2011 Utah State Aggies Football Preview

The 2010 campaign for the Utah State Aggies football squad was one of peaks and valleys. September, October and November all have their own textures and vibes in college football, and for the Aggies, they clearly showed their best stuff in the first month, not the last two.

September marks the first leg of the season when adrenaline and the strangeness of non-conference matchups can produce odd results that are often beneficial to underdogs. October represents the more settled part of the season in which teams get acquainted to the rhythms of conference play. November is when the wars of attrition can leave teams shorthanded, or conversely, when the urgency associated with making a bowl game can lead a team to play beyond the sum of its capabilities. In head coach Gary Andersen’s second year in Logan, the Aggies proved they could bust out of the gate, but they lacked any kind of finishing kick whatsoever.

In September, USU had the ball with a chance to tie the game inside the four-minute mark of regulation time against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman. The lads from Logan, Utah, settled for a narrow loss, but they still maintained a justified sense of confidence. Four weeks later, on the border between September and October, Utah State shocked in-state rival BYU with a dominating two-touchdown victory that felt like a much more lopsided conquest. Through October 1, this team was 2-3 against a schedule that would have given other WAC teams a 1-4 record. However, after showing a measure of promise, Utah State couldn’t keep pace with its dreams.

The low times for this program emerged as the 2010 season dragged on and drained the fuel that existed in the Aggies’ tank. Losing to Louisiana Tech and Idaho while getting dominated by Boise State and Hawaii proved that the Aggies still had room to grow… and that their first-month flurry was not as substantive as first hoped. Only wins against tomato cans San Jose State and New Mexico State prevented October and November from being complete wash-outs last year.

With Andersen entering his third year, fans are hoping his club is ready to make the next step and hopefully qualify for a bowl. It will be a difficult task, though, since the Aggies need to replace quarterback Diondre Borel, who has been the offensive leader for the past few seasons. There are three quarterbacks competing to be Borel’s replacement. Sophomore Jeremy Higgins, junior Adam Kennedy, and freshman Alex Hart are immersed in a pitched battle that Andersen says will continue through August.

> Buy Utah State clothing & apparel and find a great selection of college Fathead helmets online through College Sports Fans!

The defense has been improved during the offseason, with greater depth and size being added to the front seven. The Aggies struggled against the run last season and Andersen, who was once the defensive coordinator up the road in Salt Lake City for the Utah Utes under both Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham, has made it a priority this offseason.

The schedule, outside of an opening-week contest at defending champion Auburn and a Friday matchup with BYU, looks pretty promising. Home games against Weber State, Colorado State, Wyoming, Louisiana Tech, and San Jose State should provide an opportunity to build a solid foundation and approach the .500 mark, which in modern college football is a better-than-even-money ticket to a bowl.