The Utah-Utah State series dates back to 1892 and was once a rivalry.
Once, but not anymore.
The Utes have won the last 10 games in the series and all but two of them have been by double-digit margins.
No. 22 Utah (2-0) plays at Utah State (0-2) on Saturday night and there are no indications that his year will be any different than the previous 10.
The Utes are a 24 1/2-point favorite as they try for their first 3-0 start since they went unbeaten in 2004.
“As long as it took us to get to this point, it can be gone in an instant,” Utah quarterback Brian Johnson said.
Utah State fell to 1-45 against teams ranked in the AP poll last week in a 66-24 loss at No. 16 Oregon, which set a school record with 688 yards of offense.
one half of each game. The Utes had to score in the last minute of the second quarter last week against UNLV to tie the game before halftime, then blew the game open in the second half and won 42-21.
The week before, the Utes had a big first half at Michigan and held on in the second for a 25-23 win.
Coach Kyle Whittingham said he would prefer more consistency, but this early in the season he isn’t getting overly critical.
“It is a concern in the sense that we’d like to execute cleaner throughout and entire football game, but UNLV came out and played very well on defense. Give them credit,” said Whittingham, who has a 2-0 team for just the second time in his four seasons at Utah. “The end result – 42 points. We’re not going to lose many football games scoring 42 points.”
Utah State’s defense has allowed an average of 520 yards so far, a total that was inflated by the Oregon game, and gained just 310 yards of offense. Coach Brent Guy has been alternating between quarterbacks Sean Setzer and Diondre Borel and wouldn’t say who would get the start against Utah.
Borel has Utah State’s only three touchdown passes of the season, but Setzer has a slightly better completion percentage.
“That’s going to be our marketing scheme for this week,” Guy said. “We will announce the starter as soon as we get the football. So you better get a ticket and come see.”
6 p.m. start shouldn’t be that difficult, although many will be wearing red after making the 80-mile trip from Salt Lake City.
Utah State hasn’t beaten Utah since 1997 in Salt Lake City. Utah State beat Utah in Logan the year before, ending an eight-game losing streak in the rivalry. The last time it was even close was 2001, when Utah won 23-19 in Salt Lake City.
After all the one-sided games, the Aggies know how big an upset could be. The Aggies have been a distant third to Utah and BYU among the state’s three major college teams. Eventually, they expect to win one of these games.
“I can’t wait for this game every year. My whole family will be there, a lot of friends will be there,” said Utah State wide receiver Otis Nelson, who’s from suburban Salt Lake City. “It’s always a fun game to play.”
Add A Comment