USU, BYU football: Diondre Borel's mobility will challenge Cougars

LOGAN — In what's become a recurring theme this season, BYU faces yet another mobile quarterback tonight.

Utah State senior Diondre Borel is the latest in a string of running QBs the Cougars have gone up against this season, starting with Washington's Jake Locker, followed by Air Force's Tim Jefferson, Florida State's Christian Ponder and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.

"Diondre is very, very mobile and his strength is running the football and creating, making players miss as they go back to sack him," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "He's on any given play a threat to take it the whole way. He's the next in a long line of active quarterbacks that we've played. I think they're using him effectively."

The way USU uses Borel is different from the way previous opponents use their quarterbacks, Mendenhall explained.

"I'm not sure any rely quite as much on the creativity than Utah State," the Cougars' coach said. "They allow Borel to do a lot of scrambling and give him a pretty long leash that way."

Borel has thrown for 832 yards and four touchdowns this season for the Aggies. He's rushed 54 times for 85 yards, an average of just 1.5 yards per carry.

The key to stopping Borel is "going to be containment, for sure," said BYU linebacker Austen Jorgensen. "Our front seven have to be able to contain. So far, I think we've done a good job against these mobile guys. So we're pretty prepared for anyone."

Mendenhall agreed. "I think we've been as prepared as we possibly can be ... having seen some of the nation's best runners," he said.

THE SERIES: Tonight marks the 80th meeting between BYU and Utah State. The Cougars lead the all-time series, 43-33-3.

BYU is eyeing its 11th consecutive victory over Utah State tonight. The longest win streak in the series is currently at 10 wins, set by the Cougars from 1983-92 and 1994-present. Utah State has not beaten BYU since a 58-56 win in Logan in 1993. The Aggies' last win over the Cougars before that came in 1982.

OLD WAGON WHEEL: Besides a win, the Old Wagon Wheel, symbolic of supremacy between BYU and USU, is also at stake tonight.

Since 1948, the winner takes possession of the Wheel, which has been on display at the Marriott Center since 1994.

BYU ON FRIDAYS: The Cougars are 19-3 all-time when playing on Friday nights. Against Utah State, BYU is 13-0 on Fridays.

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