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LOGAN — For Utah State football fans, Friday night is a rivalry game that the Aggies look forward to every fall. For BYU fans, calling its annual meeting against Utah State a rivalry may be just a stretch.
None of that matters for Utah State head coach Matt Wells as his 3-1 Aggies prepare to meet their in-state opponent on Friday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo.
"When you talk about that, it's not even part of the equation until the last 24 hours," Wells said. "You don't have to be at your emotional peak until 7:05 p.m. on Friday. ... So it's about preparation, practicing really hard and trying to win the game today, in terms of preparation, and how much extra video you're studying."
Utah State has had two weeks to prepare for the Cougars as the Aggies had the bye week following a 42-32 win over Air Force on Sept. 22 in Logan.
The Aggies are 6-0 following a bye week under Matt Wells and last defeated the Cougars, 40-24, in Logan a year ago. Utah State has been on a roll offensively to begin the season as the Aggies are averaging 51.5 points per game and 471.5 yards of total offense per game.
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Love leads the way, completing over 66 percent of his passes for an average of 267.5 yards per game. The statistic might be higher for the quarterback, but Love didn't play a single snap in the second half of the Aggies' blowout win over Tennessee Tech and played sparingly in the second half of a blowout win over New Mexico State.
The Aggies have a quick-strike offense that can score in bunches. Look to Utah State's 42 points scored against Air Force as an example. The Aggies managed that score in 5:35 total time of possession.
With a veteran offensive line and playmakers such as Ron'quavion Tarver, Savon Scarver, Gerold Bright and Darwin Thompson, Utah State will be on attack mode all night.
"From an offensive standpoint, I like our chances, with what we do as an offense that will influence them as a defense," senior offensive lineman Roman Andrus said. "That's always been our mentality as an offense is to attack the defense. That's what we're going to do. That's what we've done every week and that's what we're going to continue to do."
Not only has Utah State been good on offense, the Aggies have been stout on defense as well. Utah State is averaging 8.5 tackles for loss, good for 14th in the nation, and are allowing just under 24 points per game.
In the Aggies' 2017 contest against the Cougars, Utah State forced seven turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Jalen Davis put his stamp of approval on the Aggies' win by returning two of his three interceptions to the house to help the Aggies win The Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel.
"We forced a lot of turnovers," senior linebacker Suli Tamaivena said. "Coach Wells mentioned yesterday about turnover margin the last six years, that whovever wins the turnover margins wins the game. Hopefully this year we're going to do it again, try to turn that ball over, and once we do it, we're going to get it."
Coming into Friday night, Utah State is 13th in the nation in turnovers forced with 10. Taking advantage of the bye week, the Aggies are healthy, fresh, and focused on the Cougars.
"Obviously, it was really great having a bye week this past week," Andrus said. "We were able to get some guys back that were hurt. Overall, it was just a good time to get our bodies back a little bit and get some much-needed rest.
"It was also good to get a jumpstart on BYU week," Andrus added, "Getting in there and starting to talk about schemes and how we’re going to play against their defense. It was a good time to have the bye week. We’re excited and we’re ready to go this week.”
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN2 or heard on Aggie Radio Network on 1280 AM. Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
