LOGAN - This is the scenario that most were afraid of when it came to Utah State's schedule to start the 2008 season.

The fear was that a loss to UNLV in the opener - which is exactly what happened - would lead USU to an 0-3 start, with a road game against nationally ranked Oregon coming today, followed by a visit from nationally ranked Utah next weekend.

It was a tall order to go on the road and defeat the Rebels, but at least that challenge was a feasible one. Today's matchup in Eugene, against one of the better teams in the country, turns that challenge into improbable, if not nearly impossible.

The Ducks have one of the best home-field advantages in the country.

Couple that with an offense that can score in bunches and an athletic defense that thrives on forcing turnovers, and it would seem as if the Aggies are in a situation where merely keeping the score close could represent a moral victory.

"We'll have a great task ahead of us this week going into Oregon," USU head coach Brent Guy said. "Its a very hard place for an offensive team to go into and execute. It will be a challenge for our offense because of the type of environment that they have and this is as impressive an Oregon team as I have seen. I don't think I played against an Oregon team with as much talent offensively and defensively and even in the return game."

Besides the obvious issues, the Aggies have done some special things in order to prepare for what will be a sold out crowd at Autzen Stadium and a raucous atmosphere throughout the Ducks student section. USU practiced with noise this week.

The Aggies have also worked on silent snap counts and different snap cadences to combat a crowd that thrives on distracting the opposing team at the line of scrimmage.

"They know when to get loud, that's the impressive thing," Guy said. "They'll get loud at the line, get quiet when the play is over and then get loud again when you get back to the line."

In order to stay competitive, the one area that's been identified is the running game, where Robert Turbin, Curtis Marsh and Marquis Butler have to fare better than they did a week ago. A sound rushing game would slow the tempo down to USU's liking, and it has the ability to take the crowd out of the game. It could also open up passing lanes for the Aggie quarterbacks to exploit.

"We have to run the ball," Turbin said. "It's very important for us to be able to run the ball. It'll be easier for the quarterback to be able to throw the ball if we can run the ball. Then we'll be able to use play-action to open things up downfield."

tjones@sltrib.com