2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Preview: Ohio vs Utah State

Ohio Bobcats vs Utah State Aggies

It once was the Micron PC Bowl. Then it was the Humanitarian Bowl. Now, the bowl game played on the smurf turf has a new name, and it will feature a new Western Athletic Conference team as well. Day one of college football’s bowl season will feature Utah State and Ohio as the schools meet in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho on December 17. The annual WAC-versus-MAC matchup has two schools hungry for a bowl victory in this potato-themed throwdown.

Utah State has had a roller coaster of a season. This roller coaster hasn’t just been up and down in the overall arch of the season, but game to game, the Aggies and their fans have been on a heart-prodding ride. Of Utah State’s 12 games, nine of them were decided by seven points or less (five wins, four losses). Utah State went from the “Gaggies” to the “comeback kids,” winning its last five games to post a 7-5 record, qualifying for its first bowl game since 1997. Freshman sensation Chuckie Keeton electrified the nation with his solid play in the almost-upset of Auburn, but went down with a scary neck injury five games ago in Hawaii. Junior quarterback Adam Kennedy took over and has been at the helm during the five-game winning streak. Kennedy has completed 71 percent of his passes and thrown for 909 yards.

But the Aggies strength is their run game. The top-20 offense comes from 278 rushing yards per game, good for sixth in the country, headlined by Robert Turbin, the WAC offensive player of the year. Despite only getting 40 percent of his team’s carries, Turbin ranks tenth in the country at 118 rushing yards per game. Turbin’s 1,416 rushing yards would be more, but he shares the ball quite a bit with Michael Smith and Kerwynn Williams, who have combined to rush for 1,193 more. Defensively, Utah State is solid at stopping the run with linebacker Bobby Wagner roaming. Overall the Aggies are slightly-above average defensively, but allow 28 points per game due to a consistently-negative turnover margin.

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Ohio is bowling for the fourth time in seven years under Frank Solich. But in five previous bowl appearances, the Bobcats are winless. Ohio led 20-0 at halftime of last week’s MAC Championship Game, but fell 23-20 to Northern Illinois. At 9-4, the Bobcats are shooting for a ten-win season—a feat the school has accomplished only once, in 1968. Ohio is statistically sound in every way. The Bobcats can run the ball (206 yards per game, 24th nationally); they can pass (251 ypg, 39th nationally); and they can stop the run (126 yards per game allowed, 30th nationally). Ohio’s pass defense and turnover margin are perfectly average.

The prolific Bobcat offense is led by Tyler Tettleton, the dual-threat sophomore quarterback. Tettleton has thrown for 3,086 yards and has a 26-to-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He is also the team’s leader in rushing touchdowns with nine (and 627 yards). With Donte Harden’s 939 rushing yards, and Ryan Boykin and Beau Blankenship adding another combined 845, Ohio truly is a pick-your-poison offensive power. With receiver LaVon Brazill averaging 16.3 yards per reception (1,042 yards total, with 10 touchdowns) making plays on the outside and downfield, Utah State will have a lot with which to reckon.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

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