Utah State football: Aggies aim to get over the WAC hump vs. Bulldogs

LOGAN — Utah State opens up Western Athletic Conference play against Fresno State today, and as Aggie head coach Gary Andersen succinctly put it earlier this week, "The path gets quite tougher this week."

The path to become a WAC contender goes through the Bulldogs. If the Aggies want to prove they belong in that conversation, a win against a Fresno State team that narrowly defeated them the last two seasons would do wonders toward getting them there.

Two years ago at Romney Stadium, it was then-freshman kicker Kevin Goessling's 58-yard field goal as time expired that gave the Bulldogs a 30-28 victory.

Last year, in Fresno, the Aggies took a 10-point lead into the half, only to go scoreless in the second half, watching future first-round draft pick Ryan Matthews rush for the go-ahead touchdown with just less than five minutes remaining in a 31-27 Fresno State victory.

For the Aggies to get over the hump against Fresno State, they are going to have to do the little things, according to senior cornerback Curtis Marsh.

"It is going to take eliminating the easy mistakes, as coach Andersen said, like penalties and turnovers," Marsh said. "Last year, we missed two makeable field goals that put us in a difficult position, even though we still had a chance to win."

Besides limiting the easy mistakes, the Utah State offensive line will also have to hold its own as it faces a Bulldog defensive line that registered eight sacks in its opening game against Cincinnati.

"They are very solid up front," Andersen said. "Those four are a very tough crew to be able to deal with."

Despite only playing one game so far this season, Fresno State defensive tackle Logan Harrell is tied for fourth place in the nation in sacks with 3.5, and defensive end Chris Carter wreaks havoc coming off the edge.

"Number one, you have got to know where he is," Andersen said of Carter. "If you just let him come off the ball and go one-on-one, you are going to have some issues."

Utah State is also looking for a little help from the crowd at Romney Stadium this week after a good showing against Idaho State last week.

"We love when they come out and support us like that, and it does make us a better team," Marsh said. "We love when they come out and we can give them a win. That is what we are looking to do again this week against Fresno State."

Aggies on the air

Fresno St. (1-0, 0-0 WAC) at USU (1-1, 0-0 WAC)

Today, 6 p.m.

Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium, Logan

TV: none Radio: 610 AM, 1320 AM, 95.9 FM