Hillstead's return comes with a catch. Brosterhous sat out the Colorado State game hurt, so Utah State's depth behind its starter is thin, and top receiver Eli Wood didn't play either. Anthony Garcia picked up the slack with 11 catches for 121 yards, tying his career high. Fresno State's backfield has its own problems. B. Ramirez is out for the season and R. Luke has been dealing with a concussion. Bryson Donelson ran for 108 yards and a score against Oregon State, so the run game hasn't stalled. The Bulldogs travel as a short favorite, which is roughly what the records say.
These 2 have played 2 of the same opponents, and the comparison is useful. Against Boise State, Fresno State lost 38-31 at home in a shootout, while Utah State got handled 37-18 on the road. Against Washington State, the Bulldogs went to Pullman and won 26-6, while the Aggies needed every point to get by 17-16 at home. On those 2 results, Fresno State has the more complete team. The catch is that Utah State played both of those games with a different quarterback.
Fresno State's defense might be the best thing on the field. The Bulldogs kept constant pressure on Oregon State quarterback Braden Atkinson and laid big hits on receiver Jesse Legree, holding an offense that was 3-0 in league play to 22. The one soft spot game-day previews keep pointing at is the quarterback run, which is exactly what Hillstead's legs bring that Brosterhous's didn't. Utah State's defense also showed up last week, with 2 fumble recoveries, 2 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and only 77 rushing yards allowed. Carson Tujague had a sack and 2 tackles for loss. The asterisk is that Colorado State statistically has the worst defense in the country, so the Aggies' offensive explosion came against the softest opponent available.
Both teams have lost good players for the year. Utah State is without WR N. Boncore and TE J. Nelson for the rest of the season, which helps explain why the offense runs through Garcia so heavily, and leading linebacker Harrison Taggart went down for the year earlier in the season. Game-day weather in Logan is 44 degrees and clear with 3 mph of wind, so the conditions shouldn't decide anything. That leaves 2 questions. Can Hillstead do this again against a defense that can actually pressure him? And can Fresno State win in Logan after splitting its 2 road games in this 5-game stretch?
There's a lot on the line for both. Utah State is 3-5 and needs to keep winning to have any hope of a bowl. Fresno State is 5-3 and a win in Logan would put the Bulldogs back in the top half of the league race after back-to-back losses in October. The difference between the 2 records is real, but Utah State might be a better team with Hillstead starting than its first 7 games suggest.
