The Battle of the Brothers rivalry returns to Logan this Saturday where Utah will look to add to its recent dominance over its Little Brother to the North. It's been nine years since the two teams have played, but the Utes have won 14 of the last 15 games. However, despite winning many recent contest, the last time the Utes faced the Aggies at Merlin Olsen Field, Utah State pulled off a 27-20 overtime upset.
Just a year ago, the two teams weren't even lined up to face each other, but following Utah's move to the Big 12 and the schedule changes that came with it, a non-conference opponent was needed, and the oldest FBS Division I college football rivalry between two public universities in the same state was brought back to life.
Cam Rising's status is in question due to an injury that knocked him out of the game against Baylor, and his availability is likely the difference between a blowout or a slightly competitive game. Spencer Petras, the Aggies starting quarterback, may be out as well following an ankle injury he suffered in Utah State's first game against Robert Morris, which means that long-time backup QB Bryson Barnes may trot onto the field to lead the offense, only this time, not for the University of Utah.
Offense
Following his departure from Utah, Barnes found himself in a battle with another incoming transfer, Iowa's Petras, to be the starting quarterback for Utah State. Petras won the job, but looked terrible in the season opener against the Colonials. The first two drives ended with interceptions, and the third drive stalled with a three-and-out. Not a great way to start against an FCS doormat. He then led two scoring drives but then left with the injury to his ankle, and his team clinging to a 10-7 lead late in the first half. It's been Barnes' team ever since.
It shouldn't matter which quarterback takes the field Saturday for the passing game. Both throw too many interceptions - Petras has thrown 25 in his career and Barnes has thrown 15 - but Barnes is the better runner of the two. The Aggies will likely need to try to follow Baylor's plan and run the ball as often as possible, rather than risking turning over the ball by throwing it into the Ute secondary.
However, running the ball won't be an easy task either. The speedy Robert Briggs Jr., who was expected to be a major part of the Aggie rushing attack this season, was lost to a season-ending injury against Robert Morris. That leaves Utah State with Rahsul Faison and true freshman Herschel Turner in the backfield.
Faison was fantastic in 2023 with 118 carries for 736 yards and 5 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. He's kept the same pace this season, running for 132 yards on just 21 carries. Turner has been a bright spot as well, rushing for a respectable 82 yards on 12 carries in his first two career games.
It helps that Utah State returns four starters on the offensive line, but the true gem of the offense is wide receiver Jalen Royals. The First-Team All-Mountain West playmaker had 1,080 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns last season. With the problems at quarterback this season, he has only been able to haul in 11 passes over the first two games for 124 yards and a touchdown. If the Aggies anticipate getting anything going offensively against the Utes, they'll need to find a way to get the ball into his hands.
Last season, Utah State led the Mountain West with 439 yards per game and was second in scoring while averaging 33 points per game, but without so many playmakers from that squad (QB's Cooper Legas (transferred to Tulsa) and McCae Hillstead (transferred to BYU), RB's Davon Booth (transferred to Miss St) and Briggs Jr. (injured), and WR's Terrell Vaughn (graduated) and Micah Davis (transferred to Ole Miss)), this year's offense appears to have taken several steps back.
Defense
As good as the Aggie offense was in 2023, the defense was the complete opposite. Utah State gave up a conference-worst 199 yards rushing a game, which was a big reason for surrendering 34 points per game, second-worst in the Mountain West.
The bright side on the defense was the pass rush, led by surprise freshman standout DE Paul Fitzgerald. He led the defense with eight sacks, including a school-record 3 sacks against Georgia State in the Idaho Potato Bowl. However, he departed through the transfer portal to the Utes and will now face his former team on Saturday.
The other bright side is First-Team All-Mountain West safety Ike Davis, who returned for his fourth season in 2024. He is the definition of a ball-hawk, snagging 9 picks already in his career, and he is also one of the top tacklers on the team. He and CB Jaiden Francois are the only returners from last year's secondary, but they're already getting some help from S Jordan Vincent, who transferred from New Mexico State. Vincent leads the team with 21 tackles on the year.
The team's leading tackler from last season, LB MJ Tafisi Jr., has graduated, and the linebacking corps needs some work. Former Ute Jadon Pearson has been heavily involved so far this season, as has Jon Ross Maye, who came over from Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. They also brought in Purdue's Clyde Washington and Oregon State's John Miller, who have been a part of the new rotation.
Overall, this defense may be even worse than last year's, and that's bad news for the Aggies. It looked questionable against FCS Robert Morris, giving up 137 yards rushing and 362 total yards to the Colonials, but then they were completely exposed by USC, surrendering 48 points and 548 yards, including 253 yards on the ground.
Summary
If Rising needs to sit out a game to allow his hand to heal completely, this appears to be the game to do it. This defense is awful. As long as Wilson avoids Larsen, it should be the perfect situation to boost his confidence and give him some opportunities to throw the ball.
The Utes defense matches up perfectly against this Aggie offense and should be able to keep them from reaching double-digits in scoring. The Utah coaching staff knows Barnes better than anyone else and they will likely attack him accordingly.
Whether it's Wilson or Rising under center, this game should be an easy victory for the Big Brother from the South.
