BOISE, Idaho – Utah State football held its second practice in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday in preparation for the 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Georgia State, which will be played on Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
"This week has been a great opportunity for us to be together and the guys have had a good time," said third-year head coach Blake Anderson. "I've been pleased with their attitudes. We've had fun and been able to get some work in at the same time. We've seen a lot of big smiles and a lot of laughing, but when we've needed to work, they have focused, and we've had good practices.
"The challenge for guys when you go to a bowl game is finding that balance between having fun and then focusing when it's time to focus, and not every team can do that. I challenged our players today and I thought they responded well. We had a good practice yesterday, as well, and our meetings have been good. I feel like we are doing a good job of balancing both and hopefully we will see that on Saturday. The guys are excited to be here and they want to play."
"We've had a lot of fun, especially the snow tubing, that was way more fun than I thought it would be," said junior running back Davon Booth. "Just being around everyone this week has been a good experience for all of us. Practice has been the same and we've had the same mentality of sticking to the script and doing what we need to do. Everything is the same as a normal game, we just need to make sure we play relaxed. We know what kind of football we can play and that is what we are striving for."
Utah State is playing in its 11th bowl game in the last 13 years, including its fifth appearance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl as the Aggies played in the inaugural bowl in 1997, followed by appearances in 2011, 2012 and 2015.
This will be Utah State's third-straight bowl game under Anderson.
Utah State will hold its final practice on Friday, before concluding its season in the bowl game on Saturday.
Fans will have the opportunity to participate in a couple of pre-game activities.
On Friday, fans can enjoy the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Mash Bash at the Grove Plaza in downtown Boise from 6-7 p.m. The event is free and will include both teams' marching bands and cheer squads.
On Saturday, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will host the Albertsons Fan Fest in the west parking lot of the stadium from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Fan fest will include free Simplot french fries, an Albertsons food tent, live music, St. Luke's Fit One Family Field Day inside Caven-Williams, a chance to take a picture in front of the Famous Idaho Potato Truck, corn hole, TV's, heaters, food and beverage, a Battle of the Bands, and much more.
Tickets are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305. Tickets can also be purchased 24 hours a day at www.utahstateaggies.com.
For more information on the Utah State football program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUFootball, on Facebook at USUFootball and on Instagram at USUFootball.
