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LOGAN — There is nothing like playing in front of your home crowd. This is especially true coming off a near upset at then-11th-ranked Michigan State to open the season.
Utah State had the ball at midfield with just under two minutes to play, trailing the Spartans 38-31. But a tipped pass led to an interception that ended another close season opener for the upset-minded Aggies.
Sometimes, though, a loss isn't always a bad thing. The near upset has Aggie nation excited for what is to come. Utah State was physical on both sides of the ball, quarterback Jordan Love had a solid first outing of the season and the Aggies defense played well.
"I'm really proud of our players' efforts Friday night and the level of physicality that we played with on both sides of the ball," head coach Matt Wells said. "We played very physical out on the perimeter, probably one of our better perimeter blocking games that we've had against really good outside linebackers and safeties.
"Now, we have a lot of things to take confidence in," he added. "There are a lot of things to be proud of, but hopefully that's a major motivation for us to continue to prepare at a high level."
Motivation shouldn't be a problem for Utah State in week two. The Aggies will be playing in front of a sellout crowd at Maverik Stadium Saturday night as the revenge factor is in play against New Mexico State.
In a Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl game that saw the Lou Groza Award runner-up miss three field goal attempts, it was New Mexico State that came out on top in overtime, 26-20.
Aggie 🆚Aggie ... and @USUFootball wants revenge. pic.twitter.com/TZoraIkOuD
— KSL SportsBeat (@kslsports) September 5, 2018
Saturday night in Logan, it is Aggies vs. Aggies again. But for Wells and company, it is more about Utah State and improving from week one to week two.
"This week is all about us," Wells said. "It's what we do and it's how we do it. If we concentrate on that and we concentrate on us, we'll improve a lot from week one to week two, which is absolutely the goal here."
Wells said he'd like his team to improve in the running game. Against a defensive unit in Michigan State that ranked second in the nation in 2017 against the run, Utah State was only able to pick up 25 yards on the ground.
"We didn't run the ball very well at all," Wells said. "Michigan State is one of the best front seven in college football. They were second in the nation last year in rushing defense and they're going to end up that way this year. We didn't run the ball well enough to win. ... We have to be better in the run game."
Fortunately for Utah State, New Mexico State is giving up over 300 yards rushing on average this season. New Mexico State allowed Wyoming to rush for 312 yards in the season opener and gave up 295 yards rushing at Minnesota last week.
"This game is all about us," Wells said. "It's all about the Utah State 2018 Aggies vs. the New Mexico State 2018 Aggies. That's how our players are approaching it and that's how the coaches are approaching it."
Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. MT and will be streamed live on Facebook or can be heard on the Aggie Radio Network (1280 AM). Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
