BYU at Utah State

Written by Steve Janus

The Utah State Aggies will host the BYU Cougars in the “Battle for the Beehive Boot” this Friday, as the two teams finish up their non-conference schedules with a little instate rivalry. It has been all Cougars of late, as BYU has won 10 straight and 20 out of the last 21 meetings, including a 35-17 win last year. Neither team has had a very good start to the 2010 season, as both teams have managed just one win in four games. If you are thinking about placing a wager on the game, the current college football odds have the Cougars favored by 5-points over the Aggies on the road.

BYU (1-3, 0-1 MWC): The Cougars come into the game on a three game losing streak, but to their credit they have played three pretty good teams in those losses. Both the offense and defense have struggled to start the season, as the Cougars come into this game averaging just 15 points and are giving up just over 28 points a game.

In the first three games of the season head coach Bronco Mendenhall split the snaps between junior Riley Nelson and freshman Jake Heaps, but in the Cougars last game against Nevada Heaps was named the starter and played the entire game. While the offense managed just 13 points in the loss, Heaps played pretty well in his first ever collegiate start, as he threw for 229 yards on 24 of 45 passing.

The majority of the offense has came from running back J.J. Di Luigi, as he leads the team with 332 rushing yards and 200 receiving yards. Last week against Nevada Di Luigi ran ran for 67 yards and the Cougars only touchdown, and also had 56 yards on eight catches. It was the fourth straight game that Di Luigi had at least 100 yards of total offense.

Utah State (1-3, 0-1 WAC): The Aggies started the season giving Oklahoma a run for their money, and then followed it up with a nice win over Idaho State in week 2, but things have went down hill in the last two games, as the Aggies were outscored 82-31 against Fresno State and San Diego State.

A big reason for the Aggies struggles in the last two games has been the play of quarterback Diondre Borel. After throwing for 596 yards in the first two games of the season, Borel has thrown for just 236 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his last two games.

The running game also struggled last week, as the Aggies managed just 115 yards on the ground. Derrvin Speight leads Utah State with just 221 yards on the season, but has not rushed for more than 75 yards in a single game this season. It is becoming pretty clear that the Aggies really miss 2009 starter Robert Turbin, who has been unable to play after tearing his ACL in February. Utah State was also without backup Michael Smith last week against San Diego State, as he was forced to sit out with turf toe.

Looking at the Odds: Even though neither team has really played all that well to start the season, I think the clear edge has to go to the Cougars in this game. BYU’s offense should have a much easier time moving the football this week against a pretty week Utah State defense, and I think the Cougars defense is good enough to keep the Aggies offense in check, especially if they force the Aggies to beat them with the run. Not only have the Cougars dominated the Aggies in this series, but they are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a double-digit loss at home. My final score prediction is BYU 27, Utah State 20.

Comments

Got something to say?