Utah State football coach Blake Anderson isn’t shying away from the obvious: The Aggies are entering a challenging environment against the No. 25 Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a huge test for us to start with,” Anderson said. “The environment is going to be chaotic.”
Utah State’s football program has historically performed poorly against Associated Press-ranked teams (6-65 all-time). Yet Anderson, who’s still undefeated in season openers as USU’s head coach, views this as an opportunity for a team composed of new names and faces to find their identity.
“We don’t know who we are yet,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to find a way to win.”
How to watch
Utah State at No. 25 Iowa
Saturday
10:03 a.m. MT
TV: FS1
The Aggies will have to deal with the physicality that defines Iowa’s top-10 ranked defense. The Hawkeyes allowed just 173.8 yards per game last season, the ninth fewest of any team in the FBS. They allowed just 14.4 points per game, the sixth fewest.
Still, senior quarterback Cooper Legas seems unfazed.
“They do a really good job of not having any busts in coverage or being in the wrong place,” he said. “But so long as there is a guy on a guy, we should be just fine.”
Maintaining control of the football will matter more against Iowa than most, as they scored a whopping 21% of their touchdowns last season through interceptions. They allowed the fewest passing yards of any team in the Big Ten last season and are welcoming back first-team All-Big Ten defensive back Cooper DeJean.
Limiting turnovers has been one of Anderson’s largest points of emphasis during fall camp.
“We’ve controlled and protected the ball in practices, in scrimmages,” Anderson said on Monday. “I really can count turnovers on one hand for all of fall camp.”
This leaves defending an Iowa team that is under pressure to score more points after a disappointing showing last season. By nearly every metric, Iowa’s offense was one of the worst in the FBS, scoring only 25 total touchdowns and 17.7 points per game.
But while they averaged an abysmal 94.9 rushing yards per game last season, they still pose a physical challenge to the Aggies. From a strength, size, and experience perspective, Utah State knows there are plenty of mismatches to overcome.
Because of that, the Aggies’ success on that side of the ball will boil down to the basics: Can they tackle well? Will they bring intensity every play? Can they keep Iowa from getting downhill? Will the revamped secondary stay disciplined in their coverage?
“Time to find out what we’re made of, what this team is going to look like,” said Anderson. “Going to Iowa City is a great place to find out.