BYU has seen its share of tough opponents this season, and always-motivated USU will be no different in Wagon Wheel showdown

USU players carry off the wagon wheel as they celebrate their win over BYU 40-24 at Maverik Stadium in Logan Utah on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. The Aggies have a two-game winning streak against the Cougars in the rivalry series. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Coming off a bye week, Cougars have played the seventh-most difficult schedule in the country, but Aggies are expected to bring a whole different level of intensity to Saturday’s rivalry game in Logan

PROVO — Two and three.

Those are a couple of the numbers the BYU Cougars will hear a lot this week as they prepare to travel to Logan to take on Utah State in the Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel. Kickoff in the annual rivalry game is at 8 p.m. and the intrastate matchup will be televised by ESPN2.

Two is the consecutive number of times the Aggies have defeated the Cougars, and three is how many consecutive times BYU has lost after having a bye week.

While the Aggies (4-3) were getting pummeled 31-7 by Air Force and its triple-option attack late Saturday night, the Cougars (3-4) were wrapping up their second week without a game this month and plotting a way to restore their long-lost dominance over Utah State.

“I am comfortable saying in public that these guys need to play with a chip on their shoulder the entire time. That’s kinda what BYU is all about. And with this independent schedule, that is what we have to do.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake

Air Force ran roughshod over USU to the tune of 448 yards, but defending the triple-option is a whole different animal than dealing with BYU’s more traditional offensive attack and a second- or third-string quarterback, Jaren Hall or Baylor Romney, so the Cougars know getting a win at Maverik Stadium won’t be easy.

They committed seven turnovers in a 40-24 loss there in 2017 and were curb-stomped 45-20 last year in Provo.

Utah State never lacks motivation against BYU — the Aggies are obsessed with beating the Cougars in every sport — and this year is no different. Can BYU answer that win-at-all-costs attitude this week?

BYU coach Kalani Sitake told critics to “keep manufacturing tight spots” for him and his team after it stunned Boise State 28-25 on Oct. 19 because it responds better that way. Hence, the Cougars will be reminded of their losing streak to the Aggies at every turn this week.

“I am comfortable saying in public that these guys need to play with a chip on their shoulder the entire time,” he said. “That’s kinda what BYU is all about. And with this independent schedule, that is what we have to do.”

BYU’s strength of schedule, according to Jeff Sagarin of USA Today, jumped from No. 10 to No. 7 while the Cougars were idle last weekend. That’s because BYU’s past opponents went 5-0, while BSU and Washington had byes. The Cougars are nothing if not battle-tested, but they will face their most hostile road crowd of the season Saturday, along with bitter cold conditions.

If the Cougars believe the same Utah State team that laid an egg in Colorado Springs will show up Saturday, they’re crazy.

“We know who we are,” senior safety Dayan Ghanwoloku said after the Boise State win. “Tonight we played at the level we need to play at. But I feel like we have a lot to improve, too. … We can’t just stop here. We can’t get comfortable. We have to come out and play every game like they are a ranked team. That’s the mindset we have to have. It is a good win, but you gotta move on. Get your 24 hours in celebrating. We got a bye week then we have to be ready.”

They weren’t ready two weeks ago, when they followed a bye week with a puzzling 27-23 loss at South Florida. Last year, they lost 7-6 to Northern Illinois after a bye and in 2017 they lost the aforementioned game in Logan when backup QB Beau Hoge started but was unable to finish the game due to injury and the Aggie defense feasted on third-stringer Koy Detmer’s inexperience.

Most observers believe Hall will get the nod this time, provided he clears concussion protocol, but Romney showed he’s more than capable as well by directing the win over the Broncos.

“We consider Boise one of our rivals. And we hadn’t beaten them in a couple of years, so it feels great. Same thing with Utah State. They are one of our rivals. We haven’t beaten them in a couple years, so it is business for us and we are looking to play as well as we can against them,” said BYU tight end Matt Bushman. “When we put everything together we can play with anyone on our schedule. We can compete. I think we can win out. A game like this can kinda get that stone rolling again.”

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