Utah State’s prize for winning its first Mountain West Conference title is a nice one: the Aggies will play a Power Five school in the postseason.
Utah State will face the Pac-12’s Oregon State Beavers in the new LA Bowl on Dec. 18, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy first reported Sunday, one day after the Aggies blitzed San Diego State 46-13 in the MW championship game.
It was formally announced a short time later.
It will be Utah State’s first bowl matchup against a Power Five opponent in the modern era. In 1961, the Aggies played the Big 12’s Baylor, then of the Southwest Conference, in the Gotham Bowl.
The Aggies will take a 10-3 record into the matchup under first-year head coach Blake Anderson.
Utah State will also have a chance to jump into the final rankings — the Aggies are one spot out of the latest Associated Press top 25 and two spots outside the Coaches top 25.
Oregon State finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and in third place in the Pac-12 North standings, though the Beavers went into the final week of the regular season with an outside chance to win the Pac-12 North.
The most impressive victory for Oregon State this season was beating Pac-12 champion Utah 42-34 in Corvallis, Oregon.
It was the Utes’ lone league loss, as the Beavers rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to win behind a rushing attack that produced 260 yards.
The inaugural 2021 LA Bowl will be played Dec. 18 at 5:30 p.m. MST at SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Chargers and Rams. The game will be televised on ABC.
This will be Utah State’s 15th bowl appearance and first since playing in the 2019 Frisco Bowl.
Post a Comment