It’s a non-conference matchup on the gridiron as the Mountain West makes the trip to the Yellowhammer State to battle the big, bad SEC. The Utah State Aggies are on the road as they make the trip to face the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday night. Utah State opened their season last week by knocking off UConn 31-20 at home last Saturday. Alabama finished the 2021 season 13-2 and #2 in the final AP poll: they won the SEC title before losing to Georgia in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. These two programs have met twice before with the Crimson Tide winning both games. That includes a 35-3 victory at home in the most recent meeting on October 29, 2005.
Utah State comes into this game with a 1-0 record but it was a less than inspiring season debut for coach Blake Anderson’s team. Beating UConn, a perennial doormat, by 11 points as a nearly four-touchdown favorite at home doesn’t set the world on fire. Utah State trailed 14-0 after the opening quarter and may have caught a break when Ta’Quan Roberson tore his ACL, forcing UConn to turn to an unproven quarterback. The Aggies outscored the Huskies 24-0 in the second quarter to take a 10-point edge at the half, then salted away the game with a touchdown with six minutes to play after UConn trimmed the lead to four earlier in the fourth quarter. Utah State owned a 542-364 edge in total offense, picked up 31 first downs while allowing 21, and held a 31:43 to 28:17 advantage in time of possession. For good measure, the Aggies forced three turnovers while committing a pair in the victory.
Logan Bonner shrugged off his slow start as he hit 20 of 29 passes for 281 yards and three scores while adding six yards on the ground. Levi Williams misfired on his lone pass attempt while adding one carry for four yards. Calvin Tyler Jr. did big damage on the ground as he ran the ball 33 times for 161 yards while Robert Briggs contributed 10 carries for 85 yards and a score. Brian Cobbs led the Aggies as he reeled in seven passes for 78 yards plus a score. Kyle Van Leeuwen (three catches, 54 yards) and Justin McGriff (three grabs, 53 yards) each reeled in a scoring pass as well in the game. Connor Coles hit all four of his extra point attempts and his lone field goal attempt, which came from 40 yards, in the contest.