On Sunday Oct. 23, the Utah State Aggies, fresh off of a 24-17 home loss to Louisiana Tech, sat at 2-5 overall on the season and 0-2 in conference play. But they finished the season with five straight wins, and they enter the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl with as much momentum as any team in the country. The Ohio Bobcats, meanwhile, also finished the season with five wins before blowing a 20-point halftime lead to Northern Illinois in the MAC championship game.
The Aggies will try and get it done on the ground, where they average 277.5 yards per game, but they'll face a stiff test in the Bobcats defense, which led the MAC with only 122.58 yards per game given up on the ground. When the possession is flipped, the Aggies will square off against a balanced Bobcats offense that averaged 250 yards per game through the air and 200 on the ground.
Both Ohio and Utah State will leave the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl feeling good about their 2011 seasons, but one will end up feeling just a bit better.
Game date, time: 3:30 pm MT, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011
Location: Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID
TV channel: ESPN/ESPN3
Series history: Utah State leads 1-0
For more on this game, visit MAC blog The Hustle Belt. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Football for more on the bowl season.