No. 20-ranked Washington State returns home after a road trip and a bye week to welcome the Utah State Aggies into town Saturday night to kick off the final month of the regular season in a showdown under the lights.

The Cougars are looking to extend their hot streak into November, being one of few teams in FBS to not record a loss in the entire month of October. WSU (7-1) looks to finish the regular season on a strong note with two more road games between now and senior night.

The Aggies (2-6) are trying to keep their bowl eligibility status alive this weekend on the road, led by senior quarterback Spencer Petras, the transfer from Iowa who has Utah State ranked 10th in the nation in passing offense (300.9 yards per game).

Coach Jake Dickert gave credit to this Aggies offense for being able to keep games close, despite the end result in the win-loss ledger.

“This is an explosive offense; they play a very unique brand of football,” Dickert said. “They’re one of the fastest teams in the country.”

Utah State first started the season with junior quarterback Bryson Barnes, the transfer from Utah, with Petras injured, but Petras is more of a pocket passer and has elevated the passing attack.

Dickert talked about how the transition from Barnes to Petras for Utah State has been a difference-maker for their offense being able to keep themselves in high-scoring games.

“It’s a tremendous fit for how they want to run offense,” Dickert said.

That said, Utah State lost star receiver Jalen Royals (55 catches for 834 yards and 6 TDs) to a season-ending injury last month.

The key trouble for the Aggies lies in their defense, ranking second to last in FBS in points allowed per game (41.5 PPG) and third-worst in rushing yards allowed (244.0 YPG).

Dickert talked about the matchup on Saturday and how establishing the run early will be the key.

“We got to be physical at the line of scrimmage, we got to have a want to to go out to establish it,” Dickert said.”

Dickert said sophomore running back Djouvensky Schlenbaker is dealing with an illness and hopes to have him in the rotation for Saturday.

Dickert also said senior punter Nick Haberer is healthy and will be making his season debut on Saturday for the Cougars.

Senior kicker Dean Janikowski has been doing all three kicking duties for the past few weeks of the season but will have his load reduced with Haberer healthy. Speaking of, Janikowski ended up breaking his hand on the roughing the kicker penalty near the end of the game against San Diego State a couple of weeks ago but will be fit enough for Saturday.

Dickert said redshirt senior tight end Billy Riviere III "should be 100 percent" for Saturday after dealing with a lingering knee injury.

Senior EDGE rusher Quinn Roff exited the game against San Diego State with an injury and he is questionable for Saturday.

Dickert added after Wednesday’s practice that junior tight end Andre Dollar is still dealing with an ankle injury and he hopes to have Dollar return to game action by the end of the regular season.

Sophomore kicker Ryan Harris is considered "day-to-day" with his injury, as there is anticipation he could be returning to kickoff duties soon, Dickert said.

Dickert talked before the bye week about revamping the offensive line, with potentially some more changes being needed up front to maximize the ability of the run and pass game for the Cougars. Dickert mentioned in his press conference on Monday that even though there is no final decision on who will be starting in the left tackle position, the goal is to find the perfect mesh of good run-blocking and pass protection to have an efficient offense.

The speed of the Aggies runs through the defense as well, with how much they can fly around with disguised pressures.

“We just got to get our playmakers running and playing in space,” Dickert said.

With how fast the Aggies’ offense can be, the Cougars will have to match their quickness with a developed run game and having their star receivers in open space for explosive plays.

The Aggies are a very quick offense and can score offensively in the blink of an eye.. The secondary for WSU will be put up to the test against a quick offense that can sling the rock with Petras.

Utah State has the fourth-fastest pace of play in the country, scoring very quickly and in bunches, and Dickert said that his defense will have to be up to the test.

Redshirt sophomore linebacker Taariq ‘Buddah’ Al-Uqdah talked about Utah State’s speed on offense and how the defense has to move with urgency because of how fast the Aggies like to get to the line.

“We know they have a really fast tempo so we have to adjust … not hesitating to get lined up,” Al-Uqdah said. “We got to win the pre-snap, get the call and go.”

Defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said after Wednesday’s practice he has his linebacker core ready to sub in at any moment with how much Utah State likes to run no-huddle offense and hurry to the line.

“We have our rotations ready to go,” Schmedding said. “You got to win on third down when the game slows down a little bit.”

The Cougars opened as 22.5-point favorites against Utah State on Saturday night at home with an over/under set at 68.5 points (All Odds according to ESPNBET).

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. MST from Gesa Field at Martin Stadium and will be broadcast on The CW Network.