Utah State (1-3) at No. 19 BYU (3-1)
Kickoff: 6 p.m. MDT
Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo (63,725)
TV: ESPN
Livestream: Watch ESPN
Radio: 1160 AM/102.7 FM
Series: These longtime in-state rivals are facing off for the 91st time, and quite possibly the last time for awhile as the Cougars are moving to the Big 12 in 2023 and won’t have room on their three-game nonconference schedule for the Aggies. BYU leads the series 50-37-3. BYU has won the last two matchups, both having been played in Logan.
Weather: Partly cloudy skies with wind gusts up to 12 mph and temperatures in the low 70s at kickoff, dropping to the mid-50s later in the night. A 20% chance of rain showers.
The trends
For BYU: The No. 19 Cougars have yet to put together a complete game in the eyes of coach Kalani Sitake, despite their 3-1 record and victories over South Florida, Baylor and Wyoming. Quarterback Jaren Hall is on fire, and starting to draw national attention as one of the country’s top QBs in 2022.
For Utah State: The Aggies are struggling big-time after opening 2022 with a big win over Connecticut. Turnovers and penalties have plagued coach Blake Anderson’s crew in his second year; USU has picked up 11 penalties per game in back-to-back losses to Weber State and UNLV.
What to watch for
BYU is ranked No. 19 in The Associated Press Top 25 and No. 20 in the Coaches Poll, and are 21-6 under seven-year coach Kalani Sitake when playing as a ranked team. The Cougars have not committed a turnover since the opener at South Florida, but were penalized 11 times for 109 yards in the 38-24 win over Wyoming last week. Sitake wants to see that undisciplined play cleaned up.
Utah State coach Blake Anderson is in his second year after succeeding Gary Andersen and led the Aggies to the Mountain West championship last year. The Aggies defeated the Cougars 45-20 the last time they were in Provo (2018) and are looking at the Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel as an opportunity to turn around a disappointing season so far.
Key players
Jaren Hall, QB, BYU: Quarterbacks haven’t fared well in past BYU-Utah State games, as several have been unable to finish the games, due to their physical, intense, hard-hitting nature. Taysom Hill and Chuckie Keeton, now USU’s running backs coach, can attest to that. Hall played one of his best games as a collegian against Wyoming, posting a passer rating of 211 after completing 26 of 32 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns and running eight times for 17 net yards. Can USU slow the fifth-year junior?
Calvin Tyler Jr., RB, Utah State: The Aggies have struggled mightily on offense this season and eyes tend to turn to the quarterback position and Logan Bonner, but against the Cougars there might not be more important an Aggie than Tyler. Last season, Tyler rushed for 884 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. This year, Tyler has been less productive, with 292 yards on 3.7 yards per carry. BYU has struggled against the run at times this season and if Utah State is to have a chance at pulling off the upset, a strong game from Tyler would go a long way.
Quotable
“Those (USU) guys work really hard. You can see they are well-coached. You can see the scheme works really well for them. They are always dangerous, so we need to play well. I have played in these types of games before. I know they are going to bring their best. I know they will. I say this over and over again: we need to make sure that our best shows up, and I honestly don’t think it has shown up yet this season, and that is my fault. What better time to do it than now? We need to do that for a full 60 minutes, and I like our (chances) if we can get that done.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“Rivalry football is what college football is all about, in my opinion. I absolutely love it. I hate to see it go. I understand why it is. You would like to think it will come back around at some point and we will be able to get it sorted out where this game comes back in the future. But for awhile, this is going to be the last one, and I can’t think of a better time to play our best ball to get a win.” — Utah State coach Blake Anderson
Next up
BYU heads to Las Vegas next week to take on Notre Dame on Oct. 8 at Allegiant Stadium. It will be the annual Shamrock Series game for the Fighting Irish and the first matchup between the college football independents since a 23-13 Notre Dame win in South Bend, Indiana, in 2013. Utah State will return to Logan and host Mountain Division rival Air Force. The Aggies defeated the Falcons in a thriller last season, 49-45.
BYU schedule
Sept. 3 — BYU 50, South Florida 21
Sept. 10 — No. 25 BYU 26, No. 9 Baylor 20 (2OT)
Sept. 17 — No. 25 Oregon 41, No. 12 BYU 20
Sept. 24 — No. 19 BYU 38, Wyoming 24
Sept. 29 — No. 19 BYU vs. Utah State, 6 p.m.
Oct. 8 — BYU vs. Notre Dame (Las Vegas).
Oct. 15 — BYU vs. Arkansas.
Oct. 22 — BYU at Liberty.
Oct. 28 — BYU vs. East Carolina.
Nov. 5 — BYU at Boise State.
Nov. 12 — BYE.
Nov. 19 — BYU vs. Utah Tech.
Nov. 26 — BYU at Stanford.
Utah State schedule
Aug. 27 — Utah State 31, UConn 20
Sept. 3 — No. 1 Alabama 55, Utah State 0
Sept. 10 — Weber State 35, Utah State 7
Sept. 17 — BYE.
Sept. 24 — UNLV 34, Utah State 24
Sept. 29 — Utah State at No. 25 BYU
Oct. 8 — Utah State vs. Air Force.
Oct. 15 — Utah State at Colorado State.
Oct. 22 — Utah State at Wyoming.
Oct. 29 — BYE.
Nov. 5 — Utah State vs. New Mexico.
Nov. 12 — Utah State at Hawaii.
Nov. 19 — Utah State vs. San José State.
Nov. 25 — Utah State at Boise State.
All times MDT.
Trent Wood contributed to this report.