LOGAN – Prior to the season, no one expected this week’s match-up of Utah State and UNLV to be of any significance, but it has turned out to be a huge game for both sides. The Rebels want to confirm their strong start, and the Aggies desperately need a turnaround. In several ways, this week is a must-win for both sides, although much more of a must-win for the Aggies, whose season could spiral out of control with a second straight home defeat.
USU head coach Blake Anderson has been a major critic of his own team for the past week, speaking repeatedly about his team’s shortcomings and his desire to improve on them. On Monday, he repeated those points again, saying the team has been “our own worst enemy” and that they haven’t played “our best ball” yet.
“We played extremely hard, but we didn’t play well. We have to bring those two things together,” Anderson said. “And no better time than this Saturday.”
Here are the things you need to know as the state of Utah tries to influence all the improvements it worked on during Farewell Week.
GAME INFO
- Kick-off: 5:00 PM MT
- Place: Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium
- TV broadcast: CBS Sports Network
- Aggie GameDay coverage on KVNU (102.1 FM/610 AM & KVNU mobile app) & simulcast on 106.9 The FAN (106.9 FM / 1390 AM & 106.9 The FAN mobile app): 3:30pm MT on site at Prodigy Brewery
- KVNU Aggie Call (102.1 FM/610 AM, KVNU mobile app + 106.9 FM / 1390 AM The FAN, 106.9 The FAN mobile app): Immediately after the game ends
UNLV rides high
The beginning of the Rebel Year looks very different from the seasons that usually start in Las Vegas. UNLV is 2-1 to start the year, its best start since 2018 and only the second time the rebels have started 2-1 since 2009.
“UNLV is a much better football team than we saw a year ago,” Anderson said Monday. “Completely different look to what we saw a year ago and they were a challenge to beat in place last year.”
Utah State narrowly survived last year’s matchup with a UNLV squad finishing the season 2-10. The Aggies won thanks to an 11-yard touchdown run by Elelyon Noa with 43 seconds left in the game. This year the game will be played in Logan, which will bring some advantage, but an improved Rebels team makes the journey and equalizes the odds.
In two games of UNLV, the Rebels scored more than 50 points: a 52-21 win against FCS Idaho State and 58-27 against North Texas.
Bonner struggles with trusting injured knee, on a “very short leash” this week
Controversy exploded around Bonner in the wake of Weber State’s loss. Many demanded that the man who set the school passing yards record last season be put straight on the bench in favor of Cooper Legas. Anderson went big for Bonner and caught some nonsense in the process.
A key point in the conversation about Bonner was his recovery from his LA Bowl knee injury late last year. That recovery has not gone smoothly. Physically, Bonner’s knee is as good as ever. But in his mind, Bonner has yet to rely completely on a knee that he had to rebuild almost from scratch in real time.
“He’s been open, he’s been struggling a bit with his fear of really trusting his body,” Anderson said.
While Anderson still vouches for Bonner, he made it clear on Monday that there is no time to wait for Bonner to get his head around his head. He will start this week, it could very well be the now-or-never point for him.
“He’s on the short line, he knows that,” Anderson said. “We cannot continue to doubt what the knee will and will not do. He has to move the chains with his feet. Last week and the week before he had the chance to do that and he didn’t.”
UNLV has a great QB and RB duo
As Utah State tries to bolster its quarterback position, the Rebels are very pleased with how they are doing at QB. Doug Brumfield, a junior making his second attempt at being the full-time starter (Brumfield started with two games early last year before suffering a seasonal injury in late September), plays quality ball through three games.
Brumfield has completed at least 77 percent of his passes in two of UNLV’s three games (yes, that fits perfectly with the team’s two wins in three attempts), leads the Mountain West with seven touchdown passes and has a 7- to-1 touchdown ratio to interception, by far the best in the conference.
“Brumfield plays very well,” said Anderson, noting the 70.6 percent completion rate of the UNLV QB, but also said that “the hidden message is how well he moves the chains with his feet. I don’t know what his stats were.” , but he moved the chains several times against North Texas.”
Last week, Brumfield rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ victory over North Texas.
On the run back, UNLV has another solid back in Aidan Robbins. A year ago, the Aggies had Charles Williams run for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Well, Robbins just ran 227 yards and three touchdowns against the Mean Green.
USU without two starters after injuries
The Aggies scored two big hits on the depth chart during the bye week, as two players were ruled out for the rest of the year with knee injuries. Starting position wide receiver Kyle Van Leeuwen and starting defensive tackle Phillip Paea will both no longer be available as they undergo surgery and rehab for their injuries. Van Leeuwen is second on the team in receptions with eight for 88 yards and a touchdown. Paea was second among the USU’s defensive linemen in overall snaps and had registered two tackles on the year, plus his first career interception against Weber State.
It will be a bit difficult to fill these two spots, but we have already seen which players are taking that responsibility. Redshirt freshman Seni Tuiaki has already been pushed into extra action with all the injuries on the defensive front, leading the defense in total snaps. Sophomore Tavian Coleman played a career-high 56 snaps against Weber State, that number blew up after Paea left the game. Bo Maile and Aurion Peoples are also on the fill-in shortlist.
In the final receiver’s spot, it’s very likely we’ll see a lot more of Terrell Vaughn and NyNy Davis. Vaughn’s kick-return touchdown showed his dynamic athleticism and the Aggies could definitely use that in the passing game. Davis also brings speed to the table, which can help USU expand the field. Anderson also brought up Kyrese Rowan, a University of Utah transfer who was injured until this point in the season.
For those hoping to see more engagement from the tight ends, Anderson referred to Broc Lane as a man “you’d love to play in space” while talking about filling in the gap Van Leeuwen left behind.
UNLV is great at chasing the quarterback
The Rebels are T-10 in pockets of all FBS teams with 10 so far this season. Those 10 sacks are split among nine players, of which eight with 1.0 sacks and Adam Plant Jr. with 2.0.
“Pretty similar to us,” Anderson said. “They have a nervous twitch. Their three technique is good enough to win one-on-one. So they cause problems.”
Anderson added that UNLV’s pass rush is offset by the team’s ability to play effective man-to-man back cover. Last week, the USU struggled to break free from Weber State’s press coverage. Doing this this week is key to not letting multiple drives end prematurely.
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