Utah State @ Boise State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 12, 2013 ) Boise State 34, Utah State 23

Boise State hosts Utah State on Saturday in what turns out to be the Mountain West Conference's Mountain Division title game. Colorado State was in a three-way tie with the No. 25 Broncos and Aggies before dropping out of contention with a 27-24 loss at Air Force on Friday, so the Boise State-Utah winner will host the West Division champion in the MWC championship game next Saturday. Boise State has won seven straight games and 12 in a row at Broncos Stadium.

"The focus is on going 1-0 (this week) and I'm happy for our program, but we have to go out there and take care of business," Boise State coach Bryan Harsin told reporters. Utah State would love to get back to the championship game after losing to Fresno State 24-17 last season. The Aggies have overcome the loss of three quarterbacks to string together a five-game winning streak.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Boise State -8.5

ABOUT UTAH STATE (9-3, 6-1 MWC): The Aggies boast the No. 1 scoring defense in the conference, which has kept opponents to 18.3 points per game and 26 touchdowns through 12 contests. Zach Vigil, a candidate for the league's defensive player of the year honors, ranks second in the MWC with eight sacks and has tallied 133 tackles while safety Frankie Sutera leads the conference with seven interceptions. Freshman quarterback Kent Myers has completed 73.4 percent of his passes and thrown for 639 yards and five touchdowns since he stepped in against UNLV on Oct. 25.

ABOUT BOISE STATE (9-2, 6-1): As fate would have it, the No. 1 scoring defense in the conference will be going up against the top-ranked scoring offense in Boise State, which averages 40 points. Grant Hederick leads the MWC in completion percentage (71.3) and has thrown for 3,041 yards and 20 touchdowns during his senior campaign. Running back Jay Ajayi has recorded six straight 100-yard games with multiple touchdowns in each (14 total), and added 92 yards receiving with a score in last week's 63-14 rout of Wyoming.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Boise State is 14-4 against Utah State with wins in the the last 11 meetings.

2. Ajayi leads the conference in rushing TDs (19) and has the most receiving TDs among Mountain West RBs (four).

3. The Aggies are 6-1 in Mountain West road games under Wells and have beaten 13 of their last 14 conference opponents on the road.

PREDICTION: Boise State 31, Utah State 28