Gameday links: Chuckie Keeton leads Utah State into Husky Stadium

Utah State (1-1, 0-0 in Mountain West) at Washington (1-1, 0-0 in Pac-12)

2 p..m. Saturday, Husky Stadium

The line: Washington by 6.5

TV: Pac-12 Networks

Radio: 1000 AM/97.7 FM

Another gameday has arrived on Montlake, as the Huskies prepare to host Utah State. We’ll have our usual pregame chat/thread posted a little later this afternoon. Until then, read up on the game’s storylines with some links.

--- Our advance of the game in today’s newspaper looks at Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who is trying to end his college career on a positive note after injuries cut his last two seasons short. An excerpt:

SEATTLE -- Back in 2012, before Chuckie Keeton sustained two major knee injuries, there seemed no ceiling for what Utah State’s quarterback might accomplish.

Keeton was only a sophomore then, but his dual-threat capabilities helped lead the Aggies to the WAC championship and earned him first-team all-league honors. He threw for 3,373 yards and 27 touchdowns, rushed for 619 yards and another eight touchdowns, and led the Aggies to an 11-2 finish — including a thrilling home win over rival Utah — in Gary Andersen’s final season as coach at Utah State.

The sky, it appeared, was the limit. Heisman Trophy consideration in 2013 did not seem out of the question. Then came the injuries — a torn ACL six games into 2013, then a torn ACL and MCL in the same knee three games into 2014 — and Keeton hasn’t had much of a chance since to prove he can still be the same player who so captivated the city of Logan three years ago.

But his resolve remains, and he’s back for a fifth year after being granted a medical redshirt waiver. Keeton leads Utah State (1-1) into Saturday’s 2 p.m. game against Washington (1-1) at Husky Stadium.

And while Huskies coach Chris Petersen never actually coached against Keeton in the WAC or Mountain West — his injury in 2013 came the week before the Aggies hosted Boise State — he is familiar enough with Keeton’s exploits to know that he could still be a handful for the Huskies’ defense.

“He’s just a great competitor and just plays very hard,” Petersen said. “He always seemed at the end of the games (to be) just kind of dragging himself around, because he’ll go and he’s not afraid to run the ball and take a shot and get hit and do whatever he needs to do to help his team win.”

--- If you missed it, here is my prediction for the game.

--- Here is the advance from Adam Jude.

--- The Deseret News offers this preview of the game.

--- And a preview from the Herald Journal in Logan.

There was one Pac-12 game last night ...

Arizona State 34, New Mexico 10 -- The Sun Devils again got off to a bit of a slow start against an inferior opponent, but ultimately pulled away in the second half.

And there are nine other Pac-12 games today, one of which is actually a conference matchup ...

Georgia State at Oregon, 11 a.m. (Pac-12 Networks) -- The Oregonian offers five things to watch.

Colorado vs. Colorado State, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) -- Colorado hopes its improved defense continues to trend upward.

California at Texas, 4:30 p.m. (FOX) -- Plenty is on the line for the Golden Bears.

Stanford at USC, 5 p.m. (ABC) -- This will be the Trojans’ first test against a “real deal” opponent.

San Jose State at Oregon State, 5 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks) -- Beavers are trying to bounce back from a rough loss at Michigan.

Wyoming at Washington State, 5:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks) -- Another home game for the Cougars against a team they should beat.

BYU at UCLA, 7:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 1) -- The Bruins expect a physical game.

Utah at Fresno State, 7:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Networks) -- The Utes want to avoid overlooking the Bulldogs, who might be better than they were last year.

Northern Arizona at Arizona, 8 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks) -- With a win, the Wildcats can improve to 12-0 in regular-season nonconference games under coach Rich Rodriguez.

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 12:25 AM with the headline "Gameday links: Chuckie Keeton leads Utah State into Husky Stadium."