Utah State is in firm control in San Jose Friday evening, leading the Spartans by a score of 23-6. Chuckie Keeton has completed 16 of 24 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns and the defense has kept San Jose State quarterback David Fales from doing too much damage, holding Fales to 168 yards and an interception.
If the game follows this theme in the second half, Utah State should cruise to a Mountain West Conference victory. Because San Jose State does not appear to be much of a threat tonight, I took it upon myself to start looking ahead on Utah State’s schedule and reminded myself just how big the next two games will be for the Aggies.
Next week Utah State gets BYU, who has managed to reach halftime with a lead in their home game against Middle Tennessee State at the half in Provo. The week after that? Boise State.
Talk about a chance to make a statement for Utah State. This program had their early opportunities to make some noise on the road but ultimately came up on the wrong side of the scoreboard at Utah and at USC. Those losses pretty much eliminate Utah State from any BCS Busting possibilities, but the next two weeks will offer a chance for some in-state bragging rights against BYU and to take a lead in the Mountain West Mountain Division against Boise State. Have I mentioned yet Utah State gets these two crucial games at home? They do.
Playing in a state that has Utah in the Pac 12 and BYU enjoying life as an independent, scoring a season split is a pretty big deal for a Utah State program that has grown so much in a relatively short period of time. Winning both games would have been better of course, but a split should be another positive step for the program.
An even bigger step could come when Utah State hosts Boise State, the program all BCS Buster programs aspire to be. The Broncos could be ripe for a loss as well. This year’s Boise State team has played well on offense outside of the week one loss at Washington, but Boise State has already taken a hit on the road (last week at Fresno State) and Utah State looks to have the ingredients needed to give a good challenge to Boise State - a talented quarterback and a solid defense.
Of course, now that I have tempted the college football gods, I may have just jinxed Utah State and rendered all of the above commentary pointless.