Utah State at Hawaii: How to watch, listen to or stream the game

The Aggies travel to Hawaii to take on the Warriors, needing two more wins to become bowl eligible

Published: Nov 11, 2022, 9:00 p.m. MST

See More Deseret News Stories In Search

Hawaii’s Zion Bowens gains yards against Wyoming during an NCAA college football game on Oct. 29, 2022, in Honolulu. — Hawaii wide receiver Zion Bowens (6) gains yards against Wyoming during the second half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in Honolulu. Marco Garcia, Associated Press

By Trent Wood

Trent Wood is a sports writer for the Deseret News.

Utah State (4-5) at Hawaii (2-8)

Kickoff: Saturday, 9 p.m. MST

Venue: Clarence T.C. Ching Complex (9,346 capacity)

TV: Spectrum Sports

Livestream: Spectrum Sports PPV

Radio: 1280 AM/97.5 FM

Series: Utah State and Hawaii will meet for the 18th time. The Aggies lead the series 11-6 and have won six straight games in the series, including the last three on the road. Overall, Utah State is 5-4 all-time against the Hawaii in the islands.

Weather: Temperatures in the mid 70s with a slight chance of rain and 15 mph winds out of the northeast.

The trends

For Utah State: The Aggies are 4-5 overall after their victory over New Mexico. Utah State has a winning record in conference play (3-2) but is still battling to become bowl eligible after a rough non-conference slate. The Aggies now have a 28% chance of becoming bowl eligible, per ESPN.

For Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors are 2-8 on the season and just 1-4 in Mountain West play, the lone win coming at home against Nevada. Hawaii has lost three straight games, but was competitive in losses against Colorado State and Wyoming, before getting blown out by Fresno State.

What to watch for

Utah State linebacker Max Alford (33) celebrates after tackling New Mexico quarterback Justin Holaday (12) during the second half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Logan, Utah. | Eli Lucero, The Herald Journal via Associated Press

Can Utah State overcome its youth? Again?

The Aggies have dealt with myriad injuries this season, many suffered by their most seasoned contributors. As such, Utah State has had to play younger and younger players as the season has progressed.

Case in point, linebacker Max Alford. The reigning MW Freshman of the Week, after recording a career-high eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against New Mexico, Alford started the season playing almost exclusively on special teams. Now he is an integral part of the Aggies defense, largely due to an injury to MJ Tafisi.

Across team, freshmen have been forced to fill in due to injuries — Bishop Davenport for Logan Bonner, Cooper Legas and Levi Williams, Terrell Vaughn and Ny Ny Davis for Kyle Van Leeuwen, Robert Briggs for Calvin Tyler Jr.

If the Aggies are healthier against Hawaii, a win should be in the cards, given the Warriors’ all-around struggles. Hawaii ranks last in the MW in total defense and is a run-of-the-mill team on offense, as head coach Timmy Chang works to figure out what kind of program he took over.

If Utah State is forced to go young again, though, the game could be either team’s as shown in the Aggies’ recent game against Wyoming and New Mexico.

Key player

Hawaii running back Dedrick Parson (31) tries to get through the Wyoming defense during the second half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in Honolulu. | Marco Garcia, Associated Press

Dedrick Parson, RB, Hawaii: If Hawaii is to have any chance against Utah State it will need to have success on offense and no one player has been more responsible for the Warriors’ success than Parson. The senior running back leads the team with 586 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 4.2 yards per carry and 58.6 yards per game.

Utah State has proven vulnerable on the ground this season — think against Wyoming, Air Force, UNLV and New Mexico — and if Parson is able to find running room against USU, he might be able to keep the Warriors in the game.

Quotable

“They have proven to be really really difficult to beat at home, especially. A lot of young guys going there for the first time, they will have to block out the distractions of the trip. ... We can’t let this one slip. We have to find a way to win and I think they will make that very difficult. A lot of close games, with the exception of Fresno. A lot of close games where they were right there at the end and I suspect that is what we will see out of those guys.” — Utah State coach Blake Anderson

“We want to win these games and we want to win for these seniors. The commitment to stay, to fight for the program, their school and their state says a lot to me. I love them for that. ... The objective is to win for these seniors and if we can do that, that is huge.” — Hawaii coach Timmy Chang

Next up

Utah State returns home for its final home contest of the season against San Jose State, on Saturday, Nov. 19. Hawaii hosts UNLV the same day, in another late night affair.