Lane Kiffin (James Santelli/Neon Tommy)

He is mindful of their firepower on offense, and the 49.3 points per game scoring average that ranks eighth nationally. He is aware of their scoring defense – 36th, with just 18.7 points per game.

Most of all, though, he is apprehensive about his own team, and how they perceive an Aggies team that Kiffin believes is among the 25 best in the nation.

“I worry about our players understanding that this is a really good team, a very talented team,” Kiffin said after Thursday’s practice. “Not just on offense, but on defense. You look at their stats – not just this year, but last year – and these guys have dominated people. Even in the games they've barely lost, against bigger teams, they've outplayed them. They just had some bad breaks.”

If there is any comfort in that, it lies in the Utes’ consistency. Despite the departure of head coach Gary Andersen to Wisconsin, Kiffin noted that the Aggies run the same schemes on offense, and also have shown very little variation defensively despite importing defensive coordinator Dave Aranda from Hawaii. It’s a welcome change from Boston College, who Kiffin admitted last week were very tough to study on account of Eagles head coach Steve Addazio overhauling most of BC’s schemes.

The key to the Aggies’ attack is junior quarterback Chuckie Keeton. The Houston native has so far built on a stellar sophomore campaign with an even more impressive junior season, completing 78.1% of his passes through three games to go with a 12:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Once passed over by Texas’ powerhouse schools, Keeton has blossomed into a weapon that has Kiffin and USC’s full attention.

“He's a really unique player,” Kiffin says. “As well as he played last year, he's improved this year with his accuracy. His throwing is really on time. He doesn't get sacked very much. To me, he looks a lot like Russell Wilson. He finds ways to make plays when they're not there.”

The result, then, is the stiffest test USC’s defense has faced on the young season.  

“This is the best offense statistically that we've played and so we're going to have to tackle really well,” he continued. “We're going to have to cover, because they're really good.”

USC and Utah State will kick off at 12:30 PST in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

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