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CARSON, Calif. — Utah State punched its ticket to the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on Dec. 18 after Saturday's emphatic 46-13 romp of then-No. 19 San Diego State in the Mountain West title game.
And on Sunday, they found out their opponent. It's time for the Gary Andersen bowl.
The Aggies will face Oregon State in two weeks from Saturday, in a matchup between two schools who once claimed Andersen, a current volunteer staff member at Weber State, as their head coach.
It's just the second bowl game in Utah State history against a Power Five opponent. In 1961, the Aggies fell to Baylor 24-9 in the Gotham Bowl.
Oregon State, led by head coach Jonathan Smith, finished the season with a 7-5 (5-4 in Pac-12 play) overall record. The Aggies and Beavers played two common opponents during the regular season, Washington State and Hawaii.
Utah State won both games against those schools, 26-23 over the Cougars and 51-31 over the Rainbow Warriors. Oregon State split the games, defeating Hawaii 45-27 before falling to Washington State 31-24.
The Beavers should prove to be a tough test for the Aggies. They boast a balanced running and passing offense that averaged 430.5 yards per game during the regular season. Quarterback Chance Nolan passed for 2,414 yards on the season while running back B.J. Baylor rushed for 1,259 yards.
The game will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. It will be televised on ABC, with kickoff at 5:30 MT.