COLUMN: This Year’s Idaho? Hey, They’ll Take it
It’s late June. The World Cup has overtaken the World Wide Leader. Wimbledon is in full swing. Sooner or later you know Tiger Woods will roar out of his post-downfall shell to capture one of the season’s major tournaments.
In other words; college football is probably the furthest thing from your mind.
But if you should find the need for some extra summer reading material as you sink your toes into the sand on some far away beach, why not consider one of the nearly two dozen preseason preview magazines currently available? If you’re a Utah State fan, you might find this year’s offerings a nice change of pace, especially considering you may not have to flip all the way to page 117 to find your beloved Aggies featured.
That’s right. The verdict is out, and while nobody in their right mind is predicting the Aggies to contend for a WAC – much less national title – most preseason prognosticators are displaying a cautious air of optimism when it comes to Utah State’s chances in 2010.
“Things are looking up for Utah State. Really,” wrote New York Times columnist Paul Myerberg for the popular college football website, Pre-Snap Read.
“When you’ve had only two winning seasons in 20 years, such progress is exciting,” he added. “Up next: six wins, bowl eligibility. Yikes.”
Yikes indeed. As Myerberg noted, USU hasn’t exactly been a gridiron power this decade, with four different coaches failing to put together a single winning season since John L. Smith led the team to a 6-6 finish in 1997. Given the school’s out-of-the-way location and frequently changing conference status, preview magazines and prognosticators just haven’t had reason to go out on a limb in predicting turnaround success in Logan.
But this year is different.
Gary Andersen’s inaugural 4-8 season may not appear as a huge improvement from Brent Guy’s first 3-9 campaign back in 2005, but underneath the surface of another losing season in Logan were shades of steady improvement. The Aggie offense finished 12th in the country in yards per game, while a veteran core of playmakers – including QB Diondre Borel and LB Bobby Wagner – figure to provide the nucleus for a team which returns the majority of its starters from last year.
Myerberg isn’t the only one drinking the Andersen cool-aid. The Sporting News, which publishes a mammoth 212-page preview magazine, pegged the Aggies to finish sixth in the WAC, noting that the team “could contend for a bowl berth this year” while also naming Aggie signal caller Diondre Borel the “best athlete” in the conference.
While many publications stop short of proclaiming this as “the year” Utah State finally overcomes the .500 hump, the consensus is that the Aggies could very well be this year’s version of Idaho. Led by straight-shooting head coach Robb Akey, the Vandals finally overcame a decade of losing with a bowl berth in 2009, shocking two Mountain West teams en route to a 7-6 season finish.
“Meet this year’s Idaho. Unlike many seasons, that’s meant as a compliment,” wrote former Washington Times college football writer Patrick Stevens. Stevens, who authors the blog D1Source, goes on to say that, “the next stop could be the program’s first winning season in 14 years.”
Chalk up Lindy’s as another source that has relatively high expectations for Utah State in 2010.
“The Aggies have the look of the latest breakout team in the WAC,” states Lindy’s, which pegs USU at 102 out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. “The entire program has appeared to be on the upswing since Gary Andersen took over last year – with improved facilities and signs of growing support.”
While high on the Aggies (at least in terms of previous seasons) the preseason prognosticators aren’t without their share of caveats and hesitations. Many are quick to point out that the defense is still suspect, while a challenging schedule – featuring conference matchups with Oklahoma, BYU and San Diego State – won’t do USU any favors in getting above the .500 mark.
Which leads us to the proverbial “could” that dominates the previews. Let’s face it; predicting college football teams’ success can be a crapshoot, more so than any other sport. USU “could” very well be this year’s version of Idaho, but so could San Joe State or New Mexico State for that matter. As Myerberg noted in his preview, just because the Aggies should be better in 2010 than they were in 2009, it’s still no guarantee that they’ll find themselves bowling by year’s end.
“This could be the year for Utah State,” wrote Myerberg. “Emphasis on ‘could,’ of course.”
“I don’t believe the Aggies will reach bowl play in 2010,” he added. “Yet I do firmly believe this to be the best team Utah State has put forth in nearly 15 years.”
Bowl or not in 2010, something tells me that after years of asking “when will basketball season start?” each August, Aggie fans will welcome predictions like Myerberg’s. Even if the Aggies only “could” be this year’s version of Idaho, it sure is a nice change of pace from being pegged as everyone’s last place finisher in the WAC.
This year’s surprise WAC team? Maybe, maybe not. But after years of garnering absolutely zero preseason attention, it sure is refreshing to be somebody’s “could be” surprise team for 2010.
Adam Nettina is a senior History major and member of the Football Writers Association of America. You can follow him on twitter at twitter.com/AdamNettina