Washington State Cougars (0-0) vs Utah State Aggies (0-0)
Game Info: Saturday, September 4, 2021 at 11:00 pm (Clarence D. Martin Stadium)
Betting Odds: Washington State Cougars -17 -- Over/Under: 66.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Utah State Aggies and Washington State Cougars face off on Saturday in a Week 1 college football showdown at Martin Stadium. Both teams were disappointing in 2020 and will look to get 2021 off to a better start.
Just a few years ago Utah State was one of the best teams in the Mountain West, but that seems well removed from the team now. In 2020, Utah State really struggled finishing with a 1-5 record. The defense wasn’t great last year giving up over 35 points per game, but more importantly, the offense was terrible averaging only 15.2 points per game. Utah State is expected to turn to Andrew Peasley this season to be the starting quarterback, and there will be a lot of pressure on him early in this game to make plays. On defense, Utah State does get a lot of players back like AJ Vongphachanh who was one of the bright spots on that side of the ball.
On the other side of this matchup is the Washington State Cougars who finished with a 1-3 record in 2020. Coach Nick Rolovich enters his second year and the hope is this can be a quick rebuild. Washington State’s offense was decent last season averaging 27 points per game, but for a team that was used to scoring 40 or 50 points a night, that was quite the downgrade last season. Under center will be Jayden de Laura who threw for 800 yards and five touchdowns last season. On defense, there is plenty of room for improvement for this team after giving up 38.5 points per game.
Washington State isn’t all that great, and they might have issues winning games this season, but this isn’t going to be one of them. Utah State’s offense was awful last year, and it’s not going to magically get better for this one. Washington State should score at least 45 points, and that will be enough to cover the spread.