Bowl Blitz: Idaho Potato Bowl, Ohio vs. Utah State

Help promote with the hash-tag #BowlBlitz on Twitter

Corporate sponsorship and naming rights have, to some degree, cheapened the tradition of bowl season. But the rebranding of the former Humanitarian-then-MPC Computers-Humanitarian Bowl is just right. Last spring, the Boise-based game became the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Potato Bowl. It just sounds like a postseason class of yesteryear, pre-dating extravagant television contracts and the Bowl Championship Series, doesn’t it? Even more exciting, the new corporate tie-in includes the presence of a 12,000 (fake) potato at Bronco Stadium about which Dr. Saturday had an awe-inspiring post. Were that spud real, it would roughly 4.5 million baskets of Applebee’s potato skins and net $25 million #RovellTweets.

The Potato Bowl payout isn’t quite as impressive, but for participants from the lower echelon FBS conferences MAC and WAC, the $750,000 goes a long way for their athletic departments. Such games draw ridicule for their oftentimes goofy names and less prominent participants, but these bowl games serve an invaluable purpose for those universities.

For the players and coaches, this is about a lot more than getting away from campus for a few days, getting some gifts — in the Potato Bowl’s case a parka, beanie, gloves, and backpack per FootballScoop.com — and taking home a paycheck for the athletic department. Ohio and Utah State are coming to win, something that hasn’t come easily for either program.

USU overcame a series of heartbreaking, end-of-game hiccups early in the campaign to land in a bowl game for the first time since 1997. The Aggies dropped three of their first four by a combined eight points, but went 6-2 down the stretch. Ohio is in its fourth bowl game under Frank Solich and third straight, but the Bobcats have never won one.

Ohio U. was oh-so-close to breaking one streak, but gave up a three-score lead to Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship. The 23-20 defeat was an unfortunate ending to an outstanding regular season, arguably the best yet of Solich’s tenure in Athens. The Bobcats combined a typically stout defense (No. 31 in FBS) with an uncharacteristically MACtion’y offense.

Tyler Tettleton was an unheralded star of the non-AQ landscape, completing nearly 64 percent of his pass attempts for 3082 yards and 26 touchdowns. He and No. 1 receiving target LaVon Brazill connected 66 times for 1038 yards and 10 touchdowns, making them a formidable passer-catcher combination for any defensive coordinator to scheme against.

Tettleton is also what an offensive coordinator wants in a dual threat quarterback, an efficient and intelligent passer but explosive when his number is called on the rush. He was the Bobcats’ second leading rusher at 627 yards, and his nine touchdowns via the ground were a team-high.

Put it all together, and Tettleton was the driving force behind Ohio U. putting up 31 points per game. USU needs to find a way to slow the Bobcats, namely Tettleton, though keeping opponents out of the end zone was no easy task for the Aggies. Opponents broke the 30-point threshold on USU six times.

What bodes well for USU is that in its finale against a team with a shotgun formation, dual threat quarterback offense, the Aggies held Nevada’s Pistol to 17 points. The Wolf Pack did gain exactly 500 yards though, with a balanced mix of the rush and pass. Ohio U. is certain to show healthy doses of each, having passed around 30 times per game and rushed about 40.

Should the Bobcats rack up yards, and even score points, it isn’t necessarily that counterproductive to USU head coach Gary Andersen’s gameplan. OK, so any coach wants his defense to get stops and especially a former defensive coordinator, but the Aggies have been successful in shootouts. At just shy of 35 PPG, the Aggies are among the mightiest scoring offenses in the nation.

Dave Baldwin’s scheme yielded results at New Mexico — yes Virginia, there was a time the Lobos could score — and it’s been even more effective in Logan, Utah. USU utilized Baldwin’s rush-heavy scheme to become the No. 6 ranked such offense in the FBS. Back Robert Turbin powers the unit to the tune of 1416 yards.

Backing up Turbin’s wildly productive pace are four more ball carriers good for 28.3 to 59.4 yards per. Quarterbacks Chuckie Keeton and Adam Kennedy were each part of that group. Kennedy assumed the starting duties when Keeton went down with injury late in the season, and he’s been productive: 10 passing touchdowns and 70 percent of his passes completed.

Keeton and Kennedy were not prone to turnovers in their limited pass attempts, which should neutralize the ball-coveting Bobcat secondary. Between Travis Carrie and Xavier Hughes, the Ohio U. defensive back duo had more interceptions than the USU quarterbacks threw all year.

USU’s late game defeats proved useful down the stretch. The Aggies are riding a four-game win streak into the Potato Bowl, defeating Hawaii (35-31), San Jose State (34-33), Idaho (49-42 in double OT) and Nevada (21-17). For those keeping score, that’s a combined 16 points.

So the Aggies’ path to victory has surely been taxing on USU fans’ hearts: give up yards/points, win in the final minutes. But Saturday, it could yet again work. After all, three of the Bobcats’ four losses were by single digits and all four together totaled just 19 points. Furthermore, those four opponents scored a combined 122 points for an average 13 points greater than in the Bobcats’ wins.

Linebacker Noah Keller will be key to Ohio U.’s defensive attack. Keller pursues rushes well, and with as heavily as USU relies on the run, Keller will see plenty of opportunities. Tremayne Scott and Corey Hasting need to cause as much disruption in the backfield as possible. Short gains and quick punts are key, but more importantly establishing the tempo.

USU isn’t Oregon and no one is going to confuse the Aggies and Ducks. That said, USU does have an ability to break off big rushes for quick scores. While Ohio U. is equally capable of loading the scoreboard, a track meet is not what will garner the Bobcats their first bowl win.