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Logan • Utah State senior linebacker Kyler Fackrell and his teammates shut down Southern Utah in the season opener.

But can the Aggies put the squeeze on Utah?

"It's a big challenge," said Fackrell. "They have a big, strong offensive line and they have a couple of big, physical runners behind them. So it will be a big challenge, but we look forward to these opportunities."

Southern Utah managed only 163 yards and nine first downs against Utah State. The Thunderbirds were 1-for-18 on third down. Their only touchdown came after a blocked punt gave them possession at the Aggie 24-yard line.

Unlike SUU, of course, Utah is loaded with Pac 12-quality athletes, led by quarterback Travis Wilson and running back Devontae Booker. They were dominant in a 24-17 win over Michigan in their opener and caught Utah State's eye.

"Their running back is one of the best in the nation," Fackrell said, "and Wilson is deceptively fast. He gets a lot of running yards. He's able to pull the ball and they have a lot of designed plays for him to run. We're going to have to fly to the ball and get more than one person at the point attack when we're tackling them because they're big, physical players."

Aggie coach Matt Wells agrees. He called Booker "a tremendous running back who deserves all the praise he gets."

Utah State must deal with his ability as a receiver, too. "We have to know where he is at all times," Wells said.

Wilson, a senior, has grown into his role as the quarterback of a top-25 team, according to Wells.

"You can tell Travis has got a good grasp of what they're doing," he said. "… He's a strong, elusive runner you have to account for."

Utah State's offense faces a similarly difficult test. Unlike the defense, it struggled against Southern Utah. The Aggies managed only 250 yards against the Thunderbirds. Their only touchdown came on Andrew Rodriguez' 88-yard punt return with 4:54 remaining.

Protecting Chuckie Keeton and getting downfield targets open were the biggest problems. If it continues, those shortcomings will be magnified against Utah's defense, which will likely crowd the line of scrimmage and play a lot of one-on-one in the secondary.

"They've been that way for a long time, since coach [Kyle] Whittingham was the D-coordinator and since coach [Gary] Andersen was the D-coordinator," Wells said.

"Back in the day, I called it their punt-return defense because it looked like there were 10 guys within a yard of the line of scrimmage and one post safety all the way back. It doesn't look that way as much anymore, but Utah is always aggressive. They're a pressure defense. They've got tremendous skills to play that man-to-man and this year is no different."

Eight starters return for the Utes, including senior linebacker Gionni Paul, who had 14 tackles against Michigan.

"The front seven on their defensive side is very strong and very stout," Wells said, "and they're extremely athletic in the back end."

In the secondary, the Aggies must find a way to get through sophomore safety Marcus Williams.

"He can cover a lot of ground," Wells said. "He's extremely fast and I like him a lot. I don't know if I'm going to like playing against him, but I like him. He's a good, good player as you watch them on tape." —

Of note

• Utah State plays Utah for the 112th time Friday. The Aggies have won once in 14 games since 1997.

• Utah State went 1-for-15 on third down during its season-opening 12-9 victory over Southern Utah.

• On defense, the Aggies limited Southern Utah to 163 total yards and nine first downs.