Utah State @ Boise State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 28, 2017 ) Boise State 41, Utah State 14

It has been a historic season for the Utah State football team which has won a school-record 10 straight games, breaking the previous mark of nine in a row set by Merlin Olsen's 1960 team. But the Aggies, ranked No. 21 in this week's College Football Playoff rankings, need one more win on Saturday night at No. 23 Boise State just to claim the Mountain West's Mountain Division title and the right to host the MW Championship Game on Dec. 1.

Utah State almost had its win streak snapped at Colorado State last Saturday, needing an apparent game-winning touchdown pass by the Rams on the final to be waved off when it was determined that CSU wide receiver Preston Williams had stepped out of bounds -- barely -- before coming back on the field to catch the ball in the end zone. "You're drained," Utah State coach Matt Wells said Monday when asked how he felt emotionally following the 29-24 victory. "You go down the field, take the lead, then they retake the lead and you look up and see zeroes on the scoreboard. You see arms up in the air and your heart sinks. You are then given a little bit of hope and the call is made, which was the correct call. I applaud (the refs) that they had the courage to make the correct call." Boise State has won six straight since opening Mountain West play with a 19-13 home loss to San Diego State including a 24-17 win on Nov. 9 over West Division champion Fresno State, who awaits the Mountain champ in the title game. "This is a typical Boise State team," Wells said. "They're a very strong, tough team."

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Boise State -2.5

ABOUT UTAH STATE (10-1, 7-0 Mountain West): The Aggies rank among the top-10 teams in the nation in 17 statistical categories and lead the nation in five of them, including scoring drives less than one minute (24), passes intercepted (18) and kickoff returns (29.66), and are second in scoring (49.3) to only Oklahoma (49.5). Sophomore quarterback Jordan Love leads the way, having completed 217-of-327 passes for 2,845 yards, 25 touchdowns and just four interceptions while junior Darwin Thompson leads the running game with 890 yards on 121 carries and has scored 14 TDs. Sophomore linebacker David Woodward leads the defense with 113 tackles, 4.0 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss.

ABOUT BOISE STATE (9-2, 6-1): Senior quarterback Brett Rypien has completed 263-of-384 passes for 3,270 yards, 28 TDs and seven interceptions to lead a Broncos offense that is averaging 37.4 points and 465.0 yards per game. Junior running back Alex Mattison leads the team in rushing with 1,015 yards and 13 scores while senior wide receiver Sean Modster heads a talented receiving corps with 59 receptions for for 852 yards and seven TDs. The defense, which leads the Mountain West and ranks ninth nationally with an average of 3.27 sacks per game, is led by sophomore linebacker Curtis Weaver who is pacing the Broncos with 9.5 sacks.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Utah State leads the nation with 10 non-offensive touchdowns with four coming on special teams and six on defense.

2. Rypien is the FBS' active leading passer with 13,146 yards and last Saturday became the 17th quarterback in FBS history to eclipse the 13,000-yard mark.

3. Boise State leads the series with Utah State 17-5 and has won 14 of the last 15 meetings.

PREDICTION: Boise State 27, Utah State 24