Utah State Football

The 2011 Utah State Aggies are well acquainted with the dreadful feeling of having a win within their grasp and then squandering the lead in the final minute.  No team in the country has been more snakebitten this season than the Aggies when it comes to blowing a lead in the final minute of a game and ending up with a loss.

In the first game of the season, the Aggies had the most monumental upset in program history within reach, as they led defending national champions Auburn with only a few minutes left.  Utah State then squandered a double-digit lead and left Alabama with a loss.  The collapse included multiple egregious errors on special teams.

After the Auburn game, the Aggies continued to lose in the final minute of games.  First, they lost to Colorado State in overtime after having multiple chances to win.  The most painful blow came one week later, when the Aggies lost against hated in-state foe BYU on a deflected touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining.

As the season progressed, the Aggies seemed to put the late-game collapses behind them.  They finished with a regular season record of 7-5, including an epic comeback win against Hawaii.  Those victories allowed Utah State to make their first bowl appearance since 1997, in the Idaho Potato Bowl.

For most of the bowl game, the Aggies appeared destined for victory.  Behind a dominating run game, Utah State controlled the tempo of the game and entered the fourth quarter with a six-point lead.  The Ohio Bobcat defense had no answer for the tandem of Michael Smith and Robert Turbin, who both gained over 100 yards.

The Aggies couldn't close the game out, however, giving the Bobcats one last shot at a game-winning drive with about two minutes remaining.  The game hinged on a 4th-and-5 inside the red zone with less than one minute remaining. 

The Aggies blitzed, but Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton managed to lob a pass to LaVonn Brazill that (after lengthy review) gave the Bobcats a 1st-and-goal from the 6-inch line with 34 seconds remaining in the game.

Aggie fans could only watch in horror as Tettleton scrambled to his right on a broken play and found his path to the end zone open.  The PAT gave the Bobcats a one-point victory.

Unfortunately for Utah State, their late-game struggles were very much alive and well.  After a hiatus for the second half of the season, those struggles made an unwelcome return and cost the Aggies a bowl victory.

Fear not, Aggie fans. Utah State football can only get better.

The squad and coaching staff are solid and young.

Head coach Gary Anderson, already into his third season at USU, brought a wealth of knowledge from his past to help build the program. Anderson was the assistant head coach as well as defensive coordinator at former arch-rival Utah, and has the experience to bring the Aggies back to respectability.

While at Utah, Anderson played a key role in sculpting the Utes into a solid team, culminating in their 2008 31-17 Sugar Bowl domination of perennial SEC powerhouse Alabama.

Freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton is putting up some impressive numbers. He is already ranked 44th in FBS pass efficiency, and he can only improve.

On a side note, Keeton is returning to Logan after suffering a neck injury in Saturday’s game against Hawaii. That’s good news.

Junior running backs Robert Turbin and Kerwynn Williams are also major contributors. Turbin, while not gaining the spotlight as some are, is currently 14th in the FBS in rushing. Williams ranks 30th in all-purpose yards. This duo gives the Aggies a strong ground game.

Let’s not forget about special teams. Junior punter Tyler Bennett ranks 10th in the FBS in punting.

Many games are won or lost as a result of the kicking game, and the Aggies are lucky to have him. Bennett also happens to be a candidate for the 2011 Ray Guy award.

The early season loss to Auburn was heartbreaking. I am a huge fan of the underdog, and being able to take down the reigning national champion would have given the Aggies a tremendous boost in the confidence level.

It was not meant to be, however. The close losses to Colorado State and BYU were also tough to swallow.

However, on a big positive note, the come-from-behind victory over Hawaii shows what the team is made of. Everyone had to pull it together to finish the game. Everyone had to step up. Everyone played hard until the final seconds. Everyone got the victory.

I have seen both sides. I am an alumnus of USU. I am an Aggie. I have seen the Aggies nationally ranked during my college career. I have also seen them pounded by Oklahoma 72-3.

The bottom line is: Have faith, Aggie faithful.

You are watching a young, well-coached, on-the-rise team that will give you many thrills.

The season is not over. The Aggies can finish with a 7-5 record. 

There are reports coming from Logan, Utah that talks are occurring between the MWC and Utah State about a possible inclusion into the conference.  As of today, there is no word that Utah State has had an offer presented to them, but it's safe to say that once an offer is presented, they will more than likely accept.  The talks are supposed to wrap up today. 

Could the MWC expand to an 11-team conference come 2012?  How does this affect the MWC?  What will happen to the WAC with four of its most popular teams jumping ship?

I think without a doubt that if an offer is given to Utah State, they will accept.  It makes sense.  You have a conference that is runner-up in popularity to the Pac-12 out here in the western half of the United States.  A conference that has shown resilience, even after losing powerhouses like TCU, Utah and BYU.  Not only will it give Utah State better recognition, but they'll face better competition and have more national exposure due to the MWC's contract with their own TV network. 

This could also potentially increase their opportunity to land better recruits.  I'm sure they'll also want to jump a sinking ship in the WAC.  There is no way of knowing what will happen to that conference, so there has to be an urgency in any WAC team to leave.

Now this move won't make the MWC any better in terms of competition, but it does bring the MWC closer to having the 12 teams it desires.  It also helps the MWC retain some of the Utah TV market that it lost with Utah and BYU leaving the conference.  The more money the MWC can obtain, the better. 

But what would happen to the WAC if this offer is extended to Utah State?  Will the WAC dilute the FBS by bringing up FCS schools to fill these voids?  Or will the MWC absorb the rest of the WAC to make the country's first super conference?  There's a lot of speculation and questions that need to be answered and many of them might be answered by the end of the day.  Any way you want to look at it, the MWC is getting stronger and there is optimism once again for the conference.

If you think that the BYU offense has been anemic so far this year, imagine where the Cougars would be without junior running back JJ Di Luigi.

Of the 1,228 yards of total offense that BYU has managed to muster in their first four games, the diminutive Di Luigi has accounted for 532 of those—that’s 43 percent of the team’s total output. He’s also scored 50 percent of the touchdowns (three of six).

Thus far JJ is averaging 133 yards of total offense per game. If he keeps up that pace he will end the regular season with 1,596 yards. That’s better than Harvey Unga’s production in either 2008 or 2009.

While you are digesting that, keep in mind that he is doing it without the benefit of Unga’s supporting cast that included guys like Max Hall, Dennis Pitta, Austin Collie, Fui Vakapuna, and Manase Tonga.

In a lot of ways JJ kind of reminds me of the little engine that could.

His average per carry of 6.3 yards is well ahead of Unga’s best season of 5.2 yards per carry last year. For his career Harvey averaged five yards per carry, thus far in his career Di Luigi is averaging 5.7 yards.

JJ is not only the leading rusher on the team, he also leads BYU in receiving with 18 receptions for 200 yards, averaging over 11 yards per catch.

The Cougars struggles at quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end this season have been well documented. Teams know that JJ is currently the Cougars’ main weapon on offense, yet he has been able to produce a yards-per-carry average surpassed in recent memory by only Luke Staley.

Many thought that Di Luigi was due for a breakout year in 2010, and he has not disappointed. For a guy that goes just 5'9", 190 lbs. he is a surprisingly tough runner between the tackles and has thus far showed good durability with 71 touches on offense during the first third of the season.

It is in the open field though where Di Luigi really shines. His elusiveness and ability to make defenders miss is a talent not regularly seen in a BYU running back. His slippery style combined with his ability to get the job done in the interior of the line makes JJ a rare commodity.

As the Cougars venture into Romney Stadium tonight to take on Utah State, they will no doubt lean once again on the little running back that could; and it’s a good bet that the Aggie defense will focus a good deal of its attention on stopping Di Luigi.

Odds are that JJ will continue to chug right along.

Utah State has a new coach in former Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen, and already the program is looking in the right direction.  Utah State was actually able to score some points, but their defense was still lacking.

That should change under coach Andersen, as he was the man behind the Utah defenses for the last few seasons, plus Andersen is a great local recruiter and will bring in some talent.

The north endzone project that was started under former coach Brent Guy helped the program with better facilities for the athletes, and even increased the stadium size.

The 2009 Aggies most likely will not beat BYU, but they will be improved overall and their offense should be pretty solid.  The offense returns nine starters from last year, which should help the team try to improve off of their three win season from 2008.

They return four starters along the offensive line, and their top player is dual threat quarterback Diondre Borel who lead the team in rushing last year.  He will be able to create plays and make the defense more honest with his rushing ability.

The running back is Robert Turbin who was alright last year as a freshman, but should be improved with the four returning lineman.  Also, Turbin is a dual threat and in 2008 had twenty catches and two scores.

A big concern is at wide receiver because the Aggies do not have a go-to guy.  All of the receivers have experience, but none stood out last year.  While there is no go to wide out the top four were consistent.

The defense only returns six starters, but new coach Gary Andersen has a few playmakers; starting with linebacker Paul Igboeli who had 78 tackles, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, an interception and a blocked field goal.

The defense will be faster then last year which will definitely help, plus the recruiting that Coach Andersen did in his short opportunity did a good job in gathering talent.

Even with the defense that should be improved they were 108th in scoring defense which was 34.7 per game, so they have a ways to go.

Nothing should be expected over four wins for the Aggies, but that would be moving in the right direction, and be their best season in nearly a decade.

If you like what you read be lazy and Subscribe to MWCFootball  on Twitter .

An interesting tidbit came out from the WAC, with the conference submitting and getting approval for a new rule regarding athletes who go on religious missions.

This is quite obvious why the WAC put the rule up for submissions: If you read between the lines, it was Utah State.

The Aggies—depending on who you believe—were raided by BYU to get Parade All-American and Mr. Football in Utah during the 2005 season.

BYU faithful believe that Nelson inquired about transferring, but that will never be found out.

Below is the wording of the rule from the NCAA:

“Official Church Mission. An institution shall not contact a student-athlete who has begun service on an official church mission without obtaining permission from the institution from which the student-athlete withdrew prior to beginning his or her mission if the student-athlete signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) and attended the institution (with which he or she signed the NLI) as a full-time student.

If such a student-athlete has completed his or her official church mission and does not enroll full time in a collegiate institution within one calendar year of completion of the mission, an institution may contact the student-athlete without obtaining permission from the first institution.”

Basically if an athlete goes to school for a year and then goes on his mission, any opposing school will need consent from his original school, or wait three years (unlikely, by the way).

Oh, and that third year the student-athlete may not even be enrolled in their school where they chose to play, again very unlikely.

There is a fun loophole that was discovered, and is in this quote:

“An institution shall not contact a student-athlete who has begun service on an official church mission without obtaining permission from the institution from which the student-athlete withdrew prior to beginning his or her mission..."

Look at the bold section, now I could be wrong, but this wording makes it sound like that the athlete must be withdrawn from their school prior to their mission.

So, what if the player goes on a mission prior to enrolling, which is common, thus technically the athlete never had the chance to withdraw from said institution.  Withdrawing from a school means they must be registered for classes.

This rule I personally like, because even though defections are few and far between, but the school is confident that there will not be illegal contact.

Contacting a player under this rule without permission is similar to contacting a player from another school, while the student is there.  That would be a recruiting violation of some kind.

Again, this rule will affect few schools and athletes. And the rule goes into effect, so BYU will not be able to have contact with stud linebacker Manti Te’o if he decides to leave Notre Dame for a church mission (kidding).