Athletics

Utah State Faces Oregon State in Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl

UTAH STATE (10-3, 6-2 MW) vs. OREGON STATE (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12)

Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021 • 5:30 p.m. (MT) • Inglewood, California • SoFi Stadium (40,000)

GAME 14 INFORMATION

TV: ABC

  • Play-by-Play: Joe Tessitore
  • Analyst: Jesse Palmer
  • Reporter: Laura Rutledge
  • Xfinity (Utah): Ch. 4/HD652

RADIO: Aggie Sports Network

  • Play-by-Play: Scott Garrard
  • Analyst: Kevin White
  • Online: KSLSports.com/thezone/

NATIONAL RADIO: ESPN

  • Play-by-Play: Jorge Sedano
  • Analyst: Tom Ramsey
  • Reporter: Kelsey Riggs

AGGIE RADIO NETWORK

Every Utah State football game can be heard live on the Aggie Radio Network. Scott Garrard serves as the play-by-play announcer, while former USU quarterback Kevin White (1988-89) will provide color analysis. Games can also be heard on the Internet (www.UtahStateAggies.com) as well as on the KSLSports App.

  • Salt Lake City: KZNS (1280 AM/97.5 FM)
  • Logan: KBLU-LP (92.3 FM)
  • Green River: KRPX (102.7 FM)
  • Moab: KRPX (100.3 FM)
  • Montpelier, Idaho: KZNS (1450 AM/101.7 FM)
  • Orangeville: KRPX (95.9 FM)
  • Price: KRPX (95.3 FM)

KICKOFF COVERAGE

  • Utah State is playing in its 15th bowl game, including its ninth in the last 11 years, after playing in six bowl games in its first 119 seasons. USU played in five-straight bowls from 2011-15 and won three straight from 2012-14, both of which are school records. USU is 5-9 all-time in bowl games.
  • Utah State has now won 10-plus games four times in the last 10 years after not reaching double digits in victories in each of its first 120 seasons. The 2012 and 2018 teams hold the school record with 11 wins, while the 2014 team won 10 games. Over the last 10 years, USU has averaged 7.4 wins.
  • Utah State's nine-game improvement this year is tied with Baylor (2-7 in '20 to 11-2 in '21) and Northern Illinois (0-6 in '20 to 9-4 in '21), and trailing Michigan (2-4 in '20 to 12-1 in '21), for the second-best turnaround in the nation as the Aggies were 1-5 last season and are 10-3 this year.
  • Utah State went 7-0 on the road for the first time in school history and those seven road wins are a school record. In fact, USU is the first FBS team in eight years to post a 7-0 road record.
  • Utah State has set three school records thus far during the 2021 campaign with its 39 touchdown passes, 3,975 passing yards and seven road wins.
  • Senior WR Deven Thompkins set the school record for receiving yards in a season (1,589) and tied the school record for consecutive 100-yard receiving games (6) this season. Graduate junior QB Logan Bonner set the school record for passing touchdowns in a season (36) and tied the school record for passing touchdowns in a game (5) this year. Bonner is also the first player in school history to throw at least four touchdown passes in three straight games.
  • Bonner has thrown for 3,560 yards this year and needs eight yards to set the school record, which was set by Jordan Love (3,567) in 2018. Thompkins has caught 96 passes this year and needs five receptions to set the school record, which was set in 2001 by Kevin Curtis (100).
  • Utah State ranks 15th in the nation in passing offense (305.8 ypg), 20th in the nation in total offense (450.4 ypg) and 30th in the nation in scoring offense (33.2 ppg). Defensively, USU is fourth in the nation in tackles for loss (7.9 pg) and 10th in the nation in touchdowns allowed in the red zone (.458).

UTAH STATE IN THE NATIONAL POLLS

Utah State received 109 votes in the latest Associated Press poll to rank 26th in the nation and garnered 85 votes in the latest Coaches' poll to rank 27th in the nation. It is the fourth time this season that USU has garnered top-25 votes, including the second time in as many weeks as USU received eight votes in the previous week's coaches poll to rank tied for 32nd.

SCOUTING UTAH STATE

Utah State is 10-3 on the season following its 46-13 win at No. 19 San Diego State two weekends ago to win the 2021 Mountain West Championship. USU, which won the Mountain Division of the conference with a 6-2 league record, enters its bowl game having won seven of its last eight games. USU is led by graduate junior QB Logan Bonner, who is 257-of-419 (.613) passing for 3,560 yards (273.6 ypg) with 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Graduate junior RB Calvin Tyler Jr. has rushed for 764 yards on 170 carries (4.5 ypc/69.5 ypg) with six touchdowns. And, senior WR Deven Thompkins has caught 96 passes for 1,589 yards (16.6 ypr/122.2 ypg) and nine touchdowns. Defensively, graduate senior ILB Justin Rice has 115 tackles, which includes 13.5 tackles for loss, to go along with three interceptions and one forced fumble. USU is averaging 33.2 points and 451.5 yards of total offense (145.7 rushing, 305.8 passing) and allowing 25.3 points and 391.0 yards of total offense (162.5 rushing, 228.5 passing).

UTAH STATE WINS 13TH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

With its 46-13 victory at No.19 San Diego State in the Mountain West Championship Game, Utah State claimed its 13 conference championship in school history and first since it won the Western Athletic Conference in 2012. USU also won five Big West Conference titles (1978, 1979, 1993, 1996, 1997), three Skyline Conference titles (1946, 1960, 1961), and two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles (1921, 1936).

UTAH STATE FOURTH TEAM EVER TO GO FROM ONE WIN TO 10 WINS

Utah State is just the fourth team in FBS history to go from zero or one win to 10 wins the following season, joining Stanford, Miami (Ohio) and Fresno State. USU is currently 10-3 this season after posting a 1-5 record last year. Stanford was 1-7-1 in 1939 and went 10-0 in 1940. Miami (Ohio) was 1-11 in 2009 and posted a 10-4 record in 2010. And, Fresno State was 1-11 in 2016 and went 10-4 in 2017. Furthermore, Utah State is one of just 11 FBS teams to win a conference championship the year after winning one or zero games, joining Colorado State in 1919, Arkansas in 1933, Stanford in 1940, Purdue in 1943, California in 1958, Indiana in 1967, North Texas in 1973, Hawai'i in 1999, Miami (Ohio) in 2010, Central Michigan in 2019 and Northern Illinois in 2021.

UTAH STATE'S 10 WINS AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION

Utah State is one of 24 teams in the nation that has won at least 10 games this season, including one of two Mountain West teams, and one of three teams from the state of Utah. In fact, Utah and Texas are the only states that have three football teams with at least 10 wins as BYU (10), Utah (10) and Utah State (10) all represent the Beehive State, while Baylor (11), Houston (11) and UTSA (12) represent the Lone Star State.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS IN UTAH STATE'S ROAD GAMES

  • Utah State went 7-0 on the road for the first time ever and rallied from double-digit deficits in each of its first five road wins. It is the first time USU has won seven road games in a season.
  • Utah State averaged 38.1 points and 457.0 yards of total offense (138.6 rushing, 318.4 passing) on the road this season, while converting 53-of-106 (.500) third downs, and had a 78-24 scoring advantage in the final 15 minutes of its seven road wins.

ANDERSON ONLY FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACH IN THE NATION WITH 10 WINS

  • Utah State's Blake Anderson is one of 19 first-year head coaches at the FBS level in 2021 and is the only head coach to have at least 10 wins this season.
  • Anderson is the only first-year head coach in school history to win 10 games. The previous record was nine wins set by Matt Wells in 2013.
  • Anderson was just the third coach in school history, and first since E. Lowell Romney in 1919, to win his first three games at USU. The other was Fred M. Walker, who went 7-0 in 1907.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Utah State head coach Blake Anderson has now won three conference championships with two Sun Belt titles at Arkansas State (2015, 2016), along with one Mountain West title (2021). Anderson will be coaching his seventh bowl game in eight seasons as a head coach.
  • Utah State University president Noelle Cockett attended Oregon State University and received her master's of science in animal genetics in 1983 and her Ph.D. in animal genetics in 1985.

UTAH STATE BOWL HISTORY

Utah State has a 5-9 bowl record all-time as it lost to San José State, 20-0, in the 1946 Raisin Bowl; lost to Pacific, 35-21, in the 1947 Grape Bowl; lost to New Mexico State, 20-13, in the 1960 Sun Bowl; lost to Baylor, 24-9, in the 1961 Gotham Bowl; defeated Ball State, 42-33, in the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl II; lost to Cincinnati, 35-19, in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl; lost to Ohio, 24-23, in the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; defeated Toledo, 41-15, in the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; defeated No. 24 Northern Illinois, 21-14, in the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl; defeated UTEP, 21-6, in the 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl; lost to Akron, 23-21, in the 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; lost to New Mexico State, 26-20 in overtime, in the 2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl; defeated North Texas, 52-13, in the 2018 New Mexico Bowl; and lost to Kent State, 51-41, in the 2019 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl.

For more game notes, visit https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2021/12/12/football-utah-state-faces-oregon-state-in-jimmy-kimmel-la-bowl.aspx.

CONTACT

Utah State Athletics
435-797-3714
doug.hoffman@usu.edu


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