It isn’t often — lately at least — that Utah State has been an overwhelming favorite.
But that is the case this week, as the Aggies host McNeese State Saturday night at Maverik Stadium.
A mid-tier FCS program (in the Southland Conference), the Cowboys are given a less than 5% chance to pull off an upset of the Aggies, per ESPN.
It makes sense too, after McNeese State lost a thriller at home last weekend to Weber State.
McNeese State coach Matt Viator had nothing but good things to say about the Wildcats after his team’s loss, and even better things to say about Utah State.
No bulletin board material was provided for the Aggies by Viator.
“Utah State is a whole ’nother story. Really good team. I’ve been really impressed watching them, watching them in their first three games,” Viator said earlier this week.
A longtime successful head coach in his own right (during a previous stint at McNeese State he won four conference titles), Viator recalled watching each game Utah State has played so far this season.
- On the UTEP game: “First game of the year, beat UTEP by 12, but (the Aggies) were really in control the whole game.”
- On the Texas A&M game: “Lost to Texas A&M. They (Utah State) had the ball in the fourth quarter down 14 points. They were in the game and were competitive the whole game.”
- On the Air Force game: “I thought they dominated Air Force. They were up by as many as 28.”
“They have a good football team,” Viator said. “Offensively they do some really good stuff. I’ve enjoyed watching them.”
Viator also had considerable praise for Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes, singled out running back Miles Davis, calling him a “really good” back, and said of Bronco Mendenhall, “(He) is a really good football coach. He’s got a long career in this.”
He did compare Utah State to Weber State a bit, mostly on the defensive side of the ball.
Said Viator: “It will be similar to what we saw last week, with heavy-handed guys who play good team defense and run to the ball.”
Ultimately, Viator noted that Utah State will be a “tough test” for his team, which has already played an FBS opponent this season — Louisiana.
“They have good players,” he said. “It is going to be a tough game. It will be a tough test for us. This is a really good football team. I mean, wow. Up and down the field against Air Force. Very, very impressive."
