Utah State arrives in Honolulu today coming off a loss to Fresno State where USU gave up another lead in the 4th quarter. Standing on the Bulldog Stadium sideline was 1st Team All-WAC candidate, James Brindley and starting cornerback, Kejon Murphy. Murphy was hit in the head again by a teammate in the 1st quarter. Luckily for Utah State, Fresno State didn't want the passing game to be its first and only option.
Hawaii isn't the same powerhouse team that WAC teams are accustomed to. Hawaii is on a 6 game skid. Unfortunately for Utah State, Hawaii likes to pass and pass on nearly every down with sometimes five wide outs on the field. Which begs the question, how will Utah State slow down Hawaii's passing attack, especially with 2 key players from their defensive backfield questionable for Saturday's 8PM MST kickoff?
Gary Andersen entered his position needing to fill holes left buy previous coach, Brent Guy, in the defensive backfield. Coach Andersen moved, then tailback, Curtis Marsh to cornerback to help fill a void left by Roy Hurst. But that still wasn't enough, especially after both James Brindley and Kejon Murphy were injured against Louisiana Tech. Fortunately for USU, Walter McClenton was ready to fill Brindley's large shoes and accumulated 10.5 tackles against Louisiana Tech and 6 tackles against the other Bulldogs in Fresno. Teammate, Rajric Coleman, also stepped up his game by leading the Aggies in tackles, including one interception, against Fresno State. Returning to the field after recovering from injury to help fill the void left by Kejon Murphy is Quinton Byrd, a true freshman who turned heads in fall camp before the season began. The Aggies will need all the help they can get as they face some of the better receivers in the country in Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares. Salas averages 122 yards receiving per game to go along with 5 touchdown catches. Both have a combined 108 receptions. There's no question that Hawaii will be looking to exploit a mismatch on a wide reciever. Utah State will need every DB they can get.
So who will Utah State put on the field? Here's my best guess.
CB Jr. Curtis Marsh, CB Jr. Chris Randall, Nickel Fr. Quinton Byrd, Safety So. Walter Mclenton, Safety Jr. Rajric Coleman
Utah State will be very happy to see Kejon Murphy and James Brindley suit up for action, because they'll need all the help they can get. Hawaii will want to run a track meet on the islands after Utah State depended on commercial airliners to get to Honolulu stopping for an airport practice in Phoenix on the way after leaving from Logan on Thursday. Will it be enough to slow down the Warriors? Your guess is as good as mine. Utah State will need its own offense to keep the Warrior offense off the field and out of the game. One thing is for sure. Utah State fans will be anxious to see how esteemed defensive coach, Gary Andersen, can slow down Hawaii's passing attack and keep them off the field.
