Where's The Faith?

The Utah State Aggies are favored by 3 points over the Ohio Bobcats in the upcoming Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 17 according to most odds makers.

But the Aggies are not getting very much respect from some of their fans at home.

“Because I’m an Aggie, of course I have to say that USU is going to win,” Mickelle Maxfield, a USU student said. “But if I had to bet on it, I would pick Ohio to win. The Aggies just don’t look that solid.”

Others share Maxfield’s opinion.

“I think the Aggies luck in the fourth quarter has run out,” Lauren Berrett, a USU student said. “I think if it comes down to the last play of the game, they will choke.”

“I watched Ohio play Northern Illinois and even though they lost, they looked really good,” Luke Huntington, a USU student said. “They have a good run defense and a great offense, so I think Ohio will surprise a lot of people and beat the Aggies.”

The Bobcats are indeed a great offensive team.

With quarterback Tyler Tettleton behind the center, the team is 9-4 and is ranked in the top 25 in yards per game according to ESPN statistics. Besides Tettleton, the Bobcats have another playmaker at wide receiver named LaVon Brazill. Brazill has over 1,000 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns this season.

But the Aggies have some star players of their own.

Running back Robert Turbin has over 1,400 rushing yards this year and is a part of a stellar running game that features two other running backs, Michael Smith and Kerwynn Williams. Together they have 35 total touchdowns on the year.

The Aggie defense is headed by Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the year Bobby Wagner. Wagner has 140 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions this year at linebacker.

This isn’t enough to sway a lot of the Aggie faithful.

“I know they won like their last five games or something like that, but they just seem too inconsistent during the entire game,” Brady Sanderson, a USU fan said. “They need to be consistently good the entire game to win a bowl game in my opinion. Plus haven’t they lost like all of their bowl games?”

Sanderson has a point.

The Aggies are 1-6 when it comes to bowl games and the last time USU won a bowl game was in 1993 at the Las Vegas Bowl against Ball State. But there are believers in Cache Valley.

“Both teams will play hard but I think that we will win by a field goal,” Jaydin Pebbles, a USU student said.

Mitch Parrish, who calls himself a diehard Aggie fan is also a believer.

“The Aggies are going to kick the shit out of Ohio,” Parrish said. “Turbin will smash some heads in that bowl game.”