The Utah State Aggies and the Memphis Tigers will compete for holiday cheer in the First Responder Bowl on Tuesday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium at 3:15 p.m. ET. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W.'
The contest between the Aggies and the Boise State Broncos four weeks ago was not particularly close, with Utah State falling 42-23. Utah State's loss came about despite a quality game from WR Terrell Vaughn, who punched in one rushing touchdown in addition to catching eight passes for one TD and 148 yards. Cooper Legas' 75-yard touchdown toss to Vaughn in the third quarter made for one of the most memorable moments of the day.
Meanwhile, the Tigers might have drawn first blood against the SMU Mustangs four weeks ago, but it was SMU who got the last laugh. It was a hard-fought game, but Memphis had to settle for a 34-31 defeat against SMU. Despite the loss, Memphis got a solid performance out of RB Asa Martin, who punched in one rushing touchdown.
A couple numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: The Aggies enter the matchup with only 198.4 passing yards allowed per game on average, good for 26th best in the nation. But the Tigers rank 22nd in the nation when it comes to passing yards per game, with 279.8 on average. We'll see which of these strengths -- offense or defense -- will win out.