2012 Famous Idaho Potato
Utah State 41, Toledo 15
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2012-2013 CFN Bowl Central
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CFN Analysis of Utah State's win over Toledo
(AP) BOISE, Idaho -- Kerwynn Williams ran for
235 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 18 Utah
State won a bowl game for the first time in nearly
20 years, beating Toledo 41-15 on Saturday in the
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The victory capped the best season in Utah State
history. The Aggies finished 11-2, won the Western
Athletic Conference title outright and had their
first bowl victory since 1993.
Chuckie Keeton scored on a 62-yard run to put Utah
State up 7-3, and Williams, the game's MVP, sparked
a 28-point fourth quarter for Utah State when he
broke through the defense and raced 63 yards for a
touchdown to put the Aggies up 20-9. Williams, who
had 18 carries, followed that with TD runs of 5 and
25 yards. Keeton ran for 92 yards and was 21-of-31
passing for 229 yards.
Toledo (9-4) was able to move the ball and made five
trips inside the red zone. But penalties and miscues
forced the Rockets to settle for Jeremiah Detmer's
three field goals.
The Rockets' only touchdown came when Bernard Reedy
returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 87 yards. Reedy
was the only big producer on a Toledo offense held
to 315 total yards. Reedy had 51 yards rushing and
caught six passes for 62 yards.
Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin, who started in
place of the injured Terrence Owens, was 12-of-21
passing for 132 yards. Dantin threw an interception
in the third quarter to end a promising scoring
drive and was replaced by Owens in the fourth
quarter.
Owens moved the Rockets on his first possession, but
another red-zone opportunity was squelched when the
Aggies snuffed Owens for no gain on a fourth-and-1
play from the 9.
Toledo played without two top players. Linebacker
Dan Molls, the nation's leading tackler, had a
concussion on the opening kickoff and didn't return.
Minutes later, running back David Fluellen, the
nation's eighth-leading rusher, went down with an
ankle injury.
The Aggies pulled away in the fourth quarter when
Williams, held in check much of the game, broke off
several long runs. After his 63-yard TD run,
Williams broke through the line on the next Utah
State possession, dashing 56 yards before being
tackled at the 5. He scored one play later, then
scored his final touchdown 1:30 later.
Utah State rolled up 582 yards on offense, including
353 yards on the ground.
|
National Rankings |
|
T |
|
U |
|
28th |
Total Offense |
26th |
|
106th |
Total Defense |
15th |
|
39th |
Scoring Offense |
36th |
|
59th |
Scoring Defense |
8th |
|
34th |
Rushing Offense |
37th |
|
71st |
Run Defense |
12th |
|
45th |
Passing Offense |
37th |
|
117th |
Passing Defense |
36th |
|
31st |
Turnover Margin |
62nd |
|
Position Rankings
relative to each other
5 Highest - 1 Lowest |
|
T |
|
U |
|
4 |
Quarterbacks |
4 |
|
4 |
RBs |
4 |
|
3.5 |
Receivers |
3 |
|
3.5 |
O Line |
4 |
|
3 |
D Line |
3.5 |
|
3 |
Linebackers |
4 |
|
2.5 |
Secondary |
3 |
|
4 |
Spec
Teams |
4 |
|
3.5 |
Coaching |
5 |
|
Utah State (10-2) vs. Toledo (9-3)
Dec. 15, 4:30, ESPN
Here’s The Deal … Two kicks. That’s the difference between
Orange and Potato for a Utah State team that
came up with one of its greatest seasons ever,
and with room to do even more.
Before last year, the Aggies hadn’t come up with
a winning season since 1996 and this is just the
fourth winning season since 1980. Gary Andersen
continues to put together one of the best head
coaching jobs as he’s turning around a perennial
also ran with one of the most fun and exciting
teams in college football. It almost all came
together this year with something truly special
with a missed 37-yard kick in the 16-14 loss at
Wisconsin and a 38-yard whiff against BYU the
only two mistakes standing between the team and
the BCS. Winning the WAC was nice, and now the
program is off to the Mountain West with a
strong future and a coach who appears to be
happy where he is – at least for now.
The Aggies are a mere 1-5 all-time in bowls,
starting with a loss to San Jose State in the
1946 Raisin and losing a thriller last year to
Ohio in the Famous Idaho Potato. The only bowl
victory came in the 1993 Las Vegas against Ball
State, so while it might not seem like that big
a deal to beat Toledo, it would be historic.
The Rockets came up with a nice season under
Matt Campbell, who took over the reins from
current Illinois head coach, Tim Beckman,
winning eight of the first nine games with the
lone loss coming in the overtime opener against
Arizona. A home clunker against Ball State and a
tough battle against Northern Illinois were the
two missteps, but there was a nice win over
Cincinnati to make up for a schedule loaded up
with cream-puffs.
Beating Utah
State might not make up for not winning the MAC
title, but it would mean the first ten-win
season since 2001 and it would cement the
program as one of the best on the lot with an
8-4 all-time record helped by a Military Bowl
win over Air Force last season.
Formerly the MPC Computers Bowl and the
Humanitarian, this has been one of the better
minor bowls on a consistent basis with six of
the last eight decided by six points or fewer
and four of those decided by three points or
fewer.
Players to Watch: The Rockets are getting a key piece of the
puzzle coming back with running back
David Fluellen returning from an ankle
injury that kept him out of the regular-season
finale against Akron. Very quick and very
durable, he was a workhorse for the attack with
20 carries or more in every game but the layup
against Coastal Carolina, rushing for 1,460
yards and 13 scores on the season to go along
with 32 catches for 246 yards. The time off is a
big help getting a full month to heal in time to
face the nation’s No. 12 run defense.
Last year was about the offense for Utah State,
but this season the defense has been the star
led by junior Jake Doughty, a
smallish 6-0, 227-pound sparkplug who went from
being a key backup to a machine with 101 stops
including 30 in his last two game. He’s a big
hitter for his size with the quickness to always
be around the ball.
Offensively, senior running back Kerwynn
Williams has stepped in and become
everything the Aggies need with 1,277 yards and
12 touchdowns while also serving as a terrific
receiver out of the backfield with 43 catches
for 663 yards and five scores. One of the
nation’s best all-around backs, Williams went
from being a top kick returner to a good runner,
and while he’s not a workhorse, he’ll hit the
home run with three straight 100-yard games
coming into the bowls.
Toledo will win if … it hangs on to the ball and finds ways
to keep the chains moving. Toledo is one of the
better teams in the nation in time of possession
and Utah State is among the worst, and the most
grinding drives, the better. The Aggies have an
efficient passing game and a bit of pop and
explosion, but it helped to put up big numbers
against defenses like New Mexico State, Texas
State and Louisiana Tech. This might be more of
a tough, grinding game than it might appear, and
for a Rocket defense that struggles to hold up
against the pass and doesn’t make a slew of big
plays behind the line, just getting off the
field will be a big deal.
How does Toledo keep moving the chains? The
balance has to be there on offense, and with QB
Terrance Owens healthy again after missing time
with a foot injury, he should be able to keep
the Aggie defense just honest enough to give
Fluellen room to move. The Rocket coaching staff
has to be creative and has to mix things up –
again, the more the D is on the sideline, the
better.
Utah State will win if … the passing game rocks. Toledo isn’t
exactly a brick wall against the run, but it’s
the secondary that has the biggest problem
giving up close to 300-yard per game and getting
bombed on by just about everyone. Chuckie Keeton
is an ultra-efficient and effective passer who
threw for more than 300 yards in three straight
games before struggling a bit against Idaho. It
will be bombs away against a Toledo D that
doesn’t get to the quarterback enough, and with
Keeton’s scrambling ability, there will be time
for the receivers to get deep.
Defensively, Utah State will turn the dogs loose
on Owens. Toledo has a nice offensive line that
can pound away, but it’s inconsistent in pass
protection and should have problems with the
creative and varied Aggie pass rush that
destroyed San Jose State with 13 sacks in the
key WAC showdown and came up with three or more
in seven games. Just about everything else from
the defense starts from the pressure up front,
and the Aggies have to bring it from the start
to force mistakes. Toledo has committed ten
penalties in three of the last six games and
turned the ball over six times in the last two
weeks. Utah State is good enough to dictate the
action.
What Will Happen: Utah State’s defense will take away
Fluellen and Owens won’t be able to come through
with the big game needed. It will be a
nip-and-tuck defensive battle early, but the
steadiness of Keeton on a few key third down
plays will give the Aggies a lead midway through
the first half before turning the ball over to
its defense. A few takeaways will keep Toledo
hanging around, but Keeton will connect on two
deep passes to get the momentum back on the way
to a good, fun bowl win that will set the bar
high for the rest of the December bowls.
CFN Prediction: Utah State 34 … Toledo 30
ATS Consultants Line (Click
for more lines and picks) Utah State -10
O/U: 58.5
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Famous Idaho Potato Bowl History
formerly the Humanitarian Bowl and the MPC
Computers Bowl
2012 Utah State 41, Toledo 15
2011 Ohio 24, Utah State 23
2010 Northern Illinois 40, Fresno State 17
2009 Idaho 43, Bowling Green 42
2008 Maryland 42, Georgia Tech 35
2007 Fresno St 40, Georgia Tech 28
2006 Miami 21, Nevada 20
2005
Boston College 27, Boise St 21
2004 Fresno St 37, Virginia 34 OT
2004 (Jan.) Georgia Tech 52, Tulsa 10
2002 Boise St 34, Iowa St 17
2001 Clemson 49, La Tech 24
2000 Boise St 38, UTEP 23
1999 Boise St 34, Louisville 31
1998 Idaho 42, So Miss 35
1997 Cincinnati 35, Utah St 19