartans blanking the Aggies, 20-0... The two programs had not met on the football field for 10 years prior to the 2005 WAC meeting... The Aggies claimed that contest in Logan 24-17 after San Jose State had won eight-straight from 1986-95 when both were members of the Big West Conference.

SATURDAY'S STORYLINES -- Things to watch for in Saturday's clash between the Aggies and Spartans:

* USU is aiming for its third-straight win over SJSU, its longest win streak in the series since a four-game win spurt from 1962-66.
* The Aggies are 8-8 against the Spartans at Logan, winning two of the last three, including the last meeting at Romney Stadium, a 24-9 USU win.
* USU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin was head coach at San Jose State from 1997-2000, compiling an 18-27 record there, which included three-straight wins over rival Stanford (1998-2000)... Baldwin was also receivers coach at SJSU from 1981-84, his first full-time collegiate coaching position.
* SJSU defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Kent Baer was born in Logan and was an assistant coach at Utah State from 1977-85, serving as the Aggies' outside LB's coach from 1977-82 and defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach from 1983-85 - Last season was Baer's first return to Logan as an assistant coach since 1985.
* Aggie senior LB Bobby Wagner needs: -- Five tackles for the 400 career tackles milestone, becoming just the third player in USU history and fourth in WAC history (since 1979) to reach the 400 tackle plateau.
* Aggie junior RB Robert Turbin needs:
-- 79 yards for 1,000, as he has 921 yards, and would reach the single-season 1,000 mark for the second time in his career, joining his 1,296 in 2009 before missing the 2010 season with a knee injury... It would mark the 15th time an Aggie RB has reached the 1,000-yard mark... Turbin would become the fifth Aggie back to reach 1,000 yards in two seasons, joining Louie Giammona, Emmett White, Rick Parros and Roger Grant... Turbin would become the 10th different USU running back to reach the four digit yardage mark.
-- Two rushing TD's to tie the USU single-season rushing TD record of 16 held by Abu Wilson in 1996.
* Aggie sophomore PK Josh Thompson needs:
-- Two PAT's made for the USU single-season extra points made record.

FOLLOWING THE GAME AND THE AGGIES

ON TV -- Saturday's clash between the Aggies and Spartans 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 and Brooks Hansen on the sideline... It will also be streamed through www.UtahStateAggies.com by clicking on the "Watch Live" link.

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 "Poi Boi" Lewis will handle the play-by-play duties, while former Aggie QB great John Pappas will be providing analysis, filling in for Aggie SID Craig "I Eat Hawaiian Style" Hislop, who will be doing the USU WBB broadcast on the road this weekend in Laramie, Wyoming and Brookings, S.D.

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: Nov. 10 at Copper Mill / Nov. 17 at Elements

UP NEXT -- USU heads to the Palouse to take on Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Moscow, Idaho... Kickoff from Moscow, Idaho is slated for 3 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 brings a 3-5 overall and 1-2 WAC mark into Saturday's home game, fresh off a wild, come-from-behind 35-31 win at Hawai`i last Saturday... Junior QB Adam Kennedy, coming in as an injury replacement and rallying USU from a 28-7 halftime deficit for the 35-31 win for USU's first win at Honolulu since 1966, dealing Hawai'i its first first home loss in its last nine regular season home games and was its first WAC loss since 2009, losing to Boise State, snapping a seven-game home WAC unbeaten streak... Kennedy replaced freshman starting QB Chuckie Keeton, who suffered a neck injury and was carted off the field and taken to the hospital at the end of the first half... The junior was 8-of-12 passing for 163 yards in one half of action with his first two TD passes of his Aggie career, including a 71-yard strike to senior wide receiver Stanley Morrison to pull USU within 31-28 with 12:39 left in the fourth quarter... His first pass of the game was a 25-yard pass to Matt Austin, setting up USU's first TD after halftime, pulling within 28-14... The Kennedy-led Aggie offense also guided the winning drive, making several key scrambles to get positive yardage, including a John Elway-like helicopter dive to the endzone, but was stopped at the goal line. After a USU time out with 17 seconds left, junior RB Robert Turbin bulled through a hole created by the offensive line into the endzone for the game-winning score.

On the season, USU averages 447.9 yards of total offense per game, including 267.9 ypg on the ground and 180.0 ypg through the air... The Aggie defense yields just 334.4 ypg, including 122.1 ypg rushing and 212.2 ypg passing... USU averages 35.8 ppg while allowing 28.3 ppg.

Junior RB Robert Turbin leads the USU offense with 921 yards, needing 79 more to reach the 1,000 yard mark in a season for the second time in his career, joining the 1,296 in 2009.... Turbin has 140 carries (6.6 ypc/115.1 ypg) with 14 TD's... Keeton is 106-of-174 for 1,200 yards (150.0 ypg) with 11 TD's and two INT's... Kennedy is 12-of-17 for 209 yards (69.7 ypg)with two TD's and zero INT's... Junior WR Matt Austin leads the team with 20 catches for 278 yards (34.8 ypg/13.9 ypc) with two TD's... Senior LB Bobby Wagner anchors the USU defense with 96 total tackles (12.0 pg) with six TFL's... Fellow senior LB Kyle Gallager adds 59 stops (7.4 pg)... Senior DE/LB Levi Koskan has a team-best 7.5 tackles for loss with 4.5 sacks... Junior RB/KR Kerwynn Williams has a 22.6 kick return average and a 14.0 punt return average, part of his 142.8 ypg all-purpose... Junior P Tyler Bennett has a 45.1 ypp average with 10 of 50+ and a long of 67 yards, as well as 14 punts inside the 20... Sophomore PK Josh Thompson is 5-of-7 on FG's with a long of 43, and is 37-of-38 on PAT's.

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE -- The Spartans are 3-6 overall and 2-3 in WAC action after a heartbreaking 32-29 home loss to Idaho on Saturday... SJSU scored a season-high 17 points in the first quarter, led 20-0 and took a 22-10 lead into halftime, but the Vandals scored 22 unanswered fourth quarter points en route to the 32-29 win... Through three quarters the Spartans had out gained the Idaho 268-to-126 yards, but in the fourth the Vandals put up 219 yards of offense to San Jose State's 89... Idaho scored on drives of 79, 84 and 85 yards to erase the 12-point Spartans lead and take a 32-22 advantage with 1:49 left to play... Matt Faulkner, who went 29-of-41 for 289 yards, connected with Ryan Otten on a 47-yard scoring strike to narrow the score to 32-29 with 1:08 to play, but the on-side kick attempts failed for San Jose State and Idaho ran out the clock... The teams combines for 702 yards of offense with San Jose State holding a small 357-to-345 advantage.

SJSU averages 362.3 ypg of total offense, with 252.7 ypg passing and 109.7 ypg rushing, scoring an average of 23.0 ppg... The Spartan defense allows 419.3 ypg, with 226.1 ypg passing and 193.2 rushing, while giving up 31.3 ppg.

Senior QB Matt Faulkner leads SJSU's offense with 187-of-287 passing for 2,101 yards (262.6 ypg) with nine TD's and 11 INT's... Sophomore Noel Grigsby has 70 catches for 649 yards (72.1 ypg/9.3 ypc) with one TD, while junior TE Ryan Otten leads the team with five TD catches, as well as a team-best 15.3 ypc... Senior RB Brandon Rutley has 146 carries for 650 yards (4.5 ypc/81.2 ypg) with eight rushing scores... Sophomore LB Keith Smith leads the Spartans' defense with 74 tackles (8.2 pg) while junior S James Orth adds 62 stops (6.9 pg) with a team-best four INT's... Senior PK Jens Alvernik is 10-of-15 on FG's with a long of 43 yards and is 17-of-17 on PAT's... Sophomore P Harrison Waid average 43.4 ypp with a long of 72 yards, with 13 inside the 20.

FBS AND WAC FOOTBALL STATISTICS CONTINUE TO FEATURE UTAH STATE HIGHLY RANKED -- This week's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) statistics continue to showcase Utah State highly ranked, including leading the conference in five categories, as the statistics were released Sunday... USU are once again the WAC's leaders in rushing offense, ranking sixth in the FBS with 267.9 yards per game. USU is also tops in the conference and 22nd in the country in scoring offense, hanging 35.8 points per game on the scoreboard... The Aggie defense leads the league in total defense, ranking 26th in the nation at 334.4 ypg... USU is also first in the conference and 40th in the country in pass efficiency defense at 121.68, as well as leading the league and ranking 47th in the nation in pass defense at 212.3 ypg... Additionally, Utah State is second in the WAC and 25th in the FBS in total offense at 447.9 ypg, and second in the league and 33rd in the nation in passing efficiency at 144.30... The USU defense is also third in the conference and 29th in the country in rushing defense at 122.1 ypg, as well as second in the WAC and 38th in the FBS in sacks (2.3 pg)... On special teams, Utah State is now third in the conference and 21st in the country in net punting at 38.9 ypp... Individually, junior RB Robert Turbin is second in the WAC and 14th in the FBS in rushing (115.1 ypg), while also leading the conference and ranking tied for fifth in the country in scoring (12.0 ppg)... Turbin is also eighth in the conference and 49th in the country in all-purpose yards (126.8 ypg)... Freshman QB Chuckie Keeton is second in the WAC and 44th in the FBS in passing efficiency (137.4), in addition to ranking sixth in the league and 77th in the nation in total offense (185.4 ypg)... Junior RB/KR Kerwynn Williams is third in the conference and 30th in the country in all-purpose yards (142.8 ypg), including ranking fifth in the league and 78th in the nation in kick returns (22.6 ypr)... Defensively, senior LB Bobby Wagner is tops in the WAC and sixth in FBS in tackles at 12.0 per game... Fellow senior LB Kyle Gallagher is tied for 13th in the conference (7.4 pg)... Senior DE/LB Levi Koskan is fifth in the league and 39th in the nation in sacks with .6 pg, while also ranking fifth in the WAC and 66th in the FBS in tackles for loss (1.1 pg)... Junior P Tyler Bennett is third in the WAC and 10th in the FBS in punting at 45.1 ypp... Sophomore PK Josh Thompson is fifth in the league and tied for 94th in the nation in field goals (.6 pg), while ranking sixth in the conference in scoring (6.5 ppg).

PINNING PUNTER -- Utah State punter Tyler Bennett is good at pinning, not in the wrestling sense, but pinning the opposition inside the 20-yard line, as he is tied for 26th among the nation's FBS punters with 14 punts inside the 20... Over a third of Bennett's punts (14-of-38, .368) have been inside the 20.

Rank      Player, School    I20 TB
1.             Ryan Allen, Louisiana Tech   32  4
---
T26.         <a href="http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/bennett_tyler00.html" target="_blank">Tyler Bennett</a>, Utah State    14  4

Related topics