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Plenty of stakes as No. 14 Utah St visits No. 21 Boise St
No. 14 Utah State (10-1, 7-0 Mountain West, No. 21 CFP) at No. 21 Boise State (9-2, 6-1, No. 23 CFP), 10:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Line: Boise State by 3.
Series record: Boise State leads 17-5.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The Mountain Division title will be decided along with hosting duties for the conference title game next week. Utah State survived a scare last week at Colorado State when a desperation touchdown on the final play by the Rams was nullified by a penalty and the Aggies escaped with a 29-24 win. Boise State has won six straight.
KEY MATCHUP
Utah State QB Jordan Love vs. Boise State's defense. Colorado State proved a week ago it's possible to slow down the Aggies. The 29 points scored by Utah State its second fewest all season — it had scored at least 30 in every game — and had topped 60 in two of the three previous games. Love has been the leader of that offense, but he was limited to 169 yards passing against Colorado State a week after throwing for 491 yards. Boise State's defense has been stingy enough since giving up 38 points in a win over Air Force. But the Broncos have shown they can be vulnerable to the pass.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Utah State: RB Darwin Thompson. He doesn't get a ton of carries, but when Thompson does he has a knack for big plays. Thompson has 14 rushing touchdowns on 121 carries this season.
Boise State: QB Brett Rypien. The senior would like to play at least one more home game on the blue turf. He's thrown for 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions — five of those coming during a shaky two-game stretch. In his last five games Rypien has 14 touchdowns and two interceptions.
FACTS & FIGURES
First Mountain West game where both teams were ranked in AP Top 25 since 2010 when Utah faced TCU. ... Second time since 2014 teams have met in Boise with division title on line in regular season finale. Broncos won that game 50-19. ... Aggies have just one win over Boise State since 1997. ... Utah State leads country with six defensive touchdowns and is second in forced turnovers with 28.
