Utah State football: Aggies accept Famous Idaho Potato Bowl invitation

Logan • Utah State will be going back to Boise.

Following the Aggies' 45-9 win over Idaho on Saturday afternoon, athletics director Scott Barnes made it official, accepting an invitation to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl for the second consecutive season.

With that, No. 25 Utah State becomes the first ranked team to participate in the Potato Bowl since Boston College in 2005.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for us," USU head coach Gary Andersen said. "It's good to go to a bowl that's close enough where people can travel."

Boise's close proximity to Logan served as a natural draw for Utah State officials. Last season, roughly 9,000 fans made the short drive to see the Aggies suffer a narrow 24-23 defeat to Ohio. The program hopes for a bigger turnout this year.

USU had been in touch with bigger bowls following its historic road win over Louisiana Tech last week. But the Aggies decided that going back to Boise would be what's best for the program.

"There was a lot of talk of other bowls, but we wouldn't be where we are without the fans," senior cornerback Will Davis said. "We had a lot of fans last year. We can't imagine how many we're going to get this season."

Narrow misses

Kerwynn Williams amassed 139 all-purpose yards on Saturday. He needs 34 more during the bowl game to break the WAC career record. Chuckie Keeton needs 126 passing yards to break the school single-season record set by Jose Fuentes.

Injury report

Senior safety McKade Brady missed Saturday's game with a broken jaw suffered against Louisiana Tech. Brady, one of the leading tacklers and a team captain, is expected to be out for a few more weeks. It isn't clear whether he will be able to play in the Potato Bowl.

tjones@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tjonessltrib