LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football will face Georgia State in the 27th-annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m., at Albertsons Stadium on the Boise State campus in Boise, Idaho, it was announced Sunday. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
 
This will be Utah State's fifth appearance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, which is the most by any team in the history of the bowl. USU is 1-3 all-time in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl with its last appearance being in 2015. Georgia State will be playing in the Idaho-based bowl for the first time ever.
 
Utah State (6-6, 5-3 MW) and Georgia State (6-6, 3-5 Sun Belt) will be meeting for the first time in series history. This will also be USU's first-ever bowl game against a Sun Belt opponent.
 
Utah State and Georgia State had two common opponents this year as USU posted a 34-33 road win at UConn and lost at home to Sun Belt Conference member James Madison 45-38. GSU posted a 35-14 home win against UConn and lost at home to JMU 42-14. 
 
Utah State is playing in its 11th bowl game in the last 13 years after playing in six bowl games in its first 119 years. This will be USU's third-straight bowl game under current head coach Blake Anderson as USU posted a 24-13 win against Oregon State in the 2021 Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl after winning its first-ever Mountain West championship and lost to Memphis 38-10 in the 2022 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. 
 
Anderson is one of just two head coaches in program history to lead USU to three-straight bowl games along with Matt Wells (2013-15).
 
All-time, this will be Utah State's 17th bowl appearance in program history as it played in the 1946 Raisin Bowl, the 1947 Grape Bowl, the 1960 Sun Bowl, the 1961 Gotham Bowl, the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl, the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl, the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, the 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl, the 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the 2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, the 2018 New Mexico Bowl, the 2019 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl, the 2021 Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl and the 2022 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.
 
The Aggies are 6-10 in their previous 16 bowl games as they played in five-straight bowl games from 2011-15 and won three-straight bowls from 2012-14, both of which are school records.
 
Georgia State is 6-6 on the season and tied for fifth in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference with a 3-5 record. The Panthers enter the bowl game on a five-game losing streak.
 
This will be Georgia State's sixth bowl game as it has a 3-2 record in its previous five bowl outings. In fact, this will be GSU's sixth bowl game in the last nine years as the program has won each of its last two bowl games with a 39-21 victory against Western Kentucky in the 2020 Lending Tree Bowl and a 51-20 win against Ball State in the 2021 Camellia Bowl.
 
Prior to Utah State, Anderson spent seven years in the Sun Belt Conference as the head coach at Arkansas State as his Red Wolves posted a 51-37 (.580) record, including a 38-18 (.679) league mark. ASU was also 5-1 against Georgia State under Anderson as the Red Wolves scored at least 31 points in all five of those contests, including three games with at least 50 points.
 
Utah State is 6-6 on the season and tied for sixth place in the Mountain West with a 4-4 league record. USU concluded its regular season with a 44-41 double-overtime win at New Mexico.
 
Utah State, which began its season with a 1-3 record, finished the year by winning three of its final four games. Overall, USU played six bowl teams this season in No. 25 Iowa, Air Force, James Madison, Fresno State, San José State and Boise State.
 
Utah State is led by graduate senior QB Cooper Legas, who is 138-of-213 (.648) passing for 1,815 yards (201.7 ypg) with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Junior RB Davon Booth leads the team in rushing with 734 yards on 116 carries (6.3 ypc/66.7 ypg) with five touchdowns, and junior WR Jalen Royals has 68 receptions for 1,023 yards (15.0 ypr/85.3 ypg) and 14 touchdowns. Defensively, graduate senior ILB MJ Tafisi Jr. leads the team with131 tackles, which includes 7.5 tackles for loss, while sophomore S Ike Larsen has 91 tackles, to go along with six pass breakups and four interceptions. As a team, USU is averaging 34.1 points and 446.3 yards of total offense (259.8 passing, 186.6 rushing), and allowing 33.8 points and 415.6 yards (216.5 passing, 199.1 rushing).
 
Utah State had nine players garner all-Mountain West honors this season, including three first-team selections, in graduate senior inside linebacker MJ Tafisi Jr., junior wide receiver Jalen Royals and sophomore safety Ike Larsen. USU also had one player earn second team honors in senior wide receiver/kick returner Terrell Vaughn. And five more Aggies were named honorable mention all-MW in senior defensive tackle Hale Motu'apuaka, redshirt junior linebacker Anthony Switzer, junior wide receiver/punt returner Micah Davis, junior tight end Broc Lane and sophomore safety Devin Dye.
 
Three Aggies earned Mountain West honors for the second time as Larsen was named to the second team in 2022, while Tafisi and Vaughn both garnered honorable mention accolades a season ago.
 
Utah State also had two players recognized by the Mountain West this year in graduate junior quarterback Levi Williams and Larsen. Larsen was named the MW Defensive Player of the Week twice during the season following performances against Colorado State and at San Diego State, and the MW Special Teams Player of the Week once following his performance at UConn, while Williams was named the MW Offensive Player of the Week once following his performance at New Mexico in the season finale, which was also his first start in his two-year Aggie career.
 
Williams will be playing in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl for the second time in his career as he was named the Offensive MVP of the 2021 game as he led Wyoming to a 52-38 win against Kent State. In the game, Williams rushed for a career-high 200 yards on 16 carries (12.5 ypr) and a career-best four touchdowns, including a career-long 80-yard run, against the Golden Flashes, while also completing 9-of-11 passes for 127 yards and another touchdown. Williams became the first FBS quarterback ever to rush for 200 yards and four touchdowns and throw for another score in a bowl game. Furthermore, those 200 rushing yards are the fifth-most in bowl game history by a quarterback.
 
Williams, in fact, is 2-0 as a starting quarterback in a bowl game as he also led Wyoming to a 38-17 win against Georgia State in the 2019 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl in his first-career start. In that game, Williams was 11-of-26 passing for 234 yards with a career-high three touchdowns and one interception and rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries and another score.
 
Utah State has two players on its active roster who are from Georgia in Royals (Powder Spring/Hillgrove HS/Georgia Military College) and Davis (Atlanta/Harrison HS/Iowa Western CC).
 
Utah State also has three players on its active roster from Idaho in redshirt freshman DE Paul Fitzgerald (Idaho Falls/Thunder Ridge HS), redshirt freshman wide receiver Quentin Riley (Meridian, Idaho/Meridian HS) and freshman defensive tackle Dalin Walker (Meridian/Owyhee HS).
 
Tickets for the 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will go on sale Sunday, Dec. 3, and 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.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics, on facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on instagram at instagram.com/USUAthletics.
 
Utah State Football Bowl History (6-10)
1946 Raisin Bowl vs. San Jose State – L, 20-0 (Fresno, California)
1947 Grape Bowl vs. Pacific – L, 35-21 (Lodi, California)
1960 Sun Bowl vs. New Mexico State – L, 20-13 (El Paso, Texas)
1961 Gotham Bowl vs. Baylor – L, 24-9 (Upper Manhattan, New York)
1993 Las Vegas Bowl vs. Ball State – W, 42-33 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
1997 Humanitarian Bowl vs. Cincinnati – L, 35-19 (Boise, Idaho)
2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Ohio – L, 24-23 (Boise, Idaho)
2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Toledo – W, 41-15 (Boise, Idaho)
2013 SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl vs. No. 24 Northern Illinois – W, 21-14 (San Diego, California)
2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl vs. UTEP – W, 21-6 (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Akron – L, 23-21 (Boise, Idaho)
2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl vs. New Mexico State – L, 26-20, OT (Tucson, Arizona)
2018 New Mexico Bowl vs. North Texas – W, 52-13 (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
2019 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Kent State – L, 51-41 (Frisco, Texas)
2021 Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl vs. Oregon State – W, 24-13 (Inglewood, California)
2022 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. Memphis – L, 38-10 (Dallas, Texas)
 
Utah State vs. Sun Belt Conference (9-13-0)
Arkansas State – 4-3 (Last Meeting, 2016)
Southern Mississippi – 1-4 (Last Meeting, 1996)
Louisiana-Monroe – 1-2 (Last Meeting, 2004)
Troy – 1-2 (Last Meeting, 2004)
Louisiana– 1-1 (Last Meeting, 1994)
Texas State – 1-0 (Last Meeting, 2012)
James Madison – 0-1 (Last Meeting, 2023)
(Have not played: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama)
 
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl History
Dec. 20, 2022 – Eastern Michigan (MAC) 41, San José State (MW) 27
Dec. 21, 2021 – Wyoming (MW) 52, Kent State (MAC) 38
Dec. 22, 2020 – Nevada (MW) 38, Tulane (AAC) 27
Jan. 3, 2020 – Ohio (MAC) 30, Nevada (MW) 21
Dec. 21, 2018 – BYU (Ind.) 49, Western Michigan (MAC) 18
Dec. 22, 2017 – Wyoming (MW) 37, Central Michigan (MAC) 14
Dec. 22, 2016 – Idaho (Ind.) 61, Colorado State (MW) 50
Dec. 22, 2015 – Arkon (MAC) 23, Utah State (MW) 21
Dec. 20, 2014 – Air Force (MW) 38, Western Michigan (MAC) 24
Dec. 21, 2013 – San Diego State (MW) 49, Buffalo (MAC) 24
Dec. 15, 2012 – Utah State (WAC) 41, Toledo (MAC) 15
Dec. 17, 2011 – Ohio (MAC) 24, Utah State (WAC) 23 
Dec. 18, 2010 – Northern Illinois (MAC) 40, Fresno State (WAC) 17 
Dec. 30, 2009 – Idaho (WAC) 43, Bowling Green (MAC) 42 
Dec. 30, 2008 – Maryland (ACC) 42, Nevada (WAC) 35 
Dec. 31, 2007 – Fresno State (WAC) 40, Georgia Tech (ACC) 28 
Dec. 31, 2006 – Miami (ACC) 21, Nevada (WAC) 20 
Dec. 28, 2005 – Boston College (ACC) 27, Boise State (WAC) 21 
Dec. 27, 2004 – Fresno State (WAC) 37, Virginia (ACC) 34 
Jan. 3, 2004 – Georgia Tech (ACC) 52, Tulsa (WAC) 10 
Dec. 31, 2002 - Boise State (WAC) 38, Iowa State (Big 12) 16 
Dec. 31, 2001 - Clemson (ACC) 49, Louisiana Tech (WAC) 24 
Dec, 28, 2000 - Boise State (Big West) 38, UTEP (WAC) 23 
Dec. 28, 1999 - Boise State (Big West) 34, Louisville (C-USA) 31 
Dec. 30, 1998 - Idaho (Big West) 42, Southern Mississippi (C-USA) 35 
Dec. 29, 1997 - Cincinnati (C-USA) 35, Utah State (Big West) 19