Utah State (2-7, 1-3) vs. Hawaii (4-6, 2-3)
- Kickoff: Saturday, 1 p.m. MDT
- Venue: Martin Stadium
- TV: Spectrum Sports
- Radio: KZNS 1280 The Zone
- Livestream: Team 1 Sports app
- Series: • Utah State and Hawaii have met 18 times, and the Aggies lead the series 12-6. USU has won seven straight games against Hawaii and five of the last six Utah State wins have been by at least 20 points.
- Weather: Cloudy with temperatures in the mid 30s at kickoff.
The trends
For Utah State: The Aggies are 2-7 overall and 1-3 in MWC play. Utah State lost soundly Washington State in its most recent game, ending the Aggies short-lived win streak.
For Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors are 4-6 overall after a narrow loss at home to UNLV last weekend. Hawai’i had won its previous two games before the defeat, including a road game at Fresno State.
What to watch for
Utah State’s offense versus Hawaii’s defense.
Yes that seems rather simplistic, but the outcome of the game will all but surely come down to which of those two units gets the better of the other.
On the season, Utah State’s offense has been it clear strength.
With three games to go the Aggies rank No. 2 in the Mountain West Conference in total offense, No. 3 in total offense, No. 1 in passing offense and No. 7 in rushing offense.
It can be argued that some of those rankings do the Aggies a little too much credit — garbage time points and yards gained after contests are well in hand — but the reality is USU has proven effective on offense for much of the season.
Hawaii, on the other hand, has struggled offensively for the majority of the year and has been carried by a defense that ranks No. 2 in total defense, No. 4 in scoring defense, No. 2 in passing defense and No. 5 in rushing defense.
The Rainbow Warriors’ season high for points scored this year is 36 and in their MW competition they have averaged just 22.6 points per game.
Defense carried Hawaii in conference wins over Nevada and Fresno State and kept the Rainbow Warriors competitive in losses to Boise State, San Diego State and UNLV.
Can USU get the better of Hawaii’s defense? Doing so early will go a long way in determining if the Aggies win their third game of the season.
If Utah State can get on the scoreboard early, pressure will be put on Hawaii’s offense which is not its strength. The longer the Rainbow Warriors have a lead or are close to the Aggies though, the pressure will be on USU much maligned defense to come up with stops. Which hasn’t been a particularly effective strategy this season.
Key player
Rahsul Faison, Utah State running: It the Aggies are going to pull off the win they are going to need a standout performance from their star running back.
As previously mentioned, Hawaii’s weakness defensively is rush defense and though the Aggies haven’t been consistently great at running the ball this year, Faison has the proven potential for monster performances.
Last season against Nevada he rushed for nearly 200 yards and this year he has rushed for over 100 yards four times.
Faison missed the Washington State loss with an injury, but if he is back and can be effective then Utah State will be in excellent position to pick up the win.
On the year, Faison has rushed for 800 yards and six touchdowns, averaging just over five yards per carry. A 1,000 yard season is well within reach for the senior with three games to go.
Quotable
“They do a good job, man. I played against them the last couple of year at my previous school. Hawaii is going to play very hard, they are going to be physical and they are going to play sound, both offensively and defensively. We have to make sure we use this time to get better.” — Utah State coach Nate Dreiling
“They (Utah State) cause so many problems on defense in the back end and then on the front end with so many different looks. And their offense has always been a juggernaut, throwing the ball, with their RPOs and their run game. They’ve got some good players so they are going to present challenges.” — Hawaii coach Timmy Chang
Next up
- Utah State: vs. San Diego State
- Hawai’i: vs. New Mexico
Utah State schedule
- Aug. 31: Utah State 36, Robert Morris 14
- Sept. 7: USC 48, Utah State 0
- Sept. 14: Utah 38, Utah State 21
- Sept. 21: Temple 45, Utah State 29
- Sept. 28: Bye
- Oct. 5: Boise State 62, Utah State 30
- Oct. 11: UNLV 50, Utah State 34
- Oct. 19: New Mexico 50, Utah State 45
- Oct. 26: Utah State 27. Wyoming 25
- Nov. 2: Bye
- Nov. 9: Washington State 50, Utah State 34
- Nov. 16: Hawai’i (1 p.m. MT, Spectrum Sports)
- Nov. 23: San Diego State (1:30 p.m. MT, CBS Sports Network)
- Nov. 29: at Colorado State (1:30 p.m MT)