This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Experience and seniority won out over youth when it came to deciding who will start at quarterback for the Utah State Aggies Saturday against UNLV.

Senior Craig Harrison, who played most of the second half of the Aggies' 16-13 loss to CSU after Darell Garretson left the game with an injury to his right arm, will be the Aggies' starter for at least Saturday's game, Utah State coach Matt Wells said on Monday.

Wells didn't try to hide the fact that dipping down to the third string quarterback was a situation he never imagined he'd face.

"Coming out of fall camp, he was on the scout team," Wells said of Harrison. "But guys got hurt. I can't make Darell Garretson healthy and I can't make Chuckie Keeton healthy."

Harrison played in nine games last year and started against Boise State before Garretson took over. He was 18-of-41 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown in the 34-23 loss. Harrison finished Saturday's game against the Rams 5-of-12 passing for 28 yards.

Asked how long it will take Harrison to feel comfortable leading the Aggies and Wells said it needed to be only a few reps.

"He has to win now for us," he said. "We need him to play efficient within himself and distribute the ball to receivers. He needs to do his part and we have to play well around him."

The extent of Garretson's injury won't be known until he undergoes an MRI scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Wells didn't want to speculate on Garretson, but acknowledged the Aggies have had a run of bad luck with five starters going down with season-ending injuries.

The Aggies have lost Keeton, linebackers Kyler Fackrell and Alex Huerta and Tavaris McMillian and receiver Brandon Swindall.

"I don't know why it is," he said of the rash of injuries. "But I can't change it and I'm not going to sit around and mope and have self pity. I won't accept it."

Wells said he spoke to his team earlier Monday about the need for every player to improve his performance to help Harrison.

"We're staying positive," he said. "The two things we can control are attitude and effort and they understand that."

The good news for the Aggies is the schedule works in their favor. The Aggies (4-3, 1-1) are heavily favored to beat UNLV (2-5, 1-3) Saturday and are likely to be favored in road games at Hawaii and Wyoming and at home against New Mexico on Nov. 15.

The last two games on the schedule should be the most challenging, but the Aggies will at least have home field advantage against San Jose State on Nov. 21.

That leaves the showdown against Boise State on Nov. 29 as a finale in which the Aggies likely will be the underdog.

Utah State offensive lineman Austin Stephens said the Aggies would remain strong mentally and physically.

"The offensive line doesn't care who is back there," he said. "We believe in them." —

Craig Harrison file

Vitals • Quarterback, 6-foot-2, 203 pounds, senior

From • Granstville, Utah

Of Note • Went 18-of-41 passing for 185 yards with a touchdown in his one career start, a loss to Boise State last year…Played in nine games in 2013, finishing 35-of-74 passing for 434 yards with two touchdowns…Rushed 16 times for 60 yards in 2013…Spent two years at Snow College, passing for 2,181 yards and 19 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2011. —

UNLV at Utah State

O Saturday, 2 p.m.

TV • ESPN