Utah State (1-1) continues non-conference play this weekend as it hosts No. 12 Utah (2-0) on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 2:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan (play-by-play), USU Hall of Fame running back Robert Turbin (analyst) and Tina Cervasio (analyst) on the call.
#12 UTAH (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UTAH STATE (1-1, 0-0 MW)
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 • 2:30 p.m. (MT) • Logan, Utah • Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium (25,100)
KICKOFF COVERAGE
• Interim head coach Nate Dreiling, who was elevated from defensive coordinator on July 2, is the youngest head coach at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level as he is 33 years old. Dreiling is just the 10th coach in program history to win his first game as head coach. He is also one of only two interim head coaches in the nation along with Fresno State's Tim Skipper.
• Utah State is 6-67 all-time against Associated Press-ranked teams, but has won five of its last 18 games, including its 46-13 win at No. 19 San Diego State in the 2021 Mountain West Championship game, which was its last win against an AP top-25 team. The highest-ranked team USU has ever defeated was at No. 18 BYU (35-20) in 2014.
• Utah State is 2-13 all-time at home against AP top-25 teams as it posted a 52-26 win against No. 21 Boise State in 2015 and a 20-19 win against No. 25 Fresno State in 1991.
• No. 12 Utah is the fifth top-12 team to play at Utah State in program history along with No. 6 Oregon in 2001, No. 8 BYU in 2008, No. 9 Boise State in 2008 and No. 6 Boise State in 2009.
• Utah State lost at No. 13 USC last weekend and is facing AP top-25 teams in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2013 season when it lost at No. 24 Fresno State (24-17) in the Mountain West Championship Game and defeated No. 24 Northern Illinois (21-14) in the Poinsettia Bowl. Overall, USU is facing AP top 25 teams in back-to-back weeks for just the six time in school history.
• Utah State is 8-5 (.615) in its last 13 home games against in-state opponents and 10-11 (.476) against teams from the state of Utah since the 2010 season.
• Utah State has won 11 of its last 15 non-conference home games and is 23-7 (.767) in its last 30 non-conference home games at Maverik Stadium. Overall, USU is 51-22 (.699) in its last 73 home games and 163-118 (.580) all-time inside Maverik Stadium.
• Utah State is 25-17 (.595) in games played during the month of September over the last 10 seasons, which includes a 17-7 (.708) home record, and is 5-2 all-time in known games played on Sept. 14.
SERIES vs. UTAH
• Utah State trails in the all-time series against Utah, 29-79-4, including a 12-25-0 home record. This is the first meeting in the series since Utah posted a 24-14 home win in 2015. The last time the two teams played in Logan was on Sept. 7, 2012, with USU posting a 27-20 overtime victory, snapping a 12-game losing streak in the series.
• The Utah State vs. Utah rivalry, often called the Battle of the Brothers, is the oldest rivalry for both programs as this will be the 113th meeting in series history. The first game between the two teams was played in 1892 with USU posting a 12-0 win and the two teams played one another on an annual basis for 90 straight years (1919-2009), minus the 1943 season when neither school fielded a team due to World War II. However, in 2010 the series took a two-year hiatus before the two teams played back-to-back games in 2012 and 2013. The last game played between the two teams was in 2015.
• With Utah State and Utah meeting for the 113th time this weekend, it is the eighth-most played series in the western United States, tied for the 34th-most played series in the nation at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level and tied for the 49th-most played series in college football. USU's second-oldest rival is BYU (91 games).
