BYU Football: Cougars in danger of upset loss to Utah State in Week 5

2. Utah State can run the football

The Aggies don’t hold a candle to the opponents that BYU has faced to this point. However, they do share one striking similarity: they can run the football. The BYU rushing defense has been mediocre in 2017. Entering Week 5 the Cougars rank 94th in the nation in rush defense, allowing an average of 183.3 yards per game on the ground.

They have played some prolific rushing offenses, but the defense has still had its issues. LSU averages 200.5 yards per game. Wisconsin averages 275.3 yards per game. Utah averages 165 yards per game. Those three schools combined to average 215.7 yards per content.

The Aggies have the No. 59 rushing offense in the country. They average 175 yards per game. Utah State has rushed for 700 yards through their first four games and seven rushing touchdowns. Four different players have 20 rushes on the season and they are averaging 4.3 yards per carry as a team.

It doesn’t take much more advanced math beyond that. BYU can’t stop the run and Utah State is going to be pounding them on the ground all night. That’s a recipe for disaster.