As if playing one Football Bowl Subdivision opponent wasn’t enough, Idaho State travels to play Utah State on Saturday nine days after losing to Utah 56-14 in Salt Lake City.
USU is coming off a loss of its own, a 38-7 defeat at Tennessee. The Aggies and their star quarterback Chuckie Keeton will want to get back on track against the Bengals.
In preparation for the game, The Herald Journal’s Wade Denniston, the Aggies’ football beat writer, was kind enough to answer five questions about the Utah State football team.
(You can find Wade on Twitter here, and check out his Utah State coverage here.)
Question 1: Two-part question: Just how good was linebacker Kyler Fackrell, who is out for the season with a knee injury, and what does the loss mean to the Aggie defense?
Denniston writes: Kyler was very, very good. The fact he was an All-America candidate attests to that. What makes him so good is he is an extremely-fast, long-levered linebacker who can play both the pass and the run. At 6 foot 5 and 245 pounds, Kyler is a very physical player who spent a lot of time in the opposing backfield causing havoc — he led the team with 13.0 tackles for loss in 2013, to go along with 5.0 sacks. His loss is a huge blow for the Aggie defense due to the fact the linebacker group is the most talented on the field for USU and it has now lost two linebackers to season-ending injuries — redshirt freshman Alex Huerta, a projected starter during fall camp, is out with a shoulder injury.
Question 2: What did go right for Utah State in the 31-point loss to Tennessee on Sunday?
Denniston writes: Not much, to be honest. Turnovers killed the Aggies, a penalty on the very first offensive play from scrimmage proved to be a drive- and momentum-killer and USU missed a field goal. Head coach Matt Wells did praise the play of JoJo Natson in the punt return game, though. Of the eight times the Vols punted — they were high and very short in order to prevent the USU speedster from doing what he does best — Natson fair caught seven of them in a very difficult environment.
Question 3: How deflating is it to the Utah State fan base that Chuckie Keeton's Heisman campaign is pretty much demolished one game into the season?
Denniston writes: Honestly, it's not too deflating. Chuckie was definitely a long shot at best and he would've had to play extremely well each and every week. To face an SEC opponent on the road in your first game back from major knee surgery is not easy, either. For Chuckie and the team, they've always had one goal in mind and that's to win the Mountain West championship — not win a Heisman Trophy, although that would have been the icing on the cake.
Question 4: What kind of college football atmosphere should Idaho State expect in Logan, Utah, on Saturday? Is the game day setting underrated, overrated or properly rated?
Denniston writes: The Aggies love playing in front of their loyal fan base, especially the student section, which is as rowdy as ever. What used to be a basketball town has quickly turned into a football town with the success the program has had the last four years. The student section has brought all the chants they do in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for basketball games over to Romney Stadium, and the players just love it. The game day setting is a lot better than it used to be here, beginning with tailgates and other pre-game festivities.
Question 5: How has Keeton recovered from his knee injury? How does he compare to the player before the injury? And does Keeton have the offensive line and playmakers on the perimeter to be successful?
Denniston writes: Keeton is fully recovered from his knee injury and shows no signs of the injury, other than the fact he wears a brace now. He is throwing the ball well, running it well and generally making good decisions. The offensive line, anchored by former Idaho State Bengal Kevin Whimpey, played extremely well last Sunday in the hostile environment of Neyland Stadium — the Aggies only had one false start and they protected Chuckie fairly well. USU has surrounded Chuckie with a lot of weapons as the wide receiver corps is deep and talented, led by Natson, Ronald Butler and Brandon Swindall. Newcomer Hunter Sharp is also a welcome addition to the mix. Joe Hill, who has also returned from a knee injury, provides good speed out of the backfield and he's someone that can take it to the house when he gets out in open space.
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