But the football game is most important, so let's knock that out real quick...
FOOTBALL TALK
The statistical rankings tell a pretty solid tale. Both Utah State and Toledo have very good offensive units and playmakers. The Aggies are 26th in the nation in total yards, the Rockets are 28th.
Defensively, not as close... Utah State has the 15th best defense in the nation, while Toledo ranks 106th.
So, in a nutshell, the Aggies should score almost at will, while the Rockets will struggle to score just like every other team has against USU this year. They'll still get theirs, but it'll be a whole lot harder to come by. The closest comparison I can make is the San Jose State game, and even the Spartans are rocking both a top 30 offense AND defense.
If you want more of what I think, download the latest Front Row Show, fast forward to 11:55 in the episode, and listen to Josh McDonald and I dominate that bowl preview.
Final score prediction: 42-20, Aggies!
See, I told you that would be real quick.
LEAVE NO DOUBT THIS TIME...
Does that preview seem overconfident? I'll even admit that I feel guilty writing it like that. Thing is this... Last year the entire USU football season was hanging by a thread. Everyone got down on things early, there was all sorts of doubts, and despite the late-season heroics of Adam Kennedy and company, we knew we barely made it. The battle was still uphill, and it seemed that doubts of just how good we were remained as a 7-5 team in its first bowl in 14 years.
Not the case this time around. This time, the Aggies have all the confidence and swagger in the world. They know they are big, fast, strong, talented, tough, mean and capable! Most of all, they've got some serious swagger, and they know they're not about to go and lose this thing. This defense has made life hell for Montee Ball and bested David Fales and Colby Cameron. The Aggie offense has been slowed by almost nobody, with the lowest ranked defense to hold USU to under 30 points being Utah, who comes in at No. 37 in total yards allowed.
CAPPING OFF OUR RISE TO POWER
Last year was a blast in Boise. We were Utah freaking State, coming back from being 2-5 and down 28-7 at halftime in Hawaii, to being in a bowl game! It was a pretty damn remarkable feeling, but by the end of the weekend, we felt like there was unfinished business.
Now here we are at 10-2, already a school-record for wins in a season, on the verge of win No. 11. And while it's already been an incredible ride that could only get better next year, but there's still this incomplete feeling.
It just seems that this renaissance cannot be considered complete until we've brought home a bowl victory.
We've hung with the big boys (Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Auburn, Wisconsin)
We've beaten BYU
We've beaten Utah
We've put guys in the NFL
We've beaten a top 25 team on the road
We've ran the table in our conference
We've hoisted a WAC championship trophy...
We haven't yet won that bowl game in the Andersen era. That's the next milestone, and that's the excitement surrounding this weekend.
WALKING HAND IN HAND TO THE NEXT LEVEL
We know the whole "chicken or the egg" debate about fans supporting a program into a winner, or a program turning into a winner to eventually bring fans.
Let's walk this path to the next level right alongside the team this weekend! Let's take Boise over and make it Romney Stadium North just like we used to do with Taco Bell Arena during basketball season. The team is about to cap off this rise to greatness, and there's no reason why we don't take things to the next level too.
This is where all of us fans who are making the trip need to absolutely LOSE OUR MINDS!!! You all know how to do it, and it's time to forget any sense of shame from the time the Aggies take the field until the final seconds tick away.
Saturday should set the new standard of what Aggie fans are on game day. If anyone feels put off by your behavior, throw your arm around a fellow Aggie and encourage them to lose it with you! We have a chance to make this a real home-field advantage, which is rare come bowl season. And if we set this standard of insanity in the stadium, that will only make things that much better at every game day in Romney Stadium.
Gone should be the days where anyone has to worry about being the only loud one in their area, or afraid to stand up because others are sitting. The excitement will grow as the die-hard fans grow those seeds.
Get crazy on Saturday. The country will be watching. We can make impressions and change perceptions by bringing the thunder. We just have to make it happen.
ENJOY IT!!!
Don't forget to have a hell of a time too. Go tailgate, hit up the events, explore the nightlife, mingle with friends you haven't seen in a long time, and go crazy with your close friends of today.
We're in a bowl game for the second year in a row, and things aren't looking down for the future one bit. Some complained that it's the Potato Bowl again, but don't forget that this same bowl (under a different name) is the wave Boise State rode to prominence. There are a lot of other teams who would kill to be in any bowl at all, a position we've been all to familiar with over the years. Regardless of what bowl it is, the fact that we are in one is something to be celebrated! This is as good as things have been at Utah State in a long time.
Now let's go tear that town up!!!
Drive safe.
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