Utah State Looks For Fast Start Against James Madison

Sep 20, 2023, 12:57 PM

Digital Producer

LOGAN, Utah – A fast start is critical for a Utah State team looking to play from in front after slow starts put them behind the eight-ball in each of their early-season losses.

Aggie head coach Blake Anderson joined Hans & Scotty G on KSL Sports Zone to talk about how to remedy the team’s first-quarter struggles.

Head coach Blake Anderson joined Hans & Scotty G on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his team's loss at Air Force, the Aggies' QB situation and their upcoming game against James Madison.

📻: https://t.co/yKzSikcybC #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/M2myDxsghL

— USU Football (@USUFootball) September 19, 2023

Utah State has been outscored 43-7 in the first quarter with their only points coming on the second play from scrimmage against Idaho State.

“We need to play better early,” Anderson said. “If you take away the first quarter, we’re 3-0 and one of the best teams in the country. We’ve dug holes every week.”

To Anderson’s point, they trailed by 14 points in the opening quarter against Iowa and fell behind 29-0 before McCae Hillstead and the offense could find any traction at Air Force.

An effective run game, quick throws, and tempo are things Anderson pointed to that Utah State can improve at.

“We’ve got to come out and play more consistently in all three phases. If we can stay balanced offensively, it plays into our strengths… We need to keep people off balance, we need to make them second guess and play at our pace instead of theirs.”

Utah State Aggies (1-2) vs. JMU Dukes (3-0)

Saturday, September 23 – Maverik Stadium, Logan, UT

RADIO: Aggie Sports Network

• Play-by-Play: Scott Garrard & Kevin White

• Online: KSL Sports Zone

TV: KJZZ / Mountain West Network

• Play-by-Play: Dave Fox, Alema Harrington, and Frank Dolce

• Xfinity (Utah): Ch. 3/HD657

• DirecTV (Utah): Ch. 14

• DISH (Utah): Ch. 14

• Stream: utahstateaggies.com/watch/

Following The Aggies With KSL Sports Zone

Utah State (1-2) will host the James Madison Dukes at Maverik Stadium on Saturday, September 23. This will be the first meeting between James Madison and the Aggies. USU completes a two-game series with the Dukes when they travel to Harrisonburg, Virginia in 2025. The Dukes ascended to the FBS level for the 2022-23 academic year. This is their second season in the Sun Belt Conference.

USU football games are found on KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard and former Aggie quarterback Kevin White (1988-89) on the call.

KSL Sports coverage of Utah State University Athletics can be found here.