Utah State Football Will Play Akron in 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Utah State football will face Akron in the 19th-annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 1:30 p.m. (MT) at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The bowl game, which will be televised live on ESPN, will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

For Utah State, it will be the third time in five years and the fourth time overall that it will have played in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, also doing so in 1997, 2011 and 2012.

“We gladly accept the invitation to represent Utah State University and the Mountain West Conference in the 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl,” said third-year Utah State head coach Matt Wells. “This bowl game is a great reward for our team and its accomplishments this year, and solidifies the strength and consistency of this program as we will be playing in our fifth-straight bowl game for the first time in school history.”

Utah State entered the 2015 season as one of just four FBS programs to win at least 30 games and record three bowl victories in the past three years, joining Clemson, Michigan State and Oregon.

Overall, it is the first time in school history that Utah State has played in five-straight bowl games and the Aggies are riding three-consecutive bowl wins, also a school record, as they defeated UTEP in the 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl (21-6), No. 24 Northern Illinois (21-14) in the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and Toledo (41-15) in the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

“On behalf of Utah State University, we are thrilled to represent the Mountain West Conference at the 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, said USU Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hartwell. “Utah State has a great history and relationship with both the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and the city of Boise, and the proximity of the bowl will give our loyal fans a great opportunity to witness the Aggies play in a school-record fifth-straight bowl game.”

Akron (7-5, 5-3 MAC) finished in a tie for second place in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) after shutting out Kent State, 20-0, at home in its regular season finale on Nov. 27. The Zips enter the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on a four-game winning streak.

Akron, which is 0-1 all-time in bowl games at the FBS level, played in its first bowl game in 2005 when it lost to Memphis, 38-31, in the Motor City Bowl.

“We are excited to prepare for a quality Akron team that had an outstanding season. Our staff has great respect for Akron head coach Terry Bowden and the Zips team with the success they had this season,” added Wells.

Utah State has a recent history against MAC teams in bowl games. In the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, USU faced three different MAC teams in bowl games. In 2011, the Aggies fell to Ohio in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 24-23. In 2012, USU returned to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and defeated Toledo, 41-15. And in the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, the Aggies defeated No. 24 Northern Illinois, 21-14.

Utah State’s only other bowl win in school history was at the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl when it defeated Ball State, 42-33.

Utah State is 9-2 overall against MAC teams, and will be playing a team from the MAC in a bowl game for the fifth time in school history.

All-time, this will be Utah State's 11th bowl appearance in program history as it played in the 1946 Raisin Bowl, the 1947 Grape Bowl, the 1960 Sun Bowl, the 1961 Gotham Bowl, the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl, the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl, the 2011 and 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowls, the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and the 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl.

After starting the season with a 1-2 mark and losing redshirt senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton to a knee injury after the third game, Utah State (6-6, 5-3 MW) won five of its final nine regular season games to become bowl eligible and finish tied for second in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West. 

Utah State’s defense continues to be its calling card. During the 2015 season, the Aggie defense ranks among the top 40 in the nation in seven different statistical categories, including seventh in fumble recoveries (12), ninth in three-and-outs forced (5.10 pg), 13th in passing defense (180.4 ypg), 20th in defensive touchdowns (3), 23rd in total defense (336.7 ypg), 26th in first downs allowed (17.7 pg) and 28th in opponent third down conversions (.341).

Highlighting Utah State’s defense is a pair of first-team all-Mountain West performers at the linebacker position in senior Kyler Fackrell and junior Nick Vigil.

Fackrell has recovered five fumbles this season, which is tied for the Mountain West single-season record, to lead the nation. He also ranks seventh in the MW in tackles for loss (1.12 pg) and 27th in the MW in tackles (6.3 pg). Fackrell has also recorded a defensive touchdown for the Aggies, as he recovered a fumble in the end zone against Nevada on Nov. 21. Overall, Fackrell leads the Aggies with his 13.5 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hurries and is tied for first with his 4.0 sacks.

Vigil ranks first in the Mountain West and tied for fifth nationally in tackles (11.7 pg), and tied for third in the MW and tied for 23rd nationally with two fumble recoveries. Furthermore, Vigil’s 140 tackles on the year rank tied for the ninth-most in a single season in school history, while ranking just outside the top five in a single season in Mountain West history. Overall, Vigil is the only player in the nation to record at least nine tackles in every game this season.

In all, Utah State had six offensive players, five defensive players and one specialist recognized for a total of 12 all-conference awards to rank third in the Mountain West behind San Diego State (14) and Boise State (13).

Offensively, Utah State is led by one of the top wide receivers in the Mountain West in senior Hunter Sharp. Sharp is a second-team all-MW honoree, and ranks first in the MW and 27th in the nation in receiving touchdowns with eight (0.8 pg), tied for second in the MW and tied for 29th in the nation in receptions with 60 (6.0 pg) and fourth in the MW and 46th in the nation in receiving with an average of 74.6 yards per game.

On the season, Sharp has caught a team-leading 60 passes for a team-best 746 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns, to go along with two 100-yard receiving games with a career-high 193 yards against Air Force (11/14) and 100 yards against BYU (11/28). Sharp has also returned seven kickoffs for 243 yards (35.4 ypr) and one touchdown on a 96-yard return against Nevada (11/21).

Offensively, Utah State ranks fourth in the Mountain West and tied for 26th nationally in sacks allowed (1.3 pg), fifth in the MW and 60th nationally in scoring (29.7 ppg), fifth in the MW and 90th in the nation in passing (202.9 ypg), sixth in the MW and 85th nationally in completion percentage (.561), seventh in the MW and 77th nationally in passing efficiency (124.8), ninth in the MW and 93rd in the nation in total offense (370.8 ypg), and 10th in the MW and 71st nationally in rushing (167.9 ypg).

Tickets for the 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will go on sale Monday, Dec. 7, at 10 a.m., and are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305. Tickets can also be purchased 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

Ticket prices for the 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will range from $50 for the main base of the lower bowl, $30 for the curves of the lower bowl and $20 for the end zones. Seats will be allocated on Dec. 16 based on Aggie Points and mailed out through UPS on Dec. 18.

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Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.