No. 20 Washington State prepares to host Utah State Aggies in battle between future Pac-12 foes

The last time Jake Dickert faced Utah State, the Washington State Cougars fell apart in the fourth quarter.

Up 23-11 with 12 minutes remaining, WSU conceded two late touchdowns and allowed the Aggies to hold the ball for over nine minutes.

At the time, Dickert was WSU’s second-year defensive coordinator and witnessed his defense give up an 11-point lead to lose 26-23 in 2021. Six weeks later, Dickert was named WSU’s interim head coach following the firing of former coach Nick Rolovich.

Dickert and his 20th-ranked Cougars (7-1) face the Aggies (2-6) for the first time since that defensive meltdown at 7:30 p.m. today (The CW) at Gesa Field in Pullman.

Dickert faced Utah State three times prior to that game while on the staff at Wyoming and said that the Aggies have long had a knack of punching up to their opponents — even if for just one quarter. No. 12 Boise State posted just 14 points in the first quarter versus the Aggies earlier this season.

This matchup is also a contest between two future Pac-12 opponents as the Aggies will join the league in 2026.

“You’re never ahead of this team, you got to put this team away,” Dickert said. “Look at the history of the last five years at Utah State. You know, these guys have played some really good football. So that’s what I remember. And just like anybody else, if they play better than you, they can beat you.”

Are Cougar fans hyped enough to show up?

The Cougars’ 2024 schedule has — by nature of the implosion of the traditional Pac-12 Conference — included fewer marquee matchups.

While games against Oregon, USC and UCLA have been replaced with Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State, the Cougars are nonetheless 7-1 and ranked No. 21 in the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings and No. 20 in the Associated Press Top 25.

WSU is still somewhat in the College Football Playoff picture, but Dickert said the Cougs are playing for more.

“Everyone’s well aware of it in the building, but it’s not the destination of why we came here,” Dickert said. “No one’s out here just for CFP. They’re out here for each other, they’re out here for their grandma, their mom, their dad, their brothers, so if we can just keep that purpose in mind.”

Despite WSU’s ranking, its largest crowd this season is just about 27,300 people on Sept. 7 against Texas Tech.

“Our fans need to show up,” Dickert said. “On third down, it’s got to be loud in there. It’s got to have a huge impact for what this team is doing, because we are where we’re at, and we need them. And any edge that we can create to create momentum for our football team, I think is going to be very huge.”

Scouting Utah State

The Aggies are 2-6 overall with an opening season win over Robert Morris and they most recently beat Wyoming 27-25 on Oct. 26.

Utah State is led by quarterback Spencer Petras, who has completed 65% of his passes for 1,825 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Petras has led the nation’s 10th-best passing offense. The Aggies average 300.9 yards per game.

However, Utah State will play the remainder of the season without wide receiver Jalen Royals, who hit triple digits in each of his last four games, including a torching Boise State for 211 yards on nine catches.

The senior from Powder Springs, Ga., had 834 yards on 55 catches.

In Royals’ absence, Utah State has turned to Otto Tia, who has 258 yards on 25 catches.

The Aggies’ rushing attack is paced by Rahsul Faison with 797 yards on 155 carries.

The Aggies defense has given up 41.5 points per game — the second-worst mark in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Cougar offense, which often stalls in the third quarter, scoring no more than seven points in the third quarter in seven straight games, may be able to feast on a stalled-out Aggie defense.

Extra points

WSU is 2-2 all-time versus Utah State. The Cougs lost their last meeting with the Aggies 26-23 in 2021.

WSU has reopened the left guard competition between Christain Hilborn and Rodrick Tialavea, who both have started at the position for multiple games this year.

Cougar punter Nick Haberer will make his 2024 debut after sitting out for eight games. Dean Janikowski will still hold kicker and kickoff duties after breaking his hand on the final punt versus San Diego State.

Linebacker Kyle Thornton was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, reserved for the best former walk-on in college football. Thornton walked on to the Cougs in 2019.

The basics

What: WSU (7-1) vs. Utah State (2-6)

Where: Gesa Field, Pullman

When: 7:30 p.m. today

TV: The CW Network

Radio: Radio: KHTR-FM (104.3/103.9), KCLX-AM (1450)

Spread: Washington State 029.5 (-110)

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.