Utah State football: Ags are rested but realistic
Sometimes, however, a bye also shines a light on what's ahead and gives a coach a little anxiety.
That might be the case for Utah State, which will have 13 days to think about facing BYU.
"They certainly deserve the ranking," USU coach Brent Guy said of the No. 8 Cougars. "They have beaten two Pac-10 teams. The last two ball games they have shut out their opponents and have scored a lot of points."
That has Guy and the Aggies worried as they hope to be competitive and hopefully pull off the upset of the decade in the state.
"For us it is going to be a great challenge. We have to get in the game early," Guy said. "We can't try to play catch-up. We have to match and play with them during the football game to have a chance to compete."
Utah State's young quarterback, Diondre Borel, likewise knows a victory over BYU will be hard but something that just might turn the moribund Aggies around.
"A lot of people don't think we can win," Borel, a sophomore making only his second career start, said. "If we make an upset everyone will feel better. A lot more fans would come to our next game. Everything would be better around here."
BOREL'S PROGRESS: After not taking a single snap in practice or a game for nearly two years, Borel has been thrown to the wolves, to a degree, as Utah State's quarterback. His first career start was against Idaho and resulted in a 42-17 win over the Vandals.
Perhaps no Aggie player is benefiting from the extra week of preparation as much as the sophomore.
"He's made a lot of progress," Guy said. "He's had a lot more snaps in practice and that's really been important for him."
Guy said Borel's eagerness to tuck the ball and run at the first sign of pressure is slowly giving way to a more patient and complete quarterback. The USU coaching staff, Guy said, has spent extra time reinforcing the need to keep an open eye for receivers downfield both when Borel drops back into the pocket and when he takes off running — either by design or necessity.
The extra week has also given him more study time in the film room — something he said is as valuable as playing time in some regards.
"I feel more comfortable," Borel said. "Last week it was easily to watch a lot of film because there was more team. I was able to see a lot more because of the off week."
ATTENDANCE ISSUES: It's been no secret that Utah State has had a hard time selling tickets to football games over the past several years. With losing records and waning interest, the Aggies have struggled to average 15,000 fans per home game — which has left many wondering how long it might be before the NCAA steps in to play the heavy.
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