Utah State will be the second of three teams we face to open the season that runs a spread option attack. They have a mobile QB in Diondre Borel who can beat you with his arm and feet. The have a talented sophomore RB in Robert Turbin who is a homerun threat. Their offensive coordinator came over from UNM. They should be another test for the Ags to see where we are at.

Utah State runs the spread option attack that New Mexico ran last year. I do not think they are quite as talented as New Mexico was last season and do not think this will be anywhere near as challenging as that game. They have two athletes on offense who need to be contained.

Turbin is a 5'10 202 pound RB who had 148 yards rushing against a talented Utah team in the season opener. His numbers were inflated by a 96 yard TD run. He is obviously a homerun threat and someone the Ags will have to keep contained. Against Utah the Aggies (Utah St variety) started a backfield including three RBs. Turbin was the only one who did any real damage.

Borel carried 14 times for 48 yards against Utah in the opener. He is a dangerous runner. He was only 10-26 through the air. He has never been an overly accurate QB. If we can get consistent pressure on him then we should be able to control their passing game. The problem will be if we let him get out of the pocket and extend plays and drives. We need to shut him down early to destroy any hope he has of making this a game.

Utah State's top WR is probably sophomore Stanley Morrison who had 3 reception for 57 yards against Utah. He is only 5'9 151 and should have trouble getting off the line against our bigger corners. He is from Dension, and I am sure is looking forward to playing at Kyle Field.

Utah State returns three OL with starting experience. Their LT is a redshirt freshman. Normally I would expect a big game for Von Miller against this kid, but I expect Miller to be double teamed a lot in this game. Utah State HC Gary Andersen already commented about how he thought Miller was a great player. We are going to need Spencer Nealy and Matt Moss to step up a lot on the other side.

I was not able to find out a lot about Utah State defensively. Their DC last coached for Nebraska under Callahan. He was the safeties coach. Guess I should expect wide open WRs and the A&M Agggies to score 50 points. Utah State runs a base 4-3 defense. They are a little undersized up front with their two DTs at 270+. Both DTs are first time starters this season and are JC transfers. We should be able to run the ball up the middle. Utah passed for 200+ and ran for 200+ against this group. Their DEs are in the 230 to 240 range. Looks like the coaches spent the spring trying to get more speed at DE so they obviously were not happy with what they have at the position. Would not be surprised to see a steady diet of the toss sweep to Christine Michael to the right side.

Utah State's top defensive player appears to be senior OLB Pault Igboeli. He is an alumnus of South Grand Prairie HS. Igboeli is undersized at 6'0 201, but is very active and is a preseason All Conference pick. MLB Bobby Wagner led Utah State with 12 tackles and a TFL against Utah.

I imagine they will line up 6'2 179 CB Rajric Coleman against Jeff Fuller. Coleman is a juco transfer who was All State in California in HS. Their other CB Kejon Murphy is 5'9 155 so we should have a size advantage there no matter who he lines up against. Their safeties are both shorter than 6 foot, so Jamie McCoy will be a mismatch. Defensively they do not match up well at all.

Utah State has had a bye week just like we did. I expect to see some trick plays. I expect to see some new looks on defense from them. I do not expect to see the kind of effort they put up against Utah, because that was a rivalry game. We need to get up on Utah State early and remove any doubt they have about making this a game. I know Sherman has said that this is a more talented team than New Mexico, but I do not see it. I expect us to win with a score something like 40-17. Our goals should be 450 yards on offense (300 pass 150 rush split) and allowing 300 or less on defense (150 and 150).

Of particular interest for this game will be the LT position for the Ags. Right now it looks like Danny Baker is going to start. We should see Michael Shumard and Rhontae Scales getting some playing time there. I am hoping the Ags eliminate some of their penalties from the previous game. Am also hoping to see a stronger running game, especially to the left side.