This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Logan • As a competitor, Utah State linebacker Zach Vigil says he has a lot of respect for BYU quarterback Taysom Hill and the way he plays, believing the quarterback should be one of the stronger Heisman candidates.
"He's really smart and he can throw the ball," he said. "I think he's underrated. He's pretty accurate with the football and he makes some really good long throws."
While Vigil has admired Hill in his film sessions this week, he has no intention of giving any highlight clips to the quarterback on Friday.
If the Aggies are going to pull off what would be one of their biggest upsets in recent seasons, they must find a way to contain Hill and his receivers.
The Aggies' defense has produced some heroic efforts this season, but they'll need another to stop Hill.
The Cougars are averaging 37.5 points, 230.2 rushing yards and 219 passing yards this season. Hill is responsible for most of that production and ranks 16th nationally in averaging 342.5 yards of offense.
"He runs like a tailback and throws like a quarterback," Utah State coach Matt Wells said. "The guy is playing at a high level. I think that every bit of the Heisman talk is absolutely deserved based on his numbers and being 4-0."
So how do you stop a guy like that? The Aggies believe it's by refusing to let him get going. The Aggies have 13 sacks this season and have forced 11 turnovers in the last three games.
They believe they can produce a similarly disruptive effort against the Cougars, who have given up 13 sacks in their four games combined.
"The biggest thing is we're going to have to be able to pressure," Vigil said. "They know and everybody in the country knows we bring pressure. But just because we bring pressure doesn't mean we're getting home, so we have to win our one-on-one battles up front."
The most susceptible area for the Aggies' defense is the secondary. Newcomers such as Jalen Davis and Daniel Gray are coming along, but they haven't faced a challenge like the one BYU presents.
Hills' creativity, plus the talents of receivers Jordan Leslie (19 receptions, 227 yards) and Mitch Mathews (16 receptions, 134 yards) presents the Aggies with their biggest offensive challenge of the season.
Nevertheless, Vigil is confident his teammates can hold up their part.
"Those guys in the back end are young, but they're talented," he said, then added, "We're going to have to be able to pressure [Hill] and be able to get home. That's going to give us our best opportunity to play really strong in the back end."
Twitter: @lyawodraska —
How they've done
The Aggies face an offense that is averaging 449.2 yards a game. This is how the defense has done against teams this year.
Opponent Rush yds allwd Rec yds allwd
Tennessee 110 273
Idaho State 102 306
Wake Forest -25 257
Arkansas St. 126 190