USU HC Blake Anderson Wants Aggies To Move On From ‘Celebration To Preparation’

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head coach Blake Anderson is happy with the result as the Aggies won their season opener on the road against Washington State.

It was their first road win over a Pac-12 opponent in Utah State football history. Now with North Dakota coming into town for the home opener on Friday, Anderson is preaching to his team to move on from celebration to preparation.

“We know they (North Dakota) is really good,” Anderson said at his weekly press conference. “It’s the same thing. It’s improvement, daily, weekly improvement, trying to keep our guys focused on the job at hand. The one in the past does you no good. You got to move on from celebration and move on to preparation and that’s gonna be the story today, it’s going to be all about getting better today. Everybody has to deal with the same issues on a weekly basis, what everybody’s perception of a team is before they come in, and the reality of the team, I just always approach each opponent and I’m gonna try to get our kids to do the same that every team we play is gonna be better than the previous one. You’re going to get their very best effort when you do play them, they’re going to play their best game so we got to play our best and we’re fully aware of what kind of team is coming in. They’re basically a Division I team in our opinion that just has a different logo, but they operate at the same level that we do probably in every area and they expect to win and we’re gonna have to play good ball to beat them.”

HOME game Friday night … WITH ALL OF YOU‼️‼️

🎟➡️ https://t.co/Bal5nP3vch#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/nFtUVjD6SH

— Utah State Athletics (@USUAthletics) September 7, 2021

Heading into the season opener, Utah State alternated Andrew Peasley and Logan Bonner on each possession. Bonner got the start. It was a quarterback battle that leaked into the regular season. Bonner completed 17 of his 24 pass attempts for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while rushing for 15 yards. Peasley went 6-of-12 passing for 76 yards, along with 43 rushing yards.

Calvin Tyler Jr. led the rushing attack for Utah State with 14 carries for 84 yards and one TD. Deven Thompkins was the leading receiver with eight receptions for 94-yards and the game-winning touchdown grab.

🎥➡️ @CHbanderson Press Conference

FULL VIDEO ➡️ https://t.co/xApu78A6pp#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/oRnJnC8kuX

— USU Football (@USUFootball) September 6, 2021

The Fighting Hawks are coming off of a 35-14 road win over Idaho State. During the spring season, they went 5-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play. They lost to No. 1 James Madison in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.

Utah State and North Dakota will kickoff on Friday, September 10 at 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.