Aggies won’t sleep on slumping Spartans
Utah State (3-6, 1-4 WAC) will look to end its road woes this Saturday when the Aggies travel to San Jose State to take on the Spartans (1-8, 0-4 WAC). For an Aggie team which has not won back-to-back games since 2007 and has won only one road game during head coach Gary Andersen’s tenure, Saturday’s match-up provides plenty of opportunity for Utah State to prove that the 2010 season can still be a success.
But getting that elusive first road win of the 2010 season won’t be easy. Despite San Jose State’s 1-8 record, the Aggies aren’t taking the Spartans lightly, especially considering that the Aggies have not won in San Jose in eight years.
“San Jose State is very physical and they play extremely hard,” said USU receiver Eric Moats. “As a team we are going to have to start strong, they are hungry for a win and will be ready to play. I feel like we have a really good chance of getting our first road win if we go in ready to play and with a good game plan.”
Complicating matters for the Aggies is the fact that San Jose State will have had two weeks to prepare for the game, as well as the fact that the Spartans have yet to win their first game against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team for new head coach Mike MacIntyre. The extra time to prepare for Utah State thanks to a bye week coupled with the desperation of a team which lost it’s last game (to New Mexico State) on a last-second touchdown, make the Spartans a dangerous opponent.
“There will be two teams fighting their tails off to get wins, and in my mind a lot to play for, for both teams,” said Utah State head coach Gary Andersen. “I know that we will be excited to play, and I am sure that they will be excited to play coming off of a bye week. I’m sure they will be very well prepared coming off the bye week. It should be a tremendous football game, it should be a dog fight and go right down to the very end.”
The Spartans have had a rough schedule this season, having played (and lost) games against five ranked opponents, including Alabama, Wisconsin and Boise State. San Jose’s offense currently ranks dead last in the country in average points scored per game (11.9), while the Spartans rank 109th (out of 120 teams) in yards allowed on defense.
Not that the Aggies haven’t had problems of their own, especially on the road and especially in attempting to win back-to-back games. According to linebacker Bobby Wagner, a win on Saturday would go a long way to overcoming many of the obstacles that have plagued USU over the past two seasons.
“(Winning at SJSU) means a lot, not just because we haven’t won there in quite some time, but we also haven’t been able to win two games in a row,” Wagner said.
“There is quite a bit riding on this game for us,” he added.
According to Wagner, the key to playing well against the Spartans will be getting off to a fast start – something USU has not done often this season.
“The faster we start off, the faster the crowd quiets down and we will get much stronger as the game goes on,” Wagner said. “That’s our responsibility as players, to come out in the first half with the same energy we bring in the second half. I think it’s a process, and as a team we have to start figuring out how to win, we understand it takes time and all we can do is to take it a game at a time.”
With both teams fighting to establish their programs, Saturday’s contest should provide plenty of drama – not just in the final quarter, but in each snap of the ball.
“Bottom line at the end of the day, you have two teams looking at what they can do to win football games,” Andersen said. “We are trying to build and every play is key.”
– adamnettina@aggiemail.usu.edu