This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Logan • Both Utah State and Boise State scored impressive wins Saturday night. But neither had much time to celebrate, considering the lateness of those games and the short week of preparation before Friday's Mountain West Conference showdown at Maverik Stadium.
The Aggies won at Fresno State, 56-14. The Broncos rolled to a 41-10 victory at Colorado State. Utah State's game in California ended at 12:10 a.m. MDT. The Aggies boarded their charter flight and got back to Logan about 4 a.m. Sunday. Boise got home from Fort Collins only a couple of hours earlier.
"It was a good win," Utah State coach Matt Wells said. "Any time you win on the road, it's very good, and I was proud of our players. One of the things we talked about was playing physical and starting fast and I thought we did that. …
"We were able to play a lot of guys in the fourth quarter — in fact, almost the entire fourth quarter. It was good to be able to play those guys as well as rest a lot of the starters. That was good, especially heading into a short week."
At Boise State, the Broncos usually employ a "24-hour" rule for savoring a victory. The players and coaches mostly relax for one day before starting serious preparation for the upcoming opponent.
But not this week. Coaches got an early start on the game plan Sunday morning, according to the Idaho Statesman. Offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz made no concessions to the short week.
"There's still plenty of time," Drinkwitz said. "The biggest thing is don't cut corners. Don't try to say you're squeezed for time and not do your due diligence. ... This is definitely one of the top defenses we've played this year so we're going to have to be prepared."
The Broncos will bus to Logan on Thursday and return home immediately following the Utah State game.
— Steve Luhm